Samhain Divination: Best Time for Tarot & Scrying

BY NICOLE LAU

Why Samhain is the Most Powerful Time for Divination

When the veil between worlds thins on Samhain night, the boundary separating the physical and spiritual realms becomes permeable. This liminal state creates optimal conditions for divination—the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or hidden truths through supernatural means. Messages flow more freely, intuition sharpens, and communication with spirits, ancestors, and higher guidance becomes remarkably clear.

Samhain has been recognized as the premier divination night for thousands of years across Celtic cultures. The same energetic conditions that allow ancestors to visit the living also enable practitioners to peer beyond ordinary perception. Whether using tarot, scrying, runes, pendulums, or other methods, divination performed at Samhain carries exceptional potency and accuracy.

Preparing for Samhain Divination

Timing Your Practice

The most powerful divination windows at Samhain:

• Sunset on October 31st: As day transitions to night, the veil begins thinning
• Midnight (the witching hour): Peak thinning of the veil
• Pre-dawn November 1st: The liminal space between night and day amplifies the already-thin veil
• The entire Samhain window: October 31 through November 2 maintains heightened psychic conditions

Creating Sacred Space

Prepare your divination area with intention:

1. Cleanse the space: Use smoke (rosemary, mugwort, sage), sound (bells, singing bowls), or salt water
2. Dim the lights: Candlelight enhances psychic receptivity
3. Cast a protective circle: Visualize white or purple light surrounding your space, or physically mark boundaries with salt
4. Set up your altar: Include divination tools, protective crystals, ancestor photos, and offerings
5. Eliminate distractions: Turn off phones, close doors, create uninterrupted time

Personal Preparation

• Ground and center: Meditate for 5-10 minutes before beginning
• Set clear intentions: Know what questions you're asking and why
• Protect your energy: Visualize protective light, wear protective crystals, or anoint yourself with protective oil
• Open your third eye: Gently focus attention on the space between your eyebrows
• Invite only benevolent guidance: Clearly state you welcome only messages from sources of light and love

Tarot Divination at Samhain

Why Tarot Works Powerfully at Samhain

Tarot acts as a bridge between conscious and unconscious mind, between physical and spiritual realms. During Samhain's thinned veil, this bridge becomes a superhighway. Intuitive hits arrive faster, symbolic meanings reveal themselves more clearly, and messages from guides or ancestors can flow directly through the cards.

Samhain Tarot Ritual

What you'll need:

• Your tarot deck (cleansed and charged)
• Black or purple altar cloth
• White candle (for clarity and spirit communication)
• Protective crystal (obsidian, black tourmaline, or smoky quartz)
• Mugwort or wormwood (for psychic enhancement)
• Journal and pen

The ritual:

1. Cleanse your deck by passing it through incense smoke or holding it while visualizing white light
2. Light your white candle and say: "I call upon my guides, ancestors, and highest self. Speak through these cards with clarity and truth."
3. Hold your deck to your heart and set your intention
4. Shuffle while focusing on your question
5. Draw cards for your chosen spread
6. Interpret with both logic and intuition—pay attention to first impressions, feelings, and any messages that arise
7. Journal your reading immediately
8. Thank your guides and close the session clearly

Samhain Tarot Spreads

The Ancestor Wisdom Spread (3 cards)

• Card 1: What do my ancestors want me to know?
• Card 2: What gift or strength have they passed to me?
• Card 3: How can I honor them in the year ahead?

The Veil Crossing Spread (5 cards)

• Card 1: What am I leaving behind (what must die)?
• Card 2: What is being born in me?
• Card 3: What guidance do my ancestors offer?
• Card 4: What challenge will I face in the dark half of the year?
• Card 5: What gift will emerge from that challenge?

