A Short Prayer For Samhain (Halloween) 🍂
Remembering where we came from, giving thanks, inviting in space for wisdom and connection
Hello divine being,
Over the past couple of years how I celebrate Halloween has radically transformed. In mine (and many others) early years, it was once a fun day to dress up, be with friends, and go around the neighborhood collecting as much candy as possible…later this turned into a fun day to dress up and drink with friends. In my present world, acknowledging the deeper meaning of this holiday, it’s turned into a day of slow movements and deep remembrance. This year I am intentionally carving out space to remember my ancestors, pay homage to the dead, and give thanks for this beautiful life.
The veil is thin tonight and tomorrow as the new moon emerges. It is a time to express your heart to all the beings who may listen to you. Speak out your greatest wishes to the stars, and take extra time to listen to the wind gently kiss your cheek.
There are many ways to honor our ancestors through prayer, offerings, dances, ceremonies, and more. Today I was called to share a little prayer I wrote for myself to act as inspiration for those who may want to participate in this beautiful day with a little more intention but don’t know where to begin. If you are going to do something fun tonight, you can say this before you go and maybe light a candle too. This year (for the first time), I am taking this night to be in solitude. To pray louder, to sit with candlelight in stillness, and to remember our roots.
I say our roots because part of honoring our ancestors is honoring the land. We all come from the land and we will all go back to the land. The land is where our ancestors walked and breathed. The land has been a witness to it all.
On that note, here is a 5-minute-prayer for you. Feel free to recite it exactly as it is, adapt it to your liking, or completely disregard it and craft your own. I wish you a special day of remembrance and connection 🤎
Five Minute Samhain Prayer
Preparation:
You can prepare an elaborate altar with crystals, leaves, and more…or you can simply prepare yourself by taking a few deep breaths. Sometimes we tend to avoid doing things like this because of our lack of “tools”, but this is not about aesthetics. The altars are beautiful and powerful, but the most important tools you have are your voice, your mind, your heart, and your intentions. Take time to find a comfortable seat, light a candle, read the lines that resonate with you, and write your own if you’d like. I included space for an offering to our ancestors, so prepare any materials to make an offering as you’d like or simply just offer your voice and prayer. May this short prayer connect you to your inner light and to the light of humanity <3.
𓅫 𖦹 𓂃𓈒𓍼ོ𓂃𓈒 𖦹 𓅫 𓅫 𖦹 𓂃𓈒𓍼ོ𓂃𓈒 𖦹 𓅫 𓅫 𖦹 𓂃𓈒𓍼ོ𓂃𓈒 𖦹 𓅫 𓅫 𖦹 𓂃𓈒𓍼ོ𓂃𓈒 𖦹 𓅫
May I use this time as an opportunity to give thanks to my lineage, to the land which holds me, and to the unseen forces which guide me.
May the land, forces unseen, and my lineage continue to guide me and teach me through this lifetime and through this current transition on Earth.
May I continue to be a guide for others searching for their inner light. May I be a reflection of light itself, illuminating the path for many to follow in their own footsteps to discover the light within themselves.
May I never lose sight of the purest parts of myself. May I continue to uncover these parts, allowing them to shine brightly. Bless me that all my judgement, anger, sadness, envy, and jealousy may fall away effortlessly like leaves falling off a tree.
May I fill my heart with equanimity and loving-kindness for all beings. May I see all beings as my family, never for a second thinking they are something separate from me.
May I continue to recognize the balance that exists on this planet: the good, the bad, the happy, the sad…and through this recognition, may I remain equanimous with it all. May I not grasp at happiness and push away sadness, but rather welcome it all with the same loving heart.
May I continue to be an embodiment of wisdom, through moments of darkness and light, may my wisdom body and mind shine through to remind me of the truth.
May the Earth continue to nourish my body through her rich soil and bright sun. May the soils never dry but continually be replenished, nourishing all our elemental bodies.
To all my ancestors and those who walked before me, thank you for making the sacrifices you did so I can be here today. Thank you for continuing this lineage, for bringing me into existence in a precious human body.
Now is a great time to offer something to your ancestors, a traditional offering in Ayurveda is to use rice, but feel free to offer flowers, incense, tea, herbs, a candle, chocolate, or simply your body and mind. Offer whatever you have to give with your whole heart. Feel the love radiating from you to those who came before you, and feel the love radiating back.
May I never forget how precious this human body is. May I use this body to be of service to those who walked before me and to those who have yet to walk. May I continue to do the inner work, cutting through ancestral trauma and curses, so that future generations can walk and breathe with greater ease and love.
In moments of intensity, may I remember to breathe deeper. May I remember that all thought, emotion, and perception is ultimately empty. May I always keep the view of emptiness in my heart.
I give thanks to all the beings who have been my teacher in this lifetime and past lifetimes, and I rejoice for all the teachers who have yet to come. May I always maintain the view that everyone is my teacher, and carefully listen to hear each unique teaching.
May I continue to live in harmony with the Earth, with myself, and with others. May I offer my love out to everyone I encounter with no partiality. May my love continue to grow and radiate throughout the whole universe.
𓅫 𖦹 𓂃𓈒𓍼ོ𓂃𓈒 𖦹 𓅫 𓅫 𖦹 𓂃𓈒𓍼ོ𓂃𓈒 𖦹 𓅫 𓅫 𖦹 𓂃𓈒𓍼ོ𓂃𓈒 𖦹 𓅫 𓅫 𖦹 𓂃𓈒𓍼ོ𓂃𓈒 𖦹 𓅫
I hope you enjoyed this short moment of presence and connection, I just wrote what my heart is guiding me to write today and I hope it resonates with you. This prayer was very personal to me, so please add, edit, and delete as you go to personalize it for you. Making prayers personal is how we connect the prayers to our hearts in a deeper way.
Thank you for being here.
Much love,
Emilie