Samhain - Tumblr Posts
Cat-Sìth | Scottish Folklore
If you have ever wondered why black cats are associated with Halloween, the cat-sìth/cait-sìth may be the reason.
They are described as giant black cats with a spot on their chests, an arched back, and long hair always standing upright and bristly.
“Elfin cats (cait shìth) are explained to be of a wild, not a domesticated, breed, to be as large as dogs, of a black colour, with a white spot on the breast, and to have arched backs and erect bristles” “Superstitions of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland” by John Gregorson Campbell (1900)
On Samhain(the early version of Halloween), when the cat-sìth was said to roam around, many families would leave out a bowl of milk to keep in the cat-sìth‘s good favour. If you did that, you would be blessed, if you forgot, you would be cursed.
As well as that, some people in the Scottish highlands were often fearful of the cat-sìth stealing the souls of the recently dead and carrying them away to the otherworld, so people would stand watch over their loved one until they could be buried. This was called Feil Fadalach or Late Wake. Essentially, this involved a large number of activities to distract the cat-sìth, such as games, dancing, contests, riddles, and even catnip spread over the house. All the fires in the room with the body would be put out, since cats like warmth (though this would also help keep the body from decomposing as quickly).
Eventually, a change of beliefs changed the cat-sìth from a fairy, into a witch. The myth that cats have nine lives is said to come from the fact that a witch could transform to a cat exactly 8 times. If she did it a 9th time, she would be a cat forever.
High-landers commonly explained the cat síth as a transformed witch, not a fairy. A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology
The cat-sìth is not to be confused with Big Ears, the demonic god of the cats. He was said to be even bigger and more ferocious.
“But Big Ears was a monstrous demon cat who had only a slight connection with the Cait Sith.” “A Encyclopedia of Fairies” by Katharine Briggs (Published in 1976)
That is a story I won’t be covering, because I think it will be too troubling for people. Putting it bluntly, there was a belief that if you brutally tortured a certain number of cats to death in a certain way(known as the taghairm), Big Ears would appear, and grant you wishes in return for your soul.
Pumpkin Spice Magick
As you eat or drink seasonal treats, think of the magickal properties they may hold 🎃
☆ cinnamon - high vibrations, draws abundance and attraction, increases energy of intentions
☆ ginger - Stimulates prosperity and healing, and brings passion and vigor
☆ nutmeg - for protection and meditation, attracts money and luck, helps with sleep
☆ allspice - adds energy and determination to intentions, uplifting and healing
☆ cloves - Stimulates the mind, relaxes the body and supports confidence, good for safe travel and protection
All these spices have a powerful shared element of fire, which helps boosts our courage and to banish negativity!
Sabbats Masterpost
The History of Samhain
Samhain Facts
Samhain Correspondences
Samhain Crystals
Samhain Colors
Samhain Plants
Samhain Incense & Oils
Samhain Animals
Samhain Foods
Samhain Ritual & Magick
Samhain Deities
Samhain Altar Ideas
Samhain Activities
Last Minute Samhain Ideas
—————————————-
The History of Mabon
Mabon Facts
Mabon Correspondences
Mabon Crystals
Mabon Colors
Mabon Plants
Mabon Oils & Incense
Mabon Animals
Mabon Foods
Mabon Ritual & Magick
Mabon Deities
Mabon Altar
Mabon Activities
Last Minute Mabon Ideas
———————————–
Lughnasadh/Lammas History
Lughnasadh/Lammas Facts
Lughnasadh/Lammas Correspondences
Lughnasadh/Lammas Crystals
Lughnasadh/Lammas Colors
Lughnasadh/Lammas Plants
Lughnasadh/Lammas Incense & Oils
