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Permalink Reply by Slaying Crow O'Hagan on July 1, 2012 at 13:45

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A Prayer for the Dying

By Patti Wigington, About.com Guide
See More About:

* prayer
* death and dying

Many mainstream religions have a Last Rite, or something close to it. In the moments before dying, a priest or pastor is called to the individual's side, and offers the blessings and prayers of that particular faith. Pagans and Wiccans often don't have such an option, for several reasons. First, we don't have a Big Book of Prayer that we all follow. Secondly, in many paths of Wicca, each person is their own High Priest or High Priestess, because we are all in touch with the divine. Finally, let's just face it -- there aren't a lot of books out there about what to do when a Pagan or Wiccan is dying.

The following prayer is written as one which may be said by the dying person, but realistically, it may be better if someone says it for them -- physically, a dying person may not be capable of speaking a prayer at all. Make sure, if you find yourself facing such a situation, that you have permission to speak to the gods on behalf of the dying individual. Permission may be granted by the person themselves or by a family member.

Feel free to substitute the names of your tradition's deities if you prefer. You may speak this prayer, or sing it -- the choice is yours.
A Prayer for the Dying
Time has passed, the Wheel has turned.
It is time for me to move on.
I will walk hand in hand with the Ancient Ones,
and with my ancestors who came before me.

Great Mother, welcome me back into your womb,
I come to you and know I am blessed,
for my life has been one I am proud of.
As I enter your world, wrap me in your loving arms,
and welcome me.

Lord of Death, I wait for you to take me,
I come to you willingly, with eyes wide open,
as my last moment approaches on the horizon.
May I look upon you without fear, without pain,
and knowing that those who walked before me,
await me on the other side.

O Ancient Ones, give me strength to take these final steps,
and allow me to do so with peace and dignity.
Let my family mourn my passing but not my loss,
and let them heal knowing I will see them again.
Time has passed and the Wheel has turned.
It is time for me to move on.

Permalink Reply by Slaying Crow O'Hagan on July 1, 2012 at 13:48

Pagan rituals and prayers
The Pagan Book of Living and Dying by Starhawk, M. Macha NightMare and the Reclaiming Collective, published by Harper Collins (San Francisco; ISBN 0 06 251516 0; 352 pages; $24). Reviewed by Nicholas Albery.

Much of this spiritual guidebook will seem too esoteric for non-pagans, but there remain a number of stories, rituals and prayers within it that will move those of other faiths and that could be adapted for their own ceremonies.

Prayer for the one who is dying
Take for instance this prayer for the one who is dying or already dead, entitled 'Carry Only Love':

Beloved one, you are dying [dead],

but you are not alone.

We are here with you,

the beloved dead await you.

You go from love

into love.

Carry with you

only love

May our love carry you

and open the way.

I cannot imagine any of the religions objecting to this.

Prayer for one who has had a miscarriage
And I was very touched by the following prayer, for a person who has suffered a miscarriage or stillbirth or infant death:

Mother of life,

Mother of death,

here is a spirit so new

that the gates of life and death

are just an archway in her dancing ground.

She has danced her way back to you.

Her passage is easy

but mine is hard.

I wanted to hold her living flesh

and feel her soft breath and her heartbeat.

(I nurtured her in my body;

I would have fed her from my breasts.)

I would have cared for her

and watched her first steps

and listened for her voice.

No other child that may come to me

will ever be what she would have been.

Nothing, nobody, will ever replace her.

Whatever healing I may find,

this loss will always be a part of me.

(Bless my womb, which has the power

to create life and death.)

Bless my arms

that would have embraced her.

Bless my hands that would have lifted her.

Bless my heart that grieves.

'This is extraordinarily powerful poetry, the writer a Cranmer for our times, creating a new 20th century missal'

This is extraordinarily powerful poetry, the writer a Cranmer for our times, creating a new 20th century missal - would that the Church of England had employed someone with her strength of vision when drawing up its dismal Alternative Prayer Book.

Prayer for one assisting someone to die
I believe that for society to permit euthanasia is too big a risk, but the book's prayer for assisting someone to die almost convinces me otherwise. It begins:

Goddess of death,

I stand here as your priest/ess

knowing that life must be winnowed

to thrive.

This is a holy act I perform:

to open a gateway

for a willing one

to come to you.

This is an act of healing,

a release from suffering,

an end to pain.

Here is one whose arms are open

to embrace you ...

'Always keep your bags packed!'
As in the Bible, there are many stories or parables in this manual, to remind one of elemental truths. I appreciated, for instance, Minerva Earthschild's account of her friend Craig's death from a stroke:

"The most profound teaching," she writes, "from the experience of sudden death, for the survivors, for each one of us, is that it gives us no time for finishing business, for saying goodbyes.

