Halloween Booktacular Day 1!

What better way to get ready for Halloween then to start celebrating with a Halloween Event on the blog. Halloween is my 2nd favorite holiday after Christmas of course. So I'm happy that a few of us teamed up t bring you Halloween Booktacular event. OUaT has teamed up with Good Choice Reading, Read My Mind, An Avid Reader's Musings, Skyla11377, Books With Bite and Dark Readers. The Halloween Booktacular will run from October 24th until October 31st. Here on OUaT we will be bringing you lots of treats and maybe some tricks. We will have several post and goodies to share with you all. Each blog participating will have different post and giveaways going on, so you want to make sure you visit each one of us daily during the celebration.

Today to kick-off the event, Author Elizabeth J. Kolodziej wrote a great piece about Witches and has goodies for one reader to win.

Rituals Witches do for Samhain 

For witches, Samhain is the most important holiday of the year. That goes for Wiccans, Druids, Pagans and so forth. It derives from the Celtic culture where the Druids first began. On October 31st at sundown (when the holiday begins), it is then that the veil of the world of the dead and the living are at there thinnest. This holiday will run until November 1st. During this night it is not rare to find people trying to connect with their ancestors, perform tarot card readings, use scrying with mirrors, and do séances since this night is when these types of rituals and magic work best.

For my character Faith, the last witch in the world, she would observe this day as a religious festival. It is the day witches consider a night to honor the Crone Goddess and dead friends and family who live in spirit, along with renewing the Wheel of Life. The earliest of Celtic mythologies says that Samhain is observed as the night when the dead join in rituals of the living. This holiday was when witches would take candles and food and leave them out for traveling spirits to help guide them along their journey, which could be seen as the origin of trick-or-treat and jack-o-lanterns.

There are many different types of rituals witches can do for Samhain. However, I want to share with you a ritual that could be done with a coven or by ones self. Especially since Faith is a solitary witch.

You could set a special plate for the spirits to welcome them into your home, along with carving a special pumpkin to sit at your entryway. Also, since this is the 3rd and final harvest you could celebrate with a home cooked meal as a way to appreciate the gift of plenty.

For Faith, she would begin the evening with a quiet mediation in a way to contact her father who passed away several years ago. If you’re not the meditating type you could welcome your relative(s) into your home and talk with them about your year and what as gone well. But before meditating or talking, Faith will have lighted candles in the name of each person who has passed while asking the great spirits to protect and watch over them as they move onward with their souls journey.

As for a formal holiday ritual you could go here: http://www.paganspath.com/magik/grimoire/ritual.htm and find a simple Celtic Ritual.

Faith’s favorite part of this holiday is when she can end the evening in private reflection. Writing down thoughts and emotions that took place through out the year helps to understand how Faith is progressing or possibly holding herself back.

Some other interesting Samhain Celebrations can include, apple peeling which determines how long one’s life would be. The longer the unbroken peel, the longer the life of the one peeling the rind, do some scrying, get a reading, visit a cemetery and listen for the voices of those who have passed, tell stories of your ancestors around a fire or dinner table, or create a mask to represent your ancestry.

I really hope you found this little post a lot of fun and a tad informative. I know I had fun writing it for you!

Have a happy and safe Samhain!

<3’s and fangs,
Liz ^_^

If you are interested in Faith you can find The Last Witch Series here: The Last Witch Series Amazon List 
OR Barnes & Noble List: Available in both paperback and eBooks formats.

Some information obtained from: http://www.paganspath.com/magik/celtic/samhain.htm

Thank you Elizabeth for the great post. What did you all think? Now its time to share what goodies Elizabeth has up for grabs for one lucky winner.