Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Charged by the Goddess

Home
Pagan
A Ritual for Remembering the Dead

A Ritual for Remembering the Dead

Last updated on: January 14, 2022 at 5:26 pm by Irisanya Moon

A Ritual for Remembering the Dead 2022-01-14T17:26:23-07:00 Irisanya Moon

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’ve been thinking about death a lot. My dad died. Another mentor died.

So many others.

And while we’re a ways from Samhain (in the Northern Hemisphere), they seem closer. Or maybe I’m listening more.

Or maybe they’re louder.

Or maybe I just know so many voices now that I can’t avoid them.

I’ve seen them out of the corner of my eye. Rounding the corner of places they’ve never been.

I’ve heard them. I’ve looked up at stars and known they were there.

CC0 Public Domain via Pxhere

Sitting with the Dead

The Samhain time is when the veils are thin, when the dead seem to be closer and louder. My guess is that they’re around all the time, but in the stillness of longer nights, it’s easier to slow down and to listen. It’s easier to stop and remember.

What you will need:

A picture of your Beloved Dead / loved one who you have lost
A white candle
A fireproof container
Small slips of paper
Pen / pencil
Matches / lighter

Take the time you need to ground and be present. It can help to know that being witnessed in your grief can be a powerful ritual unto itself, so if you can have the support of a friend during this work, invite them along. And if not, you can certainly do this work on your own.

Call into the space the energies that work for you and our magical tradition. I’ll ground and cast the circle before calling in the elements. Once those energies are present, this ritual can invite in a god that you work with or you might want to simply call in your Beloved Dead.

Call them by their name, call them by all of their nicknames, call them the way you used to call out to them. You can call them out silently or you can call them out with your full voice. But bring your attention and intention to the calling so that they arrive.

Welcome the Arrival

When you feel them present, light the white candle and place their picture nearby. Gaze into their eyes and allow your eyelids to drop a little bit, enough to soften. Feel the presence of your loved one begin to reach out to you.

And simply be in the space with them. Allow whatever bubbles up to bubble up. Notice the sensations in your body and the shifts in the places around you.

If it feels right to you, think about the things you’d like your Beloved Dead to know and write them down on the slips of paper. Hold the pieces of paper and talk about them to your dead. Tell them about the joys and the despair in your life. Let them into the world of the living and of memory.

Burn the pieces of paper when you are done talking about them, as an offering.

From here, you could choose to stay with your Beloved Dead until you feel complete. And when you are done, simply let them know you are grateful for their presence in your life. Tell them what you would tell them when you’d say goodbye. And promise to remember them.

For what is remembered, lives.

Thank the energies you called in, open the circle, and feast on a meal they would enjoy too.

(rewritten piece from 2018, Turn of the Wheel zine)

About Irisanya Moon

I’m a Witch. I’m a writer. I’m a priestess, teacher, feminist, and initiate in the Reclaiming tradition, as well as death doula. I serve the godds, my community, and the Earth. I’ve called myself a Witch for more than 20 years, and my life has been infused with magick. I am interested in shifting stories – the ones we tell ourselves and the ones that are told about us. I’m continuously inspired to engage as the storyteller and the story, the words and the spaces between. I am a devotee of Aphrodite, Hecate, the Norns, and Iris. I seek to find love and to inspire love by reminding us we are not alone, while also meeting myself at the crossroads, holding the threads of life, and bringing down messages from the godds. (I've also written some books. You can get them at my website.) You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

January 8, 2022

A 'Better' Way to Drop into Your Heart

Next Post

January 21, 2022 Sitting Vigil with Myself

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Activism ADHD Allies Altars Ancestors Aphrodite Artemis Beloved Dead Beltane Book Reviews Books Brigid Classes Community Daily Magick Daily Practice Deathwork Deity Desire Devotion Divination Dreams Eclipse Everyday Magick Fall Equinox Feri Full Moon Gaia Godds grief Grounding Heart Magick Hope Integration Iris Joy Love Spell Magick Mercury Retrograde Mighty Dead Moon Myth New Moon Norns Pandemic Poetry Practical Magick Priestess Reclaiming Relationships Resilience Resistance Resourcing review Rite of Passage ritual Samhain Self Care Self Devotion Service Shadow Spell Spiral Dance Spring Equinox Summer Solstice Teaching Trance Uncategorized Water Winter Solstice Witchcamp Witchcraft Writing

Select a Month April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz