As the final leaves fall and the world grows thin with mist, the Hallowtide season arrives. That liminal triad of All Hallows’ Eve (October 31st), All Saints’ Day (November 1st), and All Souls’ Day (November 2nd). For the traditional folk witch, these three days are not separate holy days, but one great turning of the wheel. A time when the dead and the living walk side by side, when the old gods whisper through candlelight, and when folk Catholic devotion intertwines with ancestral pagan rites. This is the Witches’ High Autumn, a sacred threshold where the hearth becomes both altar and doorway.

The Old Roots of Hallowtide

Long before the Church placed these feasts upon the calendar, rural Europeans kept Samhain, the Celtic feast of endings and beginnings. It marked the death of summer, the culling of livestock, and the descent of the Sun into the Underworld. When Christianity spread, the Church absorbed the timing and meaning of this ancient feast, layering All Hallows, All Saints, and All Souls atop it. In practice, folk people didn’t separate the two. They kept vigils, prayed the rosary, and left soul cakes and milk for wandering spirits. Bonfires still burned on the hills, not only for saints but for the kindly dead and the hidden folk. The faithful lit candles in the windows for the souls in purgatory. And yet, to the witch’s eye, these were also offerings to the ancestral and fairy hosts. This blending of pagan hearth magic and Catholic devotion became the living current of folk witchcraft.

In Western Europe’s old ways, this season carried a single truth: the boundaries blur, and all spirits seek acknowledgment. The witch, as guardian of the crossroads, stands ready to welcome the blessed, the banished and the baneful.

All Hallows’ Eve: The Witch’s Night

On the eve of All Saints, the veil opens. Spirits roam, witches fly, and ancestors draw near the threshold. Folklore tells us:

People set out a chair by the hearth with a candle and cup of milk for the souls of the departed.
Turnip lanterns (the precursors to pumpkins) were carved to frighten away malevolent spirits.
Witches were said to ride the night winds or gather in sacred groves, lighting fires to honor the Queen of the Dead, echoes of the Great Goddess beneath the Church’s saintly veils.

The Fairy Faith at Hallowtide

Folklore tells that during these nights, the Fair Folk ride through the hills in glittering processions. The Wild Hunt, the Host of the Sidhe, the Deadly Ride of the Queen Underhill. Doors and windows were barred, iron scissors laid across cradles, and offerings of cream or bread were left upon thresholds to appease the Fair Folk as they passed. Witches, however, knew another way. Those with the Sight could honor the Fair Hosts respectfully. Lighting candles at the crossroads or setting out milk at the garden gate, saying:

“One, two, three and four. The Old Ones knock upon the door. Welcome them from floor to roof. Drink to them in a horse's hoof. Call the cat, the toad, the bran. come to the feast, all ye who can. One, two, three and four. The Old Ones are here, so no more.” (Folk Witchcraft by Roger J Horne)

To ignore them entirely was unwise for on Hallowe’en night, they danced freely through mortal lands, and not all who joined their revels returned unchanged.

Folk Witch Ritual:

Prepare a Soul Candle – Dress a black or beeswax candle with rosemary, mugwort, and myrrh.
Set the Feast – Lay out bread, apples, and a small cup of wine or milk for your ancestors.
Open the Door – As the sun sets, open your front door and say: “Come home, my beloved dead, by light and by flame. You are remembered.”
Scry in the Candlelight – Gaze into the flickering flame to receive visions or whispers from beyond.

Traditional Recipe: Soul Cakes (for All Hallows’ Eve)

2 cups flour
½ cup sugar
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon
½ cup butter
1 egg
2 tbsp milk

Cream the butter and sugar, add the egg, then stir in flour and spices. Roll, cut into rounds, mark with a cross (a solar sign before it was Christian), and bake until golden. Offer some to the dead and eat one for luck. Mix and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes until golden. Leave three upon your altar for your ancestors, one for the saints, and one for yourself.

