“October is a month of descent… we stand on the threshold between the living and the dead.”

A Witch’s Guide to October: Embracing Shadow, Ancestors, and Everyday Magick

October isn’t just the season of pumpkin spice, cosy jumpers, or swirling leaves — it’s a time when magick stirs in every shadow, every chill in the air, and every flicker in the corner of your eye. It’s when the veil between worlds thins, inviting us to listen and connect more deeply with the unseen.

October is a sacred spell in itself—an invitation to live with your senses wide open, honour your ancestors, and descend into the hidden parts of yourself.

Let’s journey together into a witch’s October, discovering the essential energies, rituals, astrological events, and magickal allies that make this one of the most potent times in the witch’s wheel of the year.

The Thinning Veil and October Energies

In witchcraft, October is renowned for its liminal energy, marking the descent into darkness as daylight fades and nature retreats inward. This is not an ending, but rather a sacred preparation for rebirth. This is the season of Samhain, the witch’s new year, a time imbued with ancestral presence and heightened intuition.

When witches speak of the veil thinning, it is not just some spooky trope — it’s the actual sensation that the boundaries between our living world and the otherworld are softer, allowing spirits and ancestors to draw closer. You may notice your dreams becoming more vivid, your gut instincts sharper, and the sense that shadows hold secrets waiting to be discovered.

Samhain: The Witch’s New Year

Most witches anticipate Samhain all year, its magick builds throughout October and lingers into early November. Far from being limited to a single night, the energy of Samhain infuses the entire season. Old folk customs like apple bobbing (once a divinatory act), turnip lanterns, and reading omens in dreams or the behaviour of birds, are ways our ancestors connected to the unseen.

October asks us to pay attention — notice nature’s shifts, the whispers in your dreams, and the subtle signs that may cross your path. This is a month to embrace deep listening and shadow work, to ask: What am I ready to meet in the dark? What parts of myself am I ready to accept and love? Shadow journaling, dream work, and facing the stories we’ve hidden from ourselves set the tone for profound personal transformation.

Ancestor Magick and Protection Work

October is the perfect time for ancestral magic: building an altar for your ancestors, leaving offerings, or lighting candles in memory of those who walked before you. As the spirit world draws nearer, it is also a powerful time for divination—tarot, runes, mirror scrying, or simply noting the wisdom and messages that appear in your dreams.

With the veil thinning, it is important to do protection practices: strengthening wards, cleansing your home, and energetically shielding yourself as part of your October rituals. These are ancient practices, woven into the heart of witchcraft at this time of year.

Crystals, Plants, and Everyday Witchery

Certain crystals become faithful allies during October’s descent: Obsidian for fierce protection and shadow work, Smoky Quartz for grounding, Labradorite for intuition and spirit contact, Jet for ancestral resonance, and Garnet for vitality and connection to lineage.

Plant magick abounds as well — mugwort for dreamwork and spirit connection, yarrow for protection and bridging worlds, and rosemary for remembrance. Autumn’s harvest—pumpkin, squash, apples, mushrooms—are magical in their own right. Use them in your kitchen, offer them on your altar, or simply enjoy them with gratitude for the earth’s abundance.

You don’t need elaborate rituals. Simple acts — a candle lit at dusk, a handful of leaves on your altar, bones or skulls displayed with reverence—carry profound magic. Even noting your dreams in a bedside journal, leaving a splash of cider for the earth, or setting a place for the dead at your table forges a living relationship with the unseen.

Bringing Witchcraft into Everyday Life

October’s witchcraft is not about ticking off a to-do list of rituals; it’s about weaving the threads that matter most to you into your daily life. There’s no need for performance or perfection. Let the season seep into your bones—whether through ancestor offerings, protection spells, shadow journaling, or moments of quiet at sunset.

So, how do you weave October magick into your own life? Are you called to ancestor work, divination, or perhaps protection?

Ready to journey deeper? Watch the full “A Witches Guide to October” on The Wild and Untamed Way YouTube channel, and subscribe for upcoming videos on ancestors, protection practices, Samhain plant allies, and more. October is magic in motion—don’t miss a moment of it!