By Amber C. Snider And no, none of them involve candy or tricks, just practical magic and tips. It is said that the veil between worlds is the thinnest the night of October 31st, a time when you can more readily communicate with the spirits and the Other Side. It's a time when the dead are supposed to walk the earth, when our ancestors are to be remembered and honored, and it's also referred to as the "Witches New Year." Whether you plan on doing a New Moon ritual on November 1st (All Saint's Day), honoring your ancestors with a ritual, or doing spell work to communicate with the spirit world, here are a few tips and tools to help you. Note that anything highlighted in purple is available for purchase either online or in-person at the NYC shop. Try Enchantments' Samhain oil in candle spells "Anoint white candles with Samhain oil ($15 for a half ounce) to leave as an offering to the spirits of the dearly departed at any ceremony," recommends Marisabel Santiago, a resident witch at Enchantments. For spirit visions Anoint purple candles with Samhain oil and focus on the flame as you meditate and connect to the other side. You can also burn Samhain incense ($10 for a full ounce) alongside the candle, especially if you'd like to connect with your ancestors/deceased loved ones. To honor the death-rebirth cycle Get a Rose of Jericho plant (we sell them at Enchantments here) and place it in a shallow bowl of water. Watch as this incredible plant (that once looked withered up, brown, and dead) comes "back to life" and turns green again, expanding its leaves and roots in the water. Leave it out on your altar or sacred space for several days, renewing the bowl with fresh water each day. For protection "For from the ghouls that may go bump in the night, sprinkle Samhain incense on top of a 'black cat' candle," recommends Santiago. To honor the dead In Mexico, Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on November 1st through November 2nd, a time when ancestors are honored and welcomed into the home with gifts, mementos, flowers, and favorite foods on the ofrenda, or altar. Create a sacred altar for your loved ones who've passed on by cleaning a table or shelf with Florida or orange water, lighting incense like All Saint's blend or Blessed in a fire-safe dish or cast-iron cauldron ($30 online or at the shop), and placing an altar cloth (or any clean cloth) down. Light white candles and fill the space with photos of your loved ones who've passed on, including pets, and include any personal items or trinkets they once had. You can also leave out their favorite foods.
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By Amber C. Snider Halloween is one of the most popular holidays in the United States, but its roots go back to an ancient Celtic Harvest festival known as Samhain. Samhain, also referred to as the Witches’ New Year and pronounced “sow-win,” was a major festival in the Celtic tradition that took place on the night of October 31st through November 1st. The holiday marks the end of the harvest season and the approaching winter. It was believed to be a time when the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest, which meant spirits were not only free to roam the earth, but also communicate with the living. Humans could call upon their ancestors for guidance and used this midpoint between the seasons to honor the spirits through a series of rituals and festivities (including bonfires, feasts, sacrifices) that often lasted for three days and three nights. The Celts often set out offerings in the form of food, drinks, and beloved tokens to honor their dead. But with all those ghostly souls freely roaming around the earth, some may have been unwanted or even malevolent – and that’s where the tradition of dressing up came in. “According to the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, Celts began the Halloween tradition of wearing costumes, often animal skin to hide themselves from spirits, and masks to impersonate ancestors who had preceded them to the spirit world,” reports National Geographic editor Debra Adams Simmons. It’s this practice that led to our current tradition of dressing up in scary costumes to ward away any malicious spooks. Early evidence shows us that not only was this an important holiday for the Celts, it was also mandatory for the community. While the other seasonal holidays celebrated rebirth and the renewal of life, Samhain was a festival for the dead. Despite the desecration of many ancient pagan practices over the centuries, Samhain has survived as “Halloween” in our secular, modern culture. In another region of the world, in what is now modern day Mexico, the ancient peoples’ also conducted rituals and held festivals to honor their dead. Dia de los Muertos (also known as the Day of the Dead) is a syncretization of Indigenous American beliefs with those of the Roman Catholic Church, culminating in All Saints’ Day (November 1st) and All Souls’ Day (November 2nd) on the Catholic calendar – just as Samhain coincides with Halloween. So while you’re carving pumpkins, rewatching Practical Magic, or dressing up for the festivities over the next two weeks, remember to take some time out to also honor those who have passed on and all those ancestors who’ve shaped you into the person you are today. The honoring of the dead is at the heart of Samhain, as well as paying homage to our long lineage