Samhain is usually remembered as a single night, that of 31 October. In 2026, however, the sky suggests treating it as a season of about ten days, with three anchors: the cultural date, the solar point and the New Moon in Scorpio. To top it off, the night of 31 Oct arrives under a double retrograde: Venus and Mercury retrograde at the same time.
What follows: why there are three dates, what the two planets under review add, how to think of Samhain from the Southern Hemisphere without invalidating any current, and three mini-rites, one for each anchor.
What Samhain is and why 2026 has three anchors
On the Wheel of the Year, Samhain is the sabbat that, in the Northern Hemisphere, marks the threshold between autumn and winter: the end of the harvest, the thinnest veil between the worlds and the time to honour the ancestors. Many traditions treat it as the “witch's new year”. The foundations of the sabbat are on our Samhain page; here we speak only of 2026.
Samhain is a cross-quarter point between an equinox and a solstice. That is why it can be counted by more than one clock:
| Anchor | When (BRT) | What it marks |
|---|---|---|
| Cultural | 31 Oct at sunset → 01 Nov (Saturday into Sunday) | The traditional date, shared by the Neopagan community worldwide |
| Solar (cross-quarter) | 07 Nov 2026, at around 06:44 BRT | The Sun at 15° of Scorpio, exactly halfway in astronomical terms |
| Lunar | 09 Nov 2026, at around 04:02 BRT | New Moon in Scorpio at about 16°53′, the dark seed of the season |
None of these dates is “the right one”: the cultural one answers “when do we celebrate together?”, the solar one, “when does the sky reach the midpoint?”, and the lunar one, “when does the darkness renew itself?”.
What the double retrograde adds
On 31 Oct, two personal planets are retrograde (℞):
- Venus ℞ since 3 Oct. On 25 Oct she leaves Scorpio and returns to Libra, still retrograde. It is the review of what we love: bonds, values and affections, including with those who have passed on.
- Mercury ℞ since 24 Oct, at around 04:13 BRT, at about 20°59′ of Scorpio. It is the review of what we narrate: the stories we tell about family, about the past and about ourselves.
Together, they ask for a release that comes through reviewing what is loved and what is told: ritual silence, listening and honest conversations, with the dead and with yourself. To understand each movement in detail, read Venus retrograde in Scorpio and Mercury retrograde in Scorpio.
The Southern Hemisphere criterion: which clock did you choose?
In Brazil, October and November are spring. By the local season, this is the time of Beltane, with fertility, blossoming and fires of life, not of Samhain. This does not make anyone “wrong”. The useful question is: which clock are you following?
| Criterion | What to do in Oct/Nov in Brazil |
|---|---|
| Land / local season | Celebrate Southern Beltane, honouring the blossoming earth. |
| Calendar / global egregore | Live 31 Oct–01 Nov as cultural Samhain, in sync with the community around the world. |
| Solar (Southern Hemisphere) | Remember that the spring cross-quarter point in the South mirrors the autumn one in the North. Those who follow only the land mark Samhain in the Brazilian autumn (April/May). |
| Hybrid practice | State both intentions in the rite: “today I honour my ancestors (cultural Samhain axis) and the blossoming earth (Southern Beltane axis)”. Two intentions, one altar. |
Tips for the season
- Choose one or two dates. Nobody needs to do all three. A balanced combination is 31 Oct (community) + 07 Nov (sky).
- Offer an ancestral plate. The dumb supper, the silent supper with a place set for the dead, suits the mood of Mercury ℞: less talk, more listening.
- Scrying, only with grounding. Without grounding before and after, scrying can leave a person spacey or anxious. Breathe, feel your feet on the floor, set a beginning and an end. For technique and precautions, consult our guide to scrying.
- Shadow work in short doses. Ten or fifteen minutes of writing is enough. With two planets under review, old material rises; seek professional support if something becomes too heavy.
- Do not confuse shadow work with the Book of Shadows. Shadow work is a process: looking at and integrating parts of yourself that were repressed or denied. The Book of Shadows is a record: the grimoire where you note rites, correspondences and experiences. You can record a shadow work session in your Book of Shadows, but one is not the other.
Step by step: three mini-rites
Each rite takes 15 to 25 minutes. Cleanse the space beforehand (incense, salt or sound) and, at the end, give thanks and put out the candles safely.
A) 31 Oct, at sunset: ancestral altar
- Set up an ancestral altar with photos, objects or written names, a black candle (protection, mystery) and an orange one (harvest, warmth). If you practise the hybrid mode, add a seasonal flower.
- Light the candles and say: “I open this space for those who came before me.”
- Name each ancestor aloud, by blood, by affection or by path. Pause before each name.
- With Venus ℞, ask: what have I loved and not yet thanked? With Mercury ℞: what story about my family do I need to retell with more truth? Listen and do not force answers.
- Leave a simple offering (water, bread, the ancestral plate) and close: “May the veil close in peace.”
B) 07 Nov, at around 06:44 BRT (or at the start of the day): solar midpoint rite
- At dawn, write on a piece of paper what you release at this midway point: a habit, a hurt, a narrative that no longer serves.
- Read it aloud once.
- Release: tear the paper into small pieces or burn it in a fireproof container, away from curtains and with water nearby. Never leave a flame unattended.
- Bury or dispose of the remains and say: “The Sun reaches the midpoint; I go on lighter.”
- In hybrid mode, water a plant as a Southern Beltane gesture: what leaves makes room for what blossoms.
C) 09 Nov, New Moon in Scorpio (at around 04:02 BRT, or on the night of 08 Nov or 09 Nov): quiet seed
- There is no need to wake in the small hours: the energy holds for the nearby hours. In silence, by the light of a single candle, write one intention for the “witch's new year”, short and in the present tense (e.g. “I cultivate honesty in my bonds”).
- Fold the paper and keep it on the altar or inside your Book of Shadows, like a seed in the dark.
- Optional: write a page of shadow work about what surfaced in these ten days. Then make one entry in the Book of Shadows recording dates, candles and sensations. They are two different pages, with different functions.
Quick answers
Do I need to do all three rites? No. One rite done with presence is worth more than three on autopilot.
What if my ancestors are difficult? Honouring is not approving. You can call only “those who came before me and wish me well”, ancestors of affection or of path, or light a candle for the healing of what was left unresolved. Boundaries are devotion too.
Is celebrating Samhain in Brazil in October “wrong”? No, as long as you know which clock you have chosen. By the calendar, 31 Oct is cultural Samhain and connects you to the global egregore. By the land, this is the time of Southern Beltane, and the local Samhain falls in April/May. Both readings are coherent.
Can I mix Southern Beltane and cultural Samhain on the same altar? You can. That is hybrid practice: name the two intentions clearly, ancestors on one side and blossoming earth on the other. The confusion comes from mixing without saying what you are doing, not from the mixing itself.
Does the double retrograde get in the way of the rite? No, it sets the tone: review, listening and retelling are natural themes of Samhain. Just avoid final decisions made on impulse.
May this Samhain season, between the veil and the flower, be one of memory, truth and well-kept seeds. Blessed be.