Magic in the Woods - Samhain Gathering

BalanceTime are holding their Magic in the Woods Samhain Gathering at YMCA Padworth on Friday 30 October, from 7pm to 9pm. It's a night built around Samhain, the ancient Celtic festival that marks the end of the year — a time when the boundaries between the world of the living and the otherworld are said to grow thin.

The evening starts outdoors around a fire, before everyone moves inside a cabin for meditation, shamanic journeying and storytelling. There's cake, treats and hot drinks to keep you going through the night. The whole thing draws on Celtic and early British beliefs: the Irish sídhe, the Welsh Annwn and the Anglo-Saxon winterfylleth all play a part, framing the night as a time both to honour ancestors and to release what no longer serves.

It's a slow, deliberate way of marking the season, and the move from the outdoor fire to the indoor cabin sets the tone. The focus on meditation and shamanic journeying means you're spending a good part of the evening looking inward, and the storytelling ties it all back to those older traditions. It's less of a performance and more of a gathering, with the fire and the cabin acting as the two halves of the night.

Practicalities: YMCA Padworth is at Rag Hill, Padworth, Reading RG7, and it's disabled-friendly with free parking on site. Under-18s can come along as long as they're with a parent or legal guardian. Tickets are £20, and the gathering runs from 7pm to 9pm, with doors open from 6:45pm.