of human life. Blessings to all this Samhain! By Amber C. Snider As part of our plant series, our new Magical Farmer’s Market Guides bring you plant-based ritual tips from authors, folklore, and spells using local, seasonal ingredients. From love spells to prosperity magic, these vegetables and herbs help you tune into the energies of the earth and enhance your mind, body, and spirit with edible magic. Food is power and when consumed with intention it can be a healing force. We’ve also paired each ingredient with a custom-carved spell candle from Enchantments for additional ritual work and positive manifestation. Squash Super easy to find at your local farmer’s market, especially during the fall months, squash associated with the Sun (as are most yellow vegetables), the element of fire, and the festival of Samhain on October 31st/November 1st, as well as Mabon on September 21st. According to Laurel Woodward’s Backyard Garden Witchery, butternut squash is “loaded with dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A, and beta-carotene to support eye health and fight muscular degeneration” and can be added to meals to support healthy relationships. Woodward also cites its magical properties to help with “beauty, deepening relationships, health, influence, and prosperity.” In his seminal work Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen, Scott Cunningham says that eating squash in dishes can “increase awareness of the nonphysical reality around us," adding that it is a "fine spirituality-inducing food.” Squash is great when roasted in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil and sea salt, sautéed or fried in the pan for breakfast, as well as pureed for hearty fall soups. Custom-carved candle: Solar Blast. Helps the Sun come through to cleanse, purge and rejuvenate your entire being. Provides positive energy for all your endeavors. Invites joy into your life. A great 'wishing' candle. Traditionally used to celebrate your solar return/birthday! Lavender Lavender is one of the most popular herbs around and can be used for so many things, including teas, in baking, aromatic oils, baths, and more. I personally love to combine lavender with Himalayan sea salt to sprinkle on foods or add dried lavender to sea salt for a relaxing ritual bath. You can normally find it fresh or dried at the farmer’s market and easily create your own infusions and oils with the herb. Associated with the element of air, according to Laurel Woodward’s “Kitchen Witchery,” it’s excellent for spellwork involving “calm, clarity, communication, healing, love, protection, and sleep.” For sweet dreams, add a couple teaspoons into a sachet bag and place under your pillow at night, carry a few sprigs in your pocket for luck and protection, or combine with dried rose for a blissful beauty tea. Custom-carved candle option: Peace & Protection. This candle helps to keep out people who are invading your life through astral vibrations, visitations, psychic attack, verbal abuse, bickering, and paranoia and to quiet people who incite violence, slander and harm to others. It replaces their negative energies with ones of peace and tranquility. Apples Fall is definitely the season for apple picking and if you’re on the east coast, you can find an abundance of varieties at the farmer’s market, from granny to honeycrisp and pink ladies. Associated with the water element and the planet Venus, apples are also used in many magical spells, particularly love and sex magic. Whether it’s apple bobbing for Samhain, sipping mulled apple cider on chilly autumn evenings, or baking them into pies for the fall equinox, there are many ways to use the sweet fruit. In Laurel Woodward’s Kitchen Witchery, apples are also a symbol of fertility and sexuality, and associated with “beauty, garden magick, healing, love, and youth.” They're also associated with love, health, and peace and were “valued foods in ancient Egypt...and intimately linked with spirituality in the British Isles," as well as for the Norse and Yoruba peoples, writes Scott Cunningham in his Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen. Cunningham recommends carving a heart into the apple’s skin before eating it to reign in love (remember self-love is a thing, too!) or baking an apple pie with ginger and cinnamon to share with your lover. Custom-carved candle option: Empress in Venus. Goddess based candle to help magnify self-love and confidence. Also can be used to attract romantic attention. Beets This hearty, resilient vegetable is great all year round, but you can find it in abundance during the fall months. Try making your own Ukrainian borscht for a delicious, warming meal or adding to fall salads with walnuts and goat cheese. Associated with the earth element and the planet Saturn, in magic, beets are used for love and beauty spells. According to Cunningham, “beets have been eaten for centuries by persons wishing to lengthen their life spans” and are also associated with the fall festival of Samhain on November 1st. They can also be added to love-attracting diets! “Cook and eat beets while visualizing yourself enjoying increased beauty,” he writes. Or make a love spell ink using the liquid from boiled beets and a dash of vinegar (recipe can be found in Backyard Garden Witchery by Laurel Woodward). Custom-carved candle: Catch a New Love. For use in attracting a suitable new romantic