Samhain Festival
Foundation Centre - Ireland
October 31, 2026
By: Rev. Noeleen Watson
Sitting here thinking about our ceremony yesterday and how blessed we all were first with the weather and for such a big turn out for the festival. The sense of true community from everyone was so evident. We had true blue skies, the sun beaming down and over the entrance to the courtyard was a waning moon. The ceremony included a Consecration of a Hierophant.
Everyone gathered in the courtyard as our Presiding Priestess Cait gave a little talk on Samhain and the changing landscape of the land. We all made our way towards the Rose Garden singing. As we stood there in a circle around the main rose bushes, there was one single yellow rose standing alone. Katheriona, our newly consecrated Hierophant led us in a heart-based meditation. She invoked the Rosa Mundi and we all connected to our own hearts and breath, as we were standing there she sang a song from the Goddess which echoed all over the gardens.
We followed the path towards the Sacred Grove; this grove is dedicated to the Druid Clan of Dana. Here you could feel the deep connection with all that has been and the ancestors of these lands. We were treated to a song composed and sung by Deajar. The song brought such joy and love to our hearts as we listened.
Moving in slow procession to the Abbey, here is the place dedicated to the Noble Order of Tara. I have never seen so many people within the old walls of the Abbey. Once again there was a single yellow rose right up against the open window. For me I see a yellow rose as joy and friendship, and we had both in abundance. Regina, one of our priestesses invoked the Goddess Eriu, the sovereign Goddess of our land.
We made our way towards the temple but first we stopped at the statute representing the Goddess Persephone. Maureen, a priestess invoked her. We entered the Temple of Isis, and all took our places around the Brigid's Well and down the hallway. Cait read an oracle from Lady Olivia's book, the Goddess Kundalini of India. There is so much contained within the oracle from "If you are selfish in any way you will not find her"; "If you truly seek my creative energy with good intentions, find me in the heart of love." The Priesthood invoked their different deities. Blessings were offered to all who would like to receive one from our priestesses. Every place within our temple was full of people. It was wonderful to see and be part of the day. One of our priestesses delivered an oracle from An Cailleach, from the moment she started talking, you could hear and feel the strength of An Cailleach, she reminded us of the importance of nourishment and the land.
We then had our Hierophant Ceremony, her rose crown and her staff were present waiting to take their place. A cloak of crow feathers was placed around her as she answered questions. She delivered an oracle and a blessing to us all. To be able to witness this was such a blessing for us all and a memory I will keep in my heart forever.
We were all brought on a beautiful journey deep within the land and, within the journey, we could write letters of whatever needed to go. The symbolism of fire and a caldron. Cait sang a beautiful song, originally a poem. The Song of Wandering Aengus W. B. Yeats. We all held hands and the words of the song made their way to our heart. All deities were thanked and we all made our way over for our treat of tea and cake and of course chats and plenty of photographs.
For me the many things I have taken from our Samhain ceremony is that even though we are entering the dark half of the year, we are stronger together. The Goddess Kundalini reminds us of the importance of having a heart of love, when we connect with our hearts of love, we are connected to a much bigger world of the seen and unseen. For our hearts are a doorway to so much more than we realise. With our journey through the gardens and then into the temple we were shown by nature the joy, love and friendship that is available to us all. "The Heart of Love."
Date of next ceremony is Saturday 19th December for our Winter Solstice, gathering from 10.30 to start at 11am.
(Please note: Festival attendance is by invitation only - to request one, see this page: Events)
