Day: January 26, 2013

A Word Abou Pet Passing Rituals

Pet Passing Rituals

I posted Silver RavenWolf’s Pet Rite today for a reason. The reason it was the first Rite as far as a beloved animal passing I had to do. I always had my family around me and they would do the Rite for my animals. I also watched them do their own.

The first time I had an animal pass on me, I was all by myself.  It was my first hybrid wolf dog, Rocky. He died with me holding him in my arms singing to him. I felt his Spirit leave but I wouldn’t let go of him. Finally I put him gently down and said my good-byes to him. After watching my mother, aunts, uncle, grandmother, I knew he needed a proper burial. I knew bits and pieces of the ritual but I didn’t know the whole thing. So I found Silver RavenWolf’s book and I used that exact passage when my first wolf passed on.

Since that time, I adapted that Rite to my needs and hopefully made it much more formal.

Mine differs quite a bit. Let’s take a look at it……

Before you arrive, the men will go and dig a final resting place for the animal. Then like Egyptians, we wrap the body up.. When the body is securely wrapped, it is solemnly transported to the grave site.

We now all have on our ritual attire. I am gathering up what was special to the animal in the refuge. If the animal was close to me, I will include something from me on the altar. I do gather up the same amount of candles, the mint, lavender, food and a purple sash. I put all this in my wicker basket, pull my hood up and we walk up to the grave in a silent procession.

When we reach the grave, the procession surround the burial site. I take my place at the altar. I arrange all the items on the altar. I proceed to light the candles. I light the mint. I do not light the lavender and you will see why in a moment.

Next, I ask the Goddess to guide this poor creature to a happier life. Let him/her be by the Goddess side continuously. Show him/her love, love they did not know on this plane. (If it is one of our personal animals that last part is changed.)

Now I walk over to the grave, I raise the lavender to the sky. I ask it to give this creature peace. Let them know nothing but peace from now on out, in the next plane and in his/her next life. My she/him reincarnate into a world of love and nothing but peace. I gently lay the lavender across the creature.

Next, I pick up the purple sash. I raise it to the sky. I ask for blessings of protection on this simple sash. I ask the sash protect the animal to he/she reaches the love and security of our Goddess. Then let the sash be a constant reminder that he/she is part of something bigger than all of us. He is a child of the Goddess. No more cruelty, no more mistreatment, just love and comfort. I then lay the sash across the animal’s chest.

I then return to the altar and ask anyone if they have any blessings they would like to send. If so, their blessings are said.

Afterwards it is time for the Rite to end. I pick up a clump of dirt and say,

“For the earth you came,

to the Earth you shall return.”

So Mote it be!

The others are now allowed to leave if they like. I stand solemnly at the head of the grave. I chant softly as the grave is filled in. Once the gave is filled in, I give a final blessing and the leave.

Personally I think the way we do the Rite is very beautiful and has a true meaning to it. The first Rite I gave you today was to inspire you the way it did me. You see now what kind of Rite we perform. Frankly it doesn’t even resemble Silver RavenWolf’s rite at all anymore.

I always tell you to use the spells and rituals found on this site as examples. Learn to write your own. See what a difference it makes. See how beautiful they can turn out.

Simple Passing Ceremony for a Pet

Simple Passing Ceremony for a Pet

Supplies:

One purple candle, holy water, Oreo cookie, one favored pet toy, stalks of fresh mint. NOTE: Purple is the color associated with the dead. The Orea cookie, with its white and black coloring stands for the darkness before the Fire Mother and the Light of Spirit. (It also happened to be my pet’s favorite food). Mint is used to banish negative energy as well as provide protection for the spirit of the deceased during his or her journey to the Summerland.

Instructions: Band the stalks of the mint together with string or a rubber band. Lightly crush the mint, once, in your hand. Dip the leaves in the holy water and sprinkle over the altar, then sprinkle around the area in a clockwise direction. Return to the altar. Sprinkle the candle (avoiding the wick). Hold the candle in your hands and close your eyes. Think of your pet being happy in an environment that he is or she loved. In your mind, surround your pet with favorite toys and food. Know that your pet is safe and in the arms of the Goddess and God. Focus loving energy into the candle. Take a deep breath, relax and open your eyes. Place the candle back on the altar and light, saying:

 

“I love you and I release you to the happy,

loving place where Your Spirit belongs.”

 

Allow the candle to burn completely out. Bury mint, candle end, food, and toy on your property, or place on the grave.

The day after you pet has passed away, you may not feel so good physically, which is to be expected.

Excerpt from:

“Rite of Passage”
The Ultimate Book of Shadows
for the New Generation
Solitary Witch
by Silver RavenWolf

Death And The Witch {Part 2 – Ceremony of Remembrance To Follow}

Death And The Witch

{Part 2 – Ceremony of Remembrance To Follow}

 

Witches believe that when a person or pet passes away, they still have the ability to hear you and be with you. This doesn’t mean they are “stuck” and can’t go on, it just means that Spirit provides the deceased with the ability of lending love and support to those who are still living until they realize in their hearts that death is not the final chapter, only a new one. Most Witches believe that once the deceased individual has given some type of farewell, the spirit of the person goes to a truly wonderful place beyond our realms of understanding called the Summerland. In the Summerland we grow strong again, review what we did in the last life, learn new things, and choose (or not) to return to the Earth plane once again. This belief is called reincarnation, where we are born, live, die and are born again — the sacred cycle of life and death.

