Post No. 263 - A funeral

I've just run my first funeral (I am a first degree Priestess in the Correllian tradition). The occasion was the passing of my partner's mother, on the other side of the world. We couldn't be there for the funeral, but we held a ceremony here at the same time as the other funeral. In a way, that had some advantages, as we could have a pagan ceremony, and leave her family to hold a more Christian ceremony for them.

Shocked? I hope not. Funerals are really to help the survivors deal with a loss: the spirit of the deceased is hopefully well and truly passed over, although maybe come back for a look-see for the funeral.

My partner has an advantage here: she knows about life after death, she's seen me help others in this situation, and I've been able to provide reports on what her mother has been experiencing. That makes it easier for her to deal with her own reactions, and those of her family.

Others I've tried (in response to an invitation to do so!) to help have been less fortunate, and in at least two cases the person concerned has been so wrapped in their grief that I haven't been of any real use. The main character in Joan Grant's book "Winged Pharaoh" is able to clear that grief from the astral with beams of energy of certain colours. I wish it were that easy ... then again, maybe it is - if you have the training that that character had received :)

Much of my focus in working around the topic of survival after death has been on the person who passes: maybe I need to start doing more for those left behind ...

Love, light, hugs and blessings

Gnwmythr
(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear")

Tags: death, rituals, society, about me,

First published: Wodansdagr, 4th May, 2011

Last edited: Wednesday, 4th May, 2011