Samhain and the thinning of the veil between realms

plus the transformative nature of Scorpio and this heavy eclipse season

Vasilina Sirotina

Happy Halloween and Samhain, friends!

I don’t think there’s a more ubiquitously used witchy turn-of-phrase when it comes to this time of year than the “thinning of the veil between realms.” It’s a concept that has always been irrevocably linked with Samhain (pronounced SAH-win), otherwise known as the Witches New Year, and of course, an ancestor to what is celebrated widely today—All Hallow’s Eve.

This is because, like Beltane, its May Day sister, the seasonal Celtic festival pulls back that veil between our world and the spirit realm, revealing a liminal space in which all manner of mystical beasties are free to roam.

Sam Block, spooky mystic fruit 𐠎 @polyphanes

"the veil between the worlds is so thin nowadays" I mean, isn't a veil always thin, though? Like, that's what a veil is: thin. It's not the "weighted blanket between worlds". People saying this are like people who are drunk and Really Feel Their Own Teeth all of a sudden

I don’t entirely agree with this, mostly because I am as guilty as any other spiritually attuned person of saying the phrase myself, and of believing it! That said, the above tweet does reveal a certain kind of truth—maybe it’s that it becomes too obvious to ignore during this time, like suddenly noticing your own teeth, or staring at yourself in the mirror while under the influence for long enough that you no longer feel real.

We can communicate with spirits at any time. We can ask for signs from our spirit guides, angels, leave offerings on ancestor altars, or ask them to come to us and reveal answers we may not even realize we’ve been questioning in our dreams.

But I do think there are periods—and places—when we notice it’s easier to receive messages, or that the denizens of the spirit realm feel closer to us, or that our dreams feel stranger and more vivid than usual. And I hope that the answers for any questions you have for your own guides are revealed to you, though they may not arrive in the manner you expect.

The Celtic New Year takes place during Scorpio season, a sign that represents the rebirth that comes after death. Like the Death card in tarot, though, this encompasses more than its physical iteration, but instead portends a shift—or at least the awareness that a situation or thing is no longer serving us in the way it once was, and that a change is necessary. Death is the ultimate transformation, after all, and we see it in nature every year during this time, as the vivid foliage of fall shifts from brilliant shades of amber, gold, and crimson into the sparse quiet of winter.

Ruth Edna Kelley writes in her Book of Hallowe’en, the first-ever book-length history of the holiday:

“The year was over, and the sun’s life of a year was done. The Celts thought that at this time the sun fell a victim for six months to the powers of winter darkness.

In Egyptian mythology one of the sun gods, Osiris, was slain at a banquet by his brother Sitou, the god of darkness. On the anniversary of the murder, the first day of winter, no Egyptian would begin any new business for fear of bad luck, since the spirit of evil was then in power. From the idea that the sun suffered from his enemies on this day grew the association of Samhain with death.”

—Ruth Edna Kelley, 1919

This year, it also happens to fall during a heavy eclipse season, one that was kicked off by the Scorpio new moon solar eclipse on October 25. While I’m not one to join in on spreading the “doom and gloom” attitude so many astrologers hold toward eclipse season, eclipses that occur on the Scorpio-Taurus axis are bound to be intense. And the fact that this eclipse season will culminate with the full moon lunar eclipse in Taurus on Election Day in the US—well, it’s more than likely there will be effects of cosmic proportions.

I think many of us can agree that this October “just hasn’t Octobered” the way it normally does (myself included, though it may not seem that way). Though of course spooky season has had its highlights, its giddy impassioned highs, ultimately, it’s a period where I usually feel more recharged, and that just hasn’t been in the cards this year. It’s hard not to feel depleted at this time—mentally/physically/emotionally/spiritually, or all of the above.

But the need for rest, for turning inward, is a part of the experience, too, even if it’s one I have a tough time accepting.

We are taught to fear change, and often to avoid it at all costs, to stay in what’s safe and comfortable. The power of Scorpio is such—to know not only that change is inevitable, but that endings are never just that: they are transformations, too, and doorways to something new. And Scorpio certainly isn’t afraid to dwell in the dark.

This holiday that celebrates nature’s foray into darkness will always have a special hold on me. Whether you’re celebrating with candy and costumes, or a ritual to commemorate the descent into the Underworld, I hope that your spooky festivities are rich and nourishing, and that they find you able to easily relinquish whatever it is you need to let go of.

xx

Kimia