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Setting a Place

For opening the door to those who have gone

Before You Begin

Set a place at your table, altar, or windowsill. A plate, a cup, a candle. This is not for you. This is for the dead.

The Rite

  1. Speak their names. The ones you’ve lost. Say them aloud. They are listening.

  2. Sit in silence. Let the veil thin. Presence is enough.

  3. Offer something. Food, drink, a memory spoken. Say: I remember you. You are welcome here.

  4. Close the door. Blow out the candle. Say: Go well. The door closes, but the thread remains.

Notes

Samhain is the Celtic new year—ending and beginning in darkness. The dead do not need your grief. They need your memory. Set a place. Speak the names.

A fuller version of this rite, with correspondences, lore, and invocation, is available as a printable card in the shop.