Hallows, Samhain ~ October 31^st.

(A Victorian Grimoire ~ Patricia Telesco ~ Llewellyn Publishing 1996 ~ PPS 53-55)

Although many people today call it Halloween (a contraction of Hallowed Eve), the Victorians may have called this holiday Snap Apple Night or Nut Crack Night, because of the traditional divination games played with nuts or apple peelings to determine the initials of future bridegrooms. Practical jokes were also a favorite diversion. Some people would use the cover of darkness to play pranks that were only discovered the next morning. A householder might find his/her wagon on the barn roof, and the perpetrator might be standing nearby saying something like this, The goblins must have done it. With a smirk grin. Legend has it that faeries hold a grand anniversary this eve, and mischief making is afoot.

For the user of Magick, Samhain or Halloween is the in-between time, the time of the dead, the New Year, and the old swing on the same hinge, and the veil between the worlds grows thin. This is also the time of the final harvest, when we gather and preserve our crop. At this time, our spiritual energy should be refilled to ensure sustenance for the winter.

          Invocation

Apostle of the ancients

Chant from your willow scroll

Call Artemis to share full moons

And bless the silver bowl

Guardian of the fable brook

Bow down your ear to hear

The cries of those within this womb

Whose birth to light is near

Avatars of times now past

And times still yet to be

Reveal our paths from out the mists

Pay head our augury

Deities from days of old

Carve out our misplaced pride

That we might rise among the stars

And there our souls abide

Apostles of the Ancients

Burn now the candles bright

Let spirits soar on seas of joy

And grant rebirth this night.

This invocation takes into consideration the heightened amount of spiritual activity of this night on the wheel. Respect for the dead should be paid, and perhaps even a little offering of food. As you say each stanza of the invocation, light candles for each of the elements. Make sure you light your center altar candles first.

          Activities

This is the best time of year to do any type of divining magick. Also, and offering of first fruits is often made as a way of asking for a gentle winter. In Ireland, bread made of dried fruits, nuts and honey is baked together with tokens that symbolize good or bad luck. For example, a ring meant marriage, while a pea meant poverty. This time of year is also a wonderful opportunity to leave and offering of honey and flower water for the fey (or Faerie realm). Because it is a time when the veil between the worlds is thin, best be sure your offering is a tasty one.

          Tools and Ritual Components