Embracing the dark: Samhain rituals and reflections
Celebrating Samhain: the end of the harvest and the arrival of the dark half of the year
Date: 31st October
Direction/Element: West and the element of Water: emotion, intuition, healing, and the subconscious
Themes: ancestors, fire, gratitude, the dark half of the year
Late autumn, for me, feels like a slow unravelling; the days shorten, the air is crisp (especially when you live on a boat!) and the last signs of summer fade away. The arrival of Samhain really invites us to lean into darkness and a world where veils thin and whispers of the unseen draw closer.
If you’re new here, I’m Laura, a counsellor, therapist, a nature therapist and a space holder. I’ve been curating and sharing playlists around the Celtic Pagan Wheel of the Year for some time now. Each time the wheel turns I update my post and playlist from the previous year. This is always a really interesting exercise in observing my own repeating themes and cycles. For an overview of The Wheel of the Year you can check out this post.
In this post you’ll find:
an overview of Samhain and its themes
reflections about the energy of this season
a somatic journey to explore
a playlist and journal prompts to support you
Samhain celebrations: honouring the darkness
Samhain (pronounced Sah-win) is one of the eight festivals on the Wheel of the Year and it’s origins are rooted in Ireland. It’s traditionally observed on October 31st, though some honour it on November 8th, which is the halfway point between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice. This is one of my favourite Celtic celebrations. It marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the dark half of the year. I love the sense of turning inward, along with the invitation to rest. As the world becomes colder and darker, can we find a space to connect with the darkness, while bringing in the light we need to sustain us?
Many of the customs we now associate with Halloween have their roots in Samhain ritual and the belief that the veil between the physical world and the spirit world is at its thinnest. Traditions include lighting bonfires to ward off darkness and wearing costumes to confuse wandering spirits.
The foundations of Samhain
As well as the turning seasons, The Wheel of the Year is shaped by the four sacred directions and their elements. This festival takes place in the heart of autumn and is associated with the direction of the West; the realm of emotions, intuition and the unseen. This point of the Wheel is connected to the element of Water, which is associated with intuition, dreams and the ancestral realm.
Archetypal energies of this season themes include the Cailleach; the Crone goddess of winter, transformation and decay. She strips the last leaves from the trees, bringing death to the land but she does so as a necessary act to make space for new life in the spring. The Cailleach reminds us that endings are sacred and decay is not something to fear.
The archetypes of The Crone, or The Sage as a non-gendered alternative, embody wisdom, transformation and the acceptance of endings as part of the cycle of life. These archetypes represent the truth seeker who has journeyed through life’s trials and now carries the gifts of clarity, discernment and perspective. Whether you connect with The Sage or The Crone, this archetypal energy invites us to release what no longer serves us, honour what has passed and to acknowledge the wisdom we hold. Strength comes from knowing that endings are not failures.
For a full list of pagan holidays and pagan festivities check out my post about The Wheel of the Year.
The veil is thin: a time for ancestral connection
One of the most meaningful aspects of this season for me is the opportunity to honour our ancestors. Ancestors aren’t only those we’re related to by blood. Our ancestors include the land itself, the plants and animals we share the Earth with, the people who once worked this land, our teachers and their teachers. Ancestry includes the traditions we carry, the songs we sing, the stories we hold; all passed down from somewhere, through someone.
If your relationship with your bloodline is complicated or painful, you can still connect with the ancestors of the land beneath your feet, or with a teacher or a mentor. I have shared some deeper reflections in this post about ancestry beyond blood lines.
Ritual and ceremony provide a beautiful doorway into deeper connection. If you’d like to explore ancestor connection and Samhain, the following embodied practice, from my Sacred Somatic Journeys series, will be supportive. This collection is an invitation to rekindle your relationship with ritual and the living Earth, no screens or travel required.
If you’re drawn to archetypal practice, you might like to explore my Autumn Embodied Archetype journey and The Myth of Persephone:. You’ll find it on my Sacred Somatic Journeys page. You’re also welcome to join my newsletter to receive two complimentary practices to begin your journey.
Step into the rhythms of autumn with Honouring the Ancestors, an audio-guided somatic ceremony that invites you to connect with ancestry in all its forms, from bloodlines to the land, traditions, and communities that shape us. When family roots feel distant, painful, or unclear, this practice opens a pathway to belonging, presence, and lineage awareness.
Through embodied invitations, somatic awareness, and ceremonial practice, you’ll enter a sacred circle, call in the elements, and listen deeply through your body. This ritual encourages connection with both the seen and unseen, helping you feel your place within the living web of life and the ancestral energies that hold you.
Duration: 70-minute guided audio. Allow time afterward for reflection and integration.
Your practice includes:
MP3 audio guided journey
PDF companion with the full script, reflection prompts, and guidance for creating your ritual space
This journey is perfect for those seeking ancestral connection, somatic meditation, seasonal ritual, embodied practice, and presence-based spiritual work, offering a profound way to honour the past while grounding yourself in the present.
Leaning into the darkness
I don’t know about you, but I can feel the weight and depth of this season as I write this. 2025 has been another challenging year both for me and for lots of people around me. This time feels like a sacred pause. A moment to close out cycles, to tend to what's been and to prepare for the long exhale of winter. It's an opportunity to say goodbye to what is no longer needed, and to honour all that we’ve carried, survived and learned.
I’ll be marking this celebration with friends around the fire and as part of this I’ll be taking some time to connect with my ancestors. To support you to do the same and to explore the energy of this beautiful festival, here are some prompts that you might like to reflect on. You can also use the playlist below as a background for ritual, breath work or meditation. You can find some guidance about how to practice breathwork here and check out this post for inspiration for Samhain rituals.
Reflective prompts: what have you harvested this year that you’d like to celebrate?
What do you notice when you connect with the idea of ancestors?
Is there anything you’re holding on to in terms of your relationships with those who have passed?
What have you harvested this year that you’d like to celebrate?
What are you letting go of as we move into winter?
How do you feel about welcoming in the dark?
What is ready to be laid down?
Who or what am I ready to honour?
What wisdom lives in this darkness?
Whether you’re celebrating this time with community, in solitude, or simply feeling your way through the season, may it be a time of deep connection, gentle reflection and quiet magic. If you’d like to explore ways to bring more ritual into your life check out this post. You might also want to check out this post about moving through Autumn.