The Tale of Stingy Jack and the Witch’s Lantern

From Irish folklore comes the legend of Stingy Jack, a clever blacksmith who tricked the Devil himself but in doing so, lost his place in both Heaven and Hell. Condemned to wander the earth, Jack carried only a burning ember inside a hollowed turnip to light his endless road. Thus was born the Jack-o’-Lantern, the wandering soul-lamp of autumn nights. Folk witches saw in this tale an older truth: the hollowed lantern was a spirit trap and protector, a ward that both guided the kindly dead and frightened off malevolent wanderers. Before pumpkins, witches used turnips, mangel-wurzels, or swedes, carved with grotesque faces to scare off unfriendly spirits and lit with a candle of tallow or beeswax blessed by charm.

Ritual: The Enchantment of the Jack-o’-Lantern

Purpose: To awaken the lantern’s flame as a guardian spirit of hearth and threshold, protecting your home through Hallowtide and the dark months ahead. You Will Need:

A carved pumpkin
A votive or tealight candle
Herbs: rosemary, rue, mugwort, and a pinch of salt
Iron nail or small horseshoe (optional, for fairy protection)
A bowl of milk and honey (offering to the spirits)

The Working:

Prepare the Lantern Clean and carve your jack-o’-lantern. Sprinkle it with Holy Water while saying "I cleanse thee, O creature of pumpkin, in the name of the Father, Son & Holy Ghost." Anoint it with Protection oil "I consecrate thee, O creature of pumpkin, and charge thee with defense. Turn away all evil spirits in the name of the Father, Son & Holy Ghost." Place a pinch of salt inside the base to purify. Breathe forcefully three times into the mouth of the pumpkin to awaken the guardian spirit.
Bless the Flame Cleanse and consecrate the candle as well. With Holy Water "I cleanse thee O creature of candle, in the name of the Father, Son & Holy Ghost. Anoint with oil "I consecrate thee, O creature of candle, and charge thee with defense. Turn away all evil spirits in the name of the Father, Son & Holy Ghost." Roll the anointed candle in protective herbs like rue, salt or garlic. or place under the candle if using a tealight. Light the candle while saying Psalm 23:4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Make the Offering Pour out the milk and honey near your doorway or garden gate. Say: “Honored ones, from your graves, I call you. With prayer and fumigation, I call you. With bone and leaf, I call you. With love and offering, I call you."”
Seal the Charm
Make the sign of the cross over the Jack-O-Lantern 3 times. Let it burn safely through the night of October 31st.

The next morning, bury the herbs in your garden or near your doorstep, whispering gratitude to the protective spirits who answered your call.

The Dumb Supper: A Witch’s Supper for the Dead

Among the most mysterious traditions of All Hallows’ Eve is the Dumb Supper. A ritual meal held in complete silence to honor, and sometimes commune with, the spirits of the departed. Its origins wind deep through rural Britain, Scotland, and Appalachia, where old European customs survived through folk Catholic and witchcraft lineages alike. The “dumb” in dumb supper means mute, no words are spoken. In the stillness, the veil thins, and the dead are said to draw near to join their living kin for one last meal before retreating to the shadowed realm.

Roots in Old Lore

The Dumb Supper likely began as a Samhain ancestor feast, where offerings were left for the spirits while the family shared food in reverent quiet. When Catholic observance transformed the season into Hallowtide, the custom lingered, disguised as a pious vigil for the souls in purgatory. By candlelight, the women of the house would lay a table in reverse. Setting the plates backward, serving courses in reverse order, and walking counterclockwise. All acts to symbolically open the path between worlds. In parts of Northern England, young women performed Dumb Suppers to see a vision of their future husband, while witches and cunning folk used it to hear messages from the ancestors or saints. The line between devotion and divination blurred, as it often does in folk magic.

Preparing the Supper

Timing: Hold your Dumb Supper on All Hallows’ Eve after sundown, when the last light fades and the first stars rise. The witch’s hour belongs to the still ones. What You’ll Need:

A simple meal; bread, butter, cheese, apples, wine, or cider
Tealight candles (one for each departed soul you wish to honor)
A place setting for each spirit guest
A small bell or spoon for closing the rite
A black cloth or shawl to cover your hair (traditional sign of mourning and respect)

