Samhain is on November 1st. Wiccans celebrate it on the evening of October 31st because Samhain more-or-less middles the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice, so Samhain is a time when the veil between this world and the next is “thinner.”
When the veil is thinner, civilizations are more prone to attacks by malevolent or trickster spirits; so it is customary to do some kind of cleansing ritual. Place black tourmaline in your house for protection from physical and spiritual danger.
It is also easier to practice divination. And apophyllite is good for connecting with the other side.
By now most people vaguely are aware that “Allhallowtide,” Halloween and the neo-Pagan holiday Samhain are connected. Some would venture to say that Catholics made All Saints or All Souls Day to persuade the pagans to become Christian; And that trick or treating originates from a Samhain tradition of impersonating fairies who would demand rewards for promising good fortune.
Allhallowtide is actually in the month of May; after the Pope’s endorsement of Allhallowtide in 609 AD, Irish priests independently developed their own traditions and placed All Saints Day on November 1st. From that point onward All Saints Day and Samhain influenced each other for hundreds of years and it is unclear which group introduced traditions such as making altars for deceased loved ones with offerings of food.
Samhain is a time when Wiccans celebrate the end of the harvest season and the beginning of Winter. Halloween isn’t traditionally thought of as an end of harvest holiday because in modernity we are removed from nature’s light cycles, the spirit realm and the concept of death.
You can realign yourself with the path of your ancestors, first and foremost by honoring them. Not only do people mimic fairies and feinds on Samhain, but the dead as well. Try to call forth the best traits your ancestors passed down to you, remind them that their good genes are alive and well in the world and their less desirable traits are dead.
Welcome death as a natural eventuality. Welcome death also as a friend who will come relieve your burden when the day is done. Let this awaken your consciousness and encourage yourself to pursue a life worth living.
Samhain is in the dark half of the year. Going on requires courage in the midst of the unknown and coming to terms with your worst fears. This parallels the concept of making light of or satirizing death in addition to respecting it that Dia De Los Muertos is known for.
Carry sunstone to carry sun energy around with you in the dark half of the year. Ancient celts lit hilltop fires mimicking the sun’s expansive and generous nature to “help the spirits of growth.” Sunstone embodies creativity and motivation. By obtaining sunstone your are making sure you have holiday cheer for the months to come.