The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Complete A-Z for the Entire Magical World - Judika Illes 2005

Halloween Specialties
Food and Drink

Outside the Pagan community, where it is a significant spiritual festival, modern Halloween is largely associated with juvenile trick or treating: children go door to door begging treats, which now usually consist of commercially manufactured candy. Once upon a time, however, Halloween (Samhain, November Eve) was an adult holiday dedicated to divination, romance, and feasting. Special dishes, both sweet and savory and often incorporating spell-casting and divination, were special features of this night.

Traditional Halloween tokens and their meanings include:

Anchor: stability

Baby doll: a baby

Button: mixed fortune, blessings and challenges

Coin: wealth

Dice: good luck

Four-leafed Clover: luck, freedom from malevolent spells

Horseshoe: luck, health

Key: success, travel, solutions, adventures, luck in love, opportunity

Ring: romance or marriage

Thimble: professional success, steady income, independence (old-fashioned sources indicate “spinsterhood”; this once was considered the booby prize)

Wheel: adventure

Wishbone: your wish come true, your desires fulfilled

Fortune-telling recipes often incorporate tokens to be added to the dish, then found during the meal and interpreted. One must eat carefully: tokens received indicate one’s destined fortune in the coming year. If this is reminiscent of New Year’s traditions, it should be: according to the ancient Celtic calendar, Samhain was New Year’s Eve.

Special Halloween dishes include the following.