Photography, videography + styling: Raini Rowell

We believe in moments of transition—moments in which roots meet wings. One of the most profound of these is the festival of Samhain, which resonates deeply with the ethos of handfasting. In this blog we’ll explore how Samhain’s history and significance as a “new year” within the Celtic wheel beautifully aligns with the planning of a handfasting ritual. And we’ll share how our gothic-style handfasting cords can be part of your ceremony of change.

The Ancient Roots of Samhain

What was Samhain?

The festival of Samhain (pronounced “SOW-in” or “SAH-win”) was traditionally celebrated from the evening of October 31st into November 1st. It marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the “dark half” of the year — the winter months ahead.

The Celtic New Year

For many Celtic-inspired traditions, Samhain also represents a turning of the year. As the lighter half gives way to the darker half, the old cycle closes and a new one begins.

Why Samhain Fits Beautifully with a Handfasting Ceremony

When you plan a handfasting, you’re inherently working with symbolism: connection, binding, transition, commitment. Samhain offers a rich metaphorical framework for this.

New Beginnings: Just as Samhain marks the start of a new year-cycle, a handfasting marks the beginning of a new chapter in a couple’s journey together.
Honouring the Past: The season invites recognition of what has come before - harvests gathered, challenges faced so you can knowingly enter the next phase. In a handfasting this might be honouring your personal histories, your individual selves, and the story you bring together.
Preparing for the Future: As the Celts prepared for winter, you too are preparing for your shared future. Choosing materials, cords, vows, and ritual elements is an act of intentional design - just as the ancients gathered their fires and offerings.
Symbolic Materials & Colours: Autumnal and gothic palettes - deep blacks, silvers, crimson, natural textures - echo the season’s mood of elegance, depth, transformation. Our bespoke handfasting cords at Ceotha Studio can lean into this aesthetic while carrying the symbolism of binding and new life. Or you can simply choose colours and charms that mean something to you both as a couple.
Our Gothic Handfasting Cords: Designed for Transition
At Ceotha Studio we delight in crafting cords that reflect beauty, meaning and individuality. For a Samhain-inspired handfasting you might choose:
Fae Garden – Gothic Fairycore Handfasting Cord
Bring a touch of dark romance and woodland magic to your ceremony with the Fae Garden handfasting cord. Made with soft recycled cotton and detailed with burgundy roses and Celtic knots, it blends gothic elegance with fairycore charm. Perfect for couples who love nature, folklore, and meaningful, handcrafted details.

Cotton Bloom – Gothic Rose Handfasting Cord

Celebrate your union with the Cotton Bloom – Gothic Rose cord, a beautifully textured piece crafted from recycled cotton with floral accents nestled in Celtic-knot work. Ideal for couples who love sustainable elegance with a touch of gothic romance.

Bloom – Gothic Handfasting Cord

This elegant handfasting cord features floral accents and thistle leaves woven into Celtic knot work, set against a black and purple base with plum and silver highlights and ivory bud florals. Fully customisable to match your style. Made for the tying-of-the-knot moment and crafted from viscose and satin.

Planning Your Handfasting With Seasonal Intent

Here are some suggestions for aligning your handfasting planning with the spirit of Samhain and the Celtic wheel:

Reflect on your year past

What have you harvested together (in relationship, in life)?
What are you ready to release or transform?
Use a journal or quiet ritual to acknowledge these elements.

Choose a symbolic date or season

Samhain season offers a dramatic, poetic backdrop for a handfasting.
Even if your ceremony falls later, you can draw on the energy of transition and renewal.

Select your handfasting cord & materials

Lean into colours and textures that reflect transformation: blacks, silvers, autumnal hues.
At Ceotha Studio we can guide you through custom options and material symbolism.

Compose your vows and ritual elements

Consider including language that honours endings and beginnings: “From the season of letting go into the season of becoming…”
You might incorporate small offerings or ritual objects reflecting harvest, fire, renewal.

Design the physical ritual

A moment near sunset (echoing the Celtic day-beginning at dusk) can amplify the sense of liminality.
Invite guests to symbolically release something (e.g.drop leaves) and then tie the cords to signify the new chapter.

Link to our earlier blogs for further inspiration

For example: our blog “Inspiration: how to have a witchy handfasting” gives ideas for mystical styling. Ceotha - Handfasting Cords
Also: “Customising CEOTHA Handfasting Cords: A Step-by-Step Guide” offers practical details on creating a custom cord. Ceotha - Handfasting Cords

Final Thought

Samhain invites us to pause, to honour what was, and to step deliberately into what will be. A handfasting rooted in this season becomes more than a ceremony, it becomes a conscious marker of transformation, of commitment not only to one another, but to the next chapter you build together.

If you’d like to explore our gothic cord options, custom colourways, or ritual-inspired material choices, please do get in touch.

Let this season of turning, of endings and beginnings, be the backdrop for your ritual, your story, your binding.

Blessed Samhain and blessings on the new chapter you create together.
— The Ceotha Studio team

Credits:

Photography, videography + styling: Raini Rowell
Couple: K+M
HMUA: Caroline Stewart

Celebrant: Border Ceremonies

Handfasting cord: Ceotha
Dress: Bibiluxe
Groom’s outfit: Vinted

Honouring New Beginnings: Samhain & Your Bespoke Handfasting