Mid-May Reflections on Death
Recently, a close friend’s dealings with the impending loss of his best friend, paired with the call of ravens and gods associated with death have spawned in me a desire to review what I wrote back in December. From time to time I go through cycles of study – perhaps other people do too. The death current, however, is one that I frequently return to, because it is such a deeply inherent part of my practice. Lately I find myself referring to Egyptian gods on the subject of death. For me, there is a strong pull, especially towards Seth and Nephthys, Isis and Osiris. I have recognized other death-oriented deities in the past, but within the last year have given greater consideration, not to death as a subject which stands alone. Rather, to one that is interconnected with the processes of life, rebirth, and life-force or spirit.
Other representations and personifications speak to other forms of death. Baba Jaga for instance, the Slavic goddess of the witches, reveals herself as a reflection of the trials of purification. Her oven a representation both of the fires of purification, and the fires of illumination. Kali, the Indian (Vedic) goddess who is often associated with death marked by her necklace of skulls, signifies death according to the passage of time and the end of cycles. The Morrigan in Celtic mythology, prepares the way for fallen soldiers, while Hel, in Norse mythology, secures a place for men who did not die the glorious death – the death of the warrior. And although all of these are associated with different forms of death, none specifically address the kind of considerations (see above) that I have been wagering very recently.
Sometime ago I had a conversation with a friend about when we thought the soul attaches itself to the body of a growing fetus. If we thought the soul enters the body at conception, at birth, or sometime in between. Not for the sake of bringing a new perspective to the abortion argument so much as a serious curiosity about how and when body and soul become one. For a long time I was a firm believer in the notion that the soul of the child to be entered at conception, but several yrs of experience with miscarriages have led me to rethink that- especially early miscarriage. Meditations on this topic are what initially led me to consider the interconnectedness between life, death, rebirth and spirit.
