Aries: Samhuinn Fire Festival
October 31 through November 1
We all know how much you love to play with fire, Aries, so you might as well book your flight to Scotland ASAP for the Samhuinn Fire Festival! It traditionally takes place on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh but has a sister event at Calton Hill (the Beltane Fire Festival), as well, to accommodate more people. This year, the festival will be held in Holyrood Park in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat, the city’s dormant volcano!
If the volcano itself wasn’t a big enough draw for you, my fiery Aries, the festival is a modern re-imagining of the ancient Celtic festival of Samhuinn. It commemorates the old Celtic tale of how Summer is usurped by Winter in a battle of epic proportions. The dramatic stand-off between the Summer and Winter kings is reenacted in an immersive performance filled with fire, acrobatics, and intense, primal drumbeats.
While the story isn’t the usual Halloween theme, it is the Celtic version. The Celtic tradition focuses on resolving seasonal conflict and celebrating the change in season. Don’t worry, though — Samhuinn still includes plenty of spooky activities and candy. After all, where do you think the more commonplace traditions came from?
Leo: Amsterdam Halloween
October 29 through October 30
Amsterdam Halloween is the biggest Halloween celebration in all of the Netherlands. It takes place on October 29 in the cultural hub of Westerunie, located in Amsterdam West. Doors open at 10 am, and the party rages on all night long — until 5 am the following day!
What makes this festival so unique is that it requires 100% of festival goers to be decked out in full costume. That’s right! You’ll feel right at home surrounded by partiers dressed in their spooky best!
This year’s theme is “Return of the Mayans” with a focus on Maya gods, goddesses, and warriors. As if you need an excuse to dress up like the radiant Ixchel (Maya goddess of the moon) or Itzamná (Maya god of the sun) you are! You don’t always have to follow the theme, but you’ll want to put your best foot forward because people go all out at this festival.
This year is the (unlucky) 13th edition of the festival, so who knows what sort of spooky surprises they’ll have in store for you — aside from their killer lineup of DJs, acrobats, lighting technicians, and more!
Sagittarius: Bloody Sexy Halloweekend
October 27 through October 29
Bloody Sexy Halloweekend is held in Prague, Czech Republic, and it’s been the largest Halloween event in Central Europe for over a decade. Imagine a congregation of Halloween lovers showing off their creativity, dance moves, and sex appeal in spades.
From sundown to sunup, this is a night where all inhibitions are thrown to the wind, and those from all over Europe assemble for one epic Halloween weekend. You can party with people from all over the continent, including countries you’ve probably never even heard of before! Sagittarius, this is your wonderful opportunity to immerse yourself in many different cultures all at once, all united by their love for all things spooky.
Plus, Bloody Sexy Halloweekend is the perfect place to debut your extravagant, hand-made costume that you’ve spent the last few months working on. They do a lavish costume contest with a grand prize of 50,000 CZK (which is equal to a little over $2,000 USD!). But, there’s a catch — not only does your costume have to be absolute fire, but you also have to perform on stage in order to win. Not that this will be any problem for you, Sagittarius. You love to entertain — and you’re sure to amp up the crowd of all your new friends and thousands of strangers to take home the grand prize!