I know that it is a tad early to be thinking about Samhain & Hallowe'en quite yet, but I want to make sure that folks have enough time to respond to this giveaway, which will be ending in mid-October. That way I will be able to get the package out to the winner in time for Samhain/Hallowe'en.
Below is what will be in the giveaway package:
- One $20.00 Cyber Gift Certificate
- Ancestral Graveyard Dirt
- Corked Bottle with Dried Datura and Poppy Pods
- Beeswax Samhain Fire Starter
- Dried Whole Dandelion Root
- Ancestor Ritual Votive Candle
- 1/2 oz Dark Daughter Loose Incense
- 1/2 oz Tech Duinn Loose Incense
- Beeswax Mullein Taper Candle
$20.00 Cyber Gift Certificate
{not pictured}
I will email a cyber gift certificate of $20.00 {CDN/US} value to the winner which can be used either purchase from my Etsy store or to purchase services on my website.
Ancestral Graveyard Dirt
A 1/2 cup of sifted Ancestral Graveyard Dirt that came from the graves of some of my Ancestors in a small Northern Ontario village cemetery. For Ancestor & Chthonic Deity rituals, or workings involving divination, protection and hexing.
Corked Bottle with Dried Datura & Poppy Pods
Since I had such a wonderful bounty of poppy and datura pods this year, I thought that I would share some. They would be great to incorporate into your charms or you can just keep them in this pretty wee bottle that comes with a cork. This grouping is an item that is not available in my shop.
Beeswax Samhain Fire Starter
One Beeswax Samhain Fire Starter made with local beeswax, along with fallen leaves and other pretties associated with the season. It can either be used for your Samhain bonfire or for fire-lit necromancy or Ancestor rituals. {Please be sure to only use in a proper outdoor fire pit, or in a wood burning stove or fireplace. This is not a candle!}
Dried Whole Dandelion Root
This dandelion root was harvested by myself during the dark moon of Bealtaine, after giving offerings to the plant for one year. Dandelions have many different properties, including being associated with death, necromancy, and protection. This root is a few inches across and can be used for a charm or perhaps even an alraun. Depending on the amount of my personal supply, I may have a few similar specimens for sale in my shop in the future.
Ancestor Ritual Votive Candle
A dark purple candle that I make for my own personal Ancestor workings. It has wormwood and graveyard dirt in it and is scented with sandalwood essential oil. I don't have any intention at this point carrying candles in my shop, but I am open to taking custom orders if there is interest.
Dark Daughter Incense
This loose incense is a mixture that I created to give as a burnt offering to the Irish Goddess Macha, and has various plant materials associated with divination, sorcery and battles. The most notable smell is the heady scent of wormwood. The winner will receive 1/2 ounce in a baggie. This item, along with all my other incense have yet to be released in my shop. They will be available soon.
Tech Duinn Incense
Tech Duinn, or the House of Donn is one of the places in Irish lore where the deceased go to. This loose incense has a combination of plant materials that are appropriate as a burnt offering to the Beloved and Mighty Dead, including sweet smelling sandalwood. The winner will receive 1/2 ounce in a baggie. This item, along with all
my other incense have yet to be released in my shop. They will be
available soon.
Beeswax Mullein Candle
This taper candle is actually a part of a dried mullein stalk that has been dipped in beeswax. The stalks of mullein were apparently used by the ancient Romans in funeral ceremonies, and I think that it would be a lovely addition to an Ancestor altar for Samhain or Hallowe'en. This candle is about 5 inches long and is for one-time burning {approximately 30-45 minutes burning time}. It fits nicely in a brass taper hold, and should have a plate or something underneath it to catch the ashes, should it be burnt indoors. {According to Nuno of the La Messe des Pâquerettes blog, the flames can be more than 15cm high. Definitely don't leave this unattended!}. This is an item that will not be for sale in my Etsy shop.
How to Enter the Giveaway
To enter all you need to do is share your favourite folklore, tradition, song, prayer, spell or ritual that is either associated with Samhain, Hallowe'en or Autumn harvests. Share any of the above in the comment section, or if you want to in a video or blog post, just make sure that it is linked in the comment section so I know that you have entered. One entry per person please! Entry deadline is Monday October 15th.
The winner will be chosen randomly, and none of the participants are obliged to subscribe to my blog or purchase anything from my shop.
Good luck!
The winner will be chosen randomly, and none of the participants are obliged to subscribe to my blog or purchase anything from my shop.
Good luck!
Laurel
My favorite tradition to give offerings to Hel and gifts to the dead outside and then almost always go trick or treating as the dead.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite tradition is to meet with my coven and we have fire divination work. After that we give libations to our personal gods and goddesses and have a mini feast.
