By the time October rolls around, I’m usually exhausted. Summers are always jam-packed, both socially and professionally, and even though I’m a health & wellness writer, I still struggle with burning the candle from both ends. That’s why I always look forward to Samhain, the spiritual festival on October 31st that ushers in the darker part of the year, and serves as the inspiration for modern Halloween. 🍂
While Halloween leans heavily on consumerism, chaos, and a bit of demonizing, Samhain is an ancient Celtic festival that honors stillness, reflection, and yes, death. It’s a more intentional, philosophical look at this time of year. In our fast-paced, production-driven culture, the idea of honoring stillness feels radical. But Samhain invites us to do just that: to slow down, to listen to what’s falling away, and to celebrate the quiet wisdom that lives within the dark.
“While Halloween leans heavily on consumerism, chaos, and a bit of demonizing, Samhain is an ancient Celtic festival that honors stillness, reflection, and yes, death.”
So on October 31st, if you’d like to add a dash of ritual and mysticism to your spooky festivities, perhaps you can find some grounding in these ancient traditions, which invite reflection and renewal as the year turns.
What Is Samhain?
Samhain (pronounced SOW-in) falls halfway between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice, making it one of the great cross-quarter festivals in Celtic tradition. The name “Samhain” comes from the old Irish word meaning “summer’s end.” As such, it marks the final harvest and the initial descent into the darker half of the year.
“The name ‘Samhain’ comes from the old Irish word meaning ‘summer’s end.’”
During this time of year, farmers brought in the last of the crops, and livestock were culled to ensure the tribe’s (and the herd’s) survival through the cold season. This is also why the full moon of October is typically called the Hunter’s Moon.
In line with the harvest of livestock, death is another consistent theme at Samhain. As the nights grew longer, the veil between energetic planes was believed to grow thin. This allowed spirits and ancestors to communicate more freely among the living. Now, I’d like to make an important distinction here. This “thinning of the veil” wasn’t seen as a dreaded, devil-induced heyday. While it’s true that there were believed to be malevolent spirits, death was understood as a transformation, a continuation, and an essential part of life’s rhythm.
“In ancient spiritual practices worldwide, ancestors who had passed were honored as active members in the ongoing story of the community.”
In ancient spiritual practices worldwide, ancestors who had passed were honored as active members in the ongoing story of the community. They were messengers who could bring wisdom and protection from beyond. Some believed they even acted as ambassadors for their people in the spirit world, currying favor with the elements and the divine. To honor this relationship, communities used Samhain as a time to create offerings and ask for insight or blessings as they entered the long winter months.
All this to say, Samhain was, and still is, an invitation to remember that life and death are interwoven. One constantly begets the other. Summers end. Leaves fall. And, though it may be painful, death and darkness are an inevitable part of life. But the good news is, there is always a spring on the horizon.
Samhain and modern Halloween
Over time, Samhain’s earth-based traditions began to shift as Christianity spread across Europe. As the church sought to integrate existing pagan festivals into the Christian calendar, we were given All Saints’ Day on November 1, with the evening before becoming known as All Hallows’ Eve.
While Samhain was a festival of reverence, All Hallows’ Eve evolved into one of hedonism. Samhain centered around connection: with the land, the ancestors, and the rhythms of birth and decay. The All Hallows’ Eve narrative, by contrast, leaned toward chaos. It was a night when demons and devils ran wild before the saints faithfully restored order the next day. This shift speaks to something profound about how we’ve come to see darkness. Where Samhain found divinity in the shadows, Puritanical culture often cast the dark as dangerous, something to fear and conquer.
“This shift speaks to something profound about how we’ve come to see darkness.”
Over the centuries, this has softened into what we now know as Halloween. There are still threads of revelry (racauos parties, all-you-can-eat candy, etc.), but beneath the costumes and candy, the threads of Samhain remain. Reconnecting with that origin story allows us to reclaim the heart of this season. Beneath the plastic skeletons and pumpkin spice, Samhain reminds us that honoring stillness is part of honoring life. It teaches us to see the sacred in endings and to discover beauty in the turning of the year. And though our connections to nature and our heritage may have waned over the centuries, it’s never too late to pick them back up. The wisdom is still there, encoded in your DNA, your circadian rhythm, and your intuition.
Ways to celebrate Samhain in 2025
Samhain is rich with tradition, but you don’t need elaborate rituals to honor it. What matters most is intention. Here are a few ways to celebrate.
1. Create a Samhain altar
Building an altar is one of the simplest and most beautiful ways to honor Samhain. Choose a small, quiet space in your home. Fireplace mantles and bookshelves make for fabulous altars. Begin with an altar cloth, perhaps in black or orange. Black is for protection and honoring the mysteries of the dark. Orange is for the harvest. Add candles to represent a balance between light and dark, and for vibes, obviously.
