Halloween has long been a holiday associated with the mysterious, magical, and macabre. Children dress up as killer clowns, masked figures, or something satirically absurd. Halloween frights and fests are plenty and the movie industry capitalizes on the fear with a plethora of horror movie releases to pair with your candy corn. However, there is more to the season than Trader Joe’s seasonal goodies, Starbucks’ pumpkin spice lattes and autumn’s ubiquitous allure of material consumption. Hidden under the amber leaves is a powerful mysticism that deserves some attention. In unleashing the true magic of the season, we need to revisit the roots of Halloween.
Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”) is an ancient Pagan religious festival that originated from Celtic spiritual tradition and is celebrated from October 31 to November 1 . The festival is regarded as the most significant of the four quarterly fire festivals, as it marks the midpoint between the fall equinox and the winter solstice, in which we are called to honor the final harvest and welcome the beginning of the “dark half of the year.” According to Celtic belief, the veil between the physical and spirit world is at its thinnest during this time, which fosters communication and interaction with the dearly departed. Among the engagement of various rituals such as bonfires and feasts, Samhain serves as a time to reflect on the cycle of life and death and to honor ancestors.
The way in which Samhain has translated to modern day Halloween is complex, yet some themes have been sustained. The contemporary Halloween tradition of costumes is rooted in Samhain lore in which Celts prepared for their ancestors to cross over the barrier between worlds. To appease the spirits and avoid being kidnapped from fairies, people would wear masks, animal heads and skins, and dress as monsters so that the dead could walk amongst the living without differentiation. Another classic Halloween activity is also rooted in Samhain tradition. In the Middle Ages, celebrants would carve turnips, attach them to sticks and strings, and fill them with coal to ward off evil spirits and protect their families from fairies and witches. They called these Jack-o-lanterns.
Despite the overwhelming majority of those who celebrate Halloween on October 31, the growing popularity of Wicca has brought a broad revival of Samhain that resembles its traditional Pagan form. Wiccans view Samhain as a time to honor nature and ancestors, often celebrating with traditional fire ceremonies and Witches’ Balls. In a similar realm, modern-day witches view this time to lean into the darkness and learn from it. Accordingly, witches and Wiccans alike will embrace the magic of Samhain through shadow work, divination, rituals, offerings, and renewing altar spaces. (For clarity, Wicca is a religion, whereas a witch is anyone who practices witchcraft, thus making the terms not definitionally interchangeable).
Beyond Halloween, there is a boundless magic of autumn that is worth familiarizing yourself with. Through observing and honoring nature, one can deduce that autumn is the time for gratitude, release, acquainting ourselves with the dark, and accepting impermanence. With the end of the harvest, we are called to evaluate the abundance in our lives and express gratitude. With the fall of each yellow, orange, and burgundy leaf, nature reminds us to shed what no longer serves us. In honoring the liminal energy of the season, the time calls for leaning into the darkness, the mystery, and the fright. The slow journey of the foliage to their dormant state reminds us that we cannot escape death: “This time of year is about acquainting ourselves with the dark and with death, so as to remind ourselves that such transitions are not endings.” The once lively green trees of the summer are now shedding their leaves and will soon be nothing but barren branches. Autumn calls on us to observe that cycle, embrace impermanence, and choose to be present through it all.
This Halloween, I challenge you to look beyond the consumerism frenzy. While you’re waiting in line for your pumpkin spice latte, practice gratitude. Open your journal and discover hidden parts of yourself. Thank your ancestors for their sacrifices and honor them. In between errands, notice how the crisp air feels on your skin and acknowledge the magic of senescence taking place before you. Stop and slow down. The leaves are in no rush — learn from them.