Samhain is one of the best moments in the Pagan calendar to pick up a book about Celtic traditions, spirits, ancestors, seasonal ritual, or the old stories behind modern witchcraft. The season naturally raises questions about thresholds, the dead, the Otherworld, and the ways contemporary practitioners interpret older traditions.

That makes the Pagan Portals - The Irish Pagan Book of Rites and related titles especially useful, but the series is much broader than Samhain alone. Pagan Portals is a long-running collection of short, focused books published by Moon Books. Instead of expecting one volume to cover an entire religion or magical system, it is more useful to choose a title according to the question you are asking.

For this guide, I have grouped the strongest matches in our catalog by reader goal. Some are especially suited to a Samhain reading list; others are better if the season has prompted a longer interest in Celtic gods, faeries, Druidry, or practical Pagan work.

Start with Samhain, Irish Paganism, and seasonal practice

1. Pagan Portals - The Irish Pagan Book of Rites — John Michael McLoughlin

If your immediate goal is to bring an Irish Pagan perspective into seasonal practice, start here. The book is explicitly concerned with rites and Irish Paganism, making it a more direct choice than a general introduction to Celtic mythology. It should appeal to readers who want their Samhain reading to stay close to Irish tradition rather than treating the holiday simply as a modern Halloween theme.

It is also a sensible first Pagan Portals purchase because the format is focused: you can explore one clearly defined area before deciding which part of the wider Celtic Pagan landscape deserves your next book.

2. Pagan Portals - Mabon: Discovering the Celtic God of Hunting, Healing and Harp — Kelle Bandea

Samhain does not exist in isolation from the rest of the seasonal cycle, and this title offers a useful way to broaden that perspective through the figure of Mabon. The book focuses on the Celtic god associated in its title with hunting, healing, and the harp, giving readers a deity-centered route into Celtic material.

This is a good pick if your interest has shifted from “What do people do at Samhain?” toward the mythology and divine figures that inform modern Celtic Pagan practice. It also pairs naturally with other deity-focused Pagan Portals books.

3. Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Samhain to Ostara: Lore, Rituals, Activities, and Symbols — Ashleen O'Gaea

For someone who wants a practical seasonal book rather than a single deity study, this is one of the clearest choices in the catalog. It covers the stretch from Samhain through Ostara and brings together lore, rituals, activities, and symbols, so the emphasis is on using the season as part of an ongoing practice.

It is particularly useful if you want Samhain to be a starting point rather than a one-night subject. The broader seasonal scope gives you material to return to as autumn turns into winter and eventually toward spring.

4. The Sacred Herbs of Samhain: Plants to Contact the Spirits of the Dead — Ellen Evert Hopman

This is the most specialized Samhain choice on the list. Its focus on sacred herbs, Samhain, and contact with the spirits of the dead makes it a natural fit for readers whose seasonal interests center on plants, ancestral work, and the spiritual symbolism of the autumn festival.

The subject also gives you a very different entry into Celtic-inspired practice from a mythology-only book. If herbs and plant lore are already part of your interests, this is the Pagan-season companion worth considering alongside a broader ritual title.

Explore Celtic gods and goddesses

5. Pagan Portals - Aine: Goddess of the Sun, Fairy Queen of Ireland — Kelle Bandea

Áine is a strong choice for readers who want to approach Celtic Paganism through a particular Irish goddess. The book's focus combines goddess spirituality with Áine's identity as a fairy queen of Ireland, giving it a useful overlap between deity work and the faery traditions that recur throughout Pagan Portals.

Choose this one if a general Celtic introduction feels too broad and you already know that Irish goddess traditions are where your curiosity is pulling you. It is also an appealing bridge into the series' more specialized titles.

6. Pagan Portals - Blodeuwedd: Welsh Goddess of Seasonal Sovereignty — Jhenah Telyndru

Blodeuwedd offers a distinctly Welsh route into Celtic spirituality. The subtitle foregrounds seasonal sovereignty, while the subject itself places the book within Welsh mythology and goddess-centered practice.

This makes it a particularly interesting choice for readers comparing Celtic traditions rather than treating “Celtic” as one uniform system. If your Samhain reading has led you toward questions about seasonal change, sovereignty, and feminine divine figures, this is a focused next step.

