Don’t forget the simplicity and beauty of an herbal offering. If you’re an herbalist or enjoy leaving offerings to your ancestors on Samhain, you’re a friend of mine! With Samhain quickly approaching, I ended up cleaning off and re-decorating my altar. Ancestors are a huge part of my spiritual practice, so when Samhain season comes around I’m particularly pumped! There’s always a section on my Samhain altar to honor the ancestors. And there’s always an herbal offering that stays put between other more perishable offerings of food and drink. This year, I came up with two inspired Samhain ancestor herbal offering blends that I hope you can use or adapt to fit your practice.

First, Why Give Offerings to the Ancestors?

Offerings in a pagan’s practice are like gifts between friends or family members. And, since we honor our ancestors on Samhain, why not give gifts to them as a form of honor? Food, drink, candle flame, incense, prayer, and song are all great ancestral offerings. But remember, offerings don’t have to be complicated. They can be as simple as a few herbs mixed together with intention and placed on the ancestor altar. Tell the ancestors why you’re giving them this offering and why you’re grateful for their presence in your life. They will return the gratitude.

Next, What is Samhain?

If you’ve never heard of Samhain and you’ve landed on this page, I’ll try my best to explain it to you in the simplest of terms. Samhain is the ancient Celts last harvest festival that honors the ancestors and celebrates the harvest. The term Samhain literally means “Summer’s End”, and so we also prepare for Winter. The Celts believed our ancestors, the dead, and even the faery folk were able to roam the earth with ease during the Autumn season, particularly on Samhain. So our beloved dead were encouraged to visit us with offerings of meals and drinks, while the malevolent dead were warded off with things like jack o’ lanterns and iron horseshoes. Learn more about Samhain’s history and traditions here.

Samhain Ancestor Herbal Offering Blends

When I choose ingredients for offerings, I choose a mixture of herbs – some for their magical properties and others purely off intuition or personal association. I recommend after choosing an herb based on intuition to still research its properties before use. Here’s our list of our favorite Samhain herbs to choose from.

Autumn Ancestor Herbal Offering #1:

• Sunflower Petals:  sunflowers always remind me of the end of summer and so are perfect in a Samhain herbal blend (Samhain meaning Summer’s end to our Celtic ancestors). They represent joy and the harvest.
• Calamus Root:  the “root” of our existence in this world is in the history of our ancestors. I chose the callamus root because it’s a root and because it represents healing and protection which are both things the ancestors provide to us.
• Skullcap:  to be honest, I chose skullcap purely off of the herb’s name. Skulls = ancestral connection. In ancient times, our ancestors believed the soul was contained in the head so skulls had particularly sacred meaning. Skullcap also symbolizes love and peace. 
• Cinnamon:  cinnamon has sacred meaning in the ancestral world because of its use in the mummification process. After the organs were removed, the ancient Egyptians would fill the bodies with sweet-smelling herbs like cinnamon. Cinnamon oil has also been used in anointing rituals in the middle east for centuries.
• Star Anise: in addition to being an herbal representation of the 5 elements (five-pointed star), according to Cunniham, star anise is often placed on altars to increase power. A perfect ingredient for a Samhain ancestor herbal offering blend

What To Do:

1. Now that you’ve chosen your ingredients, the directions are simple. Blend the herbs together carefully using your hand and a bowl. OR by gently crushing and mixing together with your mortar and pestle. While doing so, pray to the ancestors. Thank them for their presence in your life and for their blessings. 
2. Once you’re done mixing, put the Samhain ancestor herbal offering blend on your ancestor altar. You may leave it for the entire month of October, if you choose. 
3. As for disposal, I prefer to throw outside and give the herbs back to the earth.

Otherworldly Samhain Ancestor Herbal Offering Blend #2:

• Cinnamon: cinnamon has sacred meaning in the ancestral world because of its use in the mummification process. After the organs were removed, the ancient Egyptians would fill the bodies with sweet-smelling herbs like cinnamon. Cinnamon oil has also been used in anointing rituals in the middle east for centuries.
• Apple slices: be sure you get dried apple slices or dry your own. Alternatively, use dried apple peel. Apples are known as the Otherworldly fruit, or fruit of the dead, as they are mentioned time and time again in the old Celtic tales of the Otherworld. The Isle of Avalon (a potential land of the dead) is also full of apple trees. If you cut an apple in half horizontally, you’ll find the 5-pointed star – the symbol of the Goddess.
• Black tea: there are various kinds of black tea, so choose which kind you are drawn to. I feed my ancestors English Breakfast, as I have many English ancestors. Or Earl Grey. These should be the dried tea leaves. You can buy loose leaf or cut tea bags and dump out the contents. Most of the ancestors love tea and particularly love caffeine.
• Elder flower: the Elder tree is sacred to the ancient Celts and also to the fae (fairies) and therefore is linked closely to the ancestors and Otherworld. Elder flowers smell a bit musty but sweet and make a great addition to any Samhain ancestor herbal offering blend.

What To Do:

1. Now that you’ve chosen your ingredients, the directions are simple. Blend the herbs together carefully using your hand and a bowl. OR by gently crushing and mixing together with your mortar and pestle. While doing so, pray to the ancestors. Thank them for their presence in your life and for their blessings. 
2. Once you’re done mixing, put the Samhain ancestor herbal offering blend on your ancestor altar. You may leave it for the entire month of October, if you choose. 
3. As for disposal, I prefer to throw outside and give the herbs back to the earth.

Your UNIQUE Herbal Offering Blends

Use my herbal offering blends as inspiration for your own. Use what you already have on-hand and substitute out for things you don’t have. Listen to your intuition and what your ancestors whisper to you to create a beautiful, powerful herbal offering for Samhain season. I use special offering bowls for my altar (like the skeleton hand bowl in the picture), but a simple bowl from your kitchen cabinet works just as well!