tPCC: Samhain Altar Box

Due to life intruding, @CajunLady has had to take a step back from Swapbot. We, of course, all wish her well. She has given me permission to host this wonderful swap, and I'm happy to make it available to group members.

I've set the join time for a week, with about a month to shop, carefully package, and mail. This swap is international so consider carefully.

This swap will be dealing with Samhain, NOT Halloween as in the commercial aspect of it.

Everyone has their own way of celebrating Samhain, so I won't force specifics out there. But 99% of us probably have the same basic altar set up--black candles, ancestor images, pumpkin fabric for an altar cloth or maybe orange and black, etc.

For this swap, you will be putting together a box that includes items for a Samhain altar. Your partner should be able to open the box and lay out a new altar if they wanted to!!

I am not setting a price on this, but there are just 2 "rules" that could earn you a 3 if not followed:
1. A minimum of 5 items must be included.
2. Items must adhere to Samhain and NOT the commercial aspect of Halloween. (i.e. no fake plastic spiders, etc)

This swap is International. No recent 1s or 3s obviously. Items sent can be handmade or store bought. This is NOT partner specific, so you can start putting together your box as soon as you want. The only thing allowed for is allergies. If you have any, please list them in the comments.

Correspondence of Samhain

~ The Plants and Herbs of Samhain:
Apple, Cedar, Cherry, Elder, Eucalyptus, Holly, Horse Chestnut, Lime, Orange, Palm-Date, Oak, Peach, Pear, Pine, Plum, Quince, Rowan, Sandalwood, Willow, Witch Hazel, African Violet, Agaric, Blackberry, Blueberry, Cinnamon, Coconut, Cuckoo-Flower, Cyclamen, Deerstongue, Devil's Bit, Elderflower, Garlic, Ginger, Grape, Hemp, Huckleberry, Kalbs Cross, Lavender, Liquorice, Mandrake, Mint, Myrrh, Nettle, Nightshade, Parsley, Pineapple, Pomegranate, Raspberry, Rhubarb, Saffron, Sage, Sarsaparilla, Sassafras, Sloe, Star Anise, Strawberry, Sugar Cane, Tea, Tobacco, Vanilla, Witch Grass, Wolfsbane

Colors associated with Samhain~Halloween:
Black, Brown, Gold, Orange, Red, Silver, Yellow

Stones associated with Samhain:
Amber, Amethyst, Beryl, Bloodstone Cat's Eye, Coal, Coral, Carnelian, Danburite, Fossil, Herkimer, Jasper, Jet, Marble, Mother of Pearl, Obsidian, Onyx, Petrified Wood, Pumice, Quartz, Rhodonite, Smoky quartz, Salt, Tourmaline-Pink

Incense and oils you can use any of the following scents, either blended together or alone:
Cedar, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, Ginger, Lavender, Lime, Mint, Myrrh, Orange, Sagebrush, Sandalwood, Copal, mastic resin, benzoin, sweetgrass, wormwood, mugwort, sage, or patchouli.

Animals and mythical beasts:
Stag, cat, bat, owl, jackal, elephant, ram, scorpion, heron, crow, robin, Phooka, Goblin, Medusa, Beansidhe, Fylgiar, Peryton, Erlkonig, Harpies

Gods and Goddess Associated with Samhain:
Any figure of the Goddess in her Crone aspect, as well as Gods of death, such as: Hecate (goddess of fertility, moon magick, and the witches' protectress), Morrigan (Celtic goddess of death), Cernunnos (Celtic fertility god), Persephone (Greek goddess who dies and is reborn every year after being tricked by Hades), Arawn (Welsh King of Hel), Gywnn Ap Nudd (King of Faeries and of the underworld), Macha (Irish mother of life and death, one of the triple goddesses of Morrigu), Scathach/Scota, Osiris (Egyptian god who dies and is reborn every year), Anubis, Arianrhod, Astarte, Baba Yaga Beansidhe (Banshee), Belili, Bran, Cailleach Beara, Cernunnos, Cerridwen, Crone, Dark Lord & Lady, Demeter, Hathor, Hecate, Hel, Horned God, Inanna, Ishtar, Isis, Kali, Kore, Lakshmi, Lilith, the Morrigan, Nephthys, Odin, Oya, Pomona, Rhiannon, Tlazoteotl

Symbols for Samhain:
apples, autumn flowers, acorns, bat, black cat, bones, corn stalks, cauldrons, colored leaves, crows, death/dying, divination and the tools associated with it, ghosts, gourds, Indian corn, jack-o-lantern, nuts, oak leaves, pomegranates, pumpkins, scarecrows, scythes, waning moon

Foods of Samhain:
apples, apple dishes, cider, meat (traditionally this is the meat harvest) especially pork, mulled cider with spices, nuts, pomegranates, potatoes, pumpkins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, roasted pumpkin seeds, squash, corn, cranberry muffins and breads, turnips, beets, ale, herbal tea (mugwort)

Activities of Samhain:
Honoring the Dead, Dumb Supper, Carving Jack O' Lanterns (and then baking pumpkin pie!), Making masks representing the Gods & Goddesses of Samhain, making a besom, Divination, And most importantly, don't forget to leave milk and honey out for the Faerie folk

Spell Work of Samhain:
Divination! Shadow work, release of bad habits, banishing, fairy magick, candle magick, astral projection, past life work, dark moon mysteries, mirror spells (reflection), casting protection, inner work, propitiation, clearing obstacles, uncrossing, inspiration, workings of transition or culmination, manifesting transformation,creative visualization, contacting those who have departed this plane

Pattie here. Mikki has created an exhaustive list and made it super easy to met the swap requirement of:

1. A minimum of 5 items must be included.
2. Items must adhere to Samhain and NOT the commercial aspect of Halloween. (i.e. no fake plastic spiders, etc)

But I urge you to be generous. Spoil your partner the way you would want to be spoiled. Send your altar box off to its new home with the hopes that your partner will feel your sincerity when they unbox it.

I started shopping for this swap when it was originally posted, and when partners are assigned, me, my wife and our best friends (who are the retired senior Druids of our grove) will finish the shopping together. It's been such a pleasure to share this with them, and I'm excited to see how it turns out.