🕯️ Samhain & the Thin Veil: Rituals for Remembering
- Geri Watson
- Jan 9
- 3 min read
As October deepens and the light thins, the world begins its slow descent into darkness. Leaves fall like quiet prayers.
The air sharpens.
Shadows stretch earlier across the earth.
This is the season of Samhain; the ancient threshold where the veil between worlds grows thin, and remembering becomes a sacred act.
Samhain invites us to pause.
To listen.
To honor.
To remember the ones who walked before us and the ones we still carry in our hearts.
It is not a season of fear.
It is a season of reverence.
🌙 The Thin Veil: A Time of Connection
Across cultures and centuries, this time of year has been understood as a liminal space; a doorway between the seen and unseen, the living and the dead, the past and the present.
You may feel:
A heightened sense of intuition
A pull toward memory
A longing for those who have died
A desire for quiet, ritual, or reflection
A sense that the world is whispering
These sensations are not imagined.
They are the body’s way of recognizing the shift, the thinning of the veil.
Samhain reminds us that connection does not end with death.
It simply changes form.
🍂 Why Samhain Matters for the Grieving Heart
Grief is a kind of threshold; a place where two worlds meet.
Samhain mirrors that experience, offering a season where remembrance is not only allowed but encouraged.
This time of year can bring:
Memories rising like smoke
Dreams that feel like visitations
A renewed ache for the ones we miss
A sense of closeness that defies logic
A desire to honor, not avoid, the truth of loss
Samhain gives us permission to lean into these feelings.
To let remembrance be sacred instead of painful.
To let love guide the way.
🕯️ Rituals for Remembering
Ritual doesn’t have to be elaborate.
It only needs to be intentional.
Here are gentle Samhain‑inspired rituals to honor your beloved dead:
1. Create an Ancestor or Beloved Dead Altar
Gather items that carry meaning:
Photos
Candles
Flowers
Stones
Letters
Objects that belonged to them
Place them together in a quiet space. Let this altar become a doorway of remembrance.
2. Light a Candle at Dusk
As the sun sets, light a single flame.
Speak their name. Or whisper a memory. Or simply sit in the glow.
The flame becomes a bridge, a symbol of presence, love, and continuity.
3. Set a Place at the Table
On Samhain night, many traditions set a place for the dead, a gesture of welcome and honor.
You might:
Place a plate
Pour a cup
Lay a flower
Sit in silence for a moment
This is not superstition.
It is hospitality of the heart.
4. Walk in the Dark with Intention
Take a slow walk after sunset.
Feel the air.
Notice the sounds.
Let the darkness be a companion, not a threat.
You may feel closer to your loved one in these quiet, liminal moments.
5. Write a Letter Across the Veil
Write to the one you miss:
What you wish you could say
What has changed
What you’re carrying
What you’re releasing
Place the letter on your altar, bury it, or burn it safely as an offering.
🌑 Samhain as a Threshold of Becoming
Samhain is not only about looking back.
It is also about looking inward.
This season asks:
What are you ready to release
What are you ready to carry forward
What wisdom has grief taught you
What part of you is ready to be reborn
As the earth rests, you are invited to rest too; to let the darkness be a place of renewal, not fear.
🌌 Love Lives Through the Veil
Samhain reminds us that death does not sever connection.
Love continues.
Memory continues.
Presence continues in ways we cannot always explain but can often feel.
The veil may thin only once a year, but the bond remains always.
🕯️ You Don’t Have to Walk This Threshold Alone
At Orion’s Legacy Editing, I believe in honoring the sacred seasons of grief, the thresholds, the rituals, the remembering.
Whether you’re creating ceremony, writing your story, or simply trying to understand what this season stirs in you, I’m here to walk with you.
Your grief matters.
Your remembering matters.
Your story deserves space.
Comments