The Ritual of the Dumb Supper

Cleanse the Space Sweep your space sunwise while whispering a blessing or a prayer
Set the Table Backwards Lay the places from right to left. Pour drinks before food. Light the candles in reverse order. These small inversions mark the meal as belonging to the Other Side.
Welcome the Dead Stand before the table, bow your head, and whisper softly: “Beloved dead, kindred and friends, Cross the mist, your time descends. Eat with us in peace this night, By candle flame and blessed light.”
Dine in Silence No word is spoken. Eat slowly, mindfully, feeling the presence of unseen company. Some feel warmth, others scent familiar perfume or tobacco, others see flickers of light near their candle. This is not imagination, it is remembrance made manifest.
Closing the Supper When the meal is finished, ring the bell or tap the silver spoon three times and say: “Go in peace, beloved souls, return to your rest. You are remembered, you are blessed.”
Leave the spirit plates overnight. In the morning, bury the food at the roots of a tree or at a crossroads as offering.

Witch’s Notes and Variations

In folk Catholic practice, one may begin the Dumb Supper with the De Profundis (Psalm 130) or an Ave Maria, mingling devotion with magic.
Some witches keep one candle burning through the night as a guiding light for wandering souls, ensuring they find their way onward at dawn. (electric candles are a perfect substitute for a live flame - Fire safety always comes first)
To work a divinatory Dumb Supper, set a mirror across from your plate. At the stroke of midnight, glance into it to see who or what walks beside you. (Always close with a prayer and a firm goodbye.)
In Cornish and Breton lore, the Dead were offered cider and oatcakes; in Irish homes, it was colcannon and apple bread; in Appalachia, biscuits, sweet milk, and molasses.

A Blessing for the Dumb Supper

“Come spirits of my blood and bone, Be welcome to this hearth and home. Sit by the fire, drink by the flame, Love remembers, and calls your name.” “When dawn appears, go softly hence, Leave peace and holy recompense. I bless the living, I bless the dead, By bread and wine, we are all fed.”

The Dumb Supper is the heart of Hallowtide witchcraft. Quiet, intimate, and profoundly magical. It reminds us that the veil is not a wall, but a woven curtain between generations. When you sit in silence, breaking bread with your beloved dead, you join the oldest lineage of witchcraft there is. The keeping of memory, and the tending of flame.

The All Hallows’ Eve Spirit Flight to the Witches’ Sabbath

The Night of the Gathering

When the last candle burns low on All Hallows’ Eve, and the mists roll through the fields, witches of the old faith would whisper of “Riding the Wind”. Leaving their bodies in dream or trance to attend the Sabbath of Spirits. This was not a place of flesh, but of spirit and shadow, where witches met their familiars, learned secret charms, and honored the Witch Queen and her consort beneath the blackthorn moon. In the lore of Western Europe, such flights were said to happen at All Hallows eve, Walpurgis Night, and Candlemas, liminal hinges of the year when the Otherworld stood nearest. The folk witch’s flight is a mystical communion with the powers of the Land, the Dead, and the Hidden Ones.

Preparation for Spirit Flight

Timing: All Hallows’ Eve, when the clock strikes between midnight and 3 a.m. the Witching Hours.

Intention: To cross the hedge and join your spirit kin at the Witches’ Sabbath for wisdom, renewal, and magical empowerment.

You Will Need:

A darkened, quiet room
A candle (black or dark red)
Mugwort and wormwood (for fumigation)
A bowl of water and a mirror or black scrying bowl
A small piece of iron or rowan wood (to call you safely home)
Optional: flying ointment herbs (mugwort, dittany, poplar buds) infused in olive oil or salve. Only for anointing externally at temples, wrists, and feet

(Mildred Payne's Oracle)

The Rite of the Witch’s Flight

1. Hallow the Circle

Sit before your candle. Light your incense of mugwort and wormwood, allowing the smoke to fill the air. If you are using flying ointment you can apply it now. A Charm to open the Gates:

"In the days when the Old ones walked,

Endymion lay cursed in his bed.

Tana called in the moonlight

to charm a place out of their dreaming.

Three crosses on his bed she made

to fix the gate to the sabbat-realm

so that the unwise could not enter

and no power of sleep or death could part them.

So do I draw open the gates of the dreaming sabbat

to dwell for a time in that fair land." (The Witches Art of Incantation By Roger J Horne)

Trace a circle with your finger in the air before you, this is your Hedge, the boundary between worlds.