Lughnasadh/Lammas Animals
Lughnasadh/Lammas Food
Lughnasadh/Lammas Ritual & Magick
Lughnasadh & Lammas Deities
Lughnasadh & Lammas Altar Ideas
Lughnasadh & Lammas Activities
Last minute Lammas Ideas
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Litha History
Litha Facts
Litha Correspondences
Litha Crystals
Litha Incense & Oils
Litha Colors
Litha Plants
Litha Animals
Litha Foods
Litha Deities
Litha Altar Ideas
Litha Ritual & Magick
Litha Activities
Last Minute Litha Ideas
—————————————–
The History of Beltane
Beltane Facts
Beltane Correspondences
Beltane Incense & Oils
Beltane Colors
Beltane Crystals
Beltane Plants
Beltane Animals
Beltane Altar
Beltane Food
Beltane Deities
Beltane Ritual & Magick
Beltane Activities
Last Minute Beltane Ideas
———————————-
Ostara History
Ostara Facts
Ostara Correspondences
Ostara Colors
Ostara Crystals
Ostara Incense & Oils
Ostara Plants
Ostara Animals
Ostara Food
Ostara Altar Ideas
Ostara Ritual & Magick
Ostara Deities
Ostara Activities
Last Minute Ostara Ideas
—————————–
The History of Imbolc
Imbolc Facts
Imbolc Correspondenses
Imbolc Colors
Imbolc Crystals
Imbolc Incense & Oils
Imbolc Plants
Imbolc Animals
Imbolc Food
Imbolc Altar
Imbolc Ritual & Magick
Imbolc Deities
Imbolc Activities
Last Minute Imbolc Ideas
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The History of Yule
Yule Facts
Yule Correspondences
Yule Crystals
Yule Colors
Yule Plants
Yule Incense & Oils
Yule Animals
Yule Foods
Yule Ritual & Magick
Yule Deities
Yule Altar
Yule Activities
Last Minute Yule Ideas
🎃Samhain🎃
Is the third and last harvest of the year. Samhain is the end of warm days and start of the darker half of the year. Nights will get long and colder. The spiritual veil between our world and the spiritual world will be at its thinnest on the 31st. Samhain is the night the dead can walk around the earth.
Activities:
🍂 make a pumpkin pie
🍂 carve a pumpkin
🍂 press leaves in books
🍂 decorate your alter with leaves and pinecones
🍂 make apple cider
🍂 make a broom
🍂 collect pinecones and acorns
🍂 make a wreath
🍂 dress up in a costume
🍂 read scary stories
🍂 light Orange, purple, and Black candles
🍂 hand out candy
Correspondences:
🎃 Animals: bat, spider, fox, raven, crow, and dog
🍁 Colors: black, purple, orange, and green
🎃 Crystals: amethyst, smokey quartz, onyx, jet, malachite, and black tourmaline
🍁 Herbs: mugswort, yarrow, allspice, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and rosemary
🎃 Food: apple, pumpkin, squash, soup, pie, cider, and corn
🍁 Inscense/oils: cedar, sandalwood, sage, rosemary, clove, and cinnamon
🎃 Gods: yama, hades, apollo, and herne
🍁 Godesses: freya, hel, hecate, demeter
🎃 Spells: spirit work, ambition, protection, ancestor work, and banishing
”The ritual was complete..
The end came quickly
As The Four Horsemen
Galloped across the autumn sky
And the seas turned into poison..
As fire rain down from above
And the dead rose from their graves..
It was the final Samhain..”🎃
samhain's barely started and already I'm smelling smoked bread and red wine in a high school
Samhain
Activities
Put up wards to keep out unwanted spirits
Put jars of salt by your door to protect your home
Sprinkle some salt in your mouth right before you go to bed to protect your dreams
Light candles to help guide spirits
Tell stories of dead relatives and friends
Write about the dead in your book of shadows
Give offerings to your ancestors
Pray at your altar
Cleanse your space with incense
Drink hot drinks
Bake bread or pies
Add fall recipes to your book of shadows
Paint and decorate pumpkins
Contact spirits through divination
Ask for advice from your ancestors
Be thankful for the food you have
Dust and tidy your altar
Look at pictures of deceased loved ones
Dress in fall colors
Go for a walk in nature, observe the leaves turning. Consider the cycles of life and death that govern our world.
