How Many Days Until Samhain?
Samhain 2025 occurs around Friday, October 31, 2025.
About Samhain
Samhain (pronounced SOW-in or SAH-win) is an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, or the "darker half" of the year. Traditionally celebrated from sunset on October 31st to sunset on November 1st, it's considered one of the most significant points in the Neopagan Wheel of the Year. Samhain is a liminal time when the veil between the physical world and the spirit world is believed to thin, allowing for communication with ancestors and spirits.
Origins and History
Samhain's origins lie in ancient Celtic Ireland and Scotland.
Ancient Celtic Festival
Samhain was one of the four major Gaelic seasonal festivals (along with Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh). It marked the end of summer, the final harvest, and the time when livestock were brought back from pasture and selected for slaughter or breeding.
Thinning Veil
The Celts believed that on the night of Samhain, the boundary between this world and the Otherworld became porous, allowing spirits (both benevolent ancestors and potentially harmful entities) and the Aos Sí (fairies or nature spirits) to cross over more easily.
Bonfires and Divination
Bonfires played a crucial role, used for purification, protection, and community gathering. Divination rituals were common, seeking guidance for the coming year during this liminal time.
Influence on Halloween & All Saints' Day
Many Samhain customs influenced modern Halloween (guising, bonfires, divination games). The Christian church established All Saints' Day (Nov 1st) and All Souls' Day (Nov 2nd) near Samhain, likely incorporating existing traditions of honoring the dead.
Key Themes of Samhain
Samhain revolves around themes of transition, remembrance, and the cycle of life and death:
- End of Harvest / Beginning of Winter: Acknowledging the end of the growing season and preparing for the scarcity and darkness of winter.
- Honoring Ancestors and the Dead: Remembering and paying respects to loved ones who have passed. Setting places for them at the table or leaving offerings is common.
- Thinning Veil / Liminality: Recognizing the time when boundaries blur between worlds, facilitating connection with spirits and the unseen.
- Divination and Reflection: Using the liminal energy for introspection, letting go of the old year, and seeking insight into the future.
- Death and Rebirth Cycle: Contemplating the natural cycle of death leading to eventual rebirth, mirroring nature's patterns.
- Protection and Purification: Using bonfires, costumes (guising), and rituals to ward off malevolent spirits during this vulnerable time.
How Samhain is Celebrated
Modern Samhain celebrations often blend historical practices with personal spiritual paths:
Honoring Ancestors
Creating altars with photos, lighting candles for the dead, sharing stories, and preparing favorite foods of departed loved ones.
Divination
Practicing forms of divination like tarot reading, scrying (mirror or water gazing), or rune casting to gain insight.
Feasting / Dumb Supper
Holding feasts featuring harvest foods (pumpkins, apples, root vegetables). Some practice a "Dumb Supper," eaten in silence to honor the dead.
Bonfires or Candle Lighting
Lighting bonfires (where safe/permitted) or candles symbolizes light in darkness and purification.
Nature Walks & Reflection
Walking in nature to observe the decay and transition, reflecting on the past year and letting go of what's no longer needed.
Guising / Costumes
Wearing costumes, historically to confuse spirits, now often part of festive gatherings or Halloween traditions.