Oh, what better day of the year is there than Halloween?! Everyone dresses up in costumes, pumpkins are carved, “trick or treaters” collect their candy, and the approaching darkness of winter is celebrated by all, in this truly magical holiday!
Halloween is an especially revered holiday for witches, as it is considered the “Witch’s New Year”. Halloween’s origins are thought to date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
In the Celtic calendar, November 1st was considered New Year’s Day. This day marked the end of summer (Samhain translates as “summer’s end”) and the beginning of the approaching darkness of winter.
The Celts believed that on the night before the New Year, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was at its thinnest. It was on this night, that they celebrated the dead, the approaching darkness, and the upcoming New Year, in the magical festival of Samhain!
It’s actually quite simple to celebrate Halloween like a witch. On Halloween night, most witches I know throw a celebratory dinner party. Everyone dresses up in playful costumes and brings an assortment of dishes. They’re usually autumnal foods like squash and pumpkin. We eat, drink and dance!
At some point in the evening, we also do a sacred ritual connecting with, and honoring, our ancestors. The veil between worlds is thin, and we can feel it. The spirits of our loved ones who have passed seem to be somehow closer that night, and we revel in their company!
We also take time to bring in the New Year by doing a ritual to bless and prosper our year ahead. A great way to make the most of the mystical energy of Halloween night is to do a spell for a lucky new year ahead! To bring in lots of luck for the following year, cast this simple “Halloween Good Luck Spell” after nightfall on October 31st!
Halloween Good Luck Spell
What you will need:
- An Apple
- A black candle
- An orange candle
The Steps
1) Find a quiet space that feels comfortable and sacred to you.
2) Stand the orange and black candle side by side.
3) Light the orange candle. As you do, think about the year that has passed. Take a moment to recall some of your favorite moments. Give thanks for all of the wonderful things you may have experienced.
When you are ready, think about the aspects of the previous year that you would like to let go of. Spend time imagining those aspects dissolving in the candle’s flame. Feel how you are releasing that which you do not wish to carry into your new year. Feel how you are now beginning to start fresh and anew.
4) Light the black candle. As you do, begin to imagine all of the ways you want to feel in the year ahead. Feel the light of the new candle bringing your wishes into being. Feel how this new year is a fresh start, filled with all possibilities!
5) Stare in between the candles. Begin to imagine what your year would feel like, and look like, if it was your luckiest year yet! Really allow yourself to feel the joy of imagining your year ahead filled with so much luck!
6) Hold the apple in your hands. Think of one or two dreams that are especially close to your heart. Something that you would love to experience an abundance of luck in. Now with your breath blow on the apple, infusing your Good Luck wish into it!
7) Place the apple in between the candles. Continue to imagine and feel your year ahead filled with luck. Then, when the candles have almost finished burning, eat the apple while imagining what Good Luck is going to do to your year ahead!
Wishing you all a very magical Halloween, and a wonderfully lucky year ahead!
With so much Love,
Sirena Moon
