Spiritual Focus and Key Words
Ancestry
beginnings
bereavement
change
courage
death
endings
faerie
hunting
other worlds
preservation
reincarnation
rest
survival
wisdom
Magickal Focus
Confrontation
healing
hope
interdependence
love
preparation
protection
release from old bonds
renewal
Suggested Workings
Divination
needfire
road openings
Astrological Timing and Associated Planets
Sun 15 degrees of Scorpio; sun sign of Scorpio (initiatory); dark moon; Pleiades at highest point in sky at midnight
Archetypes
female
The Crone
the Grieving Mother
the Grieving Wife
the Woman in White
male
The Huntsman
the Husbandsman
the Faery King
androgynous/mixed
The Witch
the Changeling
the Grim Reaper
the Wild Hunt
Deities and Heroes
goddesses
Cerridwen (Welsh)
Demeter (Greek)
Ereshkigal (Sumerian)
Hecate (Greek)
Hel (Norse)
Inanna (Sumerian)
Ishtar (Babylonian)
Isis (Egyptian)
Kali (Hindu)
Lilith (Babylonian)
Macha (Irish)
Mari (Feri)
the Morrighan (Irish)
Persephone (Greek)
Pomona (Roman)
Psyche (Greek)
Rhiannon (Welsh)
gods
Cernunnos (Celtic)
the Daghda (Irish)
Dis Pater (Roman)
Hades (Greek)
the Horned God
Janus (Roman)
Osiris (Egyptian)
Taranis (Celtic)
Teutates (Celtic)
Colors
Black: Darker half of year, grief, impending winter, mourning, night, protection from evil, sleep
Brown: Ancestors, decay, earth, faery folk, healing, hibernation, nature, roots
Grey: Neutrality, rest, silence, storms, uncrossing, the Veil
Orange: Allies, change, delights, the hearth, inner warmth, sustenance, transformation, transition
Yellow: Change, harmony, health, hope, light, optimism, transition
Silver: The Goddess, the inner self, mirrors, the moon, shadow work
Herbs
Broom: Cleansing, humility, invoking good fortune
Dittany of Crete: Communication, divination
Garlic: Cleansing, protection, purification
Mugwort: Divination, healing, insight, meditation
Myrrh: Cleansing, divination, embalming, funerals, rebirth
Rosemary: Healing, memory, mental stimulation
Sage: Healing, purification, spirituality
Wormwood: Creativity, depth, divination, insight, purification, visions
Yarrow: Courage, endurance, exorcism, healing emotional wounds, the Horned God, wish-making
Trees
Cedar: Preservation, protection, purification
Hazel: Fertility, happy marriage, luck, wisdom
Hemlock (highly poisonous): Astral projection, the Crone, the Veil, wisdom
Flowers
Chrysanthemum: Cheer, friendship, rest
Calendula: Cleansing, purification, restoration, safety
Marigold: The Crone, grief healing, honoring aging, protection
Crystals and Stones
Carnelian: Healing, peace, protection, sexuality
Jet: Absorption, divination, protection from nightmares, reflection, shadows
Moonstone: Balance, divination, feminine influence, the Goddess, healing, hidden knowldege, insight
Obsidian: Depth, divination, grounding
Onyx: Protection, self-defense, self-discipline
Metals
Iron: Protection (especially from faeries)
Silver: Faeries, the Goddess, mirror worlds
Animals, Totems, and Mythical Creatures
Black cats: Associated with witches, superstitions told of magick workers shapeshifting into cats or taking them as spirit familiars
Owls: The dedicated bird of the goddess Athena; nocturnal, especially visible in the late fall season as the trees no longer obscure them on their perches
Ravens: The dedicated bird of the Morrighan who sometimes appears as a raven; believed to represent the souls of the dead and to carry messages from beyond the Veil to the living
Spiders: Associated with the Egyptian goddess Neith as a weaver of fate; webs often used in folk spells, especially for binding troublesome people or for banishing harm from a home
Scents for Oils, Incense, Potpourri, or Just Floating in the Air
Cinnamon
clove
copal
decaying leaves
myrrh
pine needles
warm honey
Tarot Keys
Death
the High Priestess
Wheel of Fortune
Symbols and Tools
Besom: Clearing out old energy, inviting in new
Cauldron: Descending into the underworld and emerging changed, transformation
Mask: Assuming a different persona, gaining spiritual insight from a dramatic change of persona
Foods
Apple
fermented foods: sauerkraut, picked eggs, pickled beets
pumpkin
raw nuts
roasted nuts
Drinks
Apple cider
lamb’s wool
Activities and Traditions of Practice
All types of divination
apple bobbing
bonfires
dumb supper
extra place at the table for ancestors
jack-o’-lanterns
luminaries
mummer’s plays
scrying
séances
soul cakes
sugar skulls
trick-or-treating
Acts of Service
Clean off gravesites
dedicate memorials
offering food to the dead
visit nursing homes
Alternative Names for Samhain in Other Pagan Traditions:
Allantide (Celtic)
Calan Gaef (Celtic)
Calan Gwaf (Celtic)
Feast of Mongfind (Celtic)
Gealach a Ruadhain (Celtic)
Kala-Goanv (Celtic)
Nos Calan Coef (Celtic)
Nos Calan Gaef (Celtic)
Nos Cyn Calan Gaual (Celtic)
Nos Galan Gaeof (Celtic)
Oidche Shamhna (Celtic)
Oie Houney (Manx)
Samhainn/Samhuinn (Gaelic)
Samhtheine (Celtic)
Sauin
Third Harvest
Trinouxtion Samonii (Italian)
Holidays or Traditions Occurring During Samhain in the Northern Hemisphere:
religious
All-Holland Day (English)
Autumn Dziady (Slavic)
Boedromion (Hellenic)
Shadowfest (Italian/Stregha)
Triduum of Allhallows
Winter Finding (Norse Heathen)
Diwali (late October/early November, depending on year, Hindu)
All Saints’ Day or Hallowmas (November 1, Catholic)
All Souls’ Day (November 2, Catholic)
Dia de los Muertos (November 1, Mexican / Catholic)
Day of the Faithful Dead (November 4, Portugal)
Martinmas (November 11, Catholic)
Festival of Hecate Trivia (November 30, Hellenic)
secular
Beggar’s Night (Rural United States)
Buy Nothing Day (United States)
Punkie Night (Welsh/Scotch)
Cabbage Night (October 30, Scottish)
Cabbage Stump Night (October 30, Nova Scotian)
Mischief Night (October 30, United Kingdom)
Halloween (October 31)
Hop-tu-Naa (October 31, Manx)
Nutcrack Night (October 31, United Kingdom)
Guy Fawkes Day (November 5, United Kingdom)
Armistice Day (November 11, United States)
Hollantide (November 11, Cornish)
Remembrance Day (November 11, Commonwealth of Nations)
Veteran’s Day (November 11, United States)
Thanksgiving (Last Thursday of November, United States)
Holidays or Traditions Occurring during Samhain in the Southern Hemisphere:
religious
Easter and Passover (on years when they take place in late April)
Pentecost and Shavuot (on years when they take place in late May)
secular
Earth Day (April 22)
Anzac Day (Australia and New Zealand, April 25)
Mother’s Day (many Southern Hemisphere countries celebrate the second Sunday of May)