Samhain traditionally fell on October 31st through November 1st and was often seen as the Celtic New Year as it was the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the darker half of the year. Communities would gather to prepare for winter, celebrate the abundance of the harvest, and honor the cycle of life and death. Food offerings were left for ancestors and spirits, fires were lit to ward off darkness, and rituals were carried out to mark the transition of the seasons. The veil between the physical world and the spirit world was believed to thin, making a liminal time where spirits could return to Earth.

That’s what I love about this time of year. It’s a time to slow down, reflect, and connect. It’s a season that asks us to honor those who came before, let go of what we no longer need, and make space for what’s ahead as autumn deepens into winter.

In my own home, I prefer to keep things simple. I add in bits of seasonal decor and create cozy nooks . If you’re looking to create your own traditions this season, here are some ideas to get you started.

Samhain Ritual Ideas

01. Create an Ancestral Altar

Gather photos, heirlooms, or objects that remind you of loved ones and arrange them in a small, dedicated space. This can be a shelf, a table, or even a corner of a room. In my home office, I had a gallery wall filled with all the photos I’ve collected throughout my genealogical journey. Although the space is currently undergoing a bit of a facelift, I plan to add in picture shelves so that I can more easily swap out photos as their stories call to me.

02. Light a Candle for Your Ancestors

While you can certainly include a candle or two in your altar, you can also pause before you light any candle in your space. Each time you light it, take a moment and reflect on the presence of those who came before you.

03. Prepare a Seasonal Feast

What better way than to celebrate the harvest than a feast filled with apples, squash, root vegetables, or other seasonal ingredients? Dedicate a plate or a slice of bread to your ancestors. You can also invite family or friends over and ask them to share a story about a loved one who has passed.

04. Brew a Seasonal Drink

Enjoy your favorite autumnal drink whether that’s a PSL, a cup of spiced cider, chai, or herbal tea.

05. Practice Divination

Use tarot, oracle cards, runes, or simply sit in meditation to seek guidance for the months ahead.

06. Journal

Reflect on the past year: what you’ve accomplished, what you’re ready to release, and what you want to carry forward. Try prompts like “What am I letting go of?” or “What do I want to plan for the months ahead?” I like to pair divination tools like tarot to help guide my journaling process.

07. Clean Your Home

It’s called “fall cleaning” for a reason, folks! Sweep, tidy, or rearrange your space. You can even include protection rituals like sprinkling salt or cinnamon in your entryway, hanging dried herbs, or wafting herbal smoke like sage to clear the air and bring fresh energy in your home.

08. Decorate with Intention

This is the perfect time to swap out lighter linens & cottons with warm wools. Lean into using natural textures, cozy fabrics, or seasonal colors to reflect the changing energy of the year.

09. Carve Pumpkins

Carving pumpkins is a fun way to tap into your inner child, especially if you choose real ones over craft ones. Plus, the scent they release when the tealight candle warms the inside is pure nostalgia.

10. Light a Bonfire

If you have a safe space outdoors, write down what you want to release on slips of paper and burn them in a fire. If not, you can use a candle indoors for a similar symbolic act. Ancestor letters (a note expressing gratitude or unsaid words) can also be safely released to the flames.

11. Tell Stories

Share family stories, myths, or legends to keep memory alive. You can also create a memory jar: write down favorite stories or reflections about ancestors and revisit them each year.

12. Take a Candlelit Bath

Draw a warm bath in the dark, lit only by candles. Use the time to breathe, reflect, and embrace the slowing of the season. I love adding lavender scented epsom salts or bubble bath to make this ritual feel even more luxurious.

13. Create an Ancestor Playlist

Build a playlist of songs that remind you of loved ones or connect to your heritage. Or, make a playlist of your favorite seasonal tunes.

14. Go on a Nature Walk

A walk during golden hour with a camera can capture fleeting light and remind you to slow down and appreciate the quiet beauty of this time of year.

15. Plant Bulbs for Spring

Planting bulbs like tulips or daffodils can be the sweet reminder that, even in times of darkness, growth and hope will carry on and give you something to look forward to on the other side of winter.

If you’d like to bring a touch of the season into your home, I’ve gathered a collection of Halloween-inspired pieces in The Shoppe. They’re moody, natural, and timeless decor that feels more soulful than spooky, and are a lovely way to create your own atmosphere for the season. You can explore the collection in full here.

here’s to finding magic in the liminal

*If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

At least once a year—usually around my birthday—I like to sit down and conduct a life audit. I find these are most useful whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed with no idea where to focus my energy or turn to next.

Source: Prophsee Journals | Unsplash

What is a Life Audit?

