Blessings For The Dying

Carry Only Love -

Beloved one, you are dying,
but you are not alone.
We are here with you,
the beloved dead await you.
You go from love
into love.
Carry with you
only love
May our love carry you
and open The Way.

A Prayer For Assisting One's Passing Over -
The taking of one's own life is a controversial issue, but in my opinion, euthanasia is a personal choice of the dying. I am in no way supporting suicide by posting this prayer. But I do not think a web site based on grief, death, and loss would be complete without mentioning this topic. This is a prayer for a terminally ill individual.

Goddess of Death,
I stand here as your Priest/ess
knowing that life must be winnowed
to thrive.
This is a holy act I perform:
to open a gateway
for a willing one
to come to You.
This is an act of healing,
a release from suffering,
an end to pain.
Here is one whose arms are open
to embrace You ...

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Some rituals borrowed from The Pagan Book of Living and Dying by Starhawk, M. Macha NightMare and the Reclaiming Collective. Harper Collins 1997 ISBN 0 06 251516 0; 352 pages; $24).

Thank you also to the Natural Death Centre in the UK for their extensive list of resources on the Web.

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