ReplyDeleteAre multiple entries allowed?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite tradition is giving some offerings (food, candies, alcohol, tobacco...) to the deads, speak with them with a ouija board and the traditional trick or treat *w*
ReplyDeleteI'm still a child :3
My favorite tradition is the Dumb Supper, a feast of the best and most flavorful fall produce, spicy fall wine, and set with kitschy Halloween decor. Sitting in silence, with nothing but candlelight to illuminate the elaborate feast table, is a wonderful way to immerse oneself in the darkness of fall and connect to those who have traveled beyond the grave.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite tradition is to have a small gathering, decorated with lots of pumpkins, gourds, and dried rosemary bundles. I am also Spanish so we incorporate Día de los Muertos by placing pictures of those who have passed on the altar and reading calaveras (short and funny poems in the form of epitaphs of your friends). We also set out pillows and blankets in the house so the dead can rest and have a special dinner with place settings for everyone who has passed so they may join us.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to say that my favorite song/poem for Halloween would have to be Tam Lin, I tend to work with the fair folk a bit. I'm thinking of baking a loaf of bread at the crossroads with some honey for Hecate this Halloween.
ReplyDeleteKaye: thank you for bringing that up! I have edited the post to reflect that while you are more than welcome to share more than one piece of lore, each person will only once. :)
ReplyDeleteI always like to do a tarot reading on Samhain, the nearer to midnight, the better. I try to get a scope on the coming 6 months.
ReplyDeleteI also do a lot of baking!
A favorite tradition of mine has to be carving the Jack o' Lanterns to keep away trickster spirits. There is a certain amount of power that goes into carving the pumpkin with intent and then lighting a carved candle. It is my favorite thing to do around All Hallows. Wassail and Frith!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite traditions, the day after Samhain, is to visit the graves of my deceased family members to clean them and offer flowers and prayers to all of them...
ReplyDeleteHallowe'en has been my favorite holiday since my childhood. One of the best books to read around this time is "It's Halloween" by Jack Prelutsky. It is technically meant for children, but I still shamelessly love it to this day! There are several mini-stories within the book that are accompanied by songs (I used to listen to it on tape). I am linking to the first song in the book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcPUL_KaWXw
ReplyDeleteEvery Halloween, I try to spend the day gathering up seeds and other materials from my plants that are gone for the year and later in the evening, I go visit the graves of a few family members (usually my grandparents, but sometimes I visit my cousin's or great aunt's graves too), leave an offering, and just talk to them. At night, I'll eat a meal with the fall veggies we grow and I'll make something special to leave as an offering for my deities.
ReplyDeleteShaving, cutting off my nails, cutting off some of my hair and offering it to the dead with whiskey, flowers, and foodz.
ReplyDeleteI usually leave food in the cemetery in offering to the dead who have passed. Since the barriers are thinner at this time. Occasionally I get drunk, but since I don't drink much at other times this doesn't always turn out well. I either end up singing karaoke, or one night I laid around and got very angry at the moon for being so beautiful and cold and far away.
ReplyDeleteThis is a lovely giveaway ~ thank you for offering it! :)
ReplyDeleteI am very eclectic in practice and still creating my traditions, so I'll share a brief prayer that I wrote as part of a bit of spellwork last week:
http://wp.me/p2Efiy-6V
Catch a Leaf as it falls from the tree before it hits the ground. To catch a leaf during its fall is meant to be lucky.
ReplyDeleteThey also say if you catch a falling leaf the first day of Autumn you will not get sick all winter.
Thats my submission! Its something sometimes told to kids in British primary schools.
My favorite Samhain tradition is making my stuffed pumpkin for my grove!
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful giveaway! Thanks for having it! My favorite tradition is when we take food to the graveyard and have a picnic with our beloved departed on Halloween afternoon...with a bit of beer for Dad and coffee for Grandpa (he was a teetotaler).
ReplyDeleteLast year my husband and I went outside to the orchard in our yard and did a ritual to prepare for the Dark Time of the year and honoring the Horned God and the Triple Goddess, then we had a feast that we shared with our ancestors who we invited for a dumb supper (SO COOL!!) Afterwards we left the plate that we set out at dinner outside with a candle to burn through the night so any passing spirits could take energies from the food and see their way ^_^ it was amazing and I definitely have a new favorite Samhain tradition! Blessed Be <3
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Samhain tradition is cooking a large meal made up of favorite dishes of all of our deceased, including our deceased pets! My wife and I perform a small ritual and then we sit down to our meal, including a few settings for any guests that decide to join, with photos of our deceased loved ones surrounding us and speak of them and with them while we enjoy our meal. Samhain has always been my favorite holiday since I was a small child and now it reminds me of my mom who passed 9 years ago, as it was her favorite holiday also. I think this is a fabulous giveaway that you are having. Handmade items are always the most powerful and these items are beautiful! Whoever wins will be very blessed! BB! )0(
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for having this contest.. its lovely!
