Samhain correspondences are the herbs, colours, stones, foods and symbols that people link with Samhain, the old Gaelic festival that begins at sunset on 31 October. People use them to set up an altar and to choose what to burn, cook or put next to a candle. They give the evening one clear focus.
Some of these links are centuries old and come from Irish and Scottish folk custom. Others were added in the twentieth century and simply caught on. Below I have put the most common Samhain correspondences in one place and say what each is for and where it comes from. I also show you how to use a few of them without filling your whole altar.
What are Samhain correspondences?
A correspondence is a thing you connect with a certain season, quality or intention. For Samhain that means anything that speaks of the end of the harvest, the dark half of the year, the dead and the thin boundary to the Otherworld.
The historian Ronald Hutton points out in The Stations of the Sun (1996) that we know very little about how Samhain was kept before Christianity. What we do have are medieval Irish texts and later folk customs: bonfires, apples and nuts used for divination, carved turnip lanterns and food left out for the dead. Most colour and crystal lists you find online are modern. That doesn’t make them wrong, but it is good to know which links are old and which are new. If you want the background of the festival itself, start with What Is Samhain? The Old New Year Explained.
Which herbs belong to Samhain?
The herbs most often linked with Samhain are mugwort, rosemary, garden sage, juniper, apple and hazel. People use them for dreaming, for remembering the dead, for clearing a space and for asking about the year ahead.
| Herb or plant | Where the link comes from | What it is for | How to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mugwort | Old European protection and dream herb. Maud Grieve’s A Modern Herbal (1931) records it being worn on St John’s Eve against evil and carried by travellers. | Dreams, inner sight | A small dried bundle on your altar or a sprig near your bed. Not during pregnancy. |
| Rosemary | “Rosemary, that’s for remembrance” (Shakespeare, Hamlet) and a long custom of laying it at funerals. | Remembering the dead | Place a sprig next to photos of your dead or cook with it for the Samhain meal. |
| Garden sage | A European kitchen and healing herb, today often used for cleansing smoke. | Clearing the space | Burn one or two dried leaves on a heatproof dish before the ritual. |
| Juniper | Scottish Highland “saining”: juniper smoke carried through the house at the turn of the year. | Protection, a fresh start | Burn a small dried twig with the window open. |
| Apple | Apple games and apple divination were a fixed part of Halloween in Ireland and Scotland. | The harvest, the Otherworld | Cut one crosswise to show the star of seeds and leave half as an offering. |
| Hazel | On “Nutcrack Night” people put hazelnuts in the fire to ask about love and the year ahead. | Wisdom, divination | Hold one nut with a question, then give it to the fire or bury it. |
A word of care: these herbs are used here for ritual, not as medicine. Mugwort and juniper are not suitable during pregnancy, and herbal smoke can trouble anyone with asthma or a lung condition. Burn only small amounts, keep a window open, and if you are unsure, place the herbs on the altar instead of burning them. Shamanic work and seasonal ritual can sit alongside medical care, but they never take its place.
What colours are used for Samhain?
The colours used for Samhain today are mainly black, orange and deep red, often with brown and white or silver. These colour links are modern, so treat them as suggestions rather than rules.
- Black stands for the dark half of the year, for rest and for the dead. A black cloth under your altar makes the candle light stand out.
- Orange stands for the last of the harvest and for fire. Pumpkins, squash and autumn leaves already carry it.
- Deep red belongs to your blood line and your ancestors. A red candle works well when your evening is about family.
- Brown and ochre are the colours of earth and fallen leaves.
- White or silver belongs to the moon and the spirits. Many people light one white candle for the dead.
Stones, foods and symbols of Samhain
Beyond herbs and colours, Samhain correspondences include dark stones for protection, harvest foods for sharing and a handful of symbols that are much older than the modern pumpkin.
| Group | Examples | What they are for |
|---|---|---|
| Stones | Obsidian, smoky quartz, jet | Protection and grounding. Jet was worn as mourning jewellery in Victorian Britain. |
| Foods | Apples, hazelnuts, root vegetables, barmbrack, colcannon | Sharing the harvest. Barmbrack and colcannon were Irish Halloween dishes with a ring or coin hidden inside to tell the future. |
| Symbols | Bonfire, turnip lantern, an empty place at the table | Light against the dark, protection on the road and room for the dead. |
| Flowers | Chrysanthemums, the last roses | In Portugal, France and Italy chrysanthemums are the flowers people bring to graves on 1 November. |
How do you use correspondences in a Samhain ritual?
Use correspondences by choosing one or two items for each purpose of your evening, not by collecting everything on the list. The fewer things on your altar, the easier it is to stay with what you are doing.
- Decide what the evening is for. Remembering your dead, letting something go, or asking for a dream about the winter ahead.
- Pick one herb that fits. Rosemary for remembering, juniper or sage for letting go, mugwort for dreams.
- Choose one or two colours for your candle and cloth, for example black with one white candle.
- Add one food you will really share, such as an apple, a piece of bread or a dish your family always cooked.
- Arrange it all in one place. My guide on how to build an ancestor altar shows how to set this up so you keep coming back to it.
- Close and give back. After the ritual, return herbs, nuts and food scraps to the earth or a compost heap.
If you want a full evening to fit these into, you can follow the seven steps in How to Celebrate Samhain: A Beginner’s Guide.
Do Samhain correspondences have to be traditional?
No. A correspondence list is only a guide, and the plants growing near you often mean more to you than anything shipped from far away. Just know why each thing is on your altar.
You do not need white sage, imported resins or a special kit. Rosemary from a hedge, juniper from a park or an apple from a local tree all belong to the season where you live. If you live in the southern hemisphere, your Samhain falls around the end of April, so choose what is dying back in your own autumn.
From my practice: what people bring to the circle
Before our Samhain circle I ask everyone to bring one thing they found outside rather than something they bought. What turns up is always more personal than any list: a sprig of rosemary from the neighbour’s wall, a handful of acorns, a dry seed head, an apple with a bruise on it. By the time people have said why they picked it, the evening has already begun.
Here in Portugal the end of October is the time of the first proper rains. The rosemary on the dry hillsides starts to flower again and the whole landscape smells of wet earth. I go out the day before Samhain and take only what has already fallen, a few leaves, a twig, sometimes nothing. That short walk prepares me better than any table of correspondences.
If you would like to mark this season with others, the Lightkeepers’ Hearth journey circle is where we journey together through the dark half of the year.
Frequently asked questions
There is no single official herb, but mugwort and rosemary come up most often. Mugwort is linked with dreams and inner sight, rosemary with remembering the dead.
Yes, in small amounts and with a window open. Do not burn or use mugwort during pregnancy, and leave it on the altar unburnt if smoke bothers your breathing.
Obsidian, smoky quartz and jet are the stones most often used. They are chosen for protection and grounding, and jet has a long history as mourning jewellery.
Chrysanthemums and the last roses of the year are common choices. In much of southern Europe chrysanthemums are the flowers people bring to graves on 1 November.
No. One herb, one or two colours and one food you share are plenty. Treat a full table of correspondences like a menu and pick what you want.
Samhain correspondences help you focus. Pick what speaks to you and leave the rest. Tell me in the comments: which herb or colour will be on your altar this Samhain?