"After hearing of Craig's death, one friend of mine attached a note to my front door. It read simply, 'Always keep your bags packed!' I kept this note taped to my kitchen cabinet for weeks ... When we carry with us the awareness that death may come in this way, we become present fully in the moment. The knowledge that a sudden death may await each one of us challenges us to live life so fully and with such awareness that we are always prepared for death to come."

Invoking the names of the dead
The authors are surely right too to stress the importance of remembering the dead within the community. M. Macha NightMare writes how she goes through local obituary columns extracting the names and stories of those who have died. She intersperses these with the names of 'ordinary folk' who have asked to be included (in response to her newsletters and posters and flyers, people leave names that they would like included on her answering machine - some even leave the names of their pets). Then, in an annual Samhain circle, as she describes it:

'She goes through local obituary columns extracting the names and stories of those who have died'

"I take a deep breath and walk into the centre. I begin with more general words of honour and invocation, talking about why and how very much we want these souls present. Then I begin to call the names - not too fast, and as carefully and accurately as I can ... People often wail or cry quietly ... they have even told me that the moment I called their beloved dead was the single most moving part of the ritual for them ... This feedback convinces me that the work I have done in evolving this rite for communal grieving is valuable."

Libraries should definitely make this book available to their communities, so that readers can pick and choose from the bits within it that inspire them. It should also be required reading for priests and ministers in their training colleges, so as to soften the masculinity of their theology.

Permalink Reply by Slaying Crow O'Hagan on July 1, 2012 at 13:51

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May the Blessing of Light Be on You

May the blessed sunlight shine on you
like a great peat fire,
so that strangers and friends may come
and warm themselves at it.

And may light shine out of the two eyes of you,
like a candle set in the window of a house,
bidding the wanderer come in out of the storm.

And may the blessing of the rain be on you,
may it beat upon your Spirit
and wash it fair and clean,
and leave there a shining pool
where the blue of Heaven shines,
and sometimes a star.

And may the blessing of the earth be on you,
soft under your feet as you pass along the roads,
soft under you as you lie out on it,
tired at the end of day;
and may it rest easy over you
when, at last, you lie out under it.

May it rest so lightly over you
that your soul may be out
from under it quickly;
up and off and on its way to Heaven.

And now may Spirit bless you,
and bless you kindly.

- Pagan Invocation -

Permalink Reply by Slaying Crow O'Hagan on July 1, 2012 at 13:51

Circle us, Spirit.
Keep protection near
And danger afar.

Circle us, Spirit
Keep hope within.
Keep doubt without.

Circle us, Spirit.
Keep light near
And darkness afar.

Circle us, Spirit.
Keep peace within.
Keep evil out.

- A la David Adam -

Permalink Reply by Slaying Crow O'Hagan on July 1, 2012 at 13:53

Bind this sick person to Heaven,
for from Earth s/he is being torn away!

Of the brave person who was so strong,
the strength has departed.

Of the righteous servant,
the force does not return.
In this bodily frame
s/he lies dangerously ill.

But Ishtar, who in her dwelling,
is grieved concerning this being,
descends from her mountain
unvisited of humans.

To the door of this sick person she comes.
The sick person listens!
Who is there? Who comes?

It is Ishtar, daughter of the Moon God!

Like pure silver may this garment be shining white!
Like brass may s/he be radiant!

To the Sun, greatest of the gods, may s/he ascend!
And may the Sun, greatest of the gods,
receive this soul into these holy hands!

- An Assyrian Prayer for the Dying -

Permalink Reply by Slaying Crow O'Hagan on July 1, 2012 at 13:54

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Deep Peace to You
Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the infinite peace to you.
- Adapted from ancient Gaelic runes

Deep Peace to You (Healing Version)

Healing Blessing

Alan Dall, the blind poet, put upon the Amadan this eolas of healing,
touching the brow and the heart as he said here and here --


"Deep peace I breathe into you,
O weariness, here:
O ache, here!
Deep peace, a soft white dove to you;
Deep peace, a quiet rain to you;
Deep peace, an ebbing wave to you!
Deep peace, red wind of the east from you;
Deep peace, grey wind of the west to you;
Deep peace, dark wind of the north from you;
Deep peace, blue wind of the south to you!
Deep peace, pure red of the flame to you;
Deep peace, pure white of the moon to you;
Deep peace, pure green of the grass to you;
Deep peace, pure brown of the earth to you;
Deep peace, pure grey of the dew to you,
Deep peace, pure blue of the sky to you!
Deep peace of the running wave to you,
Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
Deep peace of the sleeping stones to you!
Deep peace of the Yellow Shepherd to you,
Deep peace of the Wandering Shepherdess to you,
Deep peace of the Flock of Stars to you,
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you,
Deep peace of the heart of Mary to you