The Witch's New Year Spread (8 cards)

Lay cards in a circle representing the Wheel of the Year ahead:

• Card 1 (Center): Overall theme for the year ahead
• Card 2: Samhain to Yule (Nov-Dec) - Descent and reflection
• Card 3: Yule to Imbolc (Jan-Feb) - Rebirth and planning
• Card 4: Imbolc to Ostara (Feb-Mar) - Purification and growth
• Card 5: Ostara to Beltane (Apr-May) - Manifestation and fertility
• Card 6: Beltane to Litha (May-Jun) - Expansion and passion
• Card 7: Litha to Lammas (Jul-Aug) - Peak and first harvest
• Card 8: Lammas to Mabon (Aug-Oct) - Gratitude and preparation

The Shadow Work Spread (4 cards)

• Card 1: What shadow aspect am I ready to acknowledge?
• Card 2: What is this shadow trying to teach me?
• Card 3: How can I integrate this shadow healthily?
• Card 4: What strength will emerge from this integration?

Scrying: Gazing Beyond the Veil

What is Scrying?

Scrying is the practice of gazing into a reflective or translucent surface to receive visions, messages, or intuitive information. The surface acts as a focal point that quiets the conscious mind and opens the psychic senses. Traditional scrying mediums include mirrors, water, crystal balls, fire, and smoke.

Types of Scrying for Samhain

Black Mirror Scrying

The most traditional Samhain scrying method uses a black mirror (obsidian mirror or glass painted black on one side).

How to scry with a black mirror:

1. Sit in a darkened room with a single candle behind you (not reflecting in the mirror)
2. Hold or position the mirror at a comfortable angle
3. Gaze softly at the mirror's surface—don't strain or stare hard
4. Let your eyes slightly unfocus
5. Breathe deeply and relax into a meditative state
6. Watch for images, symbols, colors, or movements in the mirror
7. Don't force visions—let them arise naturally
8. Session length: 10-20 minutes for beginners, longer for experienced practitioners
9. Journal immediately after

Water Scrying

Using a dark bowl filled with water.

Method:

1. Fill a black or dark-colored bowl with water
2. Optional: Add a drop of ink or dark liquid to deepen the color
3. Place on a stable surface
4. Light a candle near (but not reflecting directly in) the water
5. Gaze into the water's surface using the same soft focus as mirror scrying
6. Watch for ripples, images, or symbols forming in the water

Crystal Ball Scrying

Traditional method using clear quartz or glass sphere.

Method:

1. Cleanse your crystal ball before use
2. Place on a dark cloth to enhance visibility
3. Dim lighting with candles only
4. Gaze into the ball's depths, not at its surface
5. Look for clouds, colors, images, or symbols forming within
6. Interpretations may be literal or symbolic

Fire Scrying

Reading messages in flames.

Method:

1. Light a candle or small fire safely
2. Gaze at the flames with soft focus
3. Watch how flames move, dance, and change color
4. Notice shapes or images that appear in the fire
5. Pay attention to intuitive messages that arise

Flame interpretations:

• Steady, strong flame: Positive answer, strong energy
• Flickering flame: Uncertainty, change, spirits present
• Flame leans left: Past influences, feminine energy
• Flame leans right: Future influences, masculine energy
• Flame goes out: Negative answer, blocked energy, protection needed
• Bright, tall flame: Success, powerful energy
• Weak, low flame: Obstacles, low energy

Smoke Scrying

Reading patterns in incense smoke.

Method:

1. Burn incense (frankincense, myrrh, or mugwort work well)
2. Watch the smoke patterns as they rise and swirl
3. Look for shapes, symbols, or images in the smoke
4. Notice the direction smoke moves
5. Trust intuitive interpretations

Interpreting Scrying Visions

Scrying visions may appear as:

• Literal images: Clear pictures of people, places, or events
• Symbolic images: Archetypal symbols requiring interpretation
• Colors: Each color carries meaning (red=passion/danger, blue=peace/communication, etc.)
• Movements: Swirling, flowing, or specific directional movements
• Feelings: Emotional impressions without visual component
• Knowing: Sudden clarity or understanding without images

Trust your first impression. The conscious mind will try to rationalize—honor the initial intuitive hit.

Other Samhain Divination Methods

Pendulum Divination

Using a weighted object on a chain to receive yes/no answers.

How to use:

1. Hold pendulum chain between thumb and forefinger
2. Establish your yes/no/maybe patterns (usually clockwise=yes, counterclockwise=no, back-and-forth=maybe)
3. Ask clear yes/no questions
4. Stay neutral and let the pendulum move without conscious influence
5. Particularly effective for ancestor communication at Samhain

Rune Casting

Drawing or casting runes for guidance.