partner. Carrots Associated with the element of fire and the planet Mars, carrots hold strong sexual energy and traditionally associated with the masculine. According to Laurel Woodward’s Backyard Garden Witchery, carrots are associated with “beauty, clear sight, fertility, protection, strength, and youth” and can help boost women’s energy for courage or strengthen male virility. When “prepared and eaten with the correct visualization, carrots may play a part in overcoming psychological impotency,” writes Cunningham in his beloved Encyclopedia. I especially love roasting different carrot varieties, including white, deep purple, and yellow shades (aka kaleidoscope) in the oven with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt, thyme, and rosemary, finished off with a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette. Custom-carved candle: Mars Candle. Invokes the God of war for strength, perseverance, passion, virility, victory, protection, courage and willpower. Sage Sage has been around for thousands of years and is particularly sacred to the Native Americans. When burned in a ritualistic manner, aka smoke cleansing, it’s used for purifying a space, banishing unwanted energies, and enhancing psychic ability. “Its energies include longevity and health,” writes Scott Cunningham, and has been “used in cooking, medicine, and magic for at least 2,000 years.” Associated with the planet Jupiter and the element of air, according to Scott Cunningham, sage is also useful for “promoting money, employment, and overall prosperity.” Laurel Woodward cites its magical uses as an aphrodisiac, as well as a great plant to promote cheer, creativity, and mental power. At the farmer’s market, you can normally find it fresh and add it to soups, stews, or roasted vegetables. If you’d like to use it for smoke cleansing, simply hang the herb in a dry area in your kitchen and when completely dry, bundle it with thread. When used for cooking, store the dried herb in a mason jar. Custom-carved candle: House Blessing candle. Cleanses and blesses your living space - whether you've been living there for years or just moved in. It will help put the house in order and keep it blessed with good energy and peace. Cinnamon Cinnamon actually comes from the inner bark of an evergreen tree and is widely used in magical practices and spells. Its warming scent can also be found in scented candles, body oils, perfumes, soaps and more. It’s also used in many love spells, either to attract new lover, entice passion, and enhance sexual desire, as well as spells involving productivity and success. Associated with the Sun and element of fire, cinnamon can be used to raise vibrations and increase mental clarity, so it’s great to use while working or studying, too. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon to your coffee for an extra magickal boost. Cinnamon “holds energy to draw money, stimulate psychic abilities, kindle love, boost attraction, and increase magickal energy in general,” writes Woodward in Kitchen Witchery and can be used in spellwork involving luck, love, protection, raising vibrations, and overall success. According to Scott Cunningham, “the ancient Egyptians used cinnamon in medicine and religion as early as 1450 BCE, while “in Greece, it played a part in processions to Dionysus.” When working with magical food, oils, or perfumes, it’s said to double a spell’s power. Also, if you’re trying to quit smoking, I’ve found organic cinnamon sticks to be an effective deterrent. Custom-carved candle: Fast Luck candle. It speaks for itself! This candle helps to bring luck in a safe and correct way so that you can succeed in your endeavors. Good for money magic spells. Pumpkin Associated with the earth element, lunar energies, and Samhain celebrations on November 1st, pumpkins can be found at your local farmer’s market throughout the months of September - November. In magic, according to Laurel Woodward, they can be used for banishing unwanted spirits, people, and energies, as well as divination and prosperity spells. They hold “stable, positive energy,” as well as “energy to fortify health, cheer spirit, and attract prosperity,” she writes. Cunningham cites pumpkins in healing and money spells, as well: “Pumpkin is also a nutritious money-attractant. Make a pumpkin pie and add cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg to flavor it with money-drawing energies.” In addition to making pumpkin pies, pumpkin spiced beverages, and roasting in the oven with sea salt and herbs, you can also roast the seeds for a delicious snack. Of course, pumpkin spice lattes are all the rage in the fall months too, but make sure the syrup is made from real pumpkin and not just artificial flavoring. Pumpkin-scented candles add a coziness and warmth to the home, offering a welcoming energy for guests, too. Custom-carved candle: Uncrossing Candle. A purification. Removes negativity, blocks, curses and hexes from all elements of one's life. Can be used to cleanse your home, office, self or those around you. It clears the way for positive vibrations to come into your life. To purchase Scott Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen click here. To purchase Laurel Woodward's Backyard Garden Witchery click here or Kitchen Witchery click here. For more on plant magic, check out our new series here. |
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