Submitted question covered in this blog:
"Do you work with death in your practice?"
Thank you for this question as it touches on a big portion of my workings along my own path in the craft.
There are several ways in which I can think of to address this question. The first thing that should be mentioned is that whether it's realised or not, death is around us all of the time! And, there are certain times of year (specifically the fall) when they're is much more death occurring than any other time. Many see this as the best time to develope an understanding of working with death as a practice. But, to each is own.
In my profession I have done and do intuitive psychic mediumship for some who pay for my use of intuition as a service. This involves the sensing of energetic connections around someone. More about that is mentioned in this previous blog post: https://www.askagreywitch.com/post/spirit-mediumship Spirit Mediumship. Getting impressions from which, I'm able to interpret as best that I can what the messages are to be received. Quite often I interpret what is needed to be said not knowing it's relevance. However, may be fundamentally meaningful to the person I am doing a reading for. This is an intuitive form of communication beyond the veil.
As mentioned in this more recent previous blog post: https://www.askagreywitch.com/post/crossroads-and-the-veil which describes the Crossroads and the veil, that the fall time of year is considered when this veil or hedge appears the thinnest. Symbolically speaking, piering through the branches of the boundary to get an impression of what is on the other side. Essencially, this is another way to describe achieving a form of spirit communication. There are many ways in which this interaction can happen, either through temperature, sound, touch, smell, emotion or specific thoughts, visions, etc. that all require interpretation.
Divination techniques have been formed around these interpretations and associations in the different ways in which we resonate, relate to, or connect with energies from life that once was and can have profound meaning as we associate the messages to our lives as the living. For example, bone throwing, or other death based oracles that provide guidance and perspectives sometimes based on a topic or question. Whereas each collected bone used in an oracle holds an energy of the animal of origin. Moreover, even the specific bone itself, from a certain part of the animals body, can have further significant meaning when used as a guidance tool. Such as a jaw bone may represent a message regarding to communication depending on the practice.
Another related divination tool would be a spirit board as mentioned in this previous blog entry: https://www.askagreywitch.com/post/ouiji-boards Ouiji Boards.
These energetic expressions mentioned above can also be used to atune to intention within spellwork by including such bones, body parts of deceased creatures, or even entire carcuses used within the ritual of magickal workings. In my opinion, a funeral is a ritual, a magickal rite in itself that often involves ceremony. A more simplified example would be finding a dead bumble bee on a flower (probably the result of an attack from another defending insect perhaps). Paying honourage to the bee for what it stood for in its life to others acknowledge hard work, travel, community, communication, abundance, etc.
Another way that I work with death in my practice is working closely with the actual process and acceptance of death itself. I do have an area of concecrated ground on my property in which animals of many kinds have been layed to rest and returned to the earth with an honorable, more deserving and meaningful intention for each. This burial site contains unmarked graves of not only wild animals that have been discovered to have parished close to my home, as well as livestock casualties, and also dearly beloved passed pets. This has remained a sacred and impactful place for me to visit and ground myself, receiving back the support and care that I've shown to so many other creatures while they were alive.
Graveyards are the last which I want to mention in this blog as when I visit gravesites I feel it important to pay respect and show some sort of offering as I enter, and exit if I'm not already familiar with at least one of the deceased. When visiting a graveside of someone I knew in their life, i acknowledge the impact on my life that they've made. The energies of spirits can assist within workings where intentions may align. For example, requesting assistance with a healing spell from an ancestor who was a healer.
Thank you for visiting AskaGreyWitch.com and reading my blog! I'm also reachable at greywitchbryan@gmail.com and now recently added to Facebook www.facebook.com/AskaGreyWitch
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