A Samhain Ancestral Ritual for Healing
We are in the time of the year known as Halloween, Samhain + All Saints Day. Samhain originates from Celtic + Neolithic people of ninth-century Ireland.
I celebrate Samhain as a way to honor deceased European ancestors rather than appropriating another culture’s tradition (such as Mexico’s Day of the Dead).
Samhain is an acknowledgment of our connection to those who came before us. The celebration begins the evening of October 31st and continues through the day of November 1st.
There are growing conversations in healing communities calling us to connect with ancestors who have both experienced healing or are in need of healing.
We may connect with people from our lineage who had similar wants, feelings, or desires for change to us in our lives today.
It is likely that people from your family lineage were outliers, rabble-rousers, activists in their own right, or healers in their communities.
During this “thin veil” time of year, we can support ourselves by thinking of family members, both known and imagined. We can use this reflective time to think about some of our most difficult and most celebrated traits, characteristics, and experiences.
While there are apps and services that connect us through our lineage, there are intuitive practices that allow us to create more emotional and cognitive connections with our ancestors.
This practice encourages you to make an altar to your ancestors. An altar is a space of time and intention. There is no wrong way to create an altar, but this guide will help give you some ideas on how to make one of your own.
How to Build an Altar
Find a space in your home or a place where you spend a great deal of your time. In this space, you may identify an area to host your altar could be a hearth, a shelf, a little corner of the floor in a room – feel free to be creative!
Decorate the platform you have designated as an altar. You may choose to cover the space with some kind of cloth such as a handkerchief, a blanket, or a bandana. A covering for the space may help to give it a bit of a container or parameter.
Some Ideas for Decor that Connects to Samhain + Autumn:
Photos or personal belongings of ancestors
Fall Foods + Seeds: Apples, Pumpkins, Gourds, Acorns, Nuts
Herbs: Wormwood, Mullein, Mugwort, Rosehips, St. Johns Wort
Stones: Carnelian, Obsidian
Other nature: Fall Foliage, Bark, Wood, Twigs
Candle in a color that reminds you of family or autumn
Any items that create a sense of connection to autumn + ancestral heritage are invited
Journal Integration
It is not the goal of this ritual to catapult you into an epiphany of enlightenment or to magically make everything make sense. The offering of this ritual is a moment to slow down, intentionally connect with yourself, and make a connection with something that is more expansive than you alone in this lifetime.
When we can feel connected to other beings (plants, animals, ancestors) it can sometimes alleviate the sense that we are alone in this world. In these complicated times, who couldn’t benefit from feeling a little more support?
Grab your journal and a pen and invite yourself to rest in a comfortable sitting position in front of your altar.
In this practice, you’re invited to do a full stream of consciousness. This means anything that comes into your mind – write it down. Even if it’s “I have no idea what to write, this is dumb” over and over. You’re encouraged just to put your thoughts to pen and paper.
When you’re ready, set a timer for 5 minutes and begin writing freely, with as little judgment as possible. Once the timer goes off, re-read your writing. Choose one sentence or idea that stands out to you or calls you the loudest.
Using that sentence or idea, write down anything that comes to your mind around the topic for another 5 minutes. Similarly, see if you can make the choice to not stop writing. Any and all things are allowed – we are creating space in your mind to connect more deeply.
Once the second timer goes off, we will repeat the previous process for one more round. Re-read the writing of your second session and choose the sentence or idea that jumps out to you the most. This is your prompt for the third set of writing.
Set the third timer for 5 minutes and write as freely as you can with this newest prompt as your guide.
Once the third timer goes off, you may choose to notice where your body is calling your attention once more. If it feels available, place a hand on this area and offer it some deep breathing.
You may choose to keep this altar up for several days as a reminder of your ritual experience.
You are also welcome to deconstruct it whenever you wish, knowing the alchemy you’ve created will last beyond the temporal existence of your altar space.
I hope you are able to find some support and connection through this practice.
Samhain blessings to all!
