Samhain
Jason Rath
Samhain was the last harvest and the time when cattle were slaughtered, leaving only those who could survive the winter to start a new herd in spring. Notice that death (cattle and grain) sustains life—the living walk through the womb of death. November Eve is the traditional time for Samhain rites, when celebrants ate the fruits of the harvest. They baked grains and fruits together in dark, sweet loaves of bread. Loaves of corn and wine were also common. They also cooked some of the meat upon a large fire and ate it for health and strength during the winter.
The "Judgment" Tarot card is the key to this Sabbat, and to the one that follows. The "Universe" card is key to the Winter Sabbat, or Yule. Just before you enter through the Gate of the Fiery Purification, Libra reminds you of the Autumnal Equinox. At this time, you kill (identify) and consume (remove) the old and weak qualities of the self. These qualities have been tested by the Fire of Shin in the Judgment card and by the fire which cooks the meat. (This is the first death, echoed in cooking and eating the cakes and meat.) Then may one "walk through the womb of death" or live well through the harsh winter. Next issue's Yule rite will explore the deeper esoteric meaning. For now it is important to understand that this is a time of purification. It is a time to remove the heavy burdens we have carried throughout the year, so that we can survive the tests of winter and begin a new year.
Samhain is the time and place that is neither of this world nor of the invisible world. Thus, it is a good time to meditate on the self. The corn cakes and wine refer to the Great Rite. The corn is the flesh or phallus of the God. The wine is the blood or life force (Spirit) of the Goddess. You should note the words of power, for the symbolic form of the Great Rite. These pagan names of power will add to the potency of the ritual and aid concentration. I began this series of Wiccan rituals for the solitary practitioner, but, if possible, enact the Great Rite actually. Use the words of power here, just as you would use them in the symbolic rite.
Solitary Samhain Ritual
Your altar should face northwest. Decorate it in the spirit of this time of year. You will want to place a pumpkin and maybe a bowl of milk in the northern quarter as well. Place your tools on the corners of your altar corresponding to their Elements (Wand, South; Cup, West; Athame, East; Pantacle, North). On your altar you will want a small bowl of salt and water, a cup of wine and figures or candles representing the God and Goddess. You can use a purple candle to represent the Goddess and the Moon and a yellow candle to represent the Horned God and the Sun.
Samhain Incense:
1 part Tobacco
1 part Sandalwood
1 part Ground Allspice
Opening the Temple:
Light the God and Goddess candles. Pick up your bowl of water and hold it high above your purple (Moon) candle while you say:
Na tay-ah de La-may ge na oh!
Meaning, "Blessed is the blood of the Goddess." Set the bowl water upon the altar. Trace the symbol of Taurus (the circle crowned with the crescent moon) over the plate of salt and say:
E ya natas oh bal-da al ve roh!
Meaning, "I bless and purify this creature of Earth!" Sprinkle a little salt into the bowl of water. Walk deosil (clockwise) around your Circle liberally sprinkling salt water and saying:
I cleanse and purify this Circle with Water, the Blood of Life. So mote it be!
Return to your altar and replace the cup. Light your incense (frankincense) and hold your censer high above your yellow (Sun) candle, saying:
Ra ba ah gel-lo sa!
Meaning, "Blessed is the Fire of God!" Walk deosil around your Circle swaying the censer and saying:
I consecrate and cleanse this Circle with the Fire of the heat of day! So mote it be!
Return to your altar and replace the censer. Pick up your wand (if you have one) and trace a white circle three times about the Temple area, saying:
I trace this Circle as a boundary between the realms of Man and the hidden places of the Gods. Truth hides this Temple, and the Old Ones guard it. Here I practice my rites of magick and worship in safety and with great power. I am assured by the presence of the Great Goddess, my Mother, and the Horned God, my Father!
Pick up your lighter and athame and invoke the four Quarters, beginning with the East.
Invocation to the East:
Oh children of Air, babes of swiftness. Come forth! Aid and strengthen my sacred Circle. Yes, come forth, oh Argestes and Notus, eastern winds of thought and breeze, and guard the East well. So mote it be!
Invocation to the South:
Oh children of Fire, babes of light. Come forth! Aid and strengthen my sacred Circle. Yes, come forth, oh Auster and Notus, southern winds of heat and spark, and guard the South well. So mote it be!
