There is a chair at your table that someone else used to sit in. A number in your phone you have never deleted. A recipe that only tastes right in their handwriting. As the year turns towards winter, the ones you have lost often come closer in your thoughts, and you may find yourself talking to them more than usual.
That closeness is worth making room for. For a very long time, these first days of November have been set aside for exactly this: remembering, with love, the people who came before. This letter is about All Souls' Day, the old customs of soul cakes and a candle for the dead, and a gentle way to make a little space for someone you miss.
What is All Souls' Day?
All Souls' Day is the day of remembrance for everyone who has died, kept on 2 November. In 2026 it falls on Monday 2 November, two days after Samhain on Saturday 31 October and one day after All Saints' Day. People light candles, visit graves, bake soul cakes and speak the names of those they love.
Samhain, All Saints and All Souls: three days of remembering
These three days belong together. Samhain, on 31 October, is the old Gaelic turning of the year, when the harvest is in and the light half of the year gives way to the dark half. The Church placed All Saints' Day on 1 November and All Souls' Day on 2 November, and in England the three days together became known as Allhallowtide. Different names, the same feeling underneath: as the land goes quiet, those who are no longer here are remembered, honoured and, in a sense, invited home.
If you have read my letter on Samhain and the thin veil, you know how much I love this time of year. It is soft and honest, and full of small lights.
Older than any of us
Long before Halloween meant costumes, children and the poor in England and Wales went souling at Allhallowtide. They knocked on doors and sang for soul cakes: small round cakes, sweet with spices and currants, often marked with a cross. Each cake was answered with a promise to pray for the souls of the household's dead. Shakespeare knew the sound of it; one of his characters speaks of whining "like a beggar at Hallowmas". In Cheshire the old souling plays are still performed.
In Ireland and Scotland, the dead were thought to visit their old homes around Samhain. Families set an extra place at the table and by the fire, left a little food out, and kept the door unlocked, so that anyone of theirs who had gone before could come in and warm themselves. And across Europe a light has always been kept for the departed. In Poland, on 1 November, whole cemeteries glow with small candles in glass jars, placed with care on grave after grave.
I love that. Every one of these customs is an act of hospitality: a cake, a chair, a candle, a name said out loud. A way of telling the ones you miss that there is still a place for them.
At my table on All Souls' Day
When someone writes to me about a person they have lost, I sit with both names side by side: theirs and the name of the one they miss. In the Loved One in Spirit Reading you tell me who they were to you and what you would like to ask or to say, and I write down what comes through when I hold the two names together: their presence as I sense it, the message, the signs they tend to use, and what they would want you to know. I write only what I receive, gently and plainly. Sometimes it is a great deal. Sometimes it is one quiet sentence, and that sentence is enough.
If you would rather keep a light burning, the Seven-Day Candle Ritual holds one intention at my table for seven days: a candle relit each day, one line written each day, and your full report on the seventh. You might choose peace after a loss, or simply gratitude for a life that mattered. And if you feel there is more around you than you can name, the Spirit Guides Reading looks at who walks with you now.
See it, feel it, draw it in
Here is what I believe, and what I work with: what you picture clearly and feel fully, you draw towards you. With someone you have lost, what you draw in is closeness: the warmth of them, and the comfort of knowing that love carries on.
So borrow the oldest custom of these days and make a little room at your own table. Set one extra place, or clear a small corner of a shelf. Put down something of theirs, or something that makes you think of them: a photograph, a ring, a sprig of rosemary for remembrance, a soul cake if you like to bake. Light a candle beside it. Then say their name out loud, and tell them one thing: what you have been doing, what you miss, what you are grateful for.
Close your eyes and picture them at the table with you, at ease, the way you most like to remember them. Feel the warmth of that as if it is already in the room. Let yourself smile if a smile comes. When you are ready, thank them and blow out the candle. In the days that follow, notice the small things: a song, a feather, a scent, a word that arrives just when you need it.
What came back to my table
I keep every kind word that comes back to me, and I am grateful for each one. The first of these stays with me, because it is about exactly this kind of closeness.
"I lost my grandparents a few years back and while we were having our photos taken, my aunty walked over with a white feather that fell in front of her. I find peace in believing"
Emma, September 2026
"I appreciate the awareness that my Spirit Guides work as a team for me to become fully myself."
joyce, September 2026
"It's obvious she takes her craft seriously, responds fast and I am so glad to have met my spirit guides through her."
Sonntagskind, August 2026
A white feather on a wedding day, a sense of being accompanied: small signs, held with love. That is what I wish for you in these days too.
Questions people ask me about All Souls' Day
When is All Souls' Day 2026?
On Monday 2 November 2026. It follows Samhain on Saturday 31 October and All Saints' Day on Sunday 1 November; together these days are known as Allhallowtide.
What is the difference between All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day?
All Saints' Day, on 1 November, honours the saints. All Souls' Day, on 2 November, remembers everyone who has died, including the people you have loved and lost yourself.
What are soul cakes?
Small round cakes, spiced and studded with currants, often marked with a cross. At Allhallowtide they were given to soulers who went from door to door, in return for a prayer for the souls of the household's dead.
How can I honour a loved one on All Souls' Day?
Light a candle, say their name out loud, set a small place for them with a photograph or something of theirs, or visit their grave. A simple ancestor altar, a corner with a candle and their picture, is a lovely way to keep them close through November.
What happens in a Loved One in Spirit Reading?
You tell me who they were to you and what you would like to ask or to say, and I sit with their name beside yours and write down what comes through, gently and honestly, for you alone. If grief feels heavy to carry by yourself, please also reach out to a grief counsellor or your doctor; a reading sits beside that care. This is spiritual guidance, offered for entertainment purposes, and your own choices remain the strongest force.
More letters
If these days speak to you, you may also like my letters on Samhain and the thin veil, on signs from a loved one in spirit and on who your spirit guides are.
Light a candle for the ones you love. There is always a place for them at your table.
Ivy