Light a bonfire/small fire (safely!) and burn papers with things that no longer serve you, that you cannot afford to take into winter.
Make an offering to your deities or ancestors
Make food with seasonal ingredients symbolic of the final harvest: squashes, pumpkins, grains, apples, spices. Even wine, if you’re allowed to drink.
Prepare your home and yourself for the coldest part of the year. Redo protection spells, clean out clutter, develop sustaining spells for winter.
Reflect on the past year. What did you lose? What people left your life, what things no longer hold meaning for you? How did you change as a person?
Work with various forms of divination, like runes, pendulums, tea leaves, or tarot.
If you do work with ouija boards you better be SUPER DUPER careful. Do not neglect protections, and if you feel uncomfortable, stop, protection spells and cleanse, cleanse, cleanse.
Give some time or money to a cause you’re passionate about. If your harvest is abundant, give back to those who were not so fortunate.
Colors
Black
Orange
Brown
Gold
Scarlet
Animals
Bat
Boar
Cat
Cow
Dog
Crow
Crystals
Jet
Obsidian
Amber
Carnelian
Fossils
Onyx
Sandstone
Turquoise
Bloodstone
Herbs and Flowers
Acorn
Angelica
Broom
Catnip
Deadly Nightshade
Dittany
Hazel
Heather
Mandrake
Mugwort
Oak leaves
Sage
Straw
Wormwood
Trees
Apple
Beech
Blackthorn
Locust
Pomegranate
Willow
Witch Hazel
Yew
Foods
Soul bread (I recommend putting something on it, it can be bland)
Roast turkey or chicken
Venison
Rice
Cod
Sea Bass
Lamb
Duck
Scallops
Oysters
Mussels
Apples
Pears
Grapes
Citrus
Pomegranate
Eggplant
Tomato
Fig
Brussel Sprouts
Kale
Pumpkin
Squash
Mushroom
Broccoli
Plumbs
Cranberries
Ginger
Peaches
Cabbage
Key limes
Passion Fruit
Radishes
Chestnuts
Beets
Fruit Pies
Fruit Cobblers
Apple Cake
Spice Cakes
Apple Cider
Hard Cider
Pumpkin spice Latte
Hot Cocoa
Apple Juice
Adult Appel Juice (wine)
Mulled Wine
Mulled Cider
Grape Juice
Chai Tea or Latte
Herbal Teas
Deities
Arawn
Belenus
Dagda
Hades
Loki
Odin
Pluto
Badb
Banba
Cailleach
Durga
Hecate
Hel
Inanna
Ishtar
Kali
Morrigan
Rhiannon
Horned God
Spells
Write a list of things you want to release and burn it
Light candles to help guide and honor spirits
Practice Spirit work
Samhain Divination
Family Meals with a place for the dead
Meditate and Reflect
Other names
All Saints Day
All Hallows Eve
Halloween
Incense/EO
Sage
Pumpkin
Patchouli
Myrrh
Straw
Flax
Wheat
Corn
Rosemary
Nutmeg
Allspice
"SAH-WEN"??? (Samhain)
It's that time of year again! It's October, the leaves are turning colors, the pumpkin spice craze is back. Yes, Samhain!
So first... yes it's pronounced Sah-wen, but I can't help but say it in my head as Sam-hayne, sue me.
What is Samhain?
Samhain is one of four ancient Fire Festivals that many witches, druids, and pagans alike celebrate. Samhain is on October 31st and November 1st in between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. It marks the end of harvest season and the beginning of winter. This is also the ancient Celts' New Year day. It is also a time to celebrate the dead or ancestors. They believed that the veil between worlds was thinnest on this day.
Where Did Samhain Originate?
Ancient Celts were the folks who are first recorded to celebrate Samhain, hence it's name being an old Gaelic name. However, Celtic revivalists and other pagans have helped the holiday gain more popularity over the years.