Simple Samhain rune spread:

• Draw three runes
• Rune 1: What is ending/dying
• Rune 2: What is being born
• Rune 3: Guidance for the transition

Automatic Writing

Allowing spirits or higher self to write through you.

Method:

1. Sit with pen and paper in sacred space
2. Enter meditative state
3. Invite benevolent guidance
4. Begin writing without conscious thought
5. Let words flow without editing or analyzing
6. Read and interpret after the session ends

Dream Divination

Receiving messages through Samhain night dreams.

Method:

1. Place mugwort under your pillow
2. Set clear intention before sleep: "I invite prophetic dreams and ancestral messages"
3. Keep journal and pen beside bed
4. Record dreams immediately upon waking
5. Look for symbols, messages, or visits from deceased loved ones

Enhancing Divination with Crystals and Herbs

Crystals for Samhain Divination

• Labradorite: Enhances psychic abilities, protects during spiritual work
• Obsidian: Scrying, protection, grounding
• Amethyst: Third eye activation, spiritual connection, protection
• Clear quartz: Amplifies psychic abilities, clarity
• Moonstone: Intuition, divination, feminine energy
• Smoky quartz: Grounding while maintaining psychic openness
• Lapis lazuli: Third eye opening, truth, wisdom

Place crystals on your altar, hold them during divination, or create a crystal grid around your workspace.

Herbs for Psychic Enhancement

• Mugwort: The premier divination herb—burn as incense, drink as tea, or place under pillow
• Wormwood: Spirit communication, psychic opening (use cautiously, can be toxic)
• Lavender: Psychic protection, clarity, calming
• Rosemary: Memory, clarity, protection
• Star anise: Psychic power, divination enhancement
• Bay leaves: Prophetic dreams, visions, wisdom

Burn as incense, create herbal sachets, or brew as tea (research safety first).

Safety and Protection During Divination

Essential Protections

• Cast a circle: Create sacred, protected space before beginning
• State your boundaries: "I welcome only messages from sources of light, love, and highest good"
• Use protective crystals: Black tourmaline, obsidian, or smoky quartz
• Ground before and after: Visualize roots into earth, eat something, touch the ground
• Close sessions clearly: "This divination session is now complete. I close this portal. Only light remains."
• Trust your intuition: If something feels wrong, stop immediately

Signs to Stop Immediately

• Feeling of dread or fear
• Sudden temperature drops
• Aggressive or threatening messages
• Physical discomfort or pain
• Sense of malevolent presence

If any of these occur, close the session, cleanse the space thoroughly, and ground yourself.

After-Care

• Ground yourself by eating, drinking water, or going outside
• Cleanse your space and tools
• Journal your experience while fresh
• Thank your guides and ancestors
• Rest—divination can be energetically draining

Recording and Interpreting Results

Keeping a Divination Journal

Record each session with:

• Date and time
• Moon phase
• Method used
• Question asked
• Results received
• Initial interpretation
• Feelings and impressions
• Follow-up notes as events unfold

Understanding Timing

Divination reveals possibilities, not certainties. Messages may:

• Manifest immediately
• Unfold over weeks or months
• Represent symbolic rather than literal truth
• Show potential futures that can be changed through action

Review your Samhain divination at Imbolc (February) and again at next Samhain to track accuracy and growth.

Final Thoughts: Listening to the Veil

Samhain divination is not about predicting a fixed future—it's about listening to the wisdom available when the veil thins. Ancestors speak, guides offer counsel, and your own deep knowing rises to the surface. The messages received at Samhain carry particular weight because they come from the threshold, the liminal space where transformation happens.

Whether you read tarot, gaze into mirrors, cast runes, or simply sit in meditation, you're participating in an ancient practice of seeking guidance at the year's most mystical moment. Trust what you receive. Honor the messages. And remember that divination is a conversation, not a command—you always retain free will to shape your path.

The veil is thin. The answers are waiting. Listen well. 🔮✨