Next, you can decorate your altar with natural elements that reflect the turning of the year: bones, antlers, stones, and fallen leaves. For crystals, obsidian and onyx are traditional choices. Both offer grounding and energetic protection. You might also include family heirlooms or photographs, inviting the presence of your ancestors.
“Bring your decorative pumpkins and gourds to your altar as symbols of abundance and nourishment.”
Because Samhain marks the final harvest, food offerings are also appropriate — bring your decorative pumpkins and gourds to your altar as symbols of abundance and nourishment. Seasonal fruits like apples, pears, and pomegranates are also especially sacred now, each representing life’s sweetness and impermanence. You might also add hazel, thistle, or grains.
Once your altar is complete, be sure to spend time with it. You can meditate or journal in front of it, or simply take a few moments of recognition and reflection as you walk past it. These spaces remind us to keep our spiritual practice ingrained in our everyday life, not separate from it.
2. Honor your ancestors
We inherit so much from our families — their stories, their strengths, their patterns, and their pain. When we take time to honor our heritage, we draw power directly from our roots. Likewise, when we can forgive them, we send healing both forward and backward. This soothes generations past and frees us to move through the world with greater compassion and strength.
For this practice, I invite you to broaden your view of ancestry: Think beyond the family members you knew personally and reach further back. Imagine the countless lives that shaped your lineage long before you arrived. These are the people whose resilience carried you here. Their endurance and love are part of your DNA.
“I invite you to broaden your view of ancestry: Think beyond the family members you knew personally and reach further back.”
To begin, create a small, intentional space for reflection. Your Samhain altar, perhaps. Place a few photographs, heirlooms, or meaningful objects that represent your heritage or where your family came from. If you don’t have any physical items, you can write your family name on paper or find an image of your ancestral homeland.
Light a candle, sit before your altar, take a few deep breaths, and settle. Close your eyes and imagine your ancestors gathered around you, standing beside you in quiet support. Feel the strength of your familial foundation, stretching behind you for thousands of years. You might whisper a few words of thanks, share something you’ve learned this year, or ask for guidance in an area where you seek clarity.
If there’s tension or grief in your family, this can also be a time to offer forgiveness. This is not to excuse harm, but to release its hold on you. You can write a short letter addressed to someone you have a particular grievance with, expressing what you’re ready to let go of and what you wish to carry forward. When you’re finished, you can burn or bury the note as an offering of peace and transformation.
Be aware that this work may evoke deep, sometimes painful emotions. Welcome those feelings. They are part of the healing process. Be gentle and patient with yourself. You’re not just remembering your ancestors; you’re helping to heal them, and in doing so, you’re healing yourself.
3. Jack O’Lanterns
No symbol is more synonymous with this season than the Jack O’Lantern. This tradition, too, traces back to the rituals of Samhain. Long before modern Halloween decorations, people carved protective symbols into turnips, beets, and other root vegetables to ward off mischievous spirits wandering through the village. These were then placed outside homes to light the way for friendly souls and to discourage the trickster energies of the night.
“This tradition, too, traces back to the rituals of Samhain.”
Today, you can bring the same spirit of intention to your own carving. Instead of a simple face, you might carve sigils, ancient symbols, or patterns that represent wisdom, strength, or safe passage through the darker months ahead. And don’t forget the seeds! You can roast them for a nourishing snack, savoring the earth’s final harvest, or leave them outside as offerings to the wildlife who share this turning season with you.
4. Practice a releasing ritual
Like our ancestors cutting their fields, we too can take this time to examine what we’re ready to preserve and what we’re ready to release. This is a metaphoric culling, a way to honor the parts of your life that nourish you and to gently let go of what no longer serves your highest good.
You’ll need a journal, a candle, and either a small fireproof bowl or a patch of earth outside for this ritual. Begin by lighting your candle and taking a few slow breaths. Feel yourself settle. Open your journal and begin by reflecting on the past year. Write freely, without judgment, maybe using these prompts to guide you:
- What do I need to let go of at this time that’s no longer serving my highest good?
- How can I prioritize more stillness and presence moving forward into the winter?
“As you write, notice what rises to the surface — themes, emotions, attachments, even fatigue. This is your harvest.”
As you write, notice what rises to the surface — themes, emotions, attachments, even fatigue. This is your harvest. Some of what you uncover may be worth preserving; some may be ready to decompose. When you feel finished, read your words and underline the phrases or lessons you want to carry forward. These are your stores for winter. This is the wisdom and gratitude that will sustain you in the darker months.
Then, on a separate piece of paper, write down the things you’re ready to release: fears, habits, expectations, or old versions of yourself. This is your offering to the dark. Take your paper and either burn it carefully in your bowl or bury it in the earth, trusting that what you release will transform into something fertile and new.
Sierra Vandervort is a writer and yoga teacher based in Portland, Oregon. When she’s not writing about wellness, culture, or travel, you can find her at a concert, reading a good book, or hiking in the beautiful PNW. Say hi on Instagram or Substack!
The post What Is Samhain? And How To Celebrate It For 2025 appeared first on The Good Trade.