How to Celebrate Samhain with Your Pets: Rituals & Remembrance

Simple rituals, tarot, and ways to connect with your familiars (those beside you or remembered)

Samhain feels special to me because I love the opportunity to connect to animals from my past. I find myself thinking more about my first dog Roxy, and my first two cats Cheeba and Mimi.

This is my favorite photo of Roxy

I’ve learned a lot about training, behaviour, and general care since they were in my life. Sometimes I wish I could have done better for them. But I know that I was doing that best that I could, with the knowledge that I had at the time. I am always open (and hopeful) that they may come back into my life, in another form.

After Roxy passed, my dog Penny came into my life a few months later. The first time I took Penny to the vet for her puppy shots and first checkup there was a lady in the waiting room with a miniature pincher sitting on her lap. Of course I was immediately reminded of Roxy, who was also a min pin. The lady told me her dog’s name was Penny. I couldn’t believe it! A min pin named Penny, right after I named my dog Penny!

I knew this was a sign from Roxy. I knew that she had sent Penny to me.

Simple rituals, tarot, and ways to connect with your familiars

(those that are currently beside you and those you remember)

Samhain is celebrated from October 31st to November 1st, and marks the transition from the harvest season to the dark, introspective winter months. Samhain honours the spirits of our ancestors, and the transformative power of endings and new beginnings.

Samhain has Gaelic roots. The traditional festival marks the end of the harvest season and the start of winter. It is a transition from the light (sun) to the dark of winter. It is also the time of year when the veil between the living and dead is thinnest.

Here is my take on the time of year. And how I work with my familiars.

This is Sage, who passed away earlier this year.

Ideas to Celebrate Samhain

These are ideas you can choose from. Adapt them to your own preferences. Take what you want and leave the rest.

• Create an Ancestor Altar: Decorate with photographs, letters, and items that honour your loved ones who have passed. Add candles, offerings, and seasonal herbs like rosemary for remembrance and protection.

  I love to create an altar for departed animals. I look at photos of Roxy, Cheeba, and Mimi. I look at their old collar and toys. I offer them treats.

• Cook with foods like apples, root vegetables, and breads that symbolize the last of the harvest. Share these dishes with family or offer them as blessings to the spirits.

• Hold a Quiet Meditation or Spirit Walk: Spend time in quiet reflection, or take a mindful walk to honour the end of the harvest and the transition into winter. Listen for whispers from the spirit world and guidance from your inner self.

• Perform a Cleansing Ritual: Use sage, mugwort, or rosemary to cleanse your space, releasing any stagnant energy. Focus on letting go of anything that no longer serves your highest self.

  Keep in mind that smoke-free cleansing practice is best around animals, especially birds.

• Make Protective Charms: Create charms using herbs, stones, or symbols of protection to safeguard your home during the darker months.

• Journal Your Intentions for Winter: Reflect on what you want to nurture in yourself throughout the winter months. What transformations do you seek? What do you hope to release?

  
  

Ideas for Connecting with Your Familiar

This is a powerful time to deepen your bond with your familiar, the animal that you have a connection to, whether they are by your side in the physical realm or guiding you from beyond. The bond between you and your familiar is strengthened through patience, presence, and attunement to energies beyond our senses.

• Spend quiet time with them in a peaceful space. Use this time to communicate and tune into any guidance or messages they may have for you.

• Engage in meditation, tarot, or energy work to strengthen your intuitive connection with your familiar.

• Offer small treats, herbs, or stones to honour your familiar and invite their protection and wisdom into your life.

  Be careful that you only offer species appropriate edible treats and food to lving pets. An ‘offering’ may be symbolic rather than edible.

Remember to let your familiar choose if they want to participate. Let them rest nearby or leave if they choose. Observe their body language alongside your intuitive impressions.

This is Cheeba

This is my first cat, Mimi

Connecting with Pets that have Passed

Connecting with pets that have passed is a way to honour their memory and continue the bond you shared. Our pets often leave a lasting impression on our hearts and spirits, and their energy can still be felt in our lives.

To connect with them, find a quiet space where you can sit in peace and reflect on your time together. Light a candle, hold a keepsake, or look at a photograph of them while you think about them and your memories together.

Speak to them aloud or in your thoughts, or meditate or journal about them, expressing your emotions, thoughts, memories, or asking them for guidance or insight.

Remember that you do not need to receive a sign or a message fro their memories and connection to be meaningful.

Spirit Animals to Connect with During Samhain

These are symbolic animal connections. Use these associations in your own practice for reflection, journaling, tarot or spirit animal communication. These are spirit animals that I associated and work with during Samhain.

• Black Cat: protective and intuitive

• Crow: mystery and transformation, helps us find clarity and insight

• Owl: secrets and wisdom, helps us trust our intuition and be patient

• Wolf: loyalty, helps us honour our ancestors and family

• Bat: releasing fears and exploring hidden truths

• Spider: fate and destiny, reminds us to honour the interconnectedness of life and death

  
  

Tarot for Samhain

As you celebrate Samhain, consider pulling a tarot card to receive guidance for the season. Focus on asking: “What message do I need as I journey into winter?” Or pull a card specifically for your familiar, asking what wisdom they wish to share with you at this time.

This year, I plan on doing this spread: (let me know if you give it a try!)

Card 1: Which animal is connecting with me? (their energy)

Card 2: The energy surrounding our past together

Card 3: What message do they have for me? Something they want me to know

Card 4: What advice do they have for me? (An action they want me to take)

Card 5: How can I work with them/continue our connection?

Card 6: What do they want to accomplish together (what are they helping me with)

Explore more videos about Samhain and you Pets, Rituals and Meditations for Samhain, as well as Tarot!

These are videos that I have over the years. Some Halloween vlogs, pick-a-card tarot readings, ritual ideas, and more ways to celebrate.

Check them out and let me know which type of video is your favorite!

Click the button below and scroll down to the bottom, after the text to see the list of videos.

Take me to the videos