Samhain Ritual

Natalie Zaman

In Giorgio Vasari’s The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, the biographer describes a moment in the life of Leonardo da Vinci in which young Leonardo’s father asked him to “paint something” on a round piece of wood. True to character, da Vinci brought this “canvas” to his room to work in secret—along with the carcasses of “lizards great and small, crickets, serpents, butterflies, grasshoppers, bats, and other strange kinds of suchlike animals” (Vasari, 287). These he cobbled together into a Franken-creature that, according to Vasari was, “most horrible and terrifying, which emitted a poisonous breath and turned the air to flame” (Vasari, 287). The shape of the wood was shield-like; what better protection for a knight in battle than his very own personal monster?

Whatever inspired da Vinci to create an image so terrible, I would guess that there was some humor in it, albeit the dark kind, the same that can be found in the Samhainishly creepy animal-masked citizens of Summerisle in the original Wicker Man film (though they are celebrating Beltane), or the fantastic world populated with human-beasts in Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone where it was more desirable to have a human face, whatever combination of animal limbs were concocted to house the soul. The spirit of drolleries lives on.

Drolleries appeared in the margins of books—an unexpected surprise, disturbing perhaps, and set there to provoke thought. But what if these curious creatures could step out of their pages and invite you to join their dance?

The Monster’s Ball

The following ritual can be done as a group activity or by a solitary practitioner and unfolds as a five-act play, for you shall don a disguise, act, disrobe, and emerge changed. Use the structure as a guide; as a ritual and craft it can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish to make it. The one thing that is nonnegotiable is the use of recyclable materials, for reasons that you will soon see.

Items needed:

Magenta candle (Magenta is a color often associated with transformation, the heart of this work. Magenta imbibes passionate red and thoughtful purple, which will help focus your energy.)

Myrrh essential oil (Myrrh promotes relaxation, which will aid in the meditation act of the ritual. In the ancient world, myrrh was a luxury item, much like the illuminated books in which drolleries are found. Used in embalming, it is a nod to Samhain, the season of shadow celebrated at this time.)

Scissors

Recyclable materials such as magazines, newspapers, cardboard, and paper bags

Stapler

Masking tape

Glue stick

Journal

Pencils or other writing implements

Mirror

Optional: Music to play in the background and set the mood. Because this work is inspired by British and European medieval art, I prefer British or European medieval music such as The Cambridge Singers’ Brother Sun, Sister Moon, or any music by Anonymous 4.

Before you begin, cleanse and create your sacred space, making sure to have all of your materials set up so that they are accessible. While the descriptions of each “act” of this ritual are brief, take the time you need to experience each fully. You will know when the time is right to move on to the next phase. Feel free to change up any details in this ritual to suit your needs.

The Meditation

Dress the magenta candle with the myrrh and light it. Breathing deeply, stare into the flame and visualize a pair of eyes forming around it:

Cat eyes,

Snake eyes,

Doe eyes,

Come!

From the darkness what shall emerge?

Visualize a face and body forming around the eyes and emerging from the darkness—this is your creature, the skin you will create and put on. Don’t try to think about it too much, just be aware of the first shape or shapes that come to mind. Perhaps what you see is a combination of animals or creatures; it may be that what you see has no name or is unidentifiable. Write down a description or draw it if it will help you remember.

The Creation

Using the recyclable materials, craft a guise for yourself in the shape of the creature that came to you in the meditation. It might be a single creature or a combination of several: animal, human, and plant. Take a moment to sketch out some ideas if you have not done so already. Don’t worry about being artistic or perfect; your purpose is to channel the energy you received in the mediation to create the being that you will become. Once you have a solid picture of what your guise will be, begin putting it together. You can craft a mask or a headband, a tail, coverings for your limbs, scales, or fur. Make your guise as simple or as elaborate as you like.

The Transformation

Carefully put on your guise. (Have extra tape or other means of repair close by in case of rips and tears.) Once you’re completely kitted out, take the time you need to get used to yourself in your new skin. Look in the mirror. What do you see? How does it feel to be this new creature? Be aware of your feelings: Are you scared? Bold? Confused? If you are able, write your feelings down. Next, find your voice. Speak in your new tongue. You may not understand it at first but keep talking. If you’re in a group, speak to each other. Keep in mind that animals use other speech besides sound: they posture, dance, and touch. When you are comfortable in your new skin, parade around your sacred space. Dance! This is the Monster’s Ball! Walk and speak and gesture as you are now. What do you have to say?

The Unmasking

Taking off your guise is just as important as putting it on. Disrobing, stripping away what covers you, can be humbling, exhilarating, freeing, and frightening all at the same time. Take a moment to find yourself underneath your new skin, then, slowly, take it off, one piece at a time. Follow your instincts—what comes off first? As you take off each piece, give thanks and lay it down reverently; perhaps you will arrange it into the shape as you remember yourself in it. Just as you did when you put on this guise, be aware of your feelings and write them down if it helps you articulate and remember them.

The Release

This is, for me, the most powerful part of the ritual. It is not easy to let go of something you’ve created, or even something (or someone) you have become. One of the lessons that Samhain teaches us is the temporary nature of life. Think of everything you can that is attached to the guise you have created and put on. Why do you think this is what you needed to become for this single night or hour? What lesson did it present to you; what is it asking you to consider in the coming year? Collect your creation and look at it with these words before you put it into the flames:

No longer am I what I was,

And I release the past because

The past is past,

The future unknown

The present, I know, is my true home.

Keep the fire going until the entire guise is reduced to ash. Let the ashes cool and settle overnight, then scatter them in the light of the morning. As the year continues to wane and then wax into spring, remember drolleries and the Monster’s Ball and draw on their energy when you encounter shadows in corners and rustles in the undergrowth of the New Year.

Further Reading and Viewing

Hardy, Robin, dir. The Wicker Man. Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento. British Lion Film Corporation, 1973.

Taylor, Laini. Daughter of Smoke and Bone. New York: Little Brown and Company, 2011.

Reference

Vasari, Giorgio. The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. Translated by Gaston du C. de Vere. Edited by Philip Jacks. New York: Modern Library, 2006.