The year turns and the dark leans in. Samhain asks for clean work and honest power. This is a good time to speak plainly about Witchfire.

By Witchfire I mean the inner current a witch raises and directs. It is not a literal flame. It is will, breath, and spirit gathered into one stream and put to work. When it rises, practice feels steady and exact. When it slips, everything thins out. The body knows the difference. Some feel warmth in the chest or hands, others a fine tingling along the spine, and others a cool bright pressure behind the eyes. Breath slows. Attention sharpens. The aim and the body line up.

Raising Witchfire is simple. Sit or stand with your spine easy and your jaw loose. Breathe in to a quiet count of four and out to a quiet count of six, three cycles. Speak one sentence about the result you are after. Say it once and mean it. Wake a little rhythm in the body: rub your palms, tap your heel, drum the table. Then go still and notice the moment when your attention comes into one piece. That shift is the first rise of Witchfire.

Holding and shaping it is also simple. Give the current a home and a job. A candle can be a hearth. A cauldron of sand, an iron key, a length of cord, a mirror, or the circle itself can hold it just as well. Keep the aim to one clear line. Bring the power up with breath or chant, then release it into the vessel or act that fits the work. When you are done, close clean. Thank what you called, release what should go, and seal the space. Ground with food and warm water, and rest your senses.

Here are three ways to bring Witchfire into practice at Samhain. Choose the one that suits your house and your tools.

Iron and Salt. Set a small dish of salt on the altar and place an iron key or nail in your palm. Breathe the way I described above and speak your single sentence into the iron. Stand the iron in the salt and let your hands grow warm or bright with focus. On a long, steady exhale, pour the current into iron and salt and say, quietly, that it is held and working. When you are ready to end, cover the iron with a bit more salt and say that it is seen and sealed. This is a dry, steady way to work in a small space.

The Witchfire Candle. If flame speaks to you, set one candle in a safe holder or in sand. Settle your breath, name your aim once, and trace a small circle above the wick as you whisper that this light will answer yours. Light the candle and, on the next few exhales, press the inner heat into the flame. Hold your hands near it and feel the link take. When the working rests, snuff the light and tell it to rest while the work continues.

Cord and Breath. Take a length of red or black cord in both hands. Breathe to four and six and speak your aim. With each inhale, feel the current rise from chest to hands. With each exhale, feed that current into the cord. After several breaths you will feel the cord wake in your grip. Tie a simple overhand knot to anchor what you have set. Wear the cord for a time, or lay it across the altar. When it has done its job, untie the knot, breathe once, and tell it the work is done and grounded.

If you lead a group at Samhain, consider a short call and answer to raise Witchfire together. Keep it spare. A leader calls “Fire of will,” the circle answers “Rise and be ready,” repeated a handful of times until the current stands up in the room. Move it into the shared vessel or act without hurry. Close well.

Samhain can stir memory and strong feeling. Work within your limits. If you become lightheaded, slow down, sit, and breathe. Eat something warm afterward. Sleep on the results before making large decisions. Write what you felt and what you saw, especially the first clear image or phrase that rose when the power came up. Over time your body will learn its own signs and your hands will know which vessel suits which task.

Samhain invites honest work. Witchfire is the power that makes that work real. Raise it with breath. Give it a clear job. House it in something that suits your hand and your house. Close well and eat. That is enough.

Blessed be.

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