Samhain Is for Divining. Here Is a Simmer Pot to Set the Stage.
Whether you need to call in the ancestors for insight or make your house smell good for the holidays, this apple-spiced simmer pot will do the job.
Oíche Shamhna Shona Daoibh, a chairde! (/Ee-ha How-na hunna ghweev/) Happy Halloween. I return from a brief rest to send you this recipe directly from my hearth to aid you in whatever you may wish to divine, or not, this Samhain (SOW-in). This simmer pot is something I have done for many years, before I even began the journey to root my practice and mindset in folk tradition. For starters, I have cats, so sometimes burning candles can be a little tricky, but I wanted ways of making my home smell and feel clean long before I realized that the origin of the simmer pot was to do just that. (Since dead internet theory is very real these days, it's hard for me to pinpoint those origins culturally, or if they are simply one of those things that can be attributed to New Age/Wicca/make-everything-seem-older-than-it-is phenomena.)
I want to be very clear about something with these recipes I am about to bestow: While I do practice from a place rooted in Celtic/Irish and Slavic tradition, I do not pretend to be a teacher of these traditions. My goal is to share some parts of my practice (though not all) from the role of a learner. If you want a pagan teacher, there are way more qualified people to learn from, like Joanna Tarnawska and Lora O'Brien, and many others.
But I digress. What we do know is that heat, fire, steam—these are all purifying elements in many cultures, and when it's time to clean my home, I always put a simmer pot on to boil. This is a warm-spiced simmer pot for autumn that I have added my own personal touches to over the years. This year, I've added elements from my own garden with a focus on divination. Since Samhain is the part of the year where the veil between this world and the Other World is thinnest, it is the perfect time to reflect upon our year and seek insights from both within and without, as well as cleanse and ward our homes for the long winter.
The main thing I have learned over time is this: Use what you have available. It's about intention more than having the right ingredients. For example, in most workings or pots requiring sage, I will use blue mealy sage I have a bush of in my garden rather than buying any kind of cooking or ritual sage. Not only was this plant a gift from a friend of mine who moved away, but it is native to my area and great for pollinators. These aspects add more to the magical properties I might want than any grocery store or purported magical sage. That's not to say if you have some in your kitchen you shouldn't use it, or it's not as special. It's just that in learning to cultivate a more mindful practice, the relationships I have with my own grown herbs and the relationships they have to my area are what I value.
However, I'm very much a "do what speaks to you" type of person. Use those leftover grocery store herbs and spices! Believe me, I do not have some vast herb garden. It's a raised bed with a bushel of lavender and a basil varietal. It's all about what you make of it. Add and subtract as you will. Do you have roses someone brought you that are dying in a vase? Those would make excellent additions since a lot of Samhain's rituals revolve around love divination.
For me, I like to stir my simmer pots a little counterclockwise to push things out, and then stir clockwise to call things in. You can also just use this as a way to make your house smell like a caramel apple latte without the Febreze, and not worry about any of the fuss. I will be using this simmer pot to set the stage for my silent supper for the ancestors this year, as well do some divining with them.
Paid subscribers can check out the recipe below. If you are a free member, please consider becoming a paid supporter today as it helps pay my bills. Next week, I will return with free content on my Samhain journey this year, and provide a little more information about the traditions of Samhain, which believe it or not do not even have to be celebrated on October 31 astrologically speaking. Procrastination wins again.
Beannachtaí,
Sam