I’m a big believer in using lists and plans and journals as tools to better know myself. A life audit is simply another tool I use whenever I feel I’ve strayed too far from my path, or, the path has disappeared completely in the tangle of life’s many responsibilities. An audit allows me to comb through every corner, check in with what’s working well, and what needs a little more of my time and attention. In its simplest form, it’s a no-judgement evaluation; a time to pause and really reflect. The goal isn’t to beat yourself up over the habits that have formed along the way. Rather, it’s an opportunity to reverse-engineer your goals so that your daily habits are better reflection of where you want to go in your life and how those goals will get you to the person you want to become.

How to Conduct a Life Audit

Before beginning, it’s important that you get into the right mindset. The audit is in no means a one-stop shop and once complete, the work is done. Think of the audit as the building block toward the life you most imagine living. You need to clear through all the weeds in order to reach the foundation of which to grow. It’s important that you give yourself enough time so you don’t feel rushed into decision-making. I love journaling, and so I like to set aside several hours to complete my audits, which I highly recommend as you’ll see why in the steps below.

STEP ONE: REFLECT

When I conduct audits, I like to break each section of my life into 5 or 6 different areas, depending on what I feel needs the most attention. These will vary year to year as my focus and growth happens in different areas. Below are some ideas to get you started:

• Business/Career

• Wealth & Finances

• Health

• Home

• Hobbies

• Personal Growth

• Spiritual

• Social/Relationships

• Travel

• Self Care

• Beauty

• Nutrition

STEP TWO: BE HONEST

Take a magnifying glass to the areas you’ve selected and be brutally honest with yourself. Ask questions like:

What’s working well? What isn’t?

How can I better support this area of my life?

What do I need to release?

This part will take the longest and be the most difficult. It can be hard to face habits that have become uncomfortable or even counter-intuitive to your long-term goals. Maybe you’ve selected “Wardrobe” as an area you’d like to highlight because your closet has become so full you dread getting dressed in the morning. Letting go of items that have sentimental attachments or coming face-to-face with the idea you need to keep every piece because that was money hard earned and ill spent, can be harsh realities and avoidance is a normal response. But the best course forward will be to take one small step toward your goals, even if it’s as simple as recycling or tossing that collection of socks that are missing their partners.

STEP THREE: TAKE ACTION

You’ve highlighted the areas of your life you’d like to improve. You’ve shone a spotlight on each to uncover the hard truths. Now, you can begin to build a plan for change. For each area I select, I like to create actionable goals, the more specific the better. For example, if I’ve selected “Finance” as an area I’d like to focus on, a goal I might set would be: “Create an automatic savings rule to pay myself first.”

There’s two useful ways I’ve found when taking these action steps. One, is to habit-stack. For example, if I wanted to add a skincare regime to my evening ritual, I’d store the bottle of cream next to my toothpaste. When I’m reaching for one, the other is right there waiting.

The other option is to evaluate my daily rituals and make adjustments to better accomplish my goals.

Daily Rituals = Consistent Growth

Once you’ve audited the areas you’d like to bring change to, I find it’s also helpful to revisit those daily rituals and make small shifts to better support your new goals. Sometimes, what helps most is a screeching halt and pivot in a new direction. Daily rituals can help support and sustain those longer term goals.

MORNING RITUAL

Whenever I revisit my daily habits, I like to imagine the start of my “ideal” morning. One where I wake up without an alarm, I have time to enjoy my coffee and a simple breakfast before I get ready for the day. This looks different for everyone, but I find that visualization is key to better understanding what I’m hoping to accomplish.

AFTER WORK RITUAL

When you’ve completed your work day, how are you spending your time? Connecting with a partner or pets? Working out? Preparing an exquisite meal for yourself? Spending time on your hobbies?

EVENING RITUAL

And lastly, how are you ending your day? Do you prefer a bath or a shower? Reading? Do you enjoy a cup of tea or maybe a mocktail? What time is your bedtime?

While you can (and should!) make adjustments as needed, recommend giving both habit-stacking and daily rituals 30-days before making drastic shifts. Keep checking in with your journal, those areas you highlighted, and the action steps you created.

I completed my Life Audit! What’s Next?

The work of a life audit is never truly done. You may find after 30-days that an area you thought would require more effort, time and attention, really only needed a couple of weekends worth of focus. Maybe another area has popped up unexpectedly. I find anytime I’m experiencing overwhelmed or frustrated is about the time I need to sit with myself and reevaluate. These are the steps I return to again and again to help me focus on what’s most important at any given cycle of my life.

Vision Planning

Additionally, I like to take the areas I highlight during an audit to create my vision planning goals for the next chapter of my life. Below is an example of my vision plan for the remainder of 2026 beyond. Vision planning is a great way to take all the thoughts from the life audit and organize those into a tangible table to execute. While I find vision boards obviously, visually appealing, personally, I prefer vision planning to a vision board because I like seeing the actionable things I’m working to accomplish rather than simply an image of a thing. I find it’s a great way to put all that time you spent auditing your life into easily reviewable goals for checkins.

happy reflecting!