ReplyDeleteMy family and I have a long standing tradition for this time of year that is dear to my heart. When the nights turn cooler and the leaves begin to fall to the ground, we gather as many as we can carry and walk to a high hill. Along the way, we think of things we are thankful at this time of the year, or wishes we'd love to see come to pass.
Once at a hill, eyes closed, each of us would wish or send thanks out to the universe.. release the leaves into the air and watch them as they fly away.
we wake up early and bury apples. Since a lot of people died at my street corner due to car accidents, I bury a Witch's Bottle there for protection and I make an offering/tidy up the Spirit House I made for those that crossed over.
ReplyDeleteI make bread from scratch, Rye with a touch of pomegranet juice. offer the first slice to Gaia and the Spirits.
We make Pumpkin Stew in a pumpkin and have a herb salad with the roasted pumpkin seeds.
Red wine and mulled cider with pomegranet juice.
I made a Memento Mori Shrine which I surround with red candles for those who passed away and sing a eulogy. We have the ashes of 3 of our familiars on our main altar which we honor and burn catnip for. Then later on, burn the fire pit and drink some mugwort/amanita/madrake tea and drum and listen and watch the night until sunrise.
As a Southern kitchen witch, I teach my ancestral tradition of Burning Man: the month before Samhain, old tomato/cucumber vines, pepper/eggplant stalks and more are harvested from the finished summer garden. Vines are woven together and formed into a large circle (head), stalks are tied to bamboo legs and arms, and Burning Man is constructed for Samhain Eve about twelve to fifteen feet high. The height of our ritual involves the burn: each person writes onto natural paper the "harvest of their hearts" they are giving unto the Earth and attaches the harvest note to Burning Man. Then we light him, circling and singing. The purpose is this: to give back unto the Mother Earth her young (plants of Summer)--and to gather the ash for the next seed season, thereby giving back unto the NEW plants their "ancestors." :)
ReplyDeleteMany of my activities for Samhain and the Harvest center around my garden. I begin to collect seeds from the last harvested plants, to plant in my spring garden. On the morning of Samhain I plant bulbs for in memory of relatives that have passed, in spring they bloom and I use them for my Spring Equinox ritual. I gather pine cones to make bird feeders using peanut butter I made and seeds, nuts and raisins I hang these all over my yard through the fall and winter months. I begin baking bread mid October for Samhain gifts using herbs from my garden. On Samhain the table is set at each meal for those that decide to pass through the veil and spend some time with me. On the morning after Samhain, I cut the tops off 3 pumpkins, one for my mother, grandmother and great grandmother, fill them with soil, water and tend through the winter and by spring I have several new pumpkins.
ReplyDeleteThis is some of the things I do during the harvest season and Samhain, thank you
http://deborahsbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/
I go to the family plot every devil's night to light a candle and bring flowers to my family members who have passed away. On halloween I create a feast for them and involve my children in making decorations and sweets for this feast. We also do go out trick or treating and carve pumpkins, some traditions that my kids are going to be too old for soon. I will have more time for halloween scrying then. Thank you for having this wonderful contest!
ReplyDeleteThis is my current favorite song for this time of year, and I'm currently learning it on the harp.
ReplyDeleteThe lyrics are:
Grim king of the ghosts make haste and bring me the royal train
See how the pale moon does waste and just now is in the wane
Come unite hags, with all your charms and revelling witches away
and hug me close in your arms, to you my respects I’ll pay
I’ll court you and think you fair, since love does distract my brain
I’ll go and I’ll wed the nightmare, and kiss her and kiss her again
But, if she prove peevish and proud, then a peace on her love, let her go
I’ll seek me a winding shroud and down to the shades below
Alone and so sad I endure, since reason departs away
I call to those hags for a cure as knowing not what I say
The beauty whom I adore now slights me with scorn and disdain
I never shall see her more, oh how shall I bear my pain?
I ramble and rage about, to find out my charming saint
While she at my grief does flout and smiles at my loud complaint
Distraction I see is my doom, of this I am now too sure
A rival has got in my room while torments I do endure
I dream that my charming fair in then in my rival’s bed
Whole tresses of golden hair are on their fair pillow spread
Then this does my passion inflame, I start and no longer can lie
Ha! Sylvia, art thou not to blame, to ruin our love I cry
Grim King of the ghosts be true and hurry me hence away
I languish a life to you, in tribute I freely pay
To the Elysian shades I pass, in hopes to be free from care
Then many a bleeding ghost, is hovering in the air.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIcqIisOlIw
Entering on Tumblr - I'm http://littlecitywitch.tumblr.com :) Re-blogging & adding some lore!
