Last updated 10/28/2025
Ways to Celebrate Samhain & Common Samhain Traditions
I’m sure you’re aware that Halloween takes place on October 31st, but did you know there’s another deeper holiday behind the scenes? Come learn some amazing ways to celebrate Samhain & common Samhain traditions!
Watch the video for how to celebrate Samhain, and read on below to learn even more about the Samhain traditions.
You probably have many memories of trick or treating as a child, and maybe even taking your own kiddos out. Decorating your house with pumpkins, witches, and all sorts of scary décor. Dressing up in costumes from the super scary gore kind to the fun creative spirited ones. But did you know that Halloween has so many often unknown meanings that we can connect with to deepen our own spirituality?
How to Pronounce Samhain?
Samhain (pronounced sow-in, with the ow like cow), is the name for the holiday that falls on Halloween, and where Halloween actually stems from. It’s a time steeped in great mystical knowledge but has become a holiday heavily celebrated and cherished as it brings so much fun and lively energy with it. It’s also favored as it’s a time you get to escape and be whatever version of yourself you want to be.
7 Ways to Celebrate Samhain
So what can you do on Samhain to deepen your spirituality, and honestly, your own connection to everything that is you? Simply celebrating the day is a huge first step, so let’s dive into how to celebrate Samhain as well as some amazing Samhain celebration ideas.
Samhain Celebration Ideas & Common Samhain Traditions:
1. Connecting with your ancestors is the biggest way to celebrate Samhain.
Samhain is a time when you can honor your past and those who came before you. This is because it’s a time of year when the veil between our world and others is thinner. This means it’s a time of year when you can connect with your ancestors more easily. To learn more about the veil and connecting with ancestors, check out another blog post I wrote here.
Within this veil lies our connection to those who have passed. Our ancestors, whether blood or spirit. So it’s a time you can communicate with those who have passed on, your loved ones that you want to remember. It’s a time of honoring where you have come from, and those that you have lost and loved, known and unknown.
It’s a time to honor them all, as they should be honored. We all live in a connected web, commingling and intertwining. The past lies within us all and brings forth the knowledge that lies deep within that makes us who we are. Samhain is a time to honor that past, where we came from and who we came from on our journey of life.
So how can you honor your ancestors?
Well, this can be done in any way that you feel called to, but here are some ideas:
- You can put up some pictures of family members or friends who have passed. You can put up a picture of important people in your life that you lost, even if they weren’t related or even if you didn’t know them personally.
- You can light a candle in honor of your loved ones.
- Speak a blessing of thanks, or a fond memory.
- Write a message down on paper and put it near their picture, or let it scatter to the winds to bring the message to them.
It’s a very personal time, so do whatever feels right to you to honor your lineage.
2. Have a meal in honor of those you loved
Traditionally, one of the big ways to celebrate Samhain is with a feast, as a big meal is often served on Samhain in honor of our ancestors. You can invite family and friends over to gather and share memories of those who you have lost. A favorite family meal can be made to remember a time you enjoyed together. It can be as simple or as complex as you desire.
3. Express gratitude
Samhain is considered the final harvest sabbat in the wheel of the year, as at this time, all of the harvesting of the crops is done. So it’s a great time to think of what you are grateful for that has occurred in the past year, or in your life in general. When we stop to think of the blessings we have had, it opens space for us to grow and be honored with even larger blessings in our future.
4. Witches New Year
Samhain is not just about embracing what has been, but another Samhain celebration idea is to begin dreaming up your future and what will be. At the same time of honoring your past, it’s also a time to embrace your future, as Samhain also represents the Witch’s New Year. It’s the ending and beginning of the Wheel of the Year; the cycle of seasons. As everything in nature is a cycle, going from life to death, and life again. Never truly ending, just becoming anew with a continuation of the knowledge achieved. There’s a special ritual you can do during this time you can find in the Awaken Your Magic Within Summit.
Life is a constant spiral where we occasionally hit the same spot again, but we are still who we are, just added onto. So at this time, it’s great to look upon your past year, and then plan for the future year. Take note of how things went, give a nod of respect to all that you have been through, good and bad, and a blessing of gratitude for making it through, no matter how hard it may have been.
5. Play
It’s often something as adults, we rarely do, but play time is something that really feeds the soul. Laughing and being carefree lets our intuition come to the surface, inspiring us with new, raw, vital energy. So embrace the fun aspect of Samhain, run around like a kid, go trick or treating, dress up and hand out candy, do whatever inspires your fun to come out.
6. Carve a pumpkin
In the old days, all sorts of winter squash were carved, and candles were placed within them to put in the windows and doorways to keep bad spirits at bay. This is because the veil is thin; not all those who roam may have positive intentions. So it’s always wise, as a blessing of protection, to put out a pumpkin with a light to ward off any negativity to be reflected away on Samhain night.
7. Explore your mask
Besides looking at your past and future, the adventure of Samhain is to also look at your present and who you are and what side of you wants to come out.
What mask do you want to wear today? What energy do you want to tap into and partake in? Your inner Witch, inner warrior, inner princess, or maybe an inner gift you have not yet discovered. See how it feels wearing that mask. Does it resonate deep inside of you somewhere? Does it bring out a playfulness? What about an unexpected feeling? There are no wrong answers, as it’s only you and who you are as an individual. Embrace your past, present, and future. Together, they are divine when you allow them to intertwine.
What mask will you wear tonight?
I hope this provided you with some inspiration and ways to celebrate Samhain. I would love to hear how you celebrate it and how it went for you. Feel free to reach out and let me know.
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Written by Heather Plant
Heather is the founder of Magical Plants and the creatrix of Witchbody Wisdom, a sacred space where women return to the rhythm of their bodies, the pulse of the Earth, and the truth of their magic. A high priestess with deep roots in plant medicine, nervous system science, and intuitive healing, she draws from decades of integrated training, merging clinical experience with ancestral memory and embodied ritual. Through her work, Heather offers more than methods- she offers a return: to rhythm, to power, to magic.
