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OHH  NOOO!!
There  are witches in my mailbox.
What am I to  do?
I  found them there this  morning,
Doing  things they shouldn't do!!
How  the witches got  there,
I haven't got a  clue.

But  they won't be there much  longer
Because  I'm sending them  to
YOU!!!!!!
You've  been Witch  Kissed!
Before  the warts begin to  spread,
Pass  the kisses on  instead!

Seeing the Future at Halloween

In many agricultural societies, a popular pastime at Samhain was that of divining the name of one's future lover. Some revealed a face, others an initial or even a full name. These traditional methods were practiced in rural societies for centuries. You can use them today for your own divination.

Apple Divination

Apples have always been popular tools for foretelling the future. There are a number of traditional methods in folklore for seeing who one's lover might be.

• Peel the apple, keeping the peel in one long piece. When the peel comes off, drop it on the floor. The letter it forms is the first initial of your true love's name.
• Wait until midnight at Samhain, and cut an apple into nine pieces. Take the pieces into a dark room with a mirror (either hanging on the wall or a hand-held one will do). At midnight, begin eating the pieces of apple while looking into the mirror. When you get to the ninth piece, throw it over your shoulder. The face of your lover should appear in the mirror.
• If a girl has more than one potential lover, peel an apple and pull out the seeds. Place a wet seed on your cheek for each boyfriend. The last one left stuck to the skin represents the suitor who is the true love.

Water Divination

Water has always been known for its magical properties, so it's only natural to use it for divination workings. Try one of these on Samhain night.

• At midnight on Samhain, go to a lake and gaze into the water. You should see your lover's face reflected in the lake before you.
• Fill a cauldron with water, and then light a candle. Drip the hot wax into the water, and see what shape it forms. The shape will indicate the profession of your future lover.
• Find a moving body of water like a stream or river. Select a piece of wood to represent the person you wish to be your lover, and throw it in the water. If it floats downstream, he will be true and constant. If the wood gets caught up on the bank, or sinks, your lover will be unfaithful.

Food Divination

There are a number of divinations that use foods, baking and cooking as their focus. Some of these are still practiced today.

• Scottish Bannock Divination: in Scotland and northern England, a girl would bake a bannock cake in the evening. In complete silence, she walked to her room and placed the bannock under her pillow. Her dreams that night would show her the face of her lover, and in the morning she ate the bannock.
• To find out if you'll find love in the coming twelve months, separate an egg and drop the white into a glass of water. If it sinks immediately, love is forthcoming. If it floats on the top of the water, you'll spend the next year alone.
• Take two nuts, one for yourself and one for your lover. At midnight on Samhain, place them on a grate over your fire. If they burn well, you'll have a long and happy relationship. If one nut pops or burns, it means one of you will be unfaithful.

Samhain is a time like no other, in that we can watch as the earth literally dies for the season. Leaves fall from the trees, the crops have gone brown, and the land once more becomes a desolate place. However, at Samhain, when we take the time to remember the dead, we can take time to contemplate this endless cycle of life, death, and eventual rebirth.

Difficulty: Average Time Required: Varied

Here's How:

1. For this ritual, you'll want to decorate your altar with symbols of life and death. You'll want to have on hand a white candle and a black one, as well as black, red, and white ribbon in equal lengths (one set for each participant). Finally, you'll need a few sprigs of rosemary.

   Perform this rite outside if at all possible. If you normally cast a circle, do so now.

2. Say:

   Samhain is here, and it is a time of transitions.
   The winter approaches, and the summer dies.
   This is the time of the Dark Mother,
   a time of death and of dying.
   This is the night of our ancestors
   and of the Ancient Ones.

   Place the rosemary on the altar. If you are doing this as a group ceremony, pass it around the circle before placing on the altar. Say:

   Rosemary is for remembrance,
   and tonight we remember those who have
   lived and died before us,
   those who have crossed through the veil,
   those who are no longer with us.
   We will remember.

3. Turn to the north, and say:

   The north is a place of cold,
   and the earth is silent and dark.
   Spirits of the earth, we welcome you,
   knowing you will envelope us in death.

   Turn to face the east, and say:

   The east is a land of new beginnings,
   the place where breath begins.
   Spirits of air, we call upon you,
   knowing you will be with us as we depart life.

4. Face south, saying:

   The south is a land of sunlight and fire,
   and your flames guide us through the cycles of life.
   Spirits of fire, we welcome you,
   knowing you will transform us in death.

   Finally, turn to face the west, and say:

   The west is a place of underground rivers,
   and the sea is a never-ending, rolling tide.
   Spirits of water, we welcome you,
   knowing you will carry us
   through the ebbs and flows of our life.

    

5. Light the black candle, saying:

   The Wheel of the Year turns once more,
   and we cycle into darkness.

   Next, light the white candle, and say:

   At the end of that darkness comes light.
   And when it arrives, we will celebrate once more.

6. Each person takes a set of ribbons -- one white, one black, and one red. Say:

   White for life, black for death,
   red for rebirth.
   We bind these strands together
   remembering those we have lost.

