Picture of Smokey

The following two books helped
me in regard to Pagan Death
Issues. I highly recommend them..

cover - Entering The Summerland
Entering the Summerland

cover - The Pagan Book of Living and Dying
The Pagan Book of
Living and Dying

Picture of Bibs and Smokey

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Links to sites that helped me...
Pet Loss and Grief >>
Pet Loss Grief Support >>
Best Friends Home Page >>

Smokey
Birth Year: 1991
Passed from this life on September 30 1998
Buried in the backyard of 34 Harran Street, Ashmore.

Beloved best friend and familiar of SunsetSeashell. Beloved friend of Bibs.

Like many other people who go through grief - I became angry. The below Prayer helped me overcome my anger and was very healing.

    The Hag Prayer

    Goddess of death,
    you are a mystery
    and I do not understand you.
    You give great gifts
    and snatch them away.
    You are a cruel joker
    with a warped sense of humour
    and I hate you.

    You give life to those
    who don't deserve it and take it from those
    who do.
    You make no sense, Goddess;
    you are not logical,
    or if you are, it's a logic I cannot understand nor follow.
    You are not fair.

    Dark goddess,
    ugly old crone,
    you claim that if we embrace you
    you will turn beautiful,
    but getting close to you
    is like embracing sharp knives --
    and I don't believe you,
    I don't believe you.

    Something has happened here
    that is wrong, wrong, wrong,
    and there is no way to pretty it up
    and make it be okay.

    Mother of lies
    Mother of false promises
    Mother of tremors and pain
    and the loss of vision as we age
    Mother of confusion and memory loss
    Mother of stink and decay
    Mother of vermin
    Mother of viruses
    Mother of parasites that eat
    the living bodies of their hosts

    You are the Goddess of the bloody face
    who eats her own children
    in the night.

    The Hag Poem (adapted), pg 279 - 280 of The Pagan Book of Living and Dying

Pet Funeral Rite

The below Pet Funeral Rite is © 1998, 1999 Ms Vanessa O'Brien (ms_vee@yahoo.com).
Please keep all of this Rite intact if you would like to reproduce this on your site. You can also e-mail me for the Notepad (TXT) file.

On September 30 1998 -- Beloved pet and familiar Smokey died. She was killed by a car but thanks to a kind soul her body was removed from the road and put on the grass.
" Wherever I am she is. Wherever she is I am." I will always love you Smokey.

I recommend that you eat no meat or animal on this night of the Full Moon.

The below listed books were used in making this Rite:

  • Enter the Summerland by Edian McCoy
  • The Pagan Book of Living and Dying by Starhawk et. al.
  • SunsetSeashell's Book of Shadows

    # Cast Circle

    # Spirit Flame
    For a Spirit Flame you need a flamable liquid, eye dropper, and a heat resistant non-flamable bowl. Have sand nearby as a precaution.

    I call upon The Source of All Things, the Great Divine Spirit,
    and ask that you impart your essence into this sacred flame

    #Invoke the God/dess

    I call out to the Hidden Realms !
    To as far as my voice may carry,
    I call upon Bast, lovely Goddess of cats!
    I call upon Diana, lovely Goddess of all animals!
    May you all be present this night.
    Smokey, my beloved friend and familiar, has passed from this
    world, this life.
    She needs your assistance, lovely Goddesses!
    We both welcome you here -- Blessed Be!

    # Light White Candle
    Dark Coloured Ribbon tied on candle optional

    #Invoke the pet/familar

    Smokey, beloved friend and familiar, present yourself to me,
    within this sacred circle, where you are loved.
    Let the light and love of my heart be your guide to The
    Summerlands. You will be welcomed, wanted and loved here,
    always and forever. Come, please, my beloved friend, so that
    I may serve and know you one last time, as you have so
    graciously served me.

    # Speak with the deceased pet/familiar - tell the animal how much you love and miss her/him, etc.

    # Final Farewell with Blessings to your pet/familiar
    This is where you are allowing the pet/familiar to take the opportunity to enter The Summerland. You cannot force the spirit to do anything. It may have to stay Earthbound in order for you to learn a lesson that you have not learnt yet before going onto The Summerland.

    # Ask the Patron God/dess who you invoked earlier on to guide the deceased pet/familiar to The Summerlands

    # Extinguish White Candle

    # Make offering

    [Bowl of water] I bless you this day to be a holy vessel
    to honour the unselfish spirits of the animals who have
    passed before. I bless you with the Elements of Nature:
    Earth, Air, Fire and Water so that the animal souls of
    The Summerland be welcomed to this place.
    May all who come here feel blessed and loved. May no
    negative thought or feeling be present at this place. With
    loving intent and as I will -- So mote it be!

    # Close Circle according to your tradition/path

    Spirits of the Elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water I thank
    you for your attendance.
    Merry Part until we meet again.
    Draw Banishing Pentagram and blow a kiss to each Element at their points.
    Great Goddesses, Diana and Bast, I honour you for your attendance.
    Arms outstreached. Blow a kiss to the Full Moon.

    What you do at this point is purely up to you. Here are some suggestions:

  • Have a feast in honour of your pet/familiar's life and re-birth to The Summerland;
  • Pack up and go to bed (this is what I did);
  • Do a 'wake' where you stay at the grave site until first light.

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