Re: Funeral Rituals
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2021 11:40 am
Oh I'm sorry. That sounds like a especially cruel joke of fate. "Be careful what you wish for" i think is a pretty sound advice. I'm a firm believer in sympathetic magic and related concept like laws of "attraction", or "contagion" so i don't think these sorts of things are coincidents in any way.Nefastos wrote: ↑Thu Nov 04, 2021 11:57 am I once had a friend who was outwardly in a good control of his life: rewarding work, family, widely respected, enough money, good friends, the whole deal. But in a way he seemed constantly to thist after losing control. One evening he gave me an extempore gift: J.G. Ballard's "Crash," a novel about being pathologically drawn to car crashes. His inscription was: "With open greetings, not knowing about the outcome." Not long after that, he died in a crash.
After that I have been even more careful how exactly I contemplate my own death, not to feed the subconscious in ways that are not completely healthy.
In Fosforos (Appendix II, pg.333 footnotes) you listed different burial customs and described how they could either hasten or prolong the formal part of the souls natural disintegration. I realize it's a broad question and that the answer depends on the individual we are considering but let say one decides s/he wishes to be cremated. Do you think there should be a waiting period between persons death and cremation, or is it almost always better to hasten the transition?
I personally view burial places as very sacred and magical, and also think funerals as immensely important events, not only for the person whose funeral it is, but also to those attending.I'm also very interested in old churches and their vicinities such as the one I mentioned even though I don't have any family that I know buried there. In my family we visit graves of family members and friends often and take care of them not just on traditional dates like All Saints' Day or Christmas but whenever. While I was reading The Key of Solomon King (Mathers' translation) I came across the section that states:
For funeral practices, or for example grave maintenance do you think there are especially auspicious dates that could be in some way beneficial for the soul of the departed, or for the one doing the maintaining?The Key of Solomon King wrote:For those matters then which appertain unto the Moon, such as the Invocation of Spirits, the Works of Necromancy, and the recovery of stolen property, it is necessary that the Moon should be in a Terrestrial Sign, viz.: – Taurus, Virgo, or Capricorn.
Also, next to the church i mentioned there is a small wooden ossuary that houses some of the excavated bones of the deceased congregation members. I noticed on my last trip that on the burial ground surrounding it there were woodland strawberries and wild raspberries growing. I remember reading somewhere that strawberries were seen as a symbol to the spirits of young children who had died in infancy in Scandinavian folk religion. Both of these fruits are also used in Christian art symbolizing kindness and fragility. Medieval artists often depicted the Virgin Mary with strawberries or raspberries. Do you think there are special magical qualities to fruits that grow in such places compared to ones that are found in forests, or are cultivated?
Anyone can answer these questions.