Samhain (pronounced sow-een) is the Witches’ New Year, and it is from here that the Wheel of the Year is traditionally counted. It is a time for fireworks, sparklers and night-time celebrations, and a time to both say farewell to the old year, and to welcome in the new. In the north it’s all hot, fertile love energy, with abundant blossoms, the hatching of birds, bees pollinating flowers and lovers leaping the Beltane fires. But in the southern hemisphere at this time it’s the opposite. It’s the start of winter, a season of introspection and darkness both metaphorically and literally.
Traditionally this was the time to store food for the cold barren months ahead; symbolically it’s about rest and renewal, of preparing for what’s ahead and withdrawing a little to conserve your energy. While the grass becomes green and lush at this time with the onset of rain, many of the trees are stripped bare, and bitterly cold winds add to the starkness of the season. This is the time we start readying ourselves for the rebirth we’ll experience at Yule, a time of inner reflection and contemplation, of studying the Mysteries (of our tradition or our life), and scrying for answers and illumination.
It’s also the night when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest, and we honour our ancestors and commune with the dead. Of course southern witches do find it hard to explain to people that we are celebrating “Halloween” at this time, but if you pay attention to the earth, to nature, to the seasons, it’s very clear that this is our Samhain.
A tea spell for protection against evil, inspired by Samhain
- Collect: a mug, chai tea (or another black tea with cinnamon), pine needles (optional), an orange, maple syrup, obsidian and smoky quartz (or other crystals you associate with protection)
- Take your mug and put in your tea bag
- Take pine needles and use a loose leaf tea infuser, or in my case a coffee filter, and put that in the mug as well
- Squeeze a bit of fresh orange juice into your mug
- Fill up the mug with hot water and let it steep for about 5 minutes
- Take a spoonful of maple syrup (the real stuff, not pancake syrup) and stir it in, clockwise to bring protection and counterclockwise to dispel negative energy
- Charge your tea with your protection crystal(s) of choice
- Sit down with your tea
- Put your hands around the mug and feel the warmth traveling from your hands to the rest of your body
- As you’re drinking the tea slowly, imagine it creating an energy shield around you, protecting you from negativity
Comments