Samhain 2025 | Meeting the Phantom Queen
- divinewarriorwitch
- Dec 3, 2025
- 6 min read
On Saturday, October 25th, the Divine Warrior Witches gathered at Crescent Moon Gifts in Tacoma for our annual Samhain rite. This year’s ritual, Meeting the Phantom Queen, led practitioners across the veil through story, prophecy, shadow, and sovereignty.
Samhain invites us into the darkness, into stillness, into grief, into the Otherworld, and into the presence of The Morrígan Herself.
We created an immersive experience into the ancient stories of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a guided descent into the Cave of Cruachan, the keening of the Badb, the sovereignty challenge of Macha, the rising victory of Ánu, and the triumphant return of the Warrior Spirit.
SO BELOW | Samhain, the Descent, and the Phantom Queen
Samhain marks the end and the beginning, the night when the veil thins, when the winds shift, when the ancestors draw near, and when the spirits of both peace and prophecy walk among the living.
At this turning, we honor the beloved dead. We honor the battles we have survived. We honor the wisdom gained through grief, transformation, and the quiet courage it takes to face the shadows within.
Tonight’s rite brought us to the sacred sites of Éire, the ancient meeting places of The Morrígan and the Dagda. Here, we stepped into “an scéal” - the story, into the presence of the Phantom Queen, the Washer at the Ford, the Shapeshifter, the Goddess of Sovereignty, War, Prophecy, and Fate.
Through ritual, trance, and vision, each practitioner was invited to meet the Queen in one of Her many forms and receive a teaching, a challenge, or a transformation that would follow them into the year ahead.
As the DWW High Priestesses took on the forms of Na Morrígna —Badb, Macha, and Ànu —the circle walked through grief, death, and liberation toward the dawn of victory.
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THE RITUAL
For those who were unable to join us in person, we invite you to experience the full Samhain ritual through the video below.
Written by High Priestess Cawnawyn, performed by the Divine Warrior Circle
Acknowledgements:
Stephanie Woodfield - Author of "Priestess of the Morrígan: Prayers, Rituals, & Devotional Work to The Great Queen" - Llewellyn Publications, 2021
Rev. Lora O'Brien - Author of "The Mórrígan: Ireland's Goddess: Sovereign Secrets from an Irish View" - Llewellyn Publications, 2025
Morgan Daimler - For their Full English Translation of Cath Maige Tuired and additional published works on The Morrígan - Morgan Daimler, 2020
Courtney Weber - Author of "The Morrígan: Celtic Goddess of Magick and Might" - Weiser Books, 2019
Special Thanks to:
The Irish Pagan School: https://irishpaganschool.com/
The Mórrígan Academy: https://www.morrigan.academy/
The Ogham Academy: https://www.ogham.academy/
For their dedication to preserving and teaching the living traditions of Irish Paganism.
Sources used with respect and gratitude for their contributions to the collective wisdom of our craft.
The Tuatha Dé and Evoking the Morrígan and the Dagda.
The Tuatha Dé Danann were invoked, along with their treasures, cities of learning, and magic, which extended beyond the mortal world.
High Priestess Cawnawyn, masked as the Raven Queen, walked the aisle as the High Priestesses revealed themselves with spears in hand. The Morrígan, Ireland’s Goddess of Prophecy, Sovereignty, and Victory in Battle, was evoked.
Ritual Assistants, Jasper, portraying the “Bard and Druid”, and Rowan, portraying the “King”, entered and evoked The Dagda, Ireland's Good God of Abundance, Prosperity, and Wisdom.
Keening with the Badb, The Ritual of Grief
With rags soaked in symbolic blood, practitioners poured their pain, heartbreak, and past wounds into the cauldron as High Priestess Cawnawyn spoke as Badb, the washer of the dead, the healer of sorrow, and the mother of heroes.
The room keened. Practitioners were invited to release what had long been buried.
The chant rose to a crescendo,
“Let there be peace, let there be victory, may our hearts be whole and healed.”
And from the cauldron, a white, cleansed cloth was raised: the sign of transformation.
