A Ritual for Samhain

Author: Gordon Ireland

Paula & Gordon Ireland Proprietors
Earth Spirit Emporium: Books & Stuff
"Where Olde Traditions meet the New Age"

Samhain is a when the Spirit world is at it's closest to
our world. One of the many ways to honor this fact is:

to leave and offering by your back door.
Leave and empty place setting for a departed loved one and your dinner
table.

Samhain is one the favored of all the Sabbats by
pagans, and non-pagans alike, and as such should be celebrated with others.
The following ritual is designed with that in mind, with very liberal
borrowings from Starhawk and McCoy.

The following items will be needed:

One white candle
One black candle
Chalice (wine if appropriate)
Cakes (enough for all participants)
A list of those whom you wish to honor. Each person involved would have
their own list, to be shared at the proper time.
Four pumpkins to be used to make the four corners.

First purify and cast your circle according each particular tradition. Then
invoke the God and Goddess. Begin ceremony.

LEADER: (Enters the circle from the East, lighting the black candle.) Merry
Meet and Welcome. The Circle is open, yet unbroken. This is a time that is
not a time, in a place that is not a place, on a day that is not a day. We
stand at the gate between the living and the dead on this night when the
veil between the two worlds is the thinnest. We are here to witness the
death of the Holly King, the waning Sun God, the lover and husband of the
Crone Goddess. We, the (insert name here), welcome the Holly Lord

ALL: We welcome him. Lead us, Lord.

HOLLY KING: Follow me, I am here. (Group follows him in)

LEADER: Be our Guide

HOLLY KING: I am the Guide, the Way is open.

ALL: Be our Guide.

HOLLY KING: I am the Guide, the Way is clear.

ALL: Be our Guide.

HOLLY KING: I am the Guide, Death is no barrier.

ALL: Be our Guide.

(Pass cakes and wine.)

HOLLY KING: Follow me, for time is near. (Passes Chalice with wine. At this
time, each person, or those who want to, can read their own passage of
remembrance.)

HOLLY KING: What is remembered, lives.

ALL: What is remembered, lives.

HOLLY KING: What is forgotten, dies.

ALL: What is forgotten, dies.

HOLLY KING: What is remembered, lives.

ALL: We remember.

HOLLY KING: Death is a truth as is life, and just as life cannot last
forever, neither can death. You shall see me again, reborn, gaining in
strength and vibrancy. When it seems that the darkest has come, as the
Yuletide fades, under the stars, when it is my time again, you shall see me
born. Through me, all passes out of life. (Holly King extinguishes black
candle)

CRONE: (Enters, lights white candle) But through me, all may be born again.
The Holly King has shown me the way. Now, on this night of Samhain, at this
place and time between the veils.

ALL: Everything passes, changes.

CRONE: Seed becomes fruit.

ALL: Fruit becomes seed.

CRONE: In birth, we die.

ALL: On death, we feed.

CRONE: For my womb is the cauldron of rebirth. (Passes cakes)

ALL: In us, the circle is ever turning.

(Turn to our neighbors and say, "Blessed be.")

CRONE: Take me as yours, for winter is my time. We thank you, blessed
spirits and ancestors, for joining us. You shall not be forgotten any time
soon. (Extinguishes candle)

ALL: So do we accept you. So Mote it Be!

LEADER: The circle is closed.

Ceremony is over. All leave to the west.

Suggested Pdf Resources

Samhain Ritual by Selena Fox: Samhain Ritual by Selena Fox. The framework for this ritual began taking form twenty years ago.; www.circlesanctuary.org

Samhain Ancestors Ritual by Selena Fox: Samhain Ancestors Ritual by Selena Fox.; www.circlesanctuary.org

Samhain Ritual: Samhain Ritual. Supplies. Black and/or orange altar cloth(s).; www.thewiccanway.org

Samhain Ritual 1999: Wild Onion Grove, ADF. Ritual for Samhain 2009. Pre-Ritual Activities.; wildoniongrove.org

THE TEMPLE BELL: templeofwitchcraft.home.comcast.net

Suggested Web Resources

Wiccan, Pagan and Witchcraft Holidays., Samhain Ritual: Wiccan, Pagan and Witchcraft Ritual for the Pagan Holiday of Samhain.; www.wicca.com

Honor the Harvest's End - A Samhain Ritual for Wiccans and Pagans: Samhain falls on October 31, and is known as the Witch's New Year. You can celebrate it as the end of the harvest, and honor the return of the King of Winter.; paganwiccan.about.com

Samhain Ritual - A Pagan's Ritual Planner version 0.08: It is the festival of Samhain, the eighth and final spoke of the wheel. On this night, we perceive that the boundaries between the worlds are thin, less defined.; www.ladybridget.com