Many witches often feel burdened and overwhelmed by learning and practicing witchcraft or celebrating the Sabbats. You might feel like you have to spend a fortune on special tools or that rituals and spells should consume hours of your time. Fortunately, this is not the case! In honor of the spooky season, here are 20 quick, simple, budget friendly Samhain ideas for busy witches on a budget.
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Samhain (pronounced sow-in or sow-een where sow rhymes with how) is a cross quarter harvest festival with Celtic roots that marks the midpoint between the start of autumn and the start of winter. This celebration of death and transformation is usually observed by witches on October 31st or November 1st.
Samhain translates to mean”summer’s end” and is often also called the witch’s new year. The veil separating the world of the living and dead is paper thin at this time. As a result, it’s the perfect time for all things “in between”. Witches practice by wrapping up goals for the year, releasing unwanted energy, and preparing for the harsh cold of winter. It’s also the perfect time to safely explore spirit communication.
You can learn even more about the themes of Samhain in this recent post.
While a big part of Samhain celebrations include ancestor veneration, and spells with hard to find spooky herbs are fun, they’re far from the only way to celebrate. If you’re short on time or funds, I’ve got some good news. There are tons of quick, simple, and inexpensive ways to honor the changing season.
Take a Nature Walk
A major element of observing Samhain is noticing the changing of the seasons and the transition toward winter. Blankets of fiery leaves covering the trees and ground, swiftly dropping temperatures, ever lengthening nights. Growth is slowing down, and the world is preparing for hibernation and rest. Time to go enjoy it!
- Take a solo hike. If you can, get out into nature on your own for some quiet reflection and observation. Take notice of how your environment is changing. How do those changes relate to the themes of Samhain and the themes of your own season in life? We live fast paced, distraction laden lives. It might feel uncomfortable to actively practice quietude and awareness. This activity is perfect for helping you get comfortable with being uncomfortable and learning to tap into your own inner voice.
- Walk with a friend. If a solo trek isn’t safe, feel free to bring a friend and enjoy your walk together. Personal safety always comes before any benefits of meditative activities.
- Go out with the little witchlings. If you’ve got little ones, those solo adventures can seem impossible. Take your witchlings with you! Kids love getting out into nature, exploring, and observing those changes. They can even collect treasures along the way. Bring their collection home to investigate, craft with, or set up their own seasonal sacred space. (Celebrating with littles? I’ve got a post for that, too!)
Grab Some Candles
Not only are basic candles cheap and accessible. They also have a host of uses at Samhain time. If you’re in a situation where actual fire isn’t an option, battery operated candles will still work for many of these suggestions. While not as cheap as a chime candle, they’re still pretty affordable and can be reused throughout the year.
Here are some of my favorite budget friendly Samhain ideas to do with candles.
- Practice your divination skills during this time with some fire scrying or read wax drippings.
- Put a candle inside a carved pumpkin and leave it by your door to scare off unwanted spirits.
- Leave a burning candle in your front window to guide the spirits of your beloved dead. My personal favorite color to use is purple, but use what you have. Please practice fire safety when doing this!
- Practice candle magic. Try your hand at some simple candle spells. Banishing, releasing, and protection are good ones for this time of year.
Go Pumpkin Wild
It’s pumpkin season, and this is a great time to make use of this seasonal staple. Pumpkins have many magical and mundane uses, and I’ve compiled 8 budget friendly Samhain ideas that utilize pumpkins. So grab some pumpkins and pick your favorites!
As an added busy witchy bonus, you can enjoy several of these ideas with just a single pumpkin. Talk about using your resources.
- Visit a pumpkin patch. This time of year, visiting your local pumpkin patch is a great way to spend an afternoon. The cover charge is usually cheap, the kids have a blast, and you’re supporting a local farm!
- Carve a pumpkin, and place a candle or light inside. Leave it by your front door to ward off unwanted spirits. Give it an extra boost by carving in a sigil for protection.
- Decorate with mini pumpkins. Little ones can even help paint and decorate them as a fun craft.
- Perform some pumpkin magic. This tasty squash is associated with abundance, protection, fertility, and creativity.
- Work on your kitchen witchery and bake up a pumpkin pie with some magical intent mixed inside. Don’t like pie? Pumpkin can be used in tons of other recipes, too.
- Roast up some pumpkin seeds for a healthy and spooky snack.
- Is pumpkin guts divination a thing? If not, it should be. Scrape out all those slimy, orange strings, throw them into a bowl or your favorite cauldron, and try to divine your future in the images you see.
- Perform some compost magic. When the season has passed, and your pumpkin is starting to look a little worse for wear, get one last night of magic out of it. Fill your collapsing cucurbit with an intention and bury it in the soil or compost bin. Then watch your desire grow!
Binge Watch Your Favorite Spooky Movies
What better time for a spooky movie marathon than October? It’s getting colder and darker outside. The veil is thinning, and you can just feel all that extra spiritual energy buzzing the air. If you’re already paying the streaming service free anyway, this budget friendly Samhain idea will only cost a little time.
I personally love a good zombie movie marathon, but the horror genre has just exploded with a range of awesome horror movies. They can range from not at all scary all the way to “How am I going to sleep tonight?”.
Even kid’s spooky movies are getting good. That means there are options for the whole family. Snuggle up with a blanket and a cup of tea, and give yourself a scare this Samhain.
Start a Reflective Journaling Habit
If you don’t already have an established journaling habit, Samhain is the perfect time for going inward and reflecting on your experience. It’s also a super beneficial shadow working tool.
Journaling doesn’t have to be time consuming or expensive, either. You can establish a routine with a daily prompt in your favorite witchy journal and the perfect pen. However, you can just as easily set a 5 minute timer and do a stream of consciousness piece about whatever pops into your head on an app.
If you just hate to write, meditation offers similar benefits to journaling.
Tell Stories About Your Deceased Loved Ones
One of the biggest themes of Samhain is that of honoring the cycles of life and death. Traditions all over the world have rituals and celebrations to remember the dead during mid autumn.
Get together with friends and family and spend time in remembrance. Look at old photos and keepsakes. Watch home movies. Tell stories to each other. When we do so, in a way, our passed loved ones return to us for the night.
Clean and Purge Your Home
Spring might be the traditional time for cleaning up your house, but I think Autumn is also a great time to do this. Yeah, I know it’s no fun, but if it has to be done anyway, why not infuse the season into the chore?
Samhain is the perfect time for cleansing and protection as well as releasing and transformation. These themes align well with everyday cleaning tasks. This is the time for getting rid of things that don’t serve, and that includes clutter.
Get in the spirit of things by charging up all your cleaning products with intentions of protection and plenty. Then, deep clean your home, get rid of all the junk, and give your space a good cleanse. Don’t forget to lay down some intentions and protections. That way, your space fills back up with only what you want.
What Are Your Best Budget Friendly Samhain Ideas?
Celebrating Samhain doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming. You can still carve out a few moments to observe the themes and seasonal changes of Samhain while spending next to nothing!
So, what are your favorite budget friendly Samhain ideas, busy witches? Drop me a comment with your favorite free or cheap ideas.
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