Samhain at the Crossroads: My Spiritual Triad and the Spirit of Boudicca
- Renee Olson
- Oct 24
- 4 min read
As Samhain approaches, the air thickens with memory. This is the season when the veil between worlds grows thin, when the restless dead wander freely, and when the living are called to honor them with fire, food, and remembrance. Samhain is not only about endings — it is about standing at the threshold of death and rebirth, honoring both our ancestors of blood and those of spirit.
Among the figures of my Celtic and Pictish heritage, few burn as fiercely as Boudicca, queen of the Iceni. In the first century CE, after the Romans brutalized her family and sought to strip her people of their sovereignty, she rose to lead a rebellion.
My Scottish branch stands in lands that watched Rome’s northern advance; the later Pictish memory of defiance echoes Boudicca’s southern fire.
My Irish line holds the old Goidelic current that flowed alongside Brittonic Britain—another strand of the island’s Celtic languages and festivals.
My English line roots in Kent rest along the old Roman artery of Watling Street—the same corridor where Rome met Boudicca’s uprising.
Historians describe her as tall, commanding, with long flowing hair and a voice like thunder. She led an army of tribes that burned Roman cities and struck fear into an empire.
In embodying this legacy, I have come to see myself reflected in her fire. When I placed myself in the Warrior of Trees card — standing firm among the roots and branches, hair flowing wild — it was not to claim her crown, but to channel her essence. Just as Boudicca has been remembered as the fierce protector of her people, I step into that archetype through my own lineage: a warrior of spirit, of trees, of crossroads.
At Samhain, as the restless dead walk freely, I let her courage rise in me. My roots are both blood and myth, history and devotion, and in honoring Boudicca, I honor the flame of sovereignty that burns through my ancestors and into myself.
Her revolt was ultimately crushed, but her legacy is not defeat. It is courage, sovereignty, and fierce resistance against oppression. At Samhain, we can channel her spirit into ourselves — not as a literal ancestor, but as a mythic foremother, a cultural ancestor whose fire still calls us to act with courage in the face of overwhelming odds.
To channel Boudicca’s energy is to:
Stand firm in our sovereignty, even when the world seeks to diminish us.
Protect the vulnerable with ferocity.
Refuse to let fear silence our truth.
At this turning of the wheel, I honor the triad of forces that guide my path:
Hecate, torchbearer and keyholder, illuminating hidden paths and guarding the thresholds.
Thoth, divine scribe of wisdom, who teaches balance, clarity, and truth.
Anubis, guardian of souls, who protects the passage between life and death and weighs the heart with justice.
These are not gods in the sense of once-walking this earth, but archetypal personifications of cosmic principles. In prayer and ritual, I do not call them as external beings but draw their energy into myself — embodying their illumination, wisdom, and guardianship.
At Samhain, when the restless dead roam and the world itself pause at the threshold, this triad brings protection, clarity, and courage.
This year, I weave the energies together:
From Hecate, I draw the flame of transformation.
From Thoth, I draw the wisdom that shapes chaos into meaning.
From Anubis, I draw the protection that steadies my soul.
From Boudicca, I draw the courage to face the empire of fear that still rises in our world.
Together, they create a shield and a guide as I honor the dead, feed the restless, and walk through the veil.
Samhain blessings. May the veils open, may the ancestors be honored, and may we walk with courage into what is to come.
I wish you peace, love and happiness in our near year.
Rev. Renee Sosanna Olson
Torchbearer & Keybearer - Covenant of Hekate
Sources & Further Reading
Tacitus, Annals and Agricola — Roman historian and primary source for Boudicca’s revolt.
Cassius Dio, Roman History — later Roman account with vivid (if embellished) detail.
Campbell, Duncan. Boudicca: Warrior Woman of Roman Britain (2020).
Millett, Martin. Roman Britain: A New History (2005).
Cunliffe, Barry. Iron Age Communities in Britain (4th ed., 2005).
Sorita d’Este (ed.), Circle for Hekate Vols. I & II — modern devotional perspectives on Hecate.
Hans Dieter Betz (ed.), The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation — for context on Greco-Egyptian magical syncretism.
BBC HistoryExtra, “Samhain: The Celtic Roots of Halloween” — on the seasonal and ancestral context of Samhain.
Devotional
Hecate, guide at the crossroads,
light the path through shadow.
Thoth, keeper of wisdom,
inscribe truth upon my heart.
Anubis, guardian of souls,
weigh me with justice.
Boudicca, warrior queen,
lend me your fire and courage.
May the restless dead find peace,
may the ancestors walk beside us,
and may we carry their strength
into the dark half of the year.
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