5 Altar Items for Samhain, Halloween, and the Day of the Dead

Create sacred space this Samhain with these holiday-appropriate altar additions.

The Samhain season (also known as Halloween) is the time when the veil thins between the world between the living and the dead, making our magical power and spiritual inspiration all the more accessible.

It’s traditional at Samhain to create an altar to your beloved dead. You can build an altar for any deceased person you’d like to honor, including family members (human or otherwise), friends, and famous people you admire.

Here are 5 items that will go well on your Samhain altar.

1. Photos 

Adorn your Samhain altar with photos of the deceased people or animals you’d like to honor. This attunes the altar to the frequency of their unique personalities and invokes their presence in the space.

2. Marigolds and Mums

Marigolds are a traditional addition to Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) altars, as they symbolize death and rebirth. Chrysanthemums are also perfect altar additions during the Samhain season: they symbolize shining light into the darkness and opening a doorway between the worlds.

3. Foods and Beverages

Just as the living enjoy connecting with the spectral and invisible realm at this time of year, the dead also enjoy revisiting the physical and sensual treats they enjoyed while alive. So you may want to adorn your Samhain altar with some of the favorite foods and beverages of your beloved dead.

4. Candles and Incense

Of course, candles and incense are standbys for altars of all varieties. For a Samhain altar, black, grey, white, burgundy, purple, and orange candles are particularly appropriate. Burning copal or sweetgrass incense is a beautiful way to honor your beloved dead while opening the doorway between the worlds.

5. Decorative Skeletons and Skulls

In addition to reminding us to honor our beloved dead, decorative skeletons and skulls remind us that we will eventually follow them into the otherworld. This is essentially the wisdom of Samhain: a call to live life fearlessly, to love fully, to make the most of each and every moment, and to celebrate the endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

Wishing you a blessed and magical Samhain!

Did you create a Samhain altar using one or more of these altar items? How did it go? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.