Samhain ~ April 30^th

Samhain (pronounced Sowen, or Sow-een) is probably the best known Pagan holiday, though most know it as Halloween.

On this day, it's said that the veil between this world and the astral realm is at its thinnest, allowing for spirits to travel among us. Though negative beings may also be afoot, this is not a day of evil or hostile 'ghosts'.

The aging God dies at Samhain, and the Goddess mourns His death until He is reborn at Yule. Her sadness is seen as the darkening days and cold weather.

Activities and Rituals: End of summer, honoring of the dead,scrying, divination, last harvest, meat harvest
Incense : Copal, sandalwood, mastic resin, benzoin, sweetgrass, wormwood, mugwort, sage, myrrh or patchouli
Tools: besom, cauldron, tarot, obsidian ball, pendulum, runes, oghams, Ouija boards, black cauldron or bowl filled with black ink or water, or magick mirror
Stones/Gems: Black obsidian, jasper, carnelian, onyx, smoky quartz, jet, bloodstone
Colors: Black, orange, red
Symbols & Decorations: apples, autumn flowers, acorns, bat, black cat, bones, corn stalks, colored leaves, crows, death/dying, divination and the tools associated with it, ghosts, gourds, Indian corn, jack-o-lantern, nuts , oak leaves, pomegranates, pumpkins, scarecrows, scythes, waning moon
Foods: apples, apple dishes, cider, meat (traditionally this is the meat harvest) especially pork, mulled cider with spices, nuts-representing resurrection and rebirth, nuts, pomegranates, potatoes, pumpkins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, roasted pumpkin seeds, roasted pumpkin seeds, squash.
Deities : Anubis, Arianrhod, Astarte, Baba Yaga Beansidhe (Banshee), Belili, Bran, Cailleach Beara, Cernunnos, Cerridwen, Crone , Dark Lord & Lady, Demeter, Hathor, Hecate, Hel, Horned God, Inanna, Ishtar, Isis, Kali, Kore, Lakshmi, Lilith, the Morrigan, Nephthys, Odin, Osiris, Oya, Persephone, Pomona, Rhiannon, Tlazoteotl
Herbs and Flowers: almond, apple leaf, autumn joy sedum, bay leaf, calendula, Cinnamon, Cloves cosmos, garlic, ginger, hazelnut, hemlock cones, mandrake root, marigold, mums, mugwort (to aid in divination), mullein seeds , nettle, passionflower, pine needles, pumpkin seeds, rosemary (for remembrance of our ancestors), rue, sage, sunflower petals and seeds, tarragon, wild ginseng, wormwood
Animals: Stag, cat, bat, owl, jackal, elephant, ram, scorpion, heron, crow, robin.
Work: sex magick, release of bad habits, banishing, fairy magick, divination of any kind, candle magick, astral projection, past life work, dark moon mysteries, mirror spells (reflection), casting protection , inner work, propitiation, clearing obstacles, uncrossing, inspiration, workings of transition or culmination, manifesting transformation,creative visualization, contacting those who have departed this plane

Fun Activities:
Make resolutions, write them on a small piece of parchment, and burn in a candle flame, preferably a black votive candle within a cauldron on the altar.