To heal those wounds that linger in the soul, these symbolic and healing rituals for bidding farewell to a departed loved one are essential. You may choose to work with a Goddess like Freyja, the Morrigan, Demeter, Coatlicue, or Hecate, all who are related to death and the underworld. They remind us of the afterlife, and that death is a part of the cycle of our human existence which brings about a personal transformation, as death is one of the biggest changes any person will encounter, whether it is our own death or that of someone close to us. It is crucial that we move through this new way of being, without our beloved, in a way that soothes our heart and soul, these rituals help you connect to your dearly departed loved ones, and I pray it may be a healing balm to your heart.
Here are several ways in which you can work with Goddess energy to aid you as you grieve the loss of your Beloved.
Reach out to one of these Goddesses who can teach you how to grow a tough skin around this loss and help make your heart heal so that you can continue to move in your life to your highest potential and love as you mourn as you are experiencing this life changing experience. Create an Altar for the Goddess you are working with, make her an offering of herbs, or flowers and ask her for her support. Blessed be!
Choose the ritual that evokes a special feeling for you, one that reminds you of that person, or simply the one that feels right in this moment. Each ritual has its healing aspect, but their suitability varies from person to person. Some are adept at bidding farewell, knowing how to do so with minimal wounds, while others struggle more to let go of a soul that may have departed long ago. You may choose to do one of them, or all.
1. Candle Ritual:
Light guides our lives and is equally present at the end. The uncertainty of death can be as cruel as death itself. When there is no more hope but our loved one clings to life, we must bid them farewell. Their soul has already departed, but their body remains alive. In those moments, this ritual of the white candle will calm you and help transition a soul that is present in a body no longer able to be reactivated. Light a black candle and sit in darkness facing a photo of that person. Imagine them healthy, having experienced no painful process, or even much younger than they were. Talk to them, bid them farewell as they deserve. Be grateful for everything they did in your life, embrace that photo, cry and laugh with them, but say goodbye. Now light the white candle, and as you do so, imagine them as a light being, and you can say: “Thank you for living by my side, it’s time for you to go, although I know you’ll always be with me.” Allow the candles to burn out.
2. Memory Box. When a loved one dies, there are mementos that hold precious memories which can be kept safe and in one location for easy viewing. Those moments remain and light the path, the transition in another direction for your loved one. You’ll be able to bid them farewell subtly, from a memory that may still be very much alive. With the love you emit through those memories, you’ll start to say goodbye and by the end of this process, you’ll be ready to let go forever. These can be photos, a button from a favorite shirt, matches from a restaurant, name tags, coins, tickets from a movie, and other mementos that remind you of your Beloved.
- Full Moon Water: The moon has beneficial effects on living beings; we are water, and when this satellite is more visible thanks to the sunlight, something happens within us. With this ritual, we’ll calm the pain we carry inside from a completely new perspective, with the help of the stars. The moon’s reflection, along with memories of our loved one, can be therapeutic. It’s important to do this as soon as possible to eliminate the feelings we hold inside. The pain, sorrow, and perhaps guilt for what we didn’t do. Time is not eternal; we always think we’ll have time to spend more time with our loved ones, although that’s not always possible.
. Place a glass of water under the full moon. On a piece of paper, write down what knowing this person has meant in your life. Put the paper under the glass of water. The following day, take the paper, place it in the Moon water, and let it dissolve under the rays of the sunlight. The following night, dispose of the water at the foot of a plant or tree. In the future, you can repeat this ritual in remembrance of your Beloved, always watering the same plant or tree. This will become a beautiful portal of remembrance.
- Meeting your Beloved in your Dreams: Place a laurel leaf under your bed and the photo of yyour Beloved. Ask Spirit to help you connect in the world of dreams, and invite your Beloved to meet you there. Have a notebook and pen by your bed to write down anything that you may remember when you wake up the next day. As you settle down to sleep, know that you will be seeing your beloved. Mentally prepare for it as though it were happening in your waking life. You can even think about what you would wear to meet your person. As soon as you wake up, write down anything and everything you remember even if it doesn’t make sense in a linear sequence. Once it is all written down, you can read it calmly and see what messages you find there. Once you finish, place the photograph with the laurel leaf in a safe place (an envelope inside your journal for example) and bring it out every anniversary of this farewell; perhaps that soul will want to visit you again to tell you how they are.