7. Pagan Portals - Gods and Goddesses of Wales: A Practical Introduction to Welsh Deities and Their Stories — Halo Quin

If you are not ready to commit to one deity, choose this broader Welsh title instead. It introduces Welsh deities and their stories while keeping a practical Pagan orientation, so it can serve as a map for deciding which figures you want to study more closely.

The distinction matters: a single-goddess volume is best when you already have a specific interest, while a wider survey is more useful when you are still finding your way through Welsh Pagan material. At an accessible price point under $20, it is also one of the easier low-commitment ways into this corner of the series.

8. Pagan Portals - Abnoba: Celtic Goddess of the Wilds — Ryan McClain

Abnoba gives the list another angle on Celtic goddess spirituality, this time centered on a goddess of the wilds. That emphasis makes the book a natural fit for practitioners whose Paganism is strongly connected to wilderness, untamed nature, or the spiritual significance of landscape.

It is worth choosing over a general mythology book when you want a more concentrated exploration of one divine figure. Like the other deity titles here, it works best as a focused study rather than as a comprehensive survey of Celtic religion.

Go toward faeries, the Otherworld, and threshold traditions

9. Pagan Portals: Fairy Witchcraft — Morgan Daimler

Few subjects fit the atmosphere of late October as naturally as faery traditions, but “fairy” in a Pagan context deserves more care than the Halloween decoration version suggests. This book is aimed at modern Pagan witches interested in the Fae and in approaching fairy witchcraft through Celtic tradition.

Pick it if your interest is practical and witchcraft-oriented: you want to explore ways of relating to faery traditions rather than simply collecting folklore. It is also a useful companion to the more specifically Irish and faery-focused titles in this list.

10. Pagan Portals - Aos Sidhe: Meeting the Irish Fair Folk — Morgan Daimler

For readers specifically interested in the Irish fair folk, this is the more targeted choice. The title centers the Aos Sidhe, so the book takes you further into Irish terminology and tradition than a generic book about fairies would.

This is a particularly fitting Samhain selection if your seasonal reading has led you toward the boundary between ordinary life and the Otherworld. It suits readers who want to move beyond the familiar modern image of fairies and investigate the Irish tradition on its own terms.

11. Pagan Portals - Folktales, Faeries, and Spirits: Faery Magic from Story to Practice — Halo Quin

This title takes a different route into faery practice by connecting folktales and spirits with contemporary magical work. That makes it a good option when you want folklore to remain part of the practice rather than treating stories as background material.

Choose this one if you are interested in the movement from story to ritual or personal practice. It is especially complementary to a Samhain reading list because it keeps folklore, spirits, and magical application in the same conversation.

Build a broader Celtic or Pagan practice

12. Pagan Portals - The Hedge Druid's Craft: An Introduction to Walking Between the Worlds of Wicca, Witchcraft and Druidry — Joanna Van Der Hoeven

If Samhain is the doorway into a much larger interest in Celtic spirituality, this is the book I would put near the top of the follow-up list. Its subject sits at the intersection of Wicca, witchcraft, and Druidry, with “walking between the worlds” providing the central orientation.

It is especially suited to readers who do not want to force themselves into a single tradition immediately. Rather than treating Celtic practice, witchcraft, and Druidry as sealed compartments, the book addresses the space where those paths can meet. That makes it a useful choice after an introductory Samhain reading list has raised broader questions about personal practice.

How to choose your next Pagan Portals book

The easiest mistake with a series like Pagan Portals is choosing by cover or title alone. These books are much more useful when you identify the kind of question you want the book to answer.

There is no required reading order for Pagan Portals. That is part of the appeal. Most titles are compact and specialized, so you can follow the thread that genuinely interests you: Samhain into Irish rites, Irish tradition into the fair folk, Welsh mythology into goddess practice, or seasonal observance into a broader magical path.

If you are choosing specifically for October, I would start with the book that matches your immediate practice rather than trying to understand all of Celtic Paganism at once. A focused Samhain title can open the door; the rest of the series gives you plenty of directions to follow afterward.