Start chanting:

“Horse and hattock, horse and go, horse and pellatis, ho, ho.” (A Broom at Midnight by Roger J Horne) Repeat until you reach an altered state and your spirit is loosened from your body

2. Summon Your Familiar or Guide

Call upon your familiar spirit, ancestral guide, or the Witch Queen herself (Hekate, Elphame, Aradia, or another tutelary spirit of your craft). Whisper:

“Mother and Father of my art, Teachers and guides on the path. Bless this gate between the worlds. Be with me on this night. Io Regina Pigmeorum. Io Dominus Umbrarum.” (A Broom at Midnight by Roger J Horne)

Feel their presence draw near. Cool air, warmth at your shoulder, or the flicker of a shadow.

3. Enter the Hedge

Gaze into your mirror or scrying bowl. Focus on the candle’s reflection until it seems to waver. Slow your breathing. Let your awareness sink deeper, as if your spirit were loosening from its skin. You may feel a floating sensation, a pull in your chest, or hear a distant humming like bees or wings, the traditional sign that the Spirit Ride begins.

See yourself stepping through the mirror or mist. Passing from the mortal world into a twilight landscape. You may find yourself flying above hills, through starlight, or among shadowy figures with lanterns. The Sabbath road.

4. The Sabbath Vision

At the crossroads of your journey, you will arrive where the witches gather, Perhaps a hollow hill, a dark grove, or a starlit meadow. Here, the Witch Queen presides, and spirits, ancestors, and fair folk mingle freely. Some witches see a cauldron of fire, others hear drums and laughter; some simply feel the pulse of power through their astral body. You may:

Offer your devotion
Receive a message or charm
Join the dance or watch in reverent silence

Trust what comes. It is your spirit’s communion.

5. The Return

When it is time to return, call upon your iron or rowan charm. See yourself retracing your flight; back through mist, through mirror, through breath. Until you feel the weight of your body again.

Snuff the candle, grounding your energy by touching the earth or drinking a bit of water. Sit quietly until you feel steady.

After the Flight

Upon waking from trance, record your visions and sensations in your witch’s book. You may find yourself inspired with new spells, sigils, or knowledge from your spirit kin. Tradition holds that these gifts must be used within the year and a day, or their power fades with the turning of the seasons.

Witch’s Notes: Folkloric Context

In early modern European folklore, witches were believed to smear an “ointment” on their skin to fly. In reality, these were trance-inducing herbal blends (often symbolic rather than literal).
The Witches’ Sabbath was seen as both real and visionary. A spirit congress where knowledge, renewal, and power were exchanged.
The Queen of Elphame, Hekate, or Diana were often named as rulers of this spectral gathering. Spirits of night, moon, and transformation.
The spirit flight is known in many traditions: the Norse seiðr, the Italian volo dello spirito, the French vaudoiserie, and the English “riding the hedge.”

All Saints Day: The Folk Witch’s Holy Morning

When the bells ring on the morning of November 1st, the wild spirits of All Hallows’ Eve retreat beyond the veil. The night’s mischief gives way to solemn light. All Saints’ Day, known to our ancestors as Hallowmas, the Feast of All Hallows. Honoring the saints, both known and forgotten, extends to all blessed spirits, including ancestors who walked the crooked path before us. Rural Catholics and cunning folk alike still tended graves, lit candles for the dead, and left bread and milk at the crossroads. The same bonfires that once honored the gods now blazed “for the souls in purgatory.”

To the folk witch, there was no contradiction. The saints were not remote beings in gilded heavens but living powers who walked among humankind. Ancestors who had attained sanctity, patrons of crops, weather, childbirth, and craft. In many places, these saints were the old deities reborn.

Saint Brigid carried the fire and well of the goddess Brigid.
Saint Nicholas wore the mantle of Woden, protector of travelers.
Saint Martin inherited the wild hunt’s reins from the horned god.
Saint Anne and Mary held the Mother’s power, the eternal womb.

In this way, Hallowmas became a sacred crossroads between old and new, Heaven and Earth, church and hearth.

Folk Witch Practice:

Adorn your altar with flowers of the season; marigolds, chrysanthemums, rosemary, ivy.
Light candles in honor of your patron spirits, ancestors, and tutelary saints.
Pray the De Profundis (Psalm 130) for the dead while tracing the sign of the cross. A blending of blessing and banishment.

