Samhain (United Wiccan Church)

Public Service Announcement for Immediate Release

Samhain (pronounced saw-an), commonly referred to as Halloween, is a religious holiday celebrated by Wiccan and witch. The festival traditionally is a feast for the gathering of the family in love and remembrance. All the family including one's ancestors.

Wiccans do not regard physical death as an end but merely one more event in a continuing progress of the soul's in its path toward fulfillment of divine destiny. Because of these beliefs, it is only natural at this time of year to invite our beloved ancestors to remember and to celebrate with us.

If you do not find these beliefs in conflict with your own personal beliefs, please join us in the following ritual of thanksgiving and remembrance.

and know the Wisdom of the Lord.

Blessed Be.

The clergy and members of the United Wiccan Church.

After you have shared the bounty of your harvest with the children of your neighborhood (candy, etc) and the house has settled down for the night, disconnect or turn off your telephone so that this state of serenity will continue uninterrupted.

Prepare a special feast of whatever foods reminds you of a special departed friend or family member, or of past family gatherings. While you are preparing this feast think of all of the good times you had with them.

When the feast is prepared, set your holiday table with a special place of honor for the departed friend or family member.

Decorate the table and room as you would for a holiday dinner with the family, add those special things that are important to you and your family (flowers, candles,etc.) If you have a picture of the loved one, it is nice to place it at their place at the table.

Speak to that special person and invite them to join you in this celebration and time of remembrance. It is completely appropriate to say grace or offer any prayer that you feel is fitting.

The following is done in complete silence:

Serve the meal remembering to serve your honored guest (or guests) first. If wine or other alcoholic beverages are served, it is recommended that they be kept in moderation as you and your guests need to have a clear head.

Now sit down to the table with your loved ones and enjoy your feast. When you address them in your mind, always see them as well. (Try not to say in your mind, "if you can hear me...", etc.). After the meal, the time of silence is over. Do whatever you normally do at a family holiday gathering (clear the table, play games, sing songs, etc.). Enjoy the companionship.

When the evening is over, or in the morning if you wish to make it an all night party, thank your invited guests for being with you and for making your celebration a special one.

There are a few words of caution that we will offer.

If this ritual does not feel right for you, do not do it. Follow your instincts.
Remember that crossing over does not necessarily change a person, so if you could not get through a meal in peace with them while they were alive, you will probably have the same problem with their spirit.
Do not ask your guest to grant you wishes or do you favors. It is rude to invite a guest and then make it obvious that a favor is the reason they were asked, not because of love and respect. Spirits do not like rudeness! Besides, spirits often forget that you are limited in ways that they are not. If you ask them for $1,000, it may come as an insurance settlement after a painful break in your water pipe with all the delight in cleaning up the mess from ensuing water damage.

{file "Samhain Notes (Farrar)" "bos038.htm"}

Samhain Notes

The High Priestess wears her white tabard if she has one for the opening ritual, with the veil thrown back.

After the Witches' Rune, the High Priest and High Priestess take up their athames. He stands with his back to the altar, she faces him across the cauldron, They then simultaneously draw the Invoking Pentagram of Earth in the air with their athames towards each other, after which they lay down their athames; he on the altar, she by the cauldron.

The High Priestess scatters incense on the charcoal in the cauldron. When she is satisfied that it is burning, she stands still facing the High Priest across the cauldron. She then declaims (if needed, ask a man to bring one of the altar candles and hold it for her):

"Dread Lord of Shadows, God of Life, and the Giver of Life
Yet is the knowledge of thee, the knowledge of Death.
Open wide, I pray thee, the Gates through which all must pass.
Let our dear ones who have gone before
Return this night to make merry with us.
And when our time comes, as it must,
O thou the Comforter, the Consoler, the Giver of Peace and Rest,
We will enter thy realms gladly and unafraid;
For we know that when rested and refreshed among our dear ones
We will be reborn again by thy grace and the grace of the Great Mother.
Let it be in the same place and the same time as our beloved ones,
And may we meet, and know, and remember,
And love them again.
Descend, we pray thee, in thy servant and priest."

The High Priestess then walks around the cauldron and gives the High Priest the Five-fold Kiss.

She returns to her place and pulls the veil of her tabard over her face. She then calls on each woman, by name to come forward and give the High Priest the Five Fold Kiss.

When they have all done so, the coven forms up around the circle, alternating male and female with the Maiden next to the West candle. As soon as they are in place, the High Priestess says:

"Behold, the West is Amenti, the Land of the Dead, to which many of our loved ones have gone for rest and renewal. On this night, we hold communion with them; and as our Maiden stands in welcome by the Western gate, I call upon all of you, my brothers and sisters of the Craft, to hold the image of these loved ones in your hearts and minds, that our welcome may reach out to them. There is mystery within mystery; for the resting place between life and life is Caer Arianrhod, the Castle of the Silver Wheel, at the hub of the turning stars beyond the North Wind. Here reigns Arianrhod, the White Lady, whose name means Silver Wheel. To this, in spirit, we call our loved ones. And let the Maiden lead them, moving widdershins to the center. For the spiral path inward to Caer Arianhod leads to night, and rest, and is against the way of the Sun."

The Maiden should spiral into the center, taking three or four circuits to do so. During this time, the coven should maintain absolute silence and concentrate on welcoming their dead friends.

When she reaches the center, she faces the High Priestess across the cauldron. They touch palms and the High Priestess says:

"Those who you bring with you are truly welcome to our Festival. May they remain with us in peace. And you Maiden, return by the spiral path to stand with our brothers and sisters; but deosil for the way of rebirth, outwards from Caer Arianrhod, is the way of the Sun."

The women break contact and the Maiden returns to the West candle. When she is there, the High Priestess says:

"Let all approach the walls of the Castle."

Everyone moves in and sits in a close ring around the cauldron. The High Priestess renews the incense. Now is the time for communion with the dead. When finished scrying, the cauldron is placed next to the East candle.

The spirits of the dead must be thanked and released. The High Priestess leads the rest of the Coven in saying:

"We thank you our friends for visiting here this night. We bid you a pleasant repose in Caer Arianrhod. We also thank you, the Dread Lord of Shadows for taking care of them and giving them comfort."

The next thing to do is the Great Rite in some form.

Farrar, Janet and Stewart; "Eight Sabbats For Witches"; Robert Hale 1983

Transcribed to computer file by Seastrider

Index ~ Internet Book of Shadows