Samhain Ancestral Ritual
September 30, 2022
The first of October we open the shop altar to the community. We invite you to take a card and place the names of your dead on the altar and to hold a space for our collective grief. At noon on October 31st, you gather with us at the shop, and as a community we remember and honor our beloved dead and all those who have crossed over since last Samhain. We say their names aloud and place them in the cauldron fire, to honor the sacred cycle of life, death, rebirth, and regeneration. We feel their love and to tell their stories. This year, we are gathering in person again starting at noon on Oct 31st. We share the ritual with you who will not be able to join us in person. What is remembered lives.
Gathering of the names and lighting of the cauldron.
Chant
We are part of the Earth and Stars
And we shall return to them
We are part of the Sky and Water
And we shall return to them
We are part of the Fire and Storm
And we shall return to them
Author Unknown
Samhain Ancestor Prayer
This is the time when the gateway between our world and the spirit world is the thinnest.
This is the time to call out those who came before.
This is the time I honor my ancestors, spirits of my father and mothers, I call to you,
And welcome you to join me for this time.
You watch over me always, protecting and guiding me and I thank you.
Your blood runs in my veins, your spirit is in my heart, your memories are in my soul.
With the gift of remembrance, I will remember all of you.
You are dead but not forgotten and you live on within me and within those yet to come.
Credit Patti Wittington
Prayer to the Deities of Death
The harvest has ended, and the fields are bare.
The earth has grown cold, and the land is empty.
The gods of death are lingering over us,
Keeping a watchful eye upon the living.
They wait, patiently, for eternity is theirs.
Hail to you Anubis! O jackal headed one,
Guardian of the realm of the dead.
When my time comes, I hope you may deem me worthy.
Hail to you Demeter! O mother of darkness,
May your grief be abated
When your daughter returns once more.
Hail to you Hecate! O keeper of the gate,
Between this world and the underworld.
I ask that when I cross over, you may guide me with wisdom.
Hail to you Freya! O mistress of Folkvangr,
Guardian of those who fall in battle.
Keep the souls of my ancestors with you.
Hail to you, O gods and goddesses,
Those of you who guard the underworld
And guide the dead on their final journey.
At this time of cold and dark,
I honor you, and ask that you watch over me,
And protect me when the day arrives that I take my final journey.
Credit Patti Wittington
Calling of the names and placing into the cauldron.
“It would not be possible to talk of the ancestors without spending a moment on the forgotten dead. Millions of people have died that no one remembers. Millions. There are more forgotten dead than remembered dead. Giving a nod to those that have been forgotten feeds the deep ancestral well that we are all connected to. There are also the forgotten dead of the Craft. The Witches, teachers, midwives, herbalists, wortcunners, root doctors, and priestesses that hid their practices in the dark. Those Witches that were brave enough to teach what they knew to at least one other person. There are those Mighty Dead that did the work of lineage building and torch bearing when no one knew what they were doing. It is to these forgotten dead that we owe more than we can ever fully comprehend. It is to these dead that we owe gratitude and love, those whose names are gone and whose lineages have been lost to the sands of time. We mourn them in order to avoid losing any more.”
Excerpt What is Remembered Lives Phoenix Lafae
Chant
The leaves are leaving the branch cold are the days
Winter is coming…Fly Fly Fly
The leaves are leaving the branch cold are the days
Winter is coming
Closing
Walking. I am listening to a deeper way. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say.
Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands.
Linda Hogan