Permalink Reply by Slaying Crow O'Hagan on July 1, 2012 at 13:55

Eternity's Loom
Orchil, the dim goddess who is under the
brown earth, in a vast cavern, where she
weaves at two looms. With one hand she
weaves life upward through the grass; with
the other she weaves death downward through
the mould; and the sound of the weaving is
Eternity, and the name of it in the green
world is Time. And, through all, Orchil
weaves the weft of Eternal Beauty, that
passeth not, through her soul is Change.
-- Fiona MacLeod Iona

Permalink Reply by Slaying Crow O'Hagan on July 1, 2012 at 13:55

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The Mystery
I am the wind that breathes upon the sea
I am the wave of the ocean
I am the murmur of the billows
I am the ox of the seven combats
I am the vulture upon the rocks
I am a beam of the sun
I am the fairest of plants
I am a wild boar in valour
I am a salmon in the water
I am a lake in the plain
I am a word of science
I am the point of the lance of battle
I am the God who created in the head the fire
Who is it who throws light into the meeting on the mountain?
Who announces the ages of the moon?
Who teaches the place where couches the sun? (If not I?)

Permalink Reply by Slaying Crow O'Hagan on July 1, 2012 at 13:57

I am the Creator that Dreams
by Mystery School Initiate, Ember Flower

I am the Creator that dreams
I am the Creation
I am the atom, the molecule and the space in between
I am the trees and the forest, the wind and the air
The stars and the twinkle
I dance the cosmic dance , I am the dance
I am you and you are me
There is no separation only oneness
I am thought I am matter
I am love and I am joy
I am sadness and sorrow
I am he and I am she, and I am it
I am the flower and the stone
I am the heartbeat and the rain
The sorrow and the pain
The moon and the stars
I am all and all is me
Life is my thought and my dream
I am all there is and all there is, is me
I am now and becoming
Forever unfolding in the mist of time.
I dream and so it is
You are child of light, I am the Flame of Life
No separation exists, only union
The child lives within the flame
Feel my presence, feel my magic
All is magic, all is life, my beloved flower
Allow the joy and love to flow through you
And out there.
As you touch the word know that it is my hand and my voice
As the world touches you, know that it is I
Feel the exchange folding back into itself
As I touch your mind know that you are transformed
Never to be the same again
Transformed from darkness to light
From sleeping to wakefulness,
And so the world awakes, one cell at a time
One cell in happy awareness of union with the divine
Your time has come daughter of Light arise in your wakefulness and help to create paradise, in love and joy
Be a conscious participant Live in the now.
Not tomorrow or yesterday but in the only time that is real, eternity.

Permalink Reply by Slaying Crow O'Hagan on July 1, 2012 at 14:00

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PRAYER OF TRANSFORMATION INTO A LOTUS

(Egyptian)

HAIL, thou lotus! Thou type of the god Nefer-Temu!

I am the man that knoweth you, and I know your names among those of the gods, the lords of the under-world, and I am one of you.

Grant ye that I may see the gods who are the divine guides in the underworld, and grant ye unto me a place in the underworld near unto the lords of Amentet.

Let me arrive at a habitation in the land of Tchesert, and receive me, O all ye gods, in the presence of the lords of eternity!

Grant that my soul may come forth whithersoever it pleaseth, and let it not be driven away from the presence of the great company of the gods!

Permalink Reply by Slaying Crow O'Hagan on July 1, 2012 at 14:01

A PRAYER FOR PRESERVATION OF THE HEART

(Egyptian)

MY HEART, my mother; my heart, my mother! My heart of my existence upon earth!

May naught stand up to oppose me in judgment; may there be no opposition to me in the presence of the sovereign princes; may no evil be wrought against me in the presence of the gods; may there be no parting of thee from me in the presence of the great god, the lord of Amentet.

Homage to thee, O thou heart of Osiris--khent--Amentet! Homage to you, O my reins! Homage to you, O ye gods who dwell in the divine clouds, and who are exalted [or holy] by reason of your sceptres!

Speak ye fair words for the Osiris Auf-ankh, and make ye him to prosper before Nehebka. And behold, though I be joined to the earth, and am in the mighty innermost part of heaven, let me remain on the earth and not die in Amentet, and let me remain a khu therein for ever and ever!

This prayer shall be recited over a basalt scarab, which shall be set in a gold setting, and it shall be placed inside the heart of the man (i.e., the dead) for whom the ceremonies of "opening the mouth" and of anointing with unguent have been performed.

And there shall be recited by way of magical charm the words:

"My heart, my mother! my heart, my mother! My heart of transformations!"

(Khu, a god of light)