Death Witchcraft. When you think of Death, what automatically comes to mind? The end, loss, grief, the unknown, possibly depression, anger, confusion. Death to most people in Western Culture is considered negative and taboo, simply because humans are not ready to face their own mortality. No one knows for sure what lies in the Afterlife, no one (usually) has anyway of knowing if they're death will be painful or peaceful. So how can you incorporate such a 'negative' thing into a 'positive' craft?
When you think of Death, you think of the physical end of a person or animal, yes? When questioned on what else comes to mind, not many people can think of anything else but misery and heartache. Death is not just painful, death can be a blessing, when you take into consideration it's second aspect; metaphorical death. Sure, it sounds silly now...but consider this. The Earth Herself dies and is reborn every year through seasons. Parts of you 'die' and are reborn; such as when you kick a bad habit, or when you finally move past that bad time in your life. Death is a crucial part of life. People die to make way for the new; just as aspects, memories, thoughts and habits can die to make way for new, better, reborn aspects of yourself. Death is simply paving the way for a new beginning. This is only one half of what Death Witchery is.
What does it take to practice? First and foremost, you need to have a good understanding of how you feel about death, in both a physical and mental sense. If you are a person who shuns their mortality, who would be uncomfortable speaking about death and dying in general, I'm afraid this practice is not for you. If spirits and cemeteries creep you out: turn back. Death Witchery is not for the feint of heart. Not only will you be working with passed loved ones, ancestors, and passing by spirits, you will be working on bettering yourself, analyzing what doesn't serve you, and asking yourself what is crucial to your growth as a person, physically and spiritually.
You need to accept and be mindful of your mortality and the mortality of others. People pass on, it's a fact of life. Once you are able to accept that fact, you can begin your practice.
What do you do in Death Witchcraft? There are a multitude of 'sections' in this craft. You are not obligated to practice all of them, but each one is useful and helpful in it's own right. Primarily, it is centered around the dead. Spirit work and communication is a biggie. This might be having dumb suppers with spirits of family and ancestors, or helping a passing by spirit find peace. Death Witches are known for their funerary rites and ability to aid most spirits. Embracing death gives you a sort of power over it.
Now, when you consider the non-physical aspect of deathcraft, things such as banishing and cursing might come into play. Banishing what doesn't serve you, what doesn't serve others, etc, is the greatest form of non-physical death. You are 'killing' an aspect of you that you no longer need, in order to be reborn into something greater or healthier. Cursing is not for everyone, but with some vindictive people, it is a way to 'kill' something of someone else, be that their happiness, their health, whether mental or physical...there are lots of options that I can't even begin to cover in this article.
Not only do you work with death, but after so long, (like me,) you begin to appreciate the beauty of death. Stumbling accross skulls or bones in the wild is an awesome feeling, because we really want to focus on humane practices when collecting bones. Bones are the ultimate tools of death, simply because their is nothing more 'in your face' about death than seeing the bones or skull of something dead. I find them beautiful; natural pieces of art from something once living. ANYWHO! If you're not too into diving head first into heavy practice, small things to start that would be great would be something like going to the cemetery, appreciating the headstones, cleaning off old, worn graves, saying a small prayer over fresh graves, or even volunteering with your local cemetery to clean up litter and decorations (when called for- yes, cemeteries clean up grave decorations usually once or twice a year to minimalize debris). Not only would you be showing respect for the dead, but you would be helping out the living community by upkeeping the cemetery and keeping it a nice, clean place for families to visit. (I suggest places like the Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as it's a historic landmark, or the cities of the dead in New Orleans, as they find a lot of their tombs vandalized or worn/destroyed by weather. For New Orleans, please visit SaveOurCemeteries.org; you can donate to NOLA to help with upkeep if you aren't in their area!)
What tools might I need?
The tools of a death witch vary by personal taste. Most often, things such as white sage, sea or black salt, stones like obsidian, labradorite, hematite, smoky quartz, tarot cards, pendulums or spirit boards, bones, blood, and grave dirt are key tools in practice. Each one has it's own unique use depending on the situation at hand.
Deities of Death?
I am a Hellenic Pagan, so most deities I work with are Chthonic Greek Deities. Chthonic is just a fancy word that means that specific deity dwells in the Underworld. In Hellenism, most deities involving death reside in the Underworld, or have direct roots to the Underworld.
A few, for example:
Thanatos: The God of Death
Hypnos: The God of Sleep, and twin to Thanatos. They are most often found working together.
Persephone: Queen of the Underworld and wife to Hades. She is great to contact when looking for a specific spirit, or needing to put a spirit to rest.
Hades: God of the Underworld. He has all sorts of dealings with death, and also wealth.
Melinoe: Daughter of Hades & Persephone, she is the Goddess of offerings to the dead and sometimes nightmares. Good to call upon when making offerings to the dead, to make sure they are received.
Hecate: Goddess of Ghosts and Witchcraft. Generally good for spirit communication.
Charon: Ferryman of souls by the river Styx and Acheron in the Underworld. He would be good to contact if perhaps there is a missing person you wish to know about, or if you would like to check on a recently laid-to-rest spirit.
The Fates: Sisters of Fate who create, check and end the life span of each living being.
Hermes: Not so much a death deity, but he does classify as a 'pscyhopomp' or someone who typically guides souls to the afterlife. Psychopomps do not engineer the death, they simply take the dead where they need to go.
Well, hopefully I've covered everything, and there is minimal confusion. Any further questions and you can of course contact me on my Tumblr at underworldoracle.tumblr.com.
Happy Deathcrafting!
-Sinclaire Veil
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