Samhain Ceremony by Aileen

Samhain is one of the most magical times of the year. Often considered the Witch’s New Year, it’s a time to take stock, to reap the last harvest of the year and, of course, to take a look ahead at the year to come. In Pagan communities of all kinds, people will come together particularly at Samhain for celebration and ritual.

What if, though, you’re not part of a like-minded community where you live? What if you’re still in the broom closet, but really want to mark this new beginning, to make the most of a magical space and time where the veils are gossamer-thin? What if you’re just starting out and you don’t have any special magical tools?

This little ceremony is for you. It is simple and you need only a pen and paper. It can take as long as you wish it to, or it can take a few snatched minutes in a private space at work – what’s most important is the intent, the energy that you put into it. You can do this alone if you want, but you can also build it up into something bigger and do it with other people.

We work with Cerridwen, so if I was doing this, I’d start off by saying a prayer to her. She is a Goddess who understands how it feels to be working hard without a break. She understands what it’s like to feel separate and different to the other people around you. She is a Goddess of transformation, of renewal, and Samhain is her time…when you call on her, especially when setting intentions for the year ahead, she can help.

You can use your own words or if you would like, I have included the kind of words we might typically use if we were starting out on a ritual with Cerridwen.

The Ceremony

Welcome Cerridwen, Mistress of Magic and Mystery. You are at the centre of all that we do. We ask you please to bring your healing to this space. To let your magic flow all around us, and work its wonderful transformation and renewal that is so needed in a world that hurries and pushes. Lady, please bring to us the creativity and regeneration that comes from spending time with you. We stand before you, still and quiet, as all of that wonderful power ebbs and flows around us, ready to restore and renew. We breathe your magic in. Hail and Welcome, Cerridwen, Mistress of Magic and Mystery. We bring all of that energy to our centre now, with gratitude. Blessed be.

We can draw on these energies, from the Goddess, not only here today but when we leave this space, when we return to daily life and go about our business. Remember that all of this magic has been called in for you, today.

We are now going to ground and centre – when the world pulls at us and makes its demands, it can be easy to forget just where we truly are. And where we are, at all times, is connected to the earth itself, and to the skies above. We have both roots and wings, and we will take just a few moments to remind ourselves now.

If you can, close your eyes, but if that’s not possible, then please simply relax and listen, again.

Focus on your breathing and allow yourself to breathe gently, slowly, naturally.

As you give yourself that gift of deep, nourishing breath, notice how you start to feel more relaxed, calmer and more at peace with yourself.

Feel where you are connected to the earth – through the soles of your feet, where you sit, where you place your hands. Feel strong roots of connection growing through your feet and reaching down, down to the very heart of the earth, where there is warmth and the love of Mother Earth herself. 

Feel that warmth and love travelling all the way back up through your roots right into your body and up into your heart, that wonderful direct connection with Mother Earth.

Feel a thread of energy travelling up now, up through your body and through the crown of your head, reaching all the way to the stars where it wraps around and connects with one bright, shining star. Feel the lightness and wonder and magic that comes to you, right from the star, as its loving energy travels down that thread and back to your heart.

You are beautifully, wonderfully connected to the earth and the stars, right here, right now, and at all times that you take a moment to ground and centre yourself, to give yourself this gift of reconnection, in this way.

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Bring your focus back to your breathing, slow and gentle.

Wiggle your toes and come back to the place where you’re sitting.

But know that you come back with all the power of that grounding and centring, that connection, along with the wonderful Goddess-energies that we called in earlier.

Now it is time to do some work! With the help of Cerridwen, we are going to think about some of the things that may have held us back over the past year. The things which have not yielded any fruit or useful harvest for us. The things we want to let go, as we move into a new time, a new year…

Cerridwen is known for her mighty cauldron – the cauldron that brewed the Awen, the magical inspiration for so much creativity that exists in the world today. Her cauldron is also one of transformation and release, magical alchemy working with us to identify things that no longer serve us and help us change them into more helpful patterns.

Today we are going to put into the cauldron some of those things!

Take your paper and pen, and take a few minutes to write down five or six of the things that you would like to let go of.

These could be things like anxiety, procrastination, fear… or anything else at all that you can see isn’t serving you, or your highest good.  

Take as much time as you need and, when you’re done, take a look at your list for a moment.

Now – for the next few minutes, make a new list on another piece of paper. This list is all of the things that will help you overcome and work towards transforming those challenges. Perhaps it is courage, or boldness that you need…or something else altogether. But please take time to write these down.

Now you have two lists – well done for taking this time to focus on yourself , for taking stock and for thinking about the positive things you would like to bring into the year ahead!

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Look at your first list – the list of challenges and difficulties. We are now going to put those into Cerridwen’s Cauldron – metaphorically speaking…

Look at the first item on your list – take your pen and very carefully, deliberately, score it out. (If you have a felt pen like a Sharpie, that would be ideal!). Score over that word until it is no longer visible. It is going into the cauldron to be transformed. 

Now, do the same for each item on your list. Score them out, with each stroke of your pen think of these challenges becoming less and less…

With each stroke of your pen, imagine that these challenges are being burnt away, in a cauldron, going through the transformative, cleansing, renewing, bright energy that Fire brings, to help you move these on.

Now, please turn to your second list – the list that will help you to overcome those challenges. Take a look at each of the things you have written down – take time to speak them to your heart and soul, you do not need to do this out loud right now but please do so when you can.

Look at each word you have written down. What do you need to do to make them reality? Give these written words value and importance – draw around them, a circle, a heart, any pictures that might help you to bring them to reality. Make them beautiful, for they are beautiful things, and they can be good and helpful companions to you as you set out on this new, fresh time in your life.

Keep your list and add it to a journal if you have one, or keep it somewhere safe where you can look at it and be reminded of this time you took for yourself today. Look at it again – add to it if you want, drawing on the energies we have brought to this space today, remembering how peaceful and inspired you felt.

These are qualities that we want to keep, we are not throwing them to the fire, but we will ask Cerridwen to bless them. I have added the kind of words that we would use, but you can use your own too.

Cerridwen, we have given to your fire those things which no longer serve us. And, inspired by you and supported by your energy, we have set out the things which will help us, which we will work towards, to support us in future times of challenge and to help us grow in joy and vitality.

Lady, please consume in your fire that list of challenges.

And Lady, please bless the work that we will do to grow and thrive.

Blessed be.

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I hope that this short ceremony helps to restore you and provides inspiration and support to draw upon in the days to come. We can never completely avoid busyness but we can take time out for ourselves so we can cope with it. Thank you for taking that time for you today.

As you return to your day and the days to come, I hope you can keep the peace and nourishment of this sacred space and time in your heart.

 

Aileen, Priestess of Cerridwen

Argyll, Scotland

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