The Sacred Sabbats of Samhain and Beltaine

As the Wheel of the Year turns away from the planetary balance of light and dark at the recent Equinox in September, and toward the upcoming seasonal extremes of the December Solstice (Midsummer in the Southern Hemisphere and Midwinter in the Northern), we find ourselves approaching a deeply magical point in the year. Traditionally celebrated on October 31st , the festivals of Beltaine (Southern Hemisphere), and Samhain (Northern) lie midway between Equinox and Solstice, acting as thresholds to usher us into the approaching season.

These two sacred sabbats, occurring simultaneously on opposite sides of the world, may initially seem unrelated. Beltaine is a celebration of high Spring, of fertility and sexuality, of flowers and joy and dancing. Samhain, on the other hand, is an honouring of the energies of Death and Ancestor. It is a celebration of deep Autumn, and a gathering of the final harvest before Winter’s cold fingers lead us indoors, and deeper into connection with our inner worlds.

In this article, I’ll explore the interconnection between these two sacred points on the Wheel of the Year, and how we really can’t fully embrace one without acknowledging the other.

My Halloween Birthday

I was born in Australia on October 31st. Although Halloween was barely acknowledged back in Australia during my childhood, I still relished the idea that I was born on this special, magical, spooky day! My birthday parties were always dress-up themed, and we’d take to the streets, ‘trick or treating’ dressed as elves and fairies and ghosts. In Melbourne in the 1970’s, my poor neighbours had no idea why we were knocking on their doors, asking for ‘lollies’ (candy). But deep in my heart, I knew that this day was a special one, and I loved these early forays into leading my community on a seasonal celebration.

It wasn’t until I began my journey into Witchcraft in my mid 20’s that I learned that Halloween was an adaptation of the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. One of the eight seasonal sabbats in the Wheel of the Year, Samhain lies directly opposite Beltaine on the Wheel. I had little trouble adapting the traditional Northern Hemisphere dates for the other Sabbats to my Southern Hemisphere setting. Of course I wouldn’t celebrate Yule / Midwinter at the height of Southern Hemisphere Summer! But I was so attached to my Halloween Birthday that I had trouble flipping Samhain and Beltaine. For me, back then, October 31st was Samhain, regardless of the fact that pumpkins were hard to find and our gardens were filled with Springtime flowers! On the first track of my debut album, the song Continental Isolation even references the fact that I was born ‘on the eve of Samhain’. (Listen here)

But as I deepened my practice and aligned myself more fully with the cycles of Nature, it became clear that the calendar date for each Sabbat was far less important than the way that Nature was expressing itself at each point in the year. The Wheel of the Year is based on an agricultural cycle of planting, growing and harvesting. As we witness and honour each stage of this Life/Death/Life cycle, we align ourselves with the flow of Nature. To me, this is one of the most important aspects of Paganism: accepting and embracing the inevitable cycles of Life and Death, both within and without. Nature teaches us that change is both necessary and powerful.

The Beltaine / Samain polarity of life and death

The word ‘life’ is used two ways in our culture. We use it describe the time that an individual organism is alive; a creature is born, it lives for a while, and then it dies. When we use the word ‘life’ in this very individual sense, then the word ‘death’ can be regarded as its opposite.

But, we can also talk more generally of ‘Life on Earth’, or ‘the Life of a forest’. Death plays an integral part in maintaining this inclusive and timeless concept of Life. In fact, it is inseparable from it. Imagine being in a forest now. You’re surrounded by living trees, birds are chirping overhead, maybe an animal scurries by. The forest is teeming with Life. But a closer look shows us that Death is also present. Fallen trees are rotting, becoming food for insects, mosses and fungi, and turning to soil once more. Last season’s leaves create rich humus for new seeds to germinate in. One animal eats another. A herbivore chews the leaves and grasses. An animal dies and its energy is re-absorbed into Earth.

Life and Death everywhere, in perfect harmony. If there were no Death, there could be no Life. It’s appropriate to mourn the death of an individual life, but it’s also important to recognise that the energy of Death is a sacred and necessary part of Life as a whole. And it is the awareness of this Death energy that makes celebrating the Life energy so much more potent and powerful. This is the connection between Samhain and Beltaine. Death cannot exist without Life, nor Life without Death.

Celebrating Samhain

Northern Hemisphere: October 31st
Southern Hemisphere: May 1st
At Samhain the grain is cut, the apples plucked from the trees. The crop that was planted in the Springtime offers its life so that all can feast and be fed through the Winter months. Traditionally, this is the most powerful time to connect with our ancestors and our departed loved ones. Altars are set up in honour of the dead, and a silent supper is held, with a place set for the Beloved Dead. At this time of year, the veil between the worlds is thin, and we can commune more easily with the unseen world. It is a powerful time for divination, for connecting with the Crone aspect of the Goddess, and the gifts of the Underworld. I often incorporate this simple chant into my Samhain rituals:

“In Life is Death, In Death is Life”

In fact, I adapted this to be sung in Greek, as one of Hekate’s chants on my Persephone album. Here’s a link to a live performance of this song at my Persephone album launch in Melbourne a few years ago:

Many Pagan folks also utilize my song Dissolve (which starts with the words “it is Samhain and the veils are thin”) in their Samhain rituals:

Last year I ran my first Samhain retreat at our home in New Mexico. Eleven of us spent three days and nights celebrating with rituals, workshops, feasting and fun.

It was amazing! Here’s a few photos.

This year’s retreat is already sold out, but contact me at wendy@wendyrule.com if you’d like to plan ahead for either my Beltaine retreat ( May 4th to 7th 2023) or Samhain retreat ( October 26th to 29th) next year.

Celebrating Beltaine

Northern Hemisphere: May 1st
Southern Hemisphere: October 31st

Beltaine is traditionally the time when the Goddess and God become lovers, initiating new life. The most well known traditional practice for Beltaine is the dancing of the maypole. A circlet of flowers and bright colored ribbons is placed at the top of the phallic symbol of the maypole, which is then placed into the ritual hole of Mother Earth. Then we dance, weaving the ribbons under and over each other until they wrap the pole in a bright net of colour. It’s so much fun!

This year I created a Beltaine ritual circle and installed a maypole at our home. We’d harvested a dead aspen tree from the forest, and after spending the morning making beautiful floral headdresses, my friends and I then danced and laughed and, despite the high winds, had the most wonderful time.

So, whichever hemisphere you’re in, remember, in your upcoming Beltaine or Samhain rituals, that your Pagan kin on the other side of the world are honouring the opposite pole of the Life / Death / Life cycle.
Love and Magic,
Wendy

• Buy Cds and downloads of my music on Bandcamp: https://wendyrule.bandcamp.com
• Tune in to my monthly Full Moon concerts on Patreon (only $3 USD a month!) : https://www.patreon.com/wendyrule
• Join my online community on Mighty Networks!: https://www.wendyrulecommunity.com

For more information about Wendy Rule, including her collected articles here on Pagan Song, her bio, and more links to Wendy’s sites on the web, check out Wendy’s page here on Pagan Song.

If you enjoyed this post, we recommend the posts of Adrienne Piggot of Spiral Dance, who also brings a Southern Hemisphere perspective to her writing. Her posts are collected on her author page on this website.

For our other articles about these Sabbats, please have a look at our Samhain page and our Beltane page.