Correspondences for Samhain

Symbolism: Third Harvest, wisdom of the Crone, death of the God, reflection on our place in the Wheel of the Year, New Year, reincarnation, the dark mysteries, Rebirth after Death.

Foods: turnips, apples, nuts, beef, pork, poultry, gingerbread.

Drinks: Mead, apple cider, mulled cider, mulled wines.

Herbs: Angelica, burdock, catnip, pennyroyal, rosemary, rue, sunflower, sage, thyme, wild ginseng, tarragon, mugwort.

Flowers: Calendula, chrysanthemum, cosmos, marigold.

Trees: Acacia, apple, cypress, hazel, hemlock, yew.

Incenses and oils: Bay, cedar, clove, copal, coriander, cypress, eucalyptus, frankincense, heather, mugwort, myrrh, patchouli, peppermint, sage, sandalwood, vetiver, wormwood.

Colors: Black, brown, orange.

Stones: Amber, beryl, bloodstone, carnelian, clear quartz, diamond, garnet, gold, granite, hematite, jasper, jet, marble, obsidian, opal, pyrite, rose sapphire, ruby, sandstone, smoky quartz, steel, tourmaline, turquoise.

Animals: Stag, jackal, cat, bat, ram, scorpion, heron, crow, robin.

Mythical creatures: Goblins, harpies.

Some appropriate Gods: all Death, Underworld, and aged Gods; Am-Heh (Egyptian), Anubis (Egyptian), Arawn (Welsh), Cernunnos (Celtic), Dis (Roman), Hades (Greek), Heimdahl (Norse), Herne (English), The Horned God (European), Kronos (Greek), Loki (Norse), Nefertum (Egyptian), Odin (Norse), Osiris (Egyptian), Pluto (Greco-Roman)

Some appropriate Goddesses: all Crone and Underworld Goddesses; Arachne (Greek), Aradia (Italian), Babd (Irish), Cerridwen (Welsh), Elli (Teutonic), Ereshkigal (Assyro-Babylonian), Eris (Greek), The Fates/Moerae (Greek), Fortuna (Roman), Freya/Frigg (Norse), Hecate (Greek), Hel (Teutonic), Inanna (Sumerian), Ishtar (Babylonian), Macha (Irish), Mari (Basque), Morrigan (Celtic), Nephthys (Egyptian), Nicneven (Scottish), Persephone (Greek), Psyche (Greek), Proserpina (Roman), Rhiannon (Welsh)

Decorations: Autumn leaves, fall flowers, pomegranates, apples, pumpkins, ears of corn, sprays of grain, corn dollies, gourds, nuts, seeds.

Traditional activities: divination, drying winter herbs, feasting and partying to defy the coming darkness (bob for apples, roast nuts, pop popcorn), Witches' Ball.

Spell/ritual work: astral projection, past life recall, Dark Moon mysteries, mirror spells, scrying, protection, inner work, clearing obstacles, transition, culmination, transformation. Releasing bad habits and toxic relationships, illness, failure and poverty; everything you do not want to carry into the new year.

An Update

Blessings to you all this cool October day!! Haven't been blogging that much due to having a cold & feeling miserable. The weather's has been reeking havoc on me...one day humid & hot, the next cold & grey. I'm even late on decorating the place for Samhain...egad!!

Please bear with me as I up my vitamin intake, echinacea and whatever else to rid myself of this pesky bug.

~Rowan

Blessed October

Well, my favorite month is upon us and even though we are again going through a hot, sticky spell here in the East, the feel of autumn's chill is not that far off in my mind. I've been busy the past couple of week's, since the Mabon ritual, getting things ready for fall. Bread has been baked, decorations brought out & sorted and fabric is being sewn. Ok, I have had a wee bit of a distraction, but things are moving along as planned. I've also been aware around me the feeling of the veil getting thinner as those who have passed on before me are making their presence known. I get this feeling twice a year, not just at Samhain, actually, I can even feel them around Yule, as well.

This is my first posting on the topic of Samhain. During this most magickal month I will be sharing with you recipes, decorating ideas and whatever else I can pull out of my pointed hat. I was thinking about putting up a Samhain/Hallowe'en themed background, but every other witchy blog is doing the same thing from all the background sites and since I just got this one, I'm kinda partial to it.