Samhain

There are days on the calendar, rare and ancient, imbued with a pulse that transcends time and place. Halloween, or Samhain, is one of these days—a night resonant with ritual and mystery, its magic woven through the histories of many cultures and beliefs. As the new moon in Scorpio arrives alongside Samhain, the air grows thick with transformation, a silent call for both remembrance and renewal. We celebrate our ancestors and the lives they forged, honouring the legacies they left us while feeling the gravity of the darkness surrounding our world today.

Once rooted in the old ways, Halloween today stands transformed—its origins in the Celtic new year and Christian commemorations of the departed mingling with modern traditions. On this night, as candles burn to guide the spirits, we reach across time’s veil. The fires of Samhain glow in the north, inviting reflection as winter’s long shadow approaches, while in the southern hemisphere, the embers of Beltane stir a celebration of the sun’s return. In Central and South America, the Day of the Dead descends from ancient rituals honouring those who walked before, reminding us of the timeless bond between life and death.

But as sacred as this night is, we can’t ignore the troubled world around us. The festival continues, yet outside, the dark powers of conflict rage on, with nations divided and lives torn apart. The masquerade of Halloween meets the reality of war-paint, painted faces, and real wounds left unhealed. As our ancestors once did, we honour those who came before, venerated as the path-layers and world-builders. And still, in our forgetting, we let death euphemise life, ignoring painful truths and willfully veiling our past.

This Samhain, our ancestors whisper from beyond, reminding us that history is seldom kind or honest. We must reach for courage, hold our grief, and seek something better. As the Scorpio new moon rises, perhaps it calls us to confront the shadows we perpetuate and resist repeating the past’s tragedies. Tonight, under the same moon that our ancestors once felt, we remember them, hold their wisdom close, and pray for a future where we move beyond these dark cycles, imagining something brighter beyond the horizon.