Old Belief: On this day, the dead visit their old churches, hearing the Mass through the crack between worlds. Folk in Italy and France left offerings at crossroads and cemetery gates, believing the saints would intercede for their kin. It is the time to honor the blessed dead, the hidden saints, and the old Ones powers who survived beneath Christian names. For the folk witch, this day is the hinge between worlds. When the ancestors stand among the saints, and the saints themselves wear the faces of the old gods.

Folk Catholic Customs of All Saints’ Day

The Tolling of Bells

At dawn, the church bells were rung in steady rhythm to call the souls of the dead to hear Mass. In parts of Ireland, France, and Bavaria, families believed that for one day each year, the dead could attend the Mass of the living, standing unseen in the pews beside their descendants. Witches and wise women would listen between the peals, hearing messages in the rhythm - omens of the coming year, or whispers from their own beloved dead.

The Lighting of Candles

In every home and church, candles were lit in windows to guide the wandering souls. In rural folk practice, this simple act was a spell of light and welcome: each flame a miniature sun, a prayer, and a charm. Witches would anoint their candles with rosemary and myrrh, saying:

“Here I set a fire bright with Brigid and Mary in its light, upon the ceiling and the floor, on every wall and every door.” (Witch's Art of Incantation by Roger J Horne)

The light was said to keep away unquiet spirits who lingered after Hallowe’en’s chaos.

Blessing of Bread and Salt

In many Catholic regions (Italy, Poland, and Brittany especially) it was customary to bake blessed bread on All Saints’ morning and share it with the poor “for the repose of the dead.” This bread, once touched by holy water or the priest’s blessing, was thought to carry protective virtue. Folk witches quietly took a portion home to crumble around the hearth or fields, blessing the land for the dark half of the year. Salt from the All Saints’ table was kept to ward off disease and misfortune, a practice found even in 19th-century rural France and Ireland.

The Visit to the Graves

Families walked to the graveyards after Mass, carrying candles and garlands of evergreen, ivy, or marigolds. They prayed the rosary, but beneath their murmured Hail Marys lived older incantations, words calling to the beloved dead, asking them to guard the living through the winter. Some folk witches would leave coins or bread on unmarked graves as offerings to forgotten souls who might otherwise wander in bitterness. In return, these “poor souls” were believed to grant luck and guidance, a kind of spirit alliance in disguise.

Folklore of the All Saints’ Mass

In folk Catholic tradition, the Mass itself held tremendous magical power on All Saints’ morning. The threshold between this world and the next was still open, and so the Mass became an act of communal spellcraft. A ritual to realign Heaven, Earth, and the Underworld. Folklore tells that:

If you heard Mass at dawn, your soul was safe from wandering spirits for the whole year.
If a candle flickered or went out during Mass, it meant a soul had just left purgatory.
In Brittany and Provence, people claimed that the dead themselves attended Mass invisibly, kneeling beside their descendants. The scent of lilies or candle wax in an empty pew was taken as a sign of their presence.

Witches sometimes lingered after the congregation departed, gathering candle drippings and blessed wax to use in charms of protection and remembrance, believing the sanctified fire now carried both church blessing and ancestral virtue.

The Witch’s Hallowmas Observance

For the folk witch, All Saints’ Day is not only for the canonized but for every shining ancestor, every spirit of power, every forgotten wise one who stands in your magical lineage. You might keep the day as follows:

Morning Offering: Light a white or beeswax candle. Say: “Saints and spirits, bright and true, I offer flame and heart to you.” Burn frankincense, rosemary, or bay leaves. Herbs of blessing and immortality.
Bread of the Saints: Bake simple bread seasoned with honey and salt. Break it into three parts: one for the saints, one for the dead, one for yourself. Eat in silence and gratitude.
Listening to the Bells: When you hear bells, physical or imagined, close your eyes. Each toll calls both the living and the departed to harmony. Whisper a prayer or charm for your household’s health through the winter.
Creating a Saint Candle Charm: Dress a candle with olive oil and crushed bay leaf. Carve the sigil of your patron saint or protective symbol. Burn it for nine nights, saying: “By saint and spirit, seen and unseen, Guard this home with light between.”

