Samhain Archives - Lynn Hayes astrology readings and writings

Sunday inspiration: Penetrating the Dark Night of the Soul at Samhain

The ancient Celtic holiday Samhain is a cross-quarter holiday, meaning it occurs when the Sun is at the midpoint of the Winter Solstice and the Autumn Equinox rather than October 31. That point is actually the 15th degree of Scorpio which is actually on November 7th this year. The All Hallows Eve Christian festivals were designed to replace the ancient Samhain festival, and now we have gone backwards and celebrate Samhain at Halloween. But the dark portal of energy signified by Samhain is actually on […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2023-12-21T16:39:40-05:00January 17th, 2021|Holidays, Inspiration|3 Comments

The magic of Samhain and the journey to Hallowe’en

Art by Wendy Andrews

I just returned from a trip to Ireland, where the holiday of Hallowe’en is said to have originated with the ancient Celts who called this holiday Samhain, or “summer’s end”. Traditionally the holiday was celebrated on November 1st, but some sources say that the festival lasted seven days, or even nine days. In Ireland there was a huge assembly at Tara where the kings met to craft their laws and the common people held celebration.

In medieval Europe the pagan (country) people celebrated the […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2019-10-31T08:15:45-04:00October 30th, 2019|Holidays|0 Comments

Scorpio New Moon at astrological Samhain: A trip between the worlds

Scorpio New Moon

The New Moon in Scorpio on the 7th which coincides this year with astrological Samhain, the ancient cross-quarter holiday of power at 15 degrees Scorpio.Samhain is one of the “cross-quarter” holidays that fall between the Solstices and Equinoxes. Astrologically, the Solstices and Equinoxes mark the entry of the Sun into the cardinal signs of initiation: Aries at Spring, Cancer at Summer, Libra at Autumn and Capricorn at Winter. The cross-quarter periods occur at 15 degrees of the fixed signs, with Samhain in the sign of Scorpio, the sign that corresponds […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2018-11-08T07:18:49-05:00November 7th, 2018|Moon|4 Comments

Happy Samhain/Hallowe’en/Day of the Dead!

Those who decry Hallowe’en as a pagan holiday are, of course, correct! In medieval Europe the pagan (country) people celebrated the the midpoint of the fixed signs as periods of power. These times correspond to the fixed signs of Aquarius (Brigid in February), Taurus (Beltane in May), Leo (Lugh in August) and Samhain (pronounced Sow’en) in November for Scorpio. These times exactly between the solstices and equinoxes, at the 15% point of the fixed signs, and are called the “cross-quarter” days.

At Samhain it is said that the veils between the worlds […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2019-11-10T19:06:54-05:00October 31st, 2015|Holidays|0 Comments

Samhain Full Moon in Taurus, November 6th 2014

“To Be a Witch” by Dandelion Lion

Although the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain is celebrated for convenience on October 31st to coincide with Hallowe’en or All Hallows Eve, it actually occurs at the midpoint between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice. This is also the midpoint of Scorpio, the dark season where the veils between the world begin to thin and it becomes easier to cross between them.

This year the Taurus Full Moon falls within one degree of the Samhain point – the Sun […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2019-08-27T10:28:28-04:00November 5th, 2014|Holidays, Moon|4 Comments

Season of the Witch

Samhain Goddess by Arwen Grace

Now that we are through the New Moon in Scorpio Lunar Eclipse and have begun the trip into the deepest realms of the subconscious, we have no fewer than five planets and luminaries as well as an asteroid, all lined up today in a Scorpio stellium: Venus, Sun, Pallas, Moon, Saturn and Ceres.

The art and magic of astrology originated in the Northern hemisphere and the seasonal implications are less apt for the Southern hemisphere (although astrology still works there!). For those of us […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2014-10-24T09:00:55-04:00October 24th, 2014|Astrology|4 Comments

The astrological Samhain

Samhain astrology Samhain by Phantom’s Siren

Until the rise of the neo-Pagan phenomenon of the mid to late twentieth century, I think it’s safe to say that most Americans had never heard of Samhain (pronounced Sow’-en), the ancient Celtic autumn festival. It is likely that our modern celebration of Hallowe’en developed to take the place of the ancient festival. The Christian All Hallows festival to honor the souls of the saints that had passed on was originally celebrated in May but was moved to November 1st in 835 by Pope Gregory IV.

In […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2018-11-08T07:02:53-05:00November 1st, 2012|Holidays|2 Comments

Samhain – a day of remembrance

Samhain (an ancient Gaelic word pronounced Sow’-en) is the ancient Celtic holiday that has come down to us as Hallowe’en (derivation of “All Hallows Eve”). Although it is associated today with witchcraft and doings of the devil, in pre-Christian times Samhain was simply the time when the veils between the worlds were at their thinnest. It was a time of reverence for the process of death and the mysteries of life. The astrological Samhain actually occurs at the midpoint of Scorpio which is the “cross quarter” between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice and falls on November 8th this […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2026-05-17T10:27:48-04:00October 30th, 2011|Holidays, Life|1 Comment

New Moon in Scorpio, October 26 2011

Scorpio New Moon October 2011 The New Moon occurs when the Moon conjoins the Sun, beginning a new lunar cycle. Scorpio is the sign of emotional fearlessness and demands that we find pure and complete acceptance of ourselves at the deepest core of our being, so the Scorpio New Moon denotes a time of inner renewal and self-honesty.

The Scorpio New Moon on October 26th takes us even deeper into the Underworld of the psyche and emotional realms. By this time there are four planets and luminaries in Scorpio: The Sun and Moon, […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2026-05-17T10:26:00-04:00October 26th, 2011|Moon|1 Comment

Into the underworld, and Venus ascending

Halloween truly is a pagan practice, and most people now recognize that this so-called holiday is actually rooted in the old Celtic festival of Samhain. Although Halloween is commonly celebrated on October 31, the festival of Samhain is a cross-quarter holiday that occurs at the midpoint between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice on November 7.

Astrologically, Samhain (along with the other cross-quarter days of Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasad) is celebrated at the midpoint of the fixed signs of Taurus, Scorpio, Aquarius and Leo. Fixed signs are the signs of […]

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By Lynn Hayes|2010-10-30T12:27:53-04:00October 30th, 2010|Holidays, Planetary cycles|1 Comment