Wheel of the Year

Samhain

The witches' new year, when the veil between the worlds is said to be thin.

When: 31 October in the north, 1 May in the south.

What it is

Samhain (say "SOW-in", the first part as in "cow") marks the end of the harvest and the start of the dark half of the year. Many witches celebrate it as their new year. It is a festival of remembrance: a time to honour ancestors and those who have died, and to look back on the year that is ending.

Witches say that on this night the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is thin. You can take that as belief or as a picture. Either way, it is a night for thinking of the people who came before you.

Where it comes from

Samhain is one of the four seasonal festivals of old Ireland. Irish tales written down in the Middle Ages name it as the beginning of winter, when the cattle came down from the summer pastures and the burial mounds were said to stand open. The Church placed All Saints' Day on 1 November, and the evening before became Halloween, with customs from Ireland and Scotland such as dressing up and carving lanterns.

That Samhain was the new year of the Celts is an idea of the nineteenth century and cannot be proved. The Samhain of modern witches was shaped in the 1950s, from these old sources and with new meaning. It is one of the eight sabbats of the Wheel of the Year.

Ways to celebrate

• A place for remembrance: photos, a candle and something the person loved, set on your altar or a shelf for the evening.
• A silent supper: a quiet meal with an empty place set for those who have died. Eat the food yourself afterwards or share it; nothing needs to be left out overnight.
• Looking back: write down what the past year taught you and what you want to leave behind.
• Looking ahead: draw one card or open a book at random and ask what you may take into the dark months, as a thought to reflect on.

Good to know

Remembering can bring up grief. Be gentle with yourself, and share the evening with someone if you can. If the grief is fresh or heavy, you need not keep this festival at all this year; talking to someone you trust, or to a counsellor, matters more.

Samhain is about remembering the dead. Nobody is called or questioned, and nothing in this app asks you to.

Never leave a candle burning unattended, and keep it away from photographs, paper and dried leaves.