qedavathegrey: “When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fe
qedavathegrey: “When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.” – Tecumseh Death walks ever at your side, personified – should you let it be. Death is the midwife who parted the legs of your mother and drug you carefully from her womb; was there as you grew older, through every skinned-knee, celebration, and silent moment of life – waiting for the time in which It might take you like a captured bride, back into the Night. But do not mistake Death to be cold or vindictive, for It is naught but patient companion: with arms like a mother and the heart of a lover. Fear not Death – but embrace It, and it will watch over you. Death might come in any guise, accept it – for it is yours, and you: Its. To Look Death in The Eye Go to a comfortable place – you needn’t go anywhere marked by dead energy unless it is where you are most comfortable, for Death walks with you – and center yourself. I encourage you to find a comfortable place to sit, be it cross-legged on the floor or in a chair, it doesn’t matter. Just allow yourself to be comfortable. Death is not (usually) gruesome to look at, but no less, it’s best to be in a calm and collected place, if only to connect better. Light a candle, if you so choose, and call to your own Death to present itself to you. Following, I’ve attached a sort of summons: Come – Shadow!My umbral Lord or Lady,Who walks ever with me:Before my blind eyes – be seen!Let me smell the sweet perfume, familiar,And reveal your fair face unto me,That I might look upon,The one who walks,The one who waits.O Death, my companion,Remove the spectral veil,And let my eyes descry:My Beloved Shadow. You needn’t follow word for word, but simply capture the same spirit. Do what works best for you, as always. I would like to clarify here, that this ritual calls to your own Death personified, not the circumstances nor the collective embodiment, deity or metaphor of Death. In fact, I highly encourage you not to ask – ever – what those circumstances are. Most will deny the request, but some might offer the option to test you. If they offer up the information, decline. Sit patiently and Death will appear. Usually Death presents as human: as the opposite gender, or as one which you are attracted to, but this isn’t always the case. I know some who have told me Death came to them as an animal – this is also valid. Your Death is unique to you, and isn’t bound to the same form from session to session. Death can take on the face of perfection, or your greatest fear. Just roll with it. Get to know one another – or, get to know Death, as it already knows you better than anyone else. Why you should connect with your own Death? Well, death is intrinsic to life, yet often feared in Western society. To familiarize yourself with Death and build a bond between yourself and It can be quite rewarding. Death is also a bridge to the dead, as well as to the past and the future. It can share with you both, but such actions should be done so sparingly and with great caution and skepticism. Death personifications – in mythologies the world over – often have trickster qualities. This isn’t to say they will blatantly lie, but have a predisposition to be misleading, or – rather – the human mind has a tendency to overreach when information is presented. Death is often quite literal, don’t read too far into it. Death can also act as a sort of familiar spirit that can be tasked with things: willingness permitting. As such, they can also act as guides in both under- and astral worlds. As aforementioned, Death often has a trickster quality, and as such, can lead you into situations that might be difficult to navigate as a means of bettering oneself. In essence, they are there to prepare you for death and what comes after. Where that is, I suppose, only they know. I wouldn’t ask. Finally, death knows you better than anyone else – including you. If introspection is what you seek, there is no better a place. Figure I & II: woodcuts – I think they’re woodcuts, anyway – by Jose Guadalupe Posada. -- source link