All Hallow’s Eve is upon us and with it a litany of ways to wile away the dark hours of the most haunted day of the year.
While pagan practitioners may choose to kick it classic with a solemn celebration of Samhain and the boo averse will be battening down the hatches, we have a list of plans and practices that speak to and spook with each and every zodiac sign.
From true crime binges to mummified brie wheels, seances to slumber parties, jack-o-lanterns to photo shoots, we’ve got tricks and treats aplenty.
Make sure and read our list of the best Halloween costumes for your zodiac sign, the horror movie villains that embodies each zodiac archetype and the scary movie and Halloween candy that stans for your stars.
Read on and Happy Halloween!
ARIES (March 21 – April 19)
Visit a haunted house
No one responds with more ardor to a dare or the chance to be scared than impulse-prone, adrenaline-drunk Aries. As the first sign in the zodiac, the cardinal energy of rams is brave and bold, stoked by cheap thrills, fast fright, outlandish pageantry and the inverted carnival atmosphere of a haunted house. For the truly daring, there’s “Terrorvision,” a haunted house concept in Times Square that urges visitors to “bring a change of underwear”…trick or treat for an Aries who doesn’t own any.
TAURUS (April 20 – May 20)
Make spooky snacks/cemetery picnic
A Taurus knows that you can’t have fun until you’ve been fed. Do a little pre-party meal prep for your pals and make a mummified brie wheel, chilled eyeballs (peeled grapes), witch finger cookies, a skeleton charcuterie board and/or ghost s’mores dip.
Taureans can also be coaxed to spend the afternoon hours of All Hallow’s enjoying a graveyard picnic. While it may seem a little smug to rub it in to the dead folks that you’re alive and well and eating an artisanal cheese sandwich, there are some graveyards so beautiful they practically beg for a checkered tablecloth and a decanted bottle of something you can’t afford but should absolutely imbibe.
GEMINI (May 21 – June 20)
Ouija board
Gemini is ruled by Mercury, planet of the mind and the mouth, named for the emissary of the gods whose wide route of communication took him and his fleet feet to the depths of the underworld.
Geminis can honor this sacred gift of exchange and their birthright of communion by engaging in a supernatural conversation courtesy of an Ouija board.
A word of caution: spirits, ancestors and portals are not to be engaged lightly or without reverence, read our guide to the do’s and dont’s of Ouija use here.
CANCER (June 21 – July 22)
Host an everybody dead dinner party
Cancer rules the fourth house of home, roots, apron strings and the aches of the past. Crabs can celebrate who they are by not having to leave their nests and host a dinner party in which each guest comes dressed as a dearly departed character from history, with a story about their lives to impart around the punch bowl.
LEO (July 23 – August 22)
Halloween photoshoot
As ruler of the fifth house of play and posing, Leo lives to curate fun and document the sacred act of looking good. Lions can shine by planning a Halloween-themed photo shoot where they play dress up with and offer creative direction to their pals. Consider using a multiple exposure technique, a fog machine and/or a chilling location. Channeling the spirit of departed lion Andy Warhol in his Factory years or modern Leo Kylie Jenner in her blood-soaked birthday suit, the vibe here is “hot death” and the mission is to capture the ephemeral, beautiful, nature of life itself.
VIRGO (August 23 – September 22)
Plan a murder mystery party
Fun fact: if Virgo were a board game they would absolutely be Clue. As the resident detective of the zodiac, Virgos live to dig deep, observe in painstaking detail, accuse at will and feel the erotic thrill of being right. This impulse towards scrutiny and superiority can be met with a Clue-inspired murder mystery party.
LIBRA (September 23 – October 22)
Visit a haunted hotel
Ruled by bougie is my birthright, stories are my sustenance planet Venus, Libra folk like the finer things in life and anything that whiffs of intrigue. Both itches can get scratched by booking an overnight stay or a ghost tour at any number of haunted hotels like Chattanooga’s Read House or the infamous Chelsea Hotel in NYC. The latter is extra apropos for aesthetic-centric, relationship-focused Libras as the hotel has long played host to artist types; musicians, painters, heirs, schemers, dreamers and doomed lovers.
SCORPIO (October 23 – November 21)
True crime marathon
Scorpio knows that true horror lives in the hearts of men. In honor of this unalienable truth, Scorpio can host a curated true crime marathon with a focus on unsolved mysteries. Viewing should be followed by a light-hearted Q&A in which guests reveal who they would kill if they knew they could get away with it.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 – December 21)
Get lost in a corn maze
As the sign of expansion and exploration Sagittarius will thrive among the deadening stalks of a corn maze. Enjoying the feeling of getting lost and the challenge of finding themselves, archers will be right at home with no direction and a non-committal few hours to spend. Sagittarius rules the ninth house of higher learning philosophy, religion and systems of belief. In kind, corn mazes are a modern iteration of the ancient labyrinth, designed by the folks of yore to be spiritual journeys that guided participants to a new way of being. Can dig.
Astrology 101: Your guide to the star
- The 12 zodiac signs
- What are the astrology houses
- Here’s what each planet represents
- Sun, moon and rising signs: Get to know your Big 3
CAPRICORN (December 22 – January 19)
Carve a pumpkin
Capricorn is the sign of time, tradition and the brass tax of business and in the Major Arcana of the tarot, Cap is represented by the Devil card; all themes that beautifully braid into the practice of carving jack-o-lanterns. Ghoul-faced gourds relate to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack a character who bartered with the Devil himself. Turned away from heaven and unwelcome in hell, Jack took to roaming the earth for all eternity with nothing but coal to light his way.
The creature came to be called “Jack of the Lantern,” and eventually “Jack O’Lantern.” The people of Ireland and Scotland began making their own carved lanterns, positioning them in windows and doorsteps to ward off Stingy Jack and any other marauding spirit or friend of the devil that may come knocking.
AQUARIUS (January 20 – February 18)
Ding, dong, deliver
Because Aquarius often feels like they must mask their true selves in order to be accepted, Halloween, and its invitation for costume and abandon is a bit of homecoming for them. The future-focused sign of the avant-garde and abjectly strange rules over the eleventh house of communities, social groups and utopian ideals. To honor this energy, Aquarians can pull an inversion of the ding, dong, ditch dance and leave something sweet or mentally meaty on the front door of friends and strangers, perhaps a bar of ethically sourced chocolate or a copy of “Chariot of the Gods.” The spirit of community without the trouble of actual conversation? A water bearer’s dreams come true and cup runneth over.
PISCES (February 19 – March 20)
Get drunk and tell ghost stories around a fire
As the most psychic of signs, Pisces is especially sensitive to the paranormal energies at play when the proverbial veil is at its most threadbare. As a way to ward off the baddies, our fish friends can gather with others around the light of a bonfire (or fondue pot) to tell stories. A taste of terror amongst the comfort of company, the glow of firelight and the warming tonic of shared hooch? Pure poetry for Pisces.
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience. She is also an accomplished writer who has profiled a variety of artists and performers, as well as extensively chronicled her experiences while traveling. Among the many intriguing topics she has tackled are cemetery etiquette, her love for dive bars, Cuban Airbnbs, a “girls guide” to strip clubs and the “weirdest” foods available abroad.