When dealing with death, the people left behind need some type of closure, especially if the death was a sudden one. It is thought by some that there is a resting time from death until the person is able to communicate with you, and for some this time will be longer than others. The condition of your emotions also has a lot to do with their ability to communicate with you. If you are extremely upset, or believe that dead is dead is dead, with no hope of message, then

they may not be able to go through for quite a

while

The American public does not deal well with death, although we watch gaint-screen movies of murder and mayhem, read mystery books by the truckload, and never miss America’ Most Wanted. When it comes into our own back yard, however, we seem to be at a loss as to what to do. Some Wiccans have ancestral altars or shrines where they honor deceased friends and relative on a regular basis. Mine is a shelf on my desk that contain several photographs.

Wicca is a religion of freedom and you will find this is our funerary rites and crossing rituals. There is no specific way to conduct either. And where other religions require the wearing of black, Wiccans normally wear white which means that we honor Spirit and we honor the new birth of the individual whose has passed away.

Although the funeral and the crossing can be the same thing, they can also be separate ceremonies. The funeral is conducted for the grief of the living and the crossing is done to ensure that the loved ones find their way safely to the other side of the veil. The reason for separate ceremonies, sadly, is that although the deceased may be Wiccan, his or her family may follow a different faith and insist on doing it their way. When this occurs, the crossing is a separate matter done by coven members or close friends who had no problem with the faith of the Witch. Sometimes Wiccans are buried with their measure taken at the time of initiation, the original candle ends from that ceremony, and a few of their favorite tools.

Crossings are also done in honor.

Excerpt from:

“Rite of Passage”
The Ultimate Book of Shadows
for the New Generation
Solitary Witch
by Silver RavenWolf

May the Glorious Full Moon’s Blessings Shine Down Upon All My Family & Friends!

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Well did you think I had run off? Not quite. It has been a rough week. I decided to really get laid back today. I slept late, didn’t get up to 11:00. Said “Good Morning to the beautiful Sun.” Perhaps it is because I haven’t seen the Sun in so long. It seemed exceptional bright today.

I wanted to rest and relax today because tonight is the Full Moon. I hope everyone has planned out what they are going to do. Remember your power is at its fullest. So that spell that needs a little extra zip to it, do it now. For myself, I am going to do a little Moon meditation. Then recharge my battery. After that I am going to bless the outside of my home and also the refuge. Then I will go inside each and smudge every window and door in both places. Then I was also do a warding at my home.

Let’s talk a little Moon magick and about being a witch. Ok, ok! You might wonder why I go to all this trouble every Full Moon. It is simple I am a Witch. The Aura of a Witch is especially bright. It is like you are a 100 watt light bulb on the planet for everyone and everything to see. There are some things that you don’t want to see your Light bulb (Aura). Like not so good witches, psychic vampires and other entities that are not so nice. As long as your light bulb is showing, you are leaving a direct path to you and your home. So you much hide your light bulb. You must protect it.You should know the main way of doing this when you are out and about on the town, is by shielding. Since we shield ourselves, we need a place we can sort of relax. So we bless our homes. We go outside each Full Moon and walk the perimeter of our homes. Asking the Powers of the Universe to protect our homes and keep all evil and negativity without. Then when we are through with the outside, we do to the inside.

If you are a witch that does a lot of rituals and spells on a regular basis, the inside is very important. Every time you do a spell or ritual, you have a magickal residue left over. If that magickal residue is not gotten rid of, it will built up. It can have an effect on you, your relationships, the feel of the home’s atmosphere and most of all your magick. So it is very important that you smudge your home to get rid of any magick residue laying around. You start in the middle of each room. Say a short blessing of your choice. The start at the corner of the room. If you are like me, the directions of North, South, East and West change from room to room. Smudge clockwise, starting with the corner to your left. Smudge the corner and as you walk to the next corner, continue to smudge along the wall. Do not stop smudging until every room in your house is complete. Then let the smudge stick or incense burn itself out.

Last but not least, do the warding. Warding might sound hard but it is simple. Start in the middle again, say a prayer of your choice (preferably short this time). After you have finished your prayer, make the sign of the pentagram. Working clockwise again, go to your first doorway or window, repeat your little prayer and in midair draw the sign of the pentagram. Do this at each window in the room and the doorway on the way out. Also be sure to include your front entrance and your rear entrance.

Now that we have all that do, we can relax a bit around the house. When I had my group on MSN, I kept my shield up 24/7. Yes, you heard right. There were some nasty witches in that group. The funny thing and they would give their self away. They would bitch because my shield was up constantly. Hmm, how would you know if my shield was up? And beside what business did you have with me that you couldn’t discuss. Instead you are trying to poke in my brain. Tells me a lot, that person is up to no good. So my shield stayed up, all the time. But now, I do let it down occasionally. One of the main reason I can do so comfortably now is because I have a super familiar. She guards me like a hawk and the minute something is trying to get to me, she goes nuts. So she is my security system. Razzy is going to be an excellent alarm system also. I was in the bathroom with her (not on the toilet either, lol!). I was curling my hair and all of a sudden she started taking her paws and swinging at the Air. I really didn’t know what to think but Kiki came running and I then knew what Razzy was doing.

That’s another thing, get you a good familiar. Make a connection with them and your life will be unbelievable. Full of love, companionship, understanding, friendship, I could go on and on.

But I won’t because I have talked more than I was planning on it. I have some articles I am typing up. I had some ladies request a posting on pet’s passing rite. So I am going to try to be a Witch of my word and get that done next.

Remember to get out and enjoy our Lady Moon tonight. Take a moment just to bask in Her Greatness, let your Spirit soar.

The Brightest of Blessings to You and Yours,

Lady A