Honoring the Ancestors on Samhain

Samhain, or Halloween as it is now called, is a celebration observed in many countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. The origins of Halloween customs are typically linked to the Gaelic festival Samhain. Samhain is one of the four cross-quarter days (the midpoint between two seasons) in the medieval Gaelic calendar. Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year. It was seen as a liminal (or threshold) time, when the "veil" or boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead is at its thinnest, making it easier to communicate with those who have left this world. It is also the season of divination, using the connection across the thin veil to ask the spirits for answers. 

According to Irish mythology, Samhain (like Beltane) was a time when the 'doorways' to the Otherworld opened, allowing supernatural beings and the souls of the dead to come into our world. Samhain was essentially a festival for the dead. Samhain was marked by great gatherings and feasts and was when the ancient burial mounds were open, which were seen as portals to the Otherworld. Some Neolithic passage tombs in Ireland are aligned with the sunrise at the time of Samhain. The souls of dead kin were also thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality, and a place was set at the table for them during a meal. Mumming and guising were part of the festival from at least the early modern era, whereby people went door-to-door in costume reciting verses in exchange for food.
 

Honoring and Connecting with the Ancestors
 

To honor your forebears, create an ancestor altar with a cloth, a candle and photos of those loved ones who have passed, whether that be ancestors of blood or kin. Include memorabilia and other items that you connect with the departed, and light the candle. You can spend some time with each picture and with each item, connecting with those, or name those ancestors whose names you know followed by "may they be remembered." Dedicate a round of drumming to your ancestors and their memory. When you have finished, put out the candle. You may want to leave the altar in place for the rest of Samhain, or until it feels right to take it down.
 

You can connect with your benevolent ancestors by taking a shamanic journey to the Lower World -- the realm to which departed souls travel upon physical death. The desire to communicate with our ancestors is an innate part of the human experience. Benevolent ancestral spirits can guide, protect and heal the living. Your ancestors and the collective spiritual power of all those who went before you reside in the Lower World. When your own time comes to pass on, you will become part of this vast collective unconscious. If you embark on a journey with the intention of connecting with those who have passed, they may come to meet you. Keep in mind that spirits choose to come into relationship with the person seeking. You can seek ancestral spirits, but the spirits must choose. Have a happy and soulful Samhain!