Not for beginners nor pets nor children.
Facilitators: Kiki Keskinen of WitchSchool.ca
and Aurora Raven Dragonfly (Julie Anne Stratton), Reclaiming Witch and author from New York State
Attendance: Adults only. Not for beginners, pets, or children.
As the year folds into its dark half, we gather by firelight to honour Samhain — the season when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest and the voices of the unseen can be heard. This is not a night for spectators. It is a night for witches, shapeshifters, and seekers of the sacred unknown.
Come out and wild-out with drums, rattles, and the raw sound of your own voice. Howl like wolves under the darkening sky as we shapeshift together with our presiding Goddess: Lilith.
Wear the garments of mourning, or the cloaks of your becoming. Come as the fantastical or the true, the hidden or the holy. Let the firelight reveal what is ready to be seen.
A Ritual of the North, Joined by the Witch of the South
We are honoured to welcome Aurora Raven Dragonfly, a Reclaiming Witch from New York State, who joins us to share in this sacred northern rite. Together, we weave traditions across borders — a convergence of magic, myth, and feminist power — in honour of Samhain and its thin veils.
Samhain, the ancient root of what has become Halloween, carries meaning far beyond costume and celebration. It marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of descent — a sacred invitation to release what no longer serves, to mourn what has passed, and to commune with the ancestors who linger just beyond the light.
The Turning of the Wheel
As the sun wanes and the nights grow long, we gather not in fear of the dark but in reverence for its necessity. The third and final harvest has been gathered. Now the work turns inward. We nurture our inner fires and rest in the company of our kin. In the encroaching darkness, we remember that loss and beauty coexist, that death and rebirth are eternal partners, and that every ending is the seed of a new beginning.
Invoking Lilith
On this night, Lilith presides — the first woman, the fierce and unyielding one who would not bow. She is the embodiment of feminine autonomy and sacred rebellion. Lilith teaches us to embrace our shadows, to claim the fullness of our power, and to transform grief into liberation.
Guided by her presence, we will honour our dead, listen for their wisdom, and celebrate their continued influence in our lives. Through her, we find the courage to stand unafraid in the dark, to meet our own wildness, and to remember that freedom is holy.
The Work of the Night
Through drumming, song, and trance we will travel between worlds.
We will veil and unveil ourselves in rhythm with the fire.
We will dance and chant and let our bodies remember their own rituals of release.
In the stillness between sound, we will make space for the voices of the ancestors — human, animal, and elemental — to speak and to be heard. We will offer them sweetness, gratitude, and permission to return to their realms, carrying our love with them.
This is a ritual of reciprocity — between the living and the dead, between grief and gratitude, between the earth and the spirit. It is a remembering of how to die a little each year, so that we may live more fully when the light returns.
To Bring
Warm clothing suitable for outdoor fire ceremony
A veil or scarf for trance
A drum, rattle, or instrument if you have one
An offering of sweet food for the dead
An open heart and a willingness to listen deeply
This sacred night comes but once a year.
Let us gather in the forest, among the trees and the flame, to honour what has been, to bless what will come, and to rest in the truth that nothing holy is ever truly lost.
With love for the fruits of forbidden knowledge, for the scent of apples, and for the light of the fire, we meet.
Blessed be.
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