The Origins of Samhain & the Thinning Veil – Writual Planner

The Origins of Samhain & the Thinning Veil: Honoring the Season Between Worlds

October 24, 2026By Dustyn Deerman

As October draws to a close, the landscape begins its retreat into winter. Trees stand increasingly bare, daylight slips away a little earlier, and the last of the harvest is gathered before the colder months arrive. In the Celtic seasonal calendar, this turning point marks Samhain, an ancient Gaelic festival that has become one of the most meaningful celebrations on the modern Wheel of the Year.

Observed from sunset on October 31 through November 1, Samhain (often pronounced SOW-in) marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It is a time associated with remembrance, ancestral connection, and the mysterious space between endings and beginnings.

But where did Samhain originate, and what do we mean when we say the veil between worlds grows thin?

The history of Samhain reaches back to pre-Christian Ireland, where it was one of four major seasonal festivals alongside Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh. These observances marked important transitions in the agricultural year, reflecting the close relationship between daily life, seasonal change, and the natural world.

Samhain signaled the conclusion of the harvest and the arrival of the darker half of the year. Livestock were brought in from summer pastures, provisions were prepared for winter, and communities gathered at a moment when survival depended upon what had been carefully stored and preserved.

The festival also held considerable importance in Irish mythology. Medieval Irish literature frequently places significant supernatural encounters and otherworldly events at Samhain, presenting it as a time when ordinary boundaries become less certain.

Although many contemporary descriptions call Samhain the Celtic New Year, historical evidence for a universally observed ancient Celtic New Year is less definitive. What we can say is that Samhain marked a profound seasonal transition, one that carried practical, communal, and spiritual significance.

Its enduring symbolism lies in that threshold: the harvest has ended, winter has not yet fully arrived, and the world seems to stand between two states of being.

One of the most familiar ideas associated with Samhain is that the veil between the living and the spirit world becomes thinner during this season.

The veil is a metaphor for the boundary separating the visible, everyday world from the unseen realm of spirits, ancestors, and otherworldly beings. When we speak of the thinning veil, we are describing a time when that separation is believed to feel less pronounced, allowing for heightened connection, remembrance, and spiritual awareness.

The exact phrase thinning of the veil is more closely associated with later spiritual and modern Pagan language than with a single documented ancient Gaelic teaching. However, its underlying symbolism draws upon longstanding traditions connecting Samhain with the Otherworld.

In Irish mythology, Samhain frequently provides the setting for encounters between humans and supernatural beings. The Aos Sí, often understood as otherworldly or fairy beings, feature prominently in Irish folklore, and seasonal customs developed around respecting their presence.

For modern practitioners, the thinning veil offers a way to explore these older associations through contemporary spiritual practice. It may be understood literally, symbolically, or as an invitation to become more attentive to memory, intuition, and the cycles of life and death.

You don't need to hold one particular belief about the spirit world to find meaning in Samhain. The season itself offers an opportunity to acknowledge the people and experiences that continue to shape us, even after their physical presence has passed.

Historical Samhain customs varied across regions and evolved over centuries, but several recurring practices help illuminate the festival's lasting significance.

Bonfires and Protective Customs

Fire has long played an important role in seasonal celebrations, offering warmth, light, and protection as darkness grows. Historical accounts and later folklore describe communal fires and protective practices associated with Samhain, reflecting both the practical realities of approaching winter and the symbolic importance of safeguarding the household.

Today, lighting a candle can serve as a simple expression of that relationship between flame, protection, and remembrance.

Feasting and Hospitality

As the final harvest concluded, gathering around food offered communities an opportunity to recognize the season's abundance before winter's scarcity.

Food also became connected with remembrance and hospitality toward the dead in later folk traditions. Customs involving offerings or setting aside food for departed loved ones reflect the belief that relationships with those who came before us deserve continued care and acknowledgment.

Divination and Seasonal Reflection

Samhain also became associated with divination, particularly practices intended to reveal something about the coming year. Apples, nuts, and other seasonal materials appear in traditional Halloween and Samhain-related fortune-telling customs.

Modern practitioners often turn to tarot, oracle cards, and journaling during this period, using divination as a way to explore uncertainty and consider what the next season may hold.

Samhain and Halloween are closely connected, although they are not interchangeable.

As Christianity spread through Ireland and Britain, older seasonal customs interacted with Christian observances, including All Saints' Day on November 1 and All Souls' Day on November 2. The evening before All Saints' Day became known as All Hallows' Eve, eventually giving us the name Halloween.

Over time, customs involving disguises, communal gatherings, food, and supernatural folklore continued to develop and change. Irish and Scottish migration later helped carry many of these traditions to North America, where Halloween evolved into the celebration familiar today.

Modern Samhain observances often return to the festival's seasonal and spiritual dimensions, emphasizing ancestral remembrance, the final harvest, and the transition into winter.

Rather than treating one celebration as a replacement for the other, we can recognize how centuries of cultural exchange have shaped their overlapping histories.

Ancestral remembrance is one of the most meaningful ways to observe Samhain today.

Our ancestors may include relatives we knew personally, generations whose names have been lost, or people whose wisdom, creativity, and care helped shape our lives. Honoring them does not require an idealized view of the past or a complicated spiritual practice. It can begin with remembering a story, preparing a familiar recipe, or acknowledging the traditions we have inherited and those we wish to change.

Creating a Samhain ancestor altar offers a dedicated space for this reflection. You might include photographs, handwritten names, meaningful objects, autumn leaves, candles, or a small offering of food.

Spend time considering what you carry forward from those who came before you. Which lessons have supported you? Which patterns are you ready to release? What do you hope future generations might inherit from you?

These questions bring ancestral connection into the present, reminding us that remembrance is an active relationship with the past.

Whether you're observing Samhain for the first time or returning to an established seasonal practice, your celebration can be as simple or elaborate as you wish.

Consider incorporating a few intentional activities into October 31 or the days surrounding it:

Create an ancestor altar. Gather photographs, heirlooms, candles, and objects that help you remember loved ones.
Practice Samhain tarot. Draw three cards representing what is ending, what wisdom you carry forward, and what awaits your attention.
Prepare a seasonal meal. Work with apples, squash, root vegetables, grains, or a recipe connected to your family history.
Light a candle for remembrance. Dedicate a quiet moment to someone whose presence continues to influence your life.
Journal about the season's transitions. Reflect on what you've harvested this year, what you're ready to release, and what deserves protection through winter.

The intention behind these practices matters more than their complexity. Samhain asks us to acknowledge change without rushing past it, making room for gratitude, grief, uncertainty, and renewal to exist together.

Crossing the Threshold Into the Darker Half of the Year

The origins of Samhain remind us that endings have always been part of the seasonal cycle. The fields must rest after harvest, daylight gives way to longer nights, and communities prepare for a different rhythm of living.

The thinning veil adds another dimension to this transition, inviting us to consider the connections that remain meaningful beyond what we can see or hold.

As Samhain approaches, honor what has ended, remember what has shaped you, and enter the darker half of the year with intention. There is wisdom in recognizing a threshold before crossing it.

Deepen your Samhain practice with Writual. Explore our Sabbat Boxes and seasonal workbooks, created to bring the Wheel of the Year into your everyday rituals through mythology, tarot, reflection, and hands-on seasonal magic.