So, those who ask me what Halloween traditions I celebrate are told about two very similar rituals that I do. One is to let go of the old and cleanse myself of their energies, and the other is to bring in the bounty of what I want for the next year. The rituals are very similar, though there are some very important differences.
Both of them involve grabbing a pen and some paper and writing out my desires. To cleanse, I write out all of the things I want to let go of. Things that hurt me, things I thought or felt, nightmares I may have had, memories I no longer desire. Things that happen in my life that I don’t want to happen anymore. Anything that I simply want to go away. Not only do I write them down, but I write down all the thoughts, feelings, or any other experiences that are connected to them. This often turns out to be a LOT of writing – and that’s okay. Keep going until your done.
For the blessings version, I write the same kind of stuff – all the stuff that I want to happen, experience, or to accomplish in the coming year. Well wishes that I have for myself and the people I know or know of. Things I want for our world and our universe. Everything that I want to happen. This can also be a very long process. Now, for this one, it’s very important that you keep everything you write down positive. Rather than “an end to violence” you’ll want to say “a beginning of peace” or something similar to that.
In the previous writing, we want to get all that negative stuff out so we can target it and there’s no harm in mixing some good stuff in there. But for the good stuff, we want to keep it clean of any of the bad stuff.
Separately, you’ll want to burn both of your writings. I like to add some oils and herbs to the burning as well. I do this by getting a fire proof bowl – glass is pretty handy – and I sprinkle the oils and herbs on the paper before placing it in the bowl and lighting it. For the blessings ones, I add things like lemon, money drawing, peppermint, dragon’s blood, etc. For the cleansing, I add things like lavendar and eucalyptus and sage.
Disposing of the ashes is the major difference in how we treat these papers. Once they’re completely burned to ash (and it’s okay to light the paper multiple times to accomplish this), you will take the cleansing bowl away from where you live and, preferably, away from others. Definitely outside of the property lines where you live and hopefully somewhere intended for such things like a dumpster. You need to get rid of them. If that means walking across the street, that’s fine too.
The blessings note, however, you will plant like a seed. You’ll want to keep it close to your house or near other plants that you are gardening, dig about 6 inches down, plants and water it. And don’t plant anything else in that spot UNLESS it’s a plant you want to add into the magic. Continue to water for the rest of the year regularly and sit with it and give it attention anytime you feel you could use a boost.
And that’s it! Of course, these rituals can be done any time of year, not just Halloween/Samhain. And you can even up the stakes by doing your cleansing on Halloween and your blessing on All Saints Day. The more meaningful ritual you put into your magic, the stronger it gets. But the most important thing is always investing your own energy.
If you have any questions, just let me know!
