Except perhaps for the Winter Solstice, Samhain is the most meaningful holiday of the year to me.  The gratitude for our Ancestors pervades my life and helps guide my actions, as many familiar with my posts already knows.  So I was very happy to learn, last year, that our CUUPs chapter would have the opportunity to include our Samhain ritual as part of a local interfaith series (earlier examples included Muslim, Jewish, and Christian services, etc.).

Planning the ritual required the careful balance between making it understandable to those with no previous experience with Pagan rituals, while still conveying the sacredness of Samhain.  Similarly, this Samhain ritual needed to speak to a wide range of Pagans, regardless of their individual Pagan paths.  Any concerns I may have had proved to be unfounded, with the ritual leaving me moved to tears of gratitude for my Ancestors, and for the community around us that helped make it happen.

In the event that you are already planning your Samhain ritual, here’s a recording of this ritual for ideas.  If not, then it may be a Samhain inspiration for you.  Either way, we hope you find it as moving as we did.

Blessed be — Jon Cleland Host