Old Belief: The Saints Who Walk

European lore holds that on the night after All Saints’ Mass, the saints walk the earth to bless the fields and roads, followed by the souls of the just. Travelers who met a procession of lights on that night were told to kneel and pray, for to look upon the company of saints with pride or curiosity could drive one mad. The folk witch, of course, understood this was a vision of the Otherworld’s parade, the holy host moving through the mortal plane, sanctifying it for another turn of the wheel.

In the Witch’s Heart

All Saints’ Day is the bright face of the shadow that began on Hallowe’en. Where the Dumb Supper and the Jack-o’-Lantern honor the ghosts, All Saints’ honors those who have transcended. The luminous spirits who guide us through both blessing and ordeal. To the folk witch, the Church bells, the flickering candles, the smell of bread and incense, all of it is magic in disguise. It is a day when the witch and the villager, the saint and the spirit, the old gods and the holy ones share one prayer:

“Blessed be the living, blessed be the dead. May light shine on the path we tread.”

All Souls’ Day: The Witches Day of the Dead

November 2nd closes the trinity. The true feast of the dead. All Souls’ Day, called Commemoratio Omnium Fidelium Defunctorum in the old Church, is the day set aside for praying for every soul still in Purgatory. Those not damned, but not yet at peace. To the old folk, this was the day when:

The veil was thin, but not wild as on Hallowe’en.
The dead walked softly, visiting hearths and altars seeking warmth and prayer.
The witch and the Church both turned their focus to the work of mercy; releasing, comforting, and elevating souls.

In Catholic and folk magical understanding, Purgatory is a place of purifying. Neither punishment nor paradise, but a refining flame of longing. The souls there are surrounded by love and sorrow; they burn not in hatred but in the desire for God or, to the witch, for the ancestral home.

Folk Witch Understanding of Purgatory

Folk witches have always viewed Purgatory as a spiritual middle ground. The place between life and liberation, like the hedge between the worlds. It’s where restless ancestors, unfinished spirits, and sorrowful ghosts dwell until they are remembered, prayed for, or released through acts of devotion. In folk Catholic and witch lore alike:

Prayers, masses, candles, and offerings light the way for these souls.
A soul forgotten in Purgatory can become a wandering spirit but one tended to with love may become a powerful ancestral ally.
Witches, mediums, and cunning folk were said to hear the voices of the Purgatorial souls wandering during the nights of in November, asking for prayer, smoke, or flame.

The Lighting of the Purgatorial Candles

One of the oldest customs is to light “Soul Candles” on All Souls’ Eve or dawn of November 2nd. Every flame represents a soul, known or unknown, waiting to ascend. In witchcraft, this becomes a ritual of illumination and intercession:

Rite of the Soul Candles

Prepare nine white or black candles.
Dress them with olive oil and sprinkle them with salt and myrrh.
Place a bowl of water and bread nearby as offerings.
Light each candle, saying: “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.” (+ Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)

Let the candles burn safely for an hour or more. As they burn, pray, speak, or simply sit in stillness, allowing the presence of your ancestors to fill the room.

The Visit of the Poor Souls

Folklore from Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the Slavic lands holds that on this night, the souls in Purgatory walk the roads. They appear as pale lights, murmuring processions, or sudden cold winds. Doors were left slightly ajar, and food was placed on windowsills for the visiting spirits. Witches and cunning folk used this time to:

Communicate with the dead through dreams, tarot or candle flame scrying.
Bless graveyards with holy water, herbs, or salt to comfort the lost.
Invoke protection for the living against restless shades who wandered too long.

Devotion to the Anima Sola (The Lonely Soul)

The Anima Sola, or Lonely Soul, is one of the most haunting figures in folk Catholic witchcraft. Her image, a woman in flames, chains broken, gazing upward, is not a cursed being, but a symbol of hope and liberation. She represents the human soul’s eternal longing for divine reunion. The fire of purgation that turns pain into light. She is called upon by witches, spirit-workers, and mediums to:

Aid the restless dead in finding peace.
Intercede in cases of love unfulfilled or souls in bondage.
Teach compassion, patience, and spiritual endurance.

