Along with Liafal my partner, I have been officiating at
Pagan Rites of Passage for decades. Typically the trend began with weddings,
and we worked to develop Handfastings that one could present before family and
co-workers. Baby-Blessings were really developed simultaneously with weddings,
times being what they were.
In the past decade or so funeral rites have become more
frequent. As functional clergy for a portion of our community we have found
ourselves called upon to lead memorial and funeral rites. Some of these have
been directly within our own kind of Pagan tradition (i.e. Neopagan Druidry,
per A.D.F.), some within a general alternative-thought community, and some for
grandma and the cousins.
Maturity precedes death. As the Pagan community, our
movement, gains in solidity and wealth and depth Pagan groups and clergy will
inevitably be called upon to organize and lead funeral services. This presents
us with various practical and logistical questions, as well as theological and
ritual ones. Having by this time been involved in a number of memorials, I have
developed a set of scripts and invocations and may have some useful notes.
The Recent Dead in a Spirit-Based Paganism.
I write these notes from a mythic and spiritist perspective.
I think that in order to think clearly about all this we must set aside any
modern sense of materialism and cynicism about death and what comes after. We
must operate from the assumption that some version of our consciousness
survives and is aware in the time following our biological cessation
Of course we cannot know with any certainty what occurs
immediately after death. It seems, from review of various sources, that
classical Pagans expected to be greeted and guided by somebody or something. Perhaps the Ancestors are the most likely
kind of spirit to meet us, though various mythologies propose various
psychopomps, guides and challenges.
Ancient Pagan mysteries leave us with descriptions and a
couple of actual maps of the proper road for the newly Dead to take into the
deeps of the Otherworld. The newly dead person is instructed to take the right
fork at the proper tree, to drink from one well but not another, etc. While
most of us have not been initiated into such mysteries in our time we can still
hope for the arrival of guides to lead us properly through the early stages of
our next adventure.
From the standpoint of Pagan funerary rites I think we must
assume that we will find reasons to stay near the places and people of our
lives, and that we will be gratified by the attentions of the living. This
leads me to categorically deny the modern cliché that “funerals are for the living”,
implying that nothing the living do can matter to the Dead. Tradition teaches
that it is precisely the actions of the living that help to give the Dead
peace, blessing and an open path toward our fate.
So the funeral rites I have created have intended to open
the hearts of the attendees to the beloved,
to draw the spirit of the beloved to the
place of gathering and give it good welcome. Tradition tells us that the love,
tears and offerings of the living are welcome to the Dead. It may be valuable
for modern western people to consider the practice of public mourning
So we begin with the assumption that the spirits of the
recent Dead are accessible to here, can here our words and know our deeds. We
look to custom and tradition for guidance on what is best.
The Worship of the
Dead
I might begin by reminding us of the Pagan liturgical
definition of worship as ‘mutual acknowledgement of worth’. The spirits judge
our offerings as worthy, and we receive worthy blessings in turn. In a
fully-developed funeral I see us as creating this worship with the specific
spirit of the deceased.
For me that has meant arranging an attractive picture of the dead as the ‘idol’
of the rite, making a specific invocation and invitation to the beloved to be
present with the group, and making offerings of the deceased’s preferred food,
drink, etc. In short the beloved’s spirit is treated as the deity of this rite
done to their honor.
Some funeral communities want a chance for many people to speak. One place
where ‘parts’ can be assigned is in this making of offerings, and each can be
an opportunity for a memory of the beloved. The placing of food and drink
before the image will be an unusual moment for non-Pagan attendees and it is
the Clergy’s work to provide a mental setting that allows understanding.