Invocation to the West:
Oh children of Water, babes of reflective seas. Come forth! Aid and strengthen my sacred Circle. Yes, come forth, oh Favonius and Zephyrus, western winds of shimmering ebb, and guard the West well. So mote it be!
Invocation to the North:
Oh children of Earth, babes of terrestrial kingdoms. Come forth! Aid and strengthen my sacred Circle. Yes, come forth, oh Aquilo and Boreas, northern winds of synthesis and form, and guard the North well. So mote it be!
Relight the incense upon the altar, face west and say:
Oh ye spirits within and about me, the year is waning and Holly King is growing weaker. Death is in the breath of Nature and all life must partake of Her Spirit. But as the breath of death takes the old, so it gives life to the young . . . and so the corn falls, and so the wheat is crushed. Yes, death is all about us.
Light a small wood fire in your cauldron and add a small amount of the Samhain incense it. If you are performing this indoors, light one large white candle and burn the incense in your censer. The cauldron (or white candle) should be in the north, beside the pumpkin. Next, see the Holly King slowly stand and walk away from the Goddess in the west to kneel in the northwest. Then say:
Watch the Holly King walk to the Northwest and rest for a moment. He neither gives life nor takes it. He rests and awaits the bitter cold of winter. He shall not gaze upon the Goddess in white. Life gives us to Death and the children of vigor spring forth from the corpses. Yes, the Wheel of the Year is turning.
Visualize the Goddess as Mother quickly walking from the west to the north. As She moves from the west, see the autumn-like colors of Her dress become dark and shaded for a moment. Flashes of pure white begin to show as She moves past the Holly King to the north. When She arrives in the north you cannot see Her face for She is turned away from you, facing the north. All you can see is the white barrenness of Her dress. Let the emotions of this scene carry you for a moment. Then, while you still face north, proclaim:
Oh, Lady of Darkness! Oh, Womb of Death! Destroy and banish those things that are of my old self! This year has taught me much. Yes, this year has given me a bountiful harvest. There are many things that I shall leave in this moment of neither here nor there. They no longer serve me; no, now they give me pain.
Move around the Circle widdershins (counterclockwise) three times. Go to your altar and write a list of things in yourself that you wish eliminated. Walk to the cauldron (or white candle); drop paper into the fire and say:
Take these things of inferior body and tear them from me. From their lifeless bodies shall new life walk to me. Yes, slay these things in me as the farmer slaughters the weak. May they make room for the new as the beast feeds the child. So mote it be!
The shadow grows stronger and the night of our Lady grows longer. I welcome my Lady of Shadows, for She is the bringer of death and, hence, the bringer of birth. Guide me through these times of hardship and lift away all my pains.
Relight the incense and proceed to the Great Rite.
The Great Rite:
Raise your cup of wine and say:
Blessed be this sacred wine, this Womb and Cup of Life. May it fill my soul, giving me strength of heart and knowledge of my Lady's secret ways. So mote it be!
Set down your ritual cup in the center of your altar. Pick up your ritual dagger and say:
This dagger is a symbol of the phallus and the God. So mote it be!
Take the dagger in both hands and pierce the wine while saying:
De vel na arla hana! [The veil is parted!] As the Man is to the Woman, so this blade is to the grail!
Set the dagger down upon the altar. Raise the plate of cakes and say:
Blessed be this sacred bread of life, body of the God and Goddess!
Eat the bread (which should be made of corn meal and wine) and drink the wine. When you have finished, thank the God and Goddess for Their presence and ask Them to depart. Then dismiss the four Quarters, beginning with the East.
Dismissing the Elementals of the East:
Oh sylphs of peaceful winds, I thank thee for coming here to aid my work. Return now to thy place of dwelling. Be there peace between us now and forever, and come when I call thee forth again! So mote it be!
Dismissing the Elementals of the South:
Oh salamanders of warmth and light, I thank thee for coming here to aid my work. Return now to thy place of dwelling. Be there peace between us now and forever, and come when I call thee forth again! So mote it be!
Dismissing the Elementals of the West:
Oh undines of flux, I thank thee for coming here to aid my work. Return now to thy place of dwelling. Be there peace between us now and forever, and come when I call thee forth again! So mote it be!
Dismissing the Elementals of the North:
Oh gnomes of gemstone foundations, I thank thee for coming here to aid my work. Return now to thy place of dwelling. Be there peace between us now and forever, and come when I call thee forth again! So mote it be!
This concludes the Samhain rite. Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again! | 