ReplyDeleteAmazing blog! I think my favorite Samhain tradition is an offering of whiskey & tobacco smoke to Raven. October a few years ago, i was gifted a mummified raven chick. He went into a box on the new moon (which happened to be halloween that year) in my alter where he resides today. Each year I thank Raven.
ReplyDeleteAhh, this is great!
ReplyDeleteSince we don't celebrate Halloween or even MENTION Samhain in any way over here I mostly spend it online. My favorite thing is giving away supernatural themed drawings to my friends if they're interested... October is truly the greatest month of the year.
My favourite folklores are having to do with apples and lavender, yummy :)
ReplyDeletePeel an entire apple peel in one strand by candle light, throw it over your left shoulder. It will form the initials of your future beloved.
Eat the apple in front a mirror, or brush your hair 100 times, and you will see the face of your future beloved hovering over your left shoulder.
From "The Witches' Almanac" 2012-2013 edition:
"Lavender is known to attract spirits. A dish of lavender flower clusters, either dried or fresh, is an invaluable aid for the medium in the seance room. Lavender will relieve depression or negativity and heighten spirituality.
A traditional Victorian seance is held by candle light. When the candle flame turns blue, a ghost is present. Fresh flowers for the table and music are other helpful elements to ensure a successful seance".
I left me Tumblr URL next to my name, just drop me an ask in my ask box if I win :)
On Samhain night I ritually throw open the doors to the Underworld, face my own shadow and burn qualities of myself I want to "harvest" and cut back. These qualities I write on a scroll on Mabon, ties so I can't look at it, then burn on Samhain, at which point I judge how well I did at harvesting those things.
ReplyDeleteI try to visit a small, local cemetery around Hallow'en, to tidy up around the graves. Once the work is done, I give them small offerings of food, drink, and candle light, and sit a while, talking, or listening, as seems appropriate.
ReplyDeleteWe love making Colcannon for dinner, carving turnip faces instead of pumpkins, and as for Hallowe'en decorations, I love having the house that the little ones make their parents carry them up to the driveway... We go full macabre over gore/ghosts... it's much more spooky. We blast Christopher Walken's reading of The Raven outside, and fill the house with ravens, owls and skulls... and more candles than most people would even imagine owning. Once the Trick-or-Treaters have all gone, we have a bonfire in the back yard and welcome our loved ones from across the veil back to sit with us a while and enjoy the turning of the New Year.
ReplyDeleteFor me personally... Halloween/Samhain is more of a season than a day... and it's my very favorite one.
ReplyDeleteI have a personal tradition heavy with ancestral/spirit work, and I love to create things for the dead and to feed the dead. Feasts or suppers left out, songs sang, prayers and poems whispered over platters and runners of food.
I do this for those whose bones I hold as well as the souls of kin or affinity with which I have a connection.
I like to sit out late, long after the skunks and owls have stopped their fussing, and I listen to the whispers of the departed on the breeze. I write their words or simply sit or speak with them... I also enjoy spinning with the dead... the creating of yarn, not the bicycle sort... ;)
I entered on Tumblr! Here is the link: http://wildwoodland.tumblr.com/. Here is my entry again for good measure: One of the few posts containing words on this blog, for Unfettered Wood’s Samhaim lore/ritual/tradition contest. After cleaning my tiny house for two days, re-blessing it and baking Pan de Muertos, The Mighty Dead get the mother of all ancestor altars where Santisima Muerte keeps them company. I also light candles in all my windows to guide the way for any wandering ghosts and bury apples outside to feed them. Also make sure to watch most favorite Halloween movie ever, The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad.
ReplyDeleteWe (family and myself) LOVE hosting this event every year. We love playing Samhain games (have to really hunt or make up our own) in the evenings. For the last 7yrs now, we have had a Pinta' for our games. I love filling it up with candy and other goodies and GLITTER!! One can NEVER have too much glitter in anything...lol. But for the last 2 yrs, we've changed from candy to herbs and stones (and still lots of GLITTER!). Once all the games are done, we all go inside and chit chat. Around 11p.m. the host of the ritual will go outside and prepare for the Midnite Ritual. Lighting candles, setting up the magick, getting the empty space ready for the all the ancestors to arrive. We share our "cakes & ale" with all, animals, ancestors and each other. Afterwards, we go back inside and warm up =)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.stormingwulf.blogspot.ca/2012/10/my-entry-for-samhain-give-away.html
ReplyDeleteThe giveaway is now closed. Thank to all who have participated!
ReplyDelete