Book of Shadows

Samhain
(October 31)

Place upon the altar apples, pomegranates, pumpkins,squashes
and other late autum fruits. Autumn flowers such as marigolds and chrysanthemums are fine too. Write on a piece of paper an aspect of
your life which you wish to be free of: anger, a baneful habit, mis-
placed feelings, disease. The cauldron or some similar tool must be
surface (if the legs aren't long enough). A small, flat dish marked with
an eight-spoked wheel symbol should also be there*
Proir to the ritual, sit quietly and think of friends and loved ones
who have passed away. Do not despair. Know that they have gone
to greater things. Keep firmly in mind that the physical isn't the
absolute reality, and that souls never die.
Arrange the altar, light the candles and censer, and cast the Circle
of Stones.
Recite the Blessing Chat.
Invoke the Goddess and God.
Lift one of the pomegranates and, with your freshly-washed
white-handled knife, pierce the skin of the fruit. Remove several
seeds and place them on the wheel-marked dish.
Raise your wand, face the altar and say:

On this night of Samhain I mark your passing,
O Sun King, through the sunset into the Land of the Young.
I marked also the passing of all who have gone before,
and all who will go after. O Gracious Goddess,
Eternal Mother, You who gives birth to the fallen,
teach me to know that in the time of the greatest
darkness there is the greatest light.

Taste the pomegranate seeds; burst them with your teeth and
savor their sharp, bittersweet flavor. Look down at the eight-spoked

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* This is just what it sounds like. On a flat plate or dish, paint a large circle. Put a dot in the center of this circle
and paint eight spokes radiating out from the dot to the larger circle. Thus, you have a wheel symbol-a sym-
bol of the Sabats, a symbol of timelessness.

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symbol on the plate; the wheel of the year, the cycle of the seasons, the
end and beginning of all creation.
Light a fire within the cauldron (a candle is fine). Sit before it,
holding the piece of paper, gazing at its flames. Say:

Wise One of the Wanting Moon,
Goddess of the starry night,
I create this fire within Your cauldron
to transform that which is plaguing me.
May the energies be reversed:
From darkness, light!
From bane, good!
From death, birth!

Light the paper in the cauldron's flames and drop it inside. As it
burns, know that your ill diminishes, lessens and finally leaves you as
it is consumed within the universal fires*
If you wish, you may attempt scrying or some other form of
divination, for this is a perfect time to look into the past or future. Try
to recall past lives too, if you will. But leave the dead in peace. Honor
them with your memories but do not call them to you ^ Release any
pain and sense of loss you may feel into the cauldron's flames.
Works of magic, if necessary, may follow.
Celebrate the Simple Feast.
The cirlce is released.

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* The cauldron, seen as the Goddess.

^ Many Wiccans do attempt to communicate with their deceased ancestors and friends at this time. but it seems o me that if we accept the doctrine of reincranation, this is a rather strange practice. Prehaps the personalities that we knew still exist, but if the soul is currently incarnate in another body, communication would be difficult, to say the least. Thus, it seems best to remember them with peace and love - but not to call them up.

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From: Wicca: A guide for solitary practitoner - by: Scott Cunningham
Pg. 142 - 143