A Somatic Voice Ritual for Samhain

Release, Renewal, and Trusting the Unknown

Samhain marks the Celtic New Year — a time of endings and beginnings, of death and rebirth — when the wheel of the year completes its cycle and begins again. During this time, the veil thins, and we are invited to listen not only to the whispers of our ancestors but also to the quiet call of our own becoming.

A few days ago, I pulled an oracle card that felt like the perfect echo:

“Life bends for the courageous. The Universe wants to support you, but first you need to LEAP.”

Exactly one year ago — on October 31st, Samhain

— I arrived in India for my yoga teacher training. I had just left a job that never truly felt aligned with who I was. For months, I had ignored the quiet signals my body was sending me, until one evening I found myself curled up on my couch, frozen in fear, having my first panic attack. My body was speaking louder than my mind could understand: something needs to change.

I had no clue what would come next. Only a strong inner pull to go to India. I was scared — afraid I might feel overwhelmed, overstimulated — but I couldn’t ignore the call. I began searching for yoga teacher programs, and when I saw a friend post about her Kundalini training in Rishikesh, I knew: that’s my sign.

That moment marked the beginning of my descent into the unknown — a leap without a plan, guided only by an inner knowing that I could no longer live in disconnection.

What followed was the wildest, most liberating year of my life.

I felt my identity fall apart, piece by piece, only to be rebuilt on a deeper foundation of truth.

To leap in the unknown

It’s humbling how transformation rarely begins with clarity — it begins with surrender. We don’t leap because we have it all figured out; we leap because something in us knows we can’t stay the same.

To leap is to trust. To release the known. To allow the old leaves of our identity to fall, even when we don’t yet know what will bloom again. Nature does this every autumn — letting go without knowing what spring will bring.

Samhain reminds us exactly about this. What falls away becomes nourishment for what’s to come. The cycle of composting down becomes the promise of rebirth. We are invited to meet our shadows, sit with our grief, and honour the beauty that exists even in darkness — making space at our inner table for all parts of ourselves, the seen and unseen, the remembered and the forgotten.

When we work with the voice somatically, we practice this same alchemy. Each sound, each breath, each hum becomes a small act of renewal — a way to trust the intelligence of our body to transform what’s ready to be released.

Your Somatic Voice Samhain Ritual

Have ready: a candle, lighter, incense, a fire-safe bowl, pen and paper.

• Sit in a quiet place. Light your candle, cleanse yourself with the incense.

• Place one hand on your belly, one on your heart. Give thanks — to the earth, the darkness, your ancestors, your breath, your voice.

• Close your eyes. Breathe down into your feet and sit bones. Imagine roots growing into the earth. On the exhale, let out a slow hum (mmm). Feel the vibration travel through your body.

When you feel grounded, ask yourself:

• What am I ready to release?

• What has fulfilled its purpose?

• What new seed waits unseen in the dark?

Let them first be felt in the body and if words come up, write them down.

• Fold your paper, set an intention — I release what no longer serves. Burn or bury it, letting the ash or fragments return to the earth. Finish with one last hum, hands on heart.

Samhain invites us to trust that our body knows how to transform — just as nature does — through cycles of letting go, rest, and renewal.

Use your voice as a compass in the dark. Let it guide you toward what’s real and alive, You don't need to know what’s next. Take the leap and the rest will follow.