What are Some Samhain Traditions?
The oldest traditions of Samhain involve putting out the hearth's fire in their homes, harvesting crops, and lighting a community bonfire. They did this by using a wheel that which would then cause friction and spark a fire. This wheel represented the sun and was used along with prayers. They would offer sacrifices of cattle and when the festival was over, take a flame form the community fire home with them to relight their own hearth.
More modern tradition include:
Bonfires
Creating Alters for the dead or for associated deities
Creating Feasts
Making Pastries
Communing with Spirits
and more!
Can I Celebrate Samhain?
Despite what some people (though very few) will tell you, anyone of any origin can celebrate Samhain! Just be sure to educate yourself and don't disrespect the ancient tradition or deities involved in this sacred holiday.
Associations:
(These are not Traditional associations, they are modern pagan associations)
Revision!!! : Cailleach, the divine hag (literally means old woman or hag) and goddess of winter is very important during this time since she is in charge of the weather from Samhain to Beltane. I encourage you to look deeper into her as she is very interesting! You can read more about her here and I will make a whole post about her eventually!
Deities: The Morrigan is one of the main deities associated with this day, however, over the years as paganism has become a melting pot of pantheons, people have also considered other gods to be associated with the holiday such as: Pomona, Cernunnos, Anubis, Odin, Osiris, and Hecate to name a few.
Colors: Red, yellow, orange, most warm colors, black
Herbs: Mugwort, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Allspice, sandalwood, and dragon's blood.
Stones and Metals: Onyx, obsidian, tiger's eye, smoky quartz, ruby, copper, brass, Jet, black stones in general, darker red stones, etc.
Of course this is a list of the most common associations. If you have an item or god that you associate with the holiday you are more than welcome to celebrate with them! I am not one to gatekeep a holiday. :)
Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!
"SAH-WEN"??? (Samhain)
It's that time of year again! It's October, the leaves are turning colors, the pumpkin spice craze is back. Yes, Samhain!
So first... yes it's pronounced Sah-wen, but I can't help but say it in my head as Sam-hayne, sue me.
What is Samhain?
Samhain is one of four ancient Fire Festivals that many witches, druids, and pagans alike celebrate. Samhain is on October 31st and November 1st in between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. It marks the end of harvest season and the beginning of winter. This is also the ancient Celts' New Year day. It is also a time to celebrate the dead or ancestors. They believed that the veil between worlds was thinnest on this day.
Where Did Samhain Originate?
Ancient Celts were the folks who are first recorded to celebrate Samhain, hence it's name being an old Gaelic name. However, Celtic revivalists and other pagans have helped the holiday gain more popularity over the years.
What are Some Samhain Traditions?
The oldest traditions of Samhain involve putting out the hearth's fire in their homes, harvesting crops, and lighting a community bonfire. They did this by using a wheel that which would then cause friction and spark a fire. This wheel represented the sun and was used along with prayers. They would offer sacrifices of cattle and when the festival was over, take a flame form the community fire home with them to relight their own hearth.
More modern tradition include:
Bonfires
Creating Alters for the dead or for associated deities
Creating Feasts
Making Pastries
Communing with Spirits
and more!
Can I Celebrate Samhain?
Despite what some people (though very few) will tell you, anyone of any origin can celebrate Samhain! Just be sure to educate yourself and don't disrespect the ancient tradition or deities involved in this sacred holiday.
Associations:
(These are not Traditional associations, they are modern pagan associations)
Revision!!! : Cailleach, the divine hag (literally means old woman or hag) and goddess of winter is very important during this time since she is in charge of the weather from Samhain to Beltane. I encourage you to look deeper into her as she is very interesting! You can read more about her here and I will make a whole post about her eventually!
Deities: The Morrigan is one of the main deities associated with this day, however, over the years as paganism has become a melting pot of pantheons, people have also considered other gods to be associated with the holiday such as: Pomona, Cernunnos, Anubis, Odin, Osiris, and Hecate to name a few.
