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For opening the door to those who have gone

Setting a Place

  1. 1 Set a place. At your table, your altar, or a windowsill. A plate, a cup, a candle. This is not for you. This is for the dead.
  2. 2 Speak their names. The ones you've lost. Say them aloud. If you don't have names, say: Those who came before me. Those who made my life possible. They are listening.
  3. 3 Sit in silence. Let the veil thin. You don't need to see or hear anything. Presence is enough. The door is open.
  4. 4 Offer something. Food, drink, a written word, a memory spoken. Place it at the setting. Say: I remember you. You are welcome here.
  5. 5 Close the door gently. When you're ready, blow out the candle. Say: Go well. The door closes, but the thread remains. Leave the offering overnight. In the morning, return it to the earth.
✦ Hedgewitch Almanac

Setting a Place

Samhain is the Celtic new year—the year ends in darkness, and begins there too. This is the final harvest: what remains in the field after this night is left for the spirits. The veil between worlds thins, and the dead walk close.

In the old practice, hearth fires were extinguished and relit from a communal bonfire on the hilltop—carrying the shared flame back into each home. A place was set at the table for ancestors, and food left out for wandering spirits. To be remembered is to remain; to be named is to be called back, however briefly.

Samhain asks you to open the door. Not to cling, not to summon, but to welcome. The dead do not need your grief. They need your memory. Set a place. Speak the names. Let them know they are not forgotten.

Correspondences

Materials
Candle, plate, cup, photos or mementos, a key
Plants
Mugwort, wormwood, yew, apple, pomegranate
Moon
Dark moon (the dead) or full (illumination)
Time
Dusk, midnight, or the liminal hours
Direction
West (the land of the dead) or below

The veil is thin.
The door is open.
I set a place for those who have gone.
I speak your names. I remember you.
You are welcome here.
Eat, drink, rest.
When you go, go well.
The door closes, but the thread remains.

Your intention: