A Traditional Samhain

Greetings MoonChildren,

With Autumn fast approaching I'm seeing an awful lot of downbeat social media posts in regards to Halloween being 'cancelled'. For me, Halloween is usually an extremely busy time of year as I am planning and decorating for our annual Halloween Party. We decorate the entire front garden, walkway and covenstead in the back garden (see my youtube video's for last years' walkthrough) and all of the neighbourhood children visit to collect their candy and gaze in amazement at the decorations which take us around two months to complete.

Although I thoroughly enjoy this tradition and love seeing the faces of the children, I feel like I am struggling to cram in a meaningful Samhain ritual and there are always undertones of guilt on what is meant to be deeply traditional night.

Due to my little boy having cystic fibrosis we won't be able to throw our traditional Halloween bash and will be keeping him safely indoors. So this year, although the coronavirus is truly devastating, I take heart in the fact that I finally get to reclaim the tradition, whilst simultaneously taking into account the fun of the evening for the little ones.

This year I plan to decorate my front garden and walkway in the traditional pumpkin patch/graveyard theme so the children still have a display to enjoy but rather than the Sanderson sisters serving up the candy (our usual costume theme), this year it will be creeps the prop butler serving up the candy next to the front door. 

  I will be inside with those I love, serving up a traditional feast of the dead (a pork roast with seasonal gourds and vegetables). I will set a place for my ancestors and those who have passed who I wish to honour. I will make Samhain cakes and hold a seance with my family coven, sorrounded by candles and Jack o lanterns. We will light candles to honour the death of the God as he goes back to the Earth, in preparation to be reborn at Yule. There will be chanting, singing, dancing and thanks for all which we have been blessed with during this turn of the wheel.

I wanted to share my plans with my customers as I am seeing so many despondent posts. This year is the first of many that I have been truly excited to celebrate a traditional Samhain with no time constraints and I am quite honestly looking forward to it more than I have in many years. I hope that you will join me, embrace the arcane magick of the night and do the same!

If you're looking for Autumn recipes, take a look at my Autumn Recipe blog post from a few years ago..there are lots of lovely things to make and enjoy on Samhain night.

Love, Magick and Bright Blessings

Leanne xx