   Each person should then braid or knot their three ribbons together. As you do so, focus on the memories of those you have lost in your life.

7. While everyone is braiding or knotting, say:

   Please join me in chanting as you work your energy and love into your cords:

   As the corn will come from grain,
   All that dies will rise again.
   As the seeds grow from the earth,
   We celebrate life, death and rebirth.

    

   When everyone has finished braiding and chanting, take a moment to meditate on the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Is there someone you know who reminds you of a person you've lost? Have you ever looked into a baby's eyes and seen your late grandfather looking back?

8. Finally, ask everyone to take their knotted ribbons home with them and place them on their personal altar if they have one. That way, they can be reminded of their loved ones each time they pass by.

Tips:

1. Rosemary is used in this rite because although it seems to go dormant over the winter, if you keep it in a pot you'll get new growth in the spring. If there's another plant you'd rather use, feel free.

What You Need:

• Ribbon in black, red and white
• A white candle and a black one
• Rosemary

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For many modern Pagans and Wiccans, there has been a resurgence of interest in our family histories. We want to know where we came from and whose blood runs through our veins. Although ancestor worship has traditionally been found more in Africa and Asia, many Pagans with European heritage are beginning to feel the call of their ancestry. This rite can be performed either by itself, or on the third night of Samhain, following the End of Harvest celebration and the Honoring of the Animals.

Difficulty: Average Time Required: Varied

Here's How:

1. First, decorate your altar table -- you may have already gotten it set up during the End of Harvest rite or for the Ritual for Animals. Decorate your altar with family photos and heirlooms. If you have a family tree chart, place that on there as well. Add postcards, flags, and other symbols of the country your ancestors came from. If you're lucky enough to live near where your family members are buried, make a grave rubbing and add that as well. In this case, a cluttered altar is perfectly acceptable -- after all, each of us is a blend of many different people and cultures.

2. Have a meal standing by to eat with the ritual. Include lots of dark bread, apples, fall vegetables, and a jug of cider or wine. Set your dinner table, with a place for each family member, and one extra plate for the ancestors. You may want to bake some Soul Cakes.

   If your family has household guardians, include statues or masks of them on your altar. Finally, if a relative has died this year, place a candle for them on the altar. Light candles for other relatives, and as you do so, say the person's name aloud. It's a good idea to use tealights for this, particularly if you have a lot of relatives to honor.

    

3. Once all the candles have been lit, the entire family should circle the altar. The oldest adult present leads the ritual. Say:

   This is the night when the gateway between
   our world and the spirit world is thinnest.
   Tonight is a night to call out those who came before us.
   Tonight we honor our ancestors.
   Spirits of our ancestors, we call to you,
   and we welcome you to join us for this night.
   We know you watch over us always,
   protecting us and guiding us,
   and tonight we thank you.
   We invite you to join us and share our meal.

4. The oldest family member then serves everyone else a helping of whatever dishes have been prepared, except for the wine or cider. A serving of each food goes on the ancestors' plate before the other family members recieve it. During the meal, share stories of ancestors who are no longer among the living -- this is the time to remember Grandpa's war stories he told you as a child, tell about when Aunt Millie used salt instead of sugar in the cake, or reminisce about summers spent at the family homestead in the mountains.

5. When everyone has finished eating, clear away all the dishes, except for the ancestors' plate. Pour the cider or wine in a cup, and pass it around the circle (it should end at the ancestor's place). As each person recieves the cup, they recite their genealogy, like so:

   I am Susan, daughter of Joyce, the daughter of Malcolm, son of Jonathan...

   and so forth. Feel free to add in place names if you like, but be sure to include at least one generation that is deceased. For younger family members, you may wish to have them only recite back to their grandparents, just because otherwise they can get confused.

6. Go back as many generations as you can, or (in the case of people who have done a lot of genealogy research) as many as you can remember. You may be able to trace your family back to William the Conqueror, but that doesn't mean you have it memorized. After each person recites their ancestry, they drink from the cider cup and pass it to the next person.

7. A quick note here -- many people are adopted. If you are one them, you are fortunate enough to be able to choose whether you wish to honor your adoptive family, your biological family, or a combination of the two. If you don't know the names of your birth parents or their ancestry, there's nothing wrong with saying, "Daughter of a family unknown." It's entirely up to you. The spirits of your ancestors know who you are, even if you don't know them yet.

8. After the cup has made its way around the table, place it in front of the ancestors' plate. This time, a younger person in the family takes over, saying:

   This is the cup of remembrance.
   We remember all of you.
   You are dead but never forgotten,
   and you live on within us.

    

   Take some time to meditate on the value of family, how fortunate we are to be able to know the connections of kin and clan, and the value of heritage. If your family has a tradition of music or folktales, share those as a way to wrap up the ritual. Otherwise, allow the candles to burn out on their own. Leave the plate and cup on the altar overnight.

Tips:

1. If you didn't do a separate ritual for animals, you can add photos and candles for deceased pets to your family altar.
2. If you like, you may wish to follow this ritual with a Seance.

What You Need:

• Items to represent your family members
• A meal to eat
• A cup of cider or wine to drink
• Candles