How to celebrate Samhain with your Shamanic Drum

Samhain is a magical time of the year. It is the time of the thin veil when we honour the ancestors. For many, Samhain also symbolises new beginnings.

As we work with our Shamanic Drums to connect with the wisdom and medicine of this season, let’s look at how we can celebrate and tune in with Samhain.

The modern festival of Halloween, known for scary costumes and trick or treating, actually has ancient roots in the celebration of the ancestors. The celebration usually starts on the night of the 31st October, leading into the day of the 1st November. It is the time of the thinning of the veil, where the boundary between this world and the otherworld is at its thinnest. Ancient stories from 9th century Ireland tell of it being the time that the passage tombs were open and became doorways to the other world. It is also the season of divination, using the connection across the thin veil to ask the spirits for answers.

In our regular drumming circles, we drum to connect and attune ourselves to the seasonal changes in the land, to remain connected and in tune with the wisdom and medicine each season brings. In our recent Drum Circle, we held an ancestors' fire, where everyone spoke their ancestors’ names around the fire so that they may be remembered. Whether you have a Drum or are just joining with your open heart, make sure to come along to our regular drumming circles held once a fortnight, both online and in person. 

How to use our drums to connect with the upcoming season

Drum in honour of the ancestors

Create an ancestor altar, with photos of those loved ones who have passed, whether that be ancestors of blood or kin. Include other items that you connect with your ancestors, and light a candle. You can spend some time with each picture and with each item, connecting with those, or name those ancestors whose names you know followed by “may they be remembered”. Dedicate a round of drumming to your ancestors and their memory. When you have finished, put out the candle. You may want to leave the altar in place for the rest of Samhain, or until it feels right to take it down. 

Journey into the Mound to connect with the wisdom of the ancestors

Samhain, while the veil is thin, is a time where we can connect with the wisdom of the ancestors to find out what guidance, messages or gifts they may have for us. With the Shamanic Journey, we can journey to connect with the ancestors for this purpose. This may be an ancestor we know, but often it is a distant ancestor from further back through your family or kinship lines.

If you are familiar with Shamanic Journeying, consider journeying to connect with the wisdom of your ancestors during this time. Find some time where you can be undisturbed for this practice for about 30 mins, and have paper ready to make notes afterwards. The following Shamanic Journey drumming recording will guide you into this journey, and will have a call back at the end for you to journey into the Mound to connect with the ancestors. 

Want to learn how to drum a Journey like this for yourself? Enroll on our Shamanic Journeying online course, where you are guided through five weeks of lessons and practices to help you be confident in your Journeying practice 

Samhain Divination

Lastly, Samhain is the season of divination, making it a great chance to turn to the cards to ask for guidance

Using an oracle deck or another form of divination tool, ask a question and see what wisdom they have to offer. This is another way to receive guidance and insight from the spirits about your path going forward.

Wishing a blessed Samhain to you and your ancestors. May they be remembered!

We hope you find this guide useful! Please share your experiences celebrating Samhain with us either in the comment section below or on our social media @HeronDrumsUK

Want to deepen your understanding of the Drum and learn more ways of working with it? Join one of our online courses.