Following this phase is also a good moment for musical or poetic insertions of
a kind favored by the beloved. This could include the eulogies and
reminiscences. My director’s mind suggests pre-arranging and limiting the
number of speakers, unless that sort of longer community engagement is
specifically desired. The chance for a family to commune together before the
beloved’s images and offerings, perhaps sharing drink, could be a centerpiece
for a longer work. Often the desire is to finish the ritual portion and retire
to the pot-luck for further toasts and memories…
The Farewell
In what I see as the most directly theological bit of these notes, I have come
to understand the magical work of funeral rites as the calling of the allies
and guides of the beloved, and the commitment of the beloved’s spirit to their
guidance.
Per the outline below these beings will have been invited to the funeral fire
earlier in the rite. Now we create the moment both in the vision of the
assembly and, we hope, in fact for the beloved, of the uniting of the spirit
with their guides. One supposes that traditional cultures have traditional
prayers and customs to accomplish this goal.
I can see this moment as a chance for the grieving to perceive their beloved as
moving on in safety and blessing. For a fully-Pagan assembly one could go all
the way to guided visualization. The moment in a rite may be fraught with that
grief, but I might hope that it would be a step in the road of solace as well.
An Outline
I was asked on line for a synthetic outline of my notion of Pagan funerary
rites. Here’s one, based loosely in our Druidic Order of Ritual:
• The Hall is set with a shrine of the beloved where it can be seen by all.
Pictures are arranged, and a space provided to receive plates, etc. for
offerings. A Fire is prepared. This can be as simple as a candle or a full offering-fire
for Druid High-Church rites, or any smaller size, perhaps even arranged
directly before the image. A censer with capacity for lots of incense might
also be provided.
Beginning
• The company is gathered and seated. The rite is proclaimed, and the company
is greeted.
• A short discourse on the intention of the work, the nature of Death and the
person of the beloved can open.
• The company is led in a short attunement, settling or moment of silence.
Blessing
• The space is blessed. This can be anything from a full ritual circle-casting
or Sacred Center rite to the simple lighting of a single candle, establishing the
place. The fire is lit or blessed, and asked to direct the spirit of the
beloved to the work and welcome them. I like the turn of phrase that blesses
the Fire as a ‘Fire of Welcome’ for the beloved and for all present.
invocations
• The ‘Constellation of the Worshiped’ of the beloved is called. This can be
expanded or contracted according to the religious setting of the rite. I
approach this through the Three Kindreds of spirits, as Our Druidry says.
• Calling the Ancestors of the beloved is utterly proper, if the social setting
of the rite makes it acceptable. The beloved may have affection for or dealings
with the Landspirits – were they gardeners? Hikers? The gods should be the gods
of the beloved’s own home altars, if possible. Otherwise one can always call
upon the guides and rulers of the Dead.
• The spirit of the beloved is specifically invited to the
honor-seat of the rite. In Our Druidic Pagan rites, this includes making
material offerings. These are best chosen as things loved by the Dead – food,
drink, etc, but might always include flame or light, clear water, and incense.
Eulogies
• The Eulogies are given, perhaps with a musical or poetic performance.
Farewell Prayer
• A prayer of love and memory might be given to the beloved.
What blessings would a spirit like theirs offer?
• The Allies, as invoked above, are given the final sacrifice and charged to
take the beloved gently to their next adventure, rest, whatever. This can be
carefully tuned by the clergy, to good effect.
• This is a good place for a further musical performance, or a longer Prayer For the Road
Ending
• The work is declared successful and the intent reviewed
• The beloved is given a final farewell
• Other beings who have been called are thanked and bid farewell. This can be
done en masse in a single prayer.
• The rite is declared concluded.
To do this work well is to offer a real sacrament of solace
and support both to the living and the Dead. If we are to regain what was lost
in ancient Paganism there seems no doubt that the bond between the living and
the Dead must be a part of the work. We must abandon materialism, which
pretends that there is nobody left to talk to, just as we abandon doctrines
that commit the spirit to some final judgement. Instead, I think, we can offer
a vision of a future open and unknown; a road into fate that we will all travel
in our time, yet which need not be traveled alone.
