On Hallow’s Eve, the witches of the past were honoring their ancestors and making herbal potions and altars. Modern witches are still doing just that.

Each Halloween season, we are all accustomed to seeing images of pumpkin carvings, black cats, and cartoonized ghoulish creatures everywhere from the supermarket to our neighbor’s front yard. While this time of year is full of costumes and parties for some, it holds a deep spiritual meaning that is not forgotten among modern witches like ourselves.

This is the time of year where the veil between the spiritual and earthly worlds is said to be thinnest. The Celtics call it Samhain, in Mexico it’s Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), and for the Catholics it’s All Soul’s Day.

No matter what you celebrate, this is a time to pause and honor those who walked before us. We call in our guides and ancestors, express our gratitude for their gifts and wisdom, and in true Make & Mary fashion, let plant medicine and our intuition guide us along the way.

Here’s how the modern green witch is celebrating Halloween.

Set Your Space

As with any ceremony, set and setting are important. Set up an altar to honor your ancestors with photos, maps of where they come from, or items that remind you of them. Set out some water, and add offerings of plants or flowers if you have them, as a symbol of celebration. Read our blog on creating an altar as a ritual for inspiration.

Then pour your favorite tea, light some palo santo or some candles and welcome in your ancestors and guides. This Halloween is happening on a full Blue Moon, so consider a full moon tarot tarot spread to set the tone or better understand the messages they have for you. Of course, you’ll find us elevating the experience with the medicine of cannabis - we just added our favorite full-spectrum hemp vaporizer pen by Quill to the shop and online store. We love this pen because the hemp is sourced from the same family farm we work with. Also, it's just pure hemp—no additives, diluents, fillers, or flavors.

Choose Your Plant Magic Ritual

There is an endless world of plant magic available to you beyond the tools we’ve just named. This ceremony is an opportunity to honor your ancestors as well as practice your own self care and nourishment. For example, you could create a herbal blend, tincture, or potion, prepare a sacred feast, or listen and commune with your plants in a brand new way.

We now carry several books to inspire and inform the modern witch on her journey. One of our favorites is The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More by Arin Hiscock-Murphy. We also sell Hiscock-Murphy’s The Witch’s Book of Self-Care: Magical Ways to Pamper, Soothe, and Care for Your Body and Spirit, among others.

Allow yourself to dive deep into the options, and listen when one calls to you. This is your ritual choosing you.

Purify and Awaken

Your ritual will be all the more powerful when you weave in an awakening element. We created our new CBD Hydrosol sprays for just this, and for day-to-day use too. Spray some in the air around you, and on your face for awakening and purifying. and in your mouth to comfort. You’ll experience the benefits of cellular plant water, created through a steam distillation process. If you come into our flagship store here in Portland, our house copper distill will greet you at the door.

Tulsi (Holy Basil) has been used in Ayurveda for thousands of years. Aside from purifying and awakening, other benefits include anti-inflammatory properties, calming of the stomach, balancing of the autonomic nervous system, and even strengthening of the kidney.

Anoint Your Skin With Oils

Next, choose some essential oils to apply on your wrists, neck, and third eye for anointing and protection. We love our calming Rosemary Lavender CBD Oil Roll-on for this - rosemary has been used to ward off evil spirits for centuries, and lavender supports you in opening and listening to the spiritual guidance that is available to you. Perhaps this is coming from your ancestors or guides, and perhaps this means better attuning to your own inner wisdom.

In the physical sense, CBD, rosemary and lavender oils are all known for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The added benefit of 150 MG of Full Spectrum CBD extract aids in reducing inflammation, anxiety tension, headache and joint pains. The goal here is to find yourself open, relaxed, and free of distraction.

Perform Your Ritual

Finally, you have arrived at your ritual. You know what this is, and you’ve been carried here through a divinely supported process. Don’t second guess your intuition. Whether you’re creating with plants in the kitchen, blending herbs into a potion in your living room, or entering into a plant medicine meditation journey on your bed, this is your opportunity to connect and heal where it is needed most.

Herbalists were once called witches, and they were persecuted for it. We are grateful to those who have blazed the trails of plant medicine before us, as today we wear both titles with pride. We aim to carry out their missions to bring healing to our inner and outer worlds alike.

This Samhain, on All Hallow’s eve, remember: you are your own healer.