The Cave of Cruachan, Guided Meditation
In darkness, practitioners were led into Uaimh na gCat, the Cave of Cruachan —the Morrígan’s fit abode and the portal between worlds.
Within guided meditation, practitioners crawled through mud and stone, descended into the womb of the Otherworld, and met The Morrígan in Her chosen shape: wolf, crow, eel, hag, maiden, or warrior. Each received a personal message.
When drums thundered and ancient creatures flickered across the walls, the veil burst open.
The Otherworld arrived.
The Story of Macha, The Cairn of Sovereignty
High Priestess Heather, as Macha of the Red Tresses, told her story with the DWW Inner Circle of injustice, curse, and power regained.
With stones in hand, practitioners placed their own burdens and transformations upon a cairn built stone by stone, strengthening one another in sovereign unity.
The Sacred Battlefield, The Victory of Anu
High Priestess Serenity, as Ánu, called forth courage from deep within each participant:
“Fight because you are terrified!
Fight because you are broken!
Fight because you deserve your own strength.”
Practitioners came forward one by one to claim a Phantom Quartz, a stone of victory, and pledged themselves to the Morrígan’s challenge.
As spears pounded, voices rose:
“Will you rise?
Will you overcome?
Will you be warriors?”
And the circle roared: I WILL.
The Morrígan Speaks
The ritual culminated with a spoken performance by High Priestess Cawnawyn, in her Invocation of the Morrígan. The voice of the Great Queen echoed through the drums and war horns:
“RISE AGAIN, FIERCE WARRIOR
AND AWAKEN,
FEEL THE DRUMS OF YOUR KIN BENEATH YOUR FEET,
PULSING THROUGH YOUR SKIN!
AS THE SUN RISES ON A NEW DAY,
AND THE DAWN BRINGS WITH IT
WRATH AND GLORY,
YOUR ANCESTORS CALL OUT TO YOU NOW,
YOU MUST HEED THEIR CALL,
AND FIGHT!”
Invocation of the Morrígan, by Cawnawyn Mor
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CAKES | Irish Soda Bread
Baked by High Priestess, Cawnawyn
We closed our rite with a blessing over Irish Soda Bread— an offering for the spirits of Samhain and a communal reminder of nourishment after descent.
Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 cup raisins
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425°F
Combine Flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt
Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture to pour buttermilk and egg
Mix until just combined.
Add raisins.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead gently for 1 minute (just long enough to bring the dough together).
Shape the dough into a round loaf and place it in a well-oiled or buttered oven-safe dish. (I used a cast-iron pan for mine, but you could use a bread pan or another option.)
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy with some Irish butter!
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AS ABOVE
Presented by High Priestess Cawnawyn
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CRYSTALS | Phantom Quartz
Presented by Ritual Assistants Rowan and Jasper
Ritual Assistants Rowan and Jasper presented a brief explanation of the geological and metaphysical qualities of Phantom Quartz, the stone selected for this evening’s ritual. They also shared a special poem written in honor of the stone’s symbolic relevance to the Morrígan.
“A mirror of the soul’s unfolding,
each phantom a whisper of past awakenings.
In the quiet shadow, the Morrígan stirs,
guiding renewal through endings.
It bridges time and spirit,
grounding fierce light into form.
Through its depths, ancestral echoes rise
reminding us that death and rebirth
are one breath."
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Thank You to the Divine Warrior Witches Community
This Samhain ritual was unlike any other —a weaving of story, shadow, and prophecy that carried each practitioner through grief, revelation, and triumph. Through keening, through the cave, through the cairn, through the battlefield, our community met The Morrígan in all Her many forms and faces.
Thank you for your courage.
Thank you for your willingness to descend.
Thank you for rising as warriors.
For those who were unable to attend in person, the full ritual video is now available, allowing you to step into the Otherworld, meet the Phantom Queen, and receive what message She has for you.
May this Samhain bring you blessings of truth, liberation, and victory.
In perfect love and perfect trust, blessed be.
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