Samhain with the Morrigan

beginner devotions festivals practice Oct 28, 2025

Sliced fruit bread loaf with raisins on a wooden board beside a knife, a simple Irish Samhain offering of Báirín Breac (speckled loaf) for ancestors on the Morrigan Academy blog.

Samhain eve (31st October, Hallowe'en) is the doorway into Winter here in Ireland, a time to honour our dead, reset the household fire, and listen for the Otherworld.

It's a potent, grounded season to meet the Mórrígan with respect and right relationship in simple, quiet ways that fit real life.

Below is a short solo practice you can do at home, plus a little native context to help it feel both authentic and manageable.

Samhain in Ireland

Traditionally, Samhain marks the end of Summer and the start of Winter, remembered in old calendars as the three nights of ‘Trinoux Samoni’, with Irish custom centring on community fires, hospitality for the wandering dead, and the seasonal cull that stocked the larder for the cold months.

House hearths were once let go cold, then kindled anew from sacred fires like Tlachtga, while families set a place or a portion for ancestors and friendly spirits, a practice that survives in many homes as the ‘dumb supper’. (In contemporary practice, I call this the 'silent supper', for hopefully obvious reasons.)

It is also the clearest time for divination and scrying, since the borders between the world are easier to access (there is no fecking 'veil' btw, thin or not, so stop that), and our folkways encourage seeking wisdom for the year ahead.

The Mórrígan now

Early Irish lore places the Mórrígan active around this turning, inciting courage and strategy before battle, meeting with the Dagda before Samhain, and moving power across fords and fields in ways that bind the outcome to sovereignty and right order.

In Cath Maige Tuired she urges Lugh to rise, sets tasks for the Dagda in the week before Samhain, and commits to striking the foe by craft and prophecy, showing her season as one of preparation and decisive change.

Her fearsome aspects in poetry also remind us that the night and the darkness carries both omen and protection, which calls for clean ethics and steady hearts rather than spectacle.

Simple solo practice

Tidy a small surface, turn off bright lights, and set one candle as your ‘new fire’, with a bowl of clean water beside it.
Place a small portion of seasonal food, even a crust of bread or an apple slice, as hospitality for the honoured dead of your family or place. [Recipe for a traditional Báirín Breac is here]
Speak their names if you have them, or say that all who wish you well are welcome for a while, then sit in quiet for a few minutes.
For divination, soften your gaze into the candle flame or the dark surface of the water, and note any image, word, or feeling that rises for the months ahead. Be sure to write it down so you'll remember.
When you are done, thank your guests, pour the water to the earth, and leave the food outside where it will not be touched by the living.
Write three lines on what you are releasing, three on what you are keeping, and three on what you will prepare in Winter, then snuff out the candle.

Begin here

If life is busy or you are far from Ireland, keep it small, use what you have, choose local and seasonal food where possible, and let the practice fit your home and budget.

If you dedicate the season to right relationship with the Mórrígan, focus on ancestors, divination for your path, and steady daily offerings of attention rather than grand vows.

Return to this simple rite each year, and let Winter’s quiet do its work of planning, cleansing, and gentle renewal.