Colors: Red, yellow, orange, most warm colors, black
Herbs: Mugwort, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Allspice, sandalwood, and dragon's blood.
Stones and Metals: Onyx, obsidian, tiger's eye, smoky quartz, ruby, copper, brass, Jet, black stones in general, darker red stones, etc.
Of course this is a list of the most common associations. If you have an item or god that you associate with the holiday you are more than welcome to celebrate with them! I am not one to gatekeep a holiday. :)
Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!
Appeasing the old gods.
᚛ᚄᚐᚋᚆᚐᚔᚅ ᚄᚆᚑᚅᚐ ᚇᚒᚔᚈ᚜
A Happy Halloween from Wrought Rot, may the nights stay wicked and your homes unbroken for these times are twisted and the dead have awoken.
SAMHAIN MASTERPOST
When is Samhain? October 31st to November 1st. It is the halfway point between the Autumn equinox and Winter solstice!
What is Samhain? A sabbat marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of the darker half of the year. It is also a time to pay respects to and remember the dead. It is also sometimes called the “Witches New Year.”
Activities to celebrate Samhain may include, but are certainly not limited to:
Taking a nature walk to enjoy the last bits of the harvest season before the cold sets in.
Decorating your home with seasonal decor and autumnal colors (foods of harvest like corn, acorns, pumpkins etc. make good decor)
Set up an altar to honor your ancestors
Prepare a nice dinner and set places for those who have passed
Tell stories about those who have passed with shared loved ones
Visit the cemetery for your own loved ones and for those who do not have anyone left who remember them
Hold a seance
Any type of divination/divinatory guidance
Join the community! No need to celebrate the entirety of the holiday with others as Samhain is probably the most private of all the Sabbats, but hosting or attending a ritual or feast can’t hurt anything.
Foods/Herbs/Spices associated with Samhain:
allspice berries
broom
catnip
mountain ash berries
mugwort
mullein
oak leaves
rosemary
sage
pine cones
straw
corn
turnips
apples
gourds
nuts
mulled Wines
beef
pork
poultry.
I hope you all have an amazing Samhain, and I also hope you are just as excited as I am for the new season!
~ My first ever Samhain! ~
I LOVED it!!! :D I made a Samhain Envelope inspired by @witchy-woman ‘s post here! (mine mostly just altered a few things cause I don’t have much witchy stuff just yet. Plus I added some stuff for fun!)
You can do this even when it’s not Samhain - use it anytime you want to start fresh :) If anyone’s actually reading this, here’s what I did!
-First I took an envelope (soaked in tea and coffee grounds for color and the effects of the tea/coffee), and filled it with some herbs (ginger, cloves, black pepper, sage, and zest from an orange - refer to the insp post for the uses of these) for a spell to banish negativity and bring positive new beginnings for the witchy new year!
-Next I wrote a quick spell of negative things to let go of and leave behind in the new year (such as anxiety and overthinking keeping me from doing things I love), and burned it, collecting the ashes in the envelope. After that, I wrote a similar spell for things I want to let in and embrace (such as passion, inspiration, and motivation), and set it aside to charge.
-I used some crystals to cleanse negativity and darkness (hematite), bring peace and contentment (amethyst), help me with concentration and motivation (Tiger’s Eye), and allow me to experience joy and adventure (Citrine). I used these to charge the positive spell paper first, and again to charge the envelope once it was finished.
-After putting everything in the envelope, I sealed it with the candle wax while charging it with the crystals, repeated the spells and a couple chants I made for my intention, drew a sigil for Passion on the back, and passed it through the incense smoke.
-Then just leave it on the windowsill to soak up the moonlight and/or sunlight! Great spell for when the moon is waxing, so the intention can continue to grow throughout the new year :)
And voila! A beautiful spell jar for baby witches like me who don’t have jars yet :P
~Happy Samhain Everyone!~
been obsessed with this little man for years and today is no different