Prayer to the Anima Sola

“Hear, mortal, the lament of a soul imprisioned, alone, sad, abandoned in this dark chamber. My soul, Soul of peace and of war, Soul of sea and of battle, I desire that all that I have absent or lost be returned or appear to me. O Soul, the most solitary and forsaken in purgatory! I accompany you in your pain, pitying you when I see you moan and suffer in the abandonment of that harsh and narrow prison, and I desire to relieve your affliction: offer up to you all those meritorious works that I have done, do, and will do in this life so that you may pay your faults to God and obtain His graces. In return I ask that you do me the great favor of asking Him to grant my understanding what is necessary for me to fulfill His Holy Law, to love Him above all things as my only and highest good, and to love my neighbor as myself, for thus I may deserve from His Divine Majesty and infinite mercy my salvation.” (+ 5 Our Fathers, 5 Hail Marys, 5 Glory Bes) (Misa Prayers by David Sosa & Kiev Martinez)

In folk magic, one might also anoint her image or statue with rosewater or olive oil and surround it with three red candles and one white candle. Petition her to carry your prayers into the fires of Purgatory, transmuting suffering into ascension.

Ancestral Elevation: The Witch’s Soul Work

All Souls’ Day is the beginning of the month of devotion to the Holy Souls in Purgatory and a perfect time for ancestral elevation. A practice found across folk witchcraft, Spiritism, and traditional Catholic mysticism.

Ancestral Elevation Ritual

Create an Ancestral Altar
- Place photos, heirlooms, or symbols of your lineage.
- Add a glass of water (for purity), bread or fruit (for sustenance), and a candle (for light).

Prayer of Elevation

“Eternal Father, I offer thee the most precious blood of thy divine son, in union with the masses said throughout the world today. for all the holy souls in purgatory. For sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen

A White Paternoster, stronger and faster

than harm by foe and all disaster.

Come trumpet and soldier, come mistress and master,

as I now speak the White Paternoster” (Folk Witchcraft by Roger J Horne)

(+ Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)

Offerings of Light and Sound

Ring a bell or chime softly.
Pour fresh water daily for nine days.
Read aloud psalms, poetry, or heartfelt words.

Each day, visualize your ancestors rising from shadow toward golden light; freer, wiser, closer to the Source. As they rise, they lift you, too. Clearing old curses, grief, and inherited burdens.

Folk Beliefs and Charms of the Day

Bread of Souls: Baking soul cakes, barmbrack, or pan de muerto and sharing them brings blessings from the departed. Each loaf is said to release one soul from purgatory.
The Cold Wind at Dawn: A chill breeze on the morning of November 2nd means the dead are departing in peace.
Graveyard Prayers: Three Our Fathers and three Hail Marys said at the gate of the cemetery were believed to free a soul. Some witches added: “And one for the forgotten.”
The Witch’s Offering: Leave a cup of milk, honey, or rum at a crossroads or near your threshold, saying: “Go in peace, wandering soul. My fire burns for the living and the dead. May you find your rest.”

The Witch’s Wisdom of All Souls

This day reminds the witch that death is not an ending but a transformation. Memento Mori. Every act of remembrance, every candle lit, every prayer whispered all becomes alchemy that turns grief into grace. The Anima Sola teaches the witch compassion without fear, and ancestral elevation teaches service to the dead as sacred duty. Through these rites, your bloodline and spirit allies grow stronger, clearer, and more luminous.

Living the Hallowtide Current

Through these three nights, we walk between worlds. One foot in the mortal, one in the eternal. As bells toll and candles burn, we remember that death is not an end, but a return to the roots of power. Let the Hallowtide Fire burn bright in your hearth this season. Feed your spirits, tend your dead, and let the old magic of the land flow through your bones once more.

Hallowtide is not merely a time of mourning. It is a celebration of continuity, when saints, fairies, and ancestors share one great feast. In the folk witch’s world, no line divides Heaven from Earth, or Faery from the graveyard. All dwell together in the eternal cycle of return. So light your lantern, bless your hearth, and open the door for the good spirits. And when the wind howls across the hills, smile. It may be Jack himself, wandering by, his ember still burning bright.

The Hallowtide | Folk Witch Traditions