Death
is the final mystery of our earthly existence, the process by
which consciousness/spirit leaves the physical body and is dissolved
back into a greater body of spirit. Preparing to die well, and
mobilising the prayers of the community to assist the passage
of the spirit through the transformation of consciousness which
follows, are a significant part of all the ancient religious
traditions. Last rites to assist the dying person's spirit to
let go into the final mystery of life/death are an important
part of this work.
When my grandmother died, a life-long and staunch
member of the Anglican church until the infirmity of her final
decade procluded it, I was disconcerted to find that my father
and aunt were slow to pick up on the need to get a priest in
to give her a final blessing before she left. After my distress
at witnessing the notable lack of awareness and attention given
to the spiritual dimension of the great releasing process at
the end of our lives, I began to reflect upon what we know about
dying, and how to assist. Recent weeks have intensified this
present need to understand how the emerging Ishtar mystery system
would have us hold a sacred atmosphere to assist our sisters
as they die. What you will read below is a first glimpse of
what might lie in this direction.
What belongs to the Goddess returns
to the Goddess.
As physical death approaches, the priestess readies herself
to dissolve back into the arms of the Deep. Her attention is
withdrawn from the external world to focus inwardly, in much
the same way as a woman in strong labour shifts from everyday
consciousness to another, more inwardly focussed, state of awareness.
Her appetite for the food of life, having perhaps temporarily
flared up, now dwindles and dies as her physical systems begin
the slow process of shutting down. She moves further into the
unseen realms, and may have visions of and conversations with
the beloved dead and other spiritual presences who gather around
to assist her in the great passage out of life.
Within the Ishtar mysteries the twinned angels of the death
mysteries – the pale angel of the Ascended One, Ishtar
Risen, who shines bright as the full moon, and her dark sister,
the angel of the Power of the Ament who carries the dissolving
power of the deep on her midnight wings – are invoked
to stand at her head and feet. Her body is anointed with consecrated
oils, lovingly honouring her flesh as the manifest substance
of the Great Goddess. Each part of her body is touched in blessing
to honour the accumulated wisdom of her life journey –
the things she has been and done – and also to bring the
deep peace of the Goddess to every part of her. In this way
her body of flesh is prepared to return into the arms of the
Earth Mother. This small ceremony can be performed multiple
times, and can be of benefit at any stage in the dying process.
It can be helpful in working with the part of ourselves which
retreats into denial of our own mortality.
Within the Ishtar mysteries desires are understood as messangers
of the soul, not necessarily to be literally enacted, but certainly
to be listened to. In life, the desire body surrounds and infuses
the physical body. It can be be projected at a distance from
the physical body through time-space, although it remains connected
by what is often visualised as a cord of subtle energy. As death
approaches, the body of desire must loosen and eventually release
those attachments which tie it to the embodied realm of existence
as it prepares to be dissolved back into its source –
the greater body of love/desire that is Goddess. A useful image
here is that of a drop of rain rejoining the ocean. To assist
the desire body in relinquishing her attachments to physical
people, places and objects, a ceremonial washing clean is offered.
Spring water consecrated with the blessing-power of Ishtar in
her aspect of Transformer is lightly sprinkled (or sprayed with
a spray mister) through the subtle energy field which surrounds
and infuses the physical body of the priestess to assist in
loosening and dissolving the identification with the desire
nature. In the earlier stages of the dying process, the blessings
of Ishtar the Transformer may also be taken in by literally
washing face, hands and feet and/or by sipping the consecrated
water. As with the anointing ceremony, this ceremonial ‘washing
clean’ can be repeated as often as seems useful. This
ritual can be helpful in working with what Stephen Levine calls
‘the bargaining mind’.
In this dimension of the dying process we are asked to begin
the letting go of all our unrealised dreams and desires, the
unfulfilled potential of our soul impulses. Doing so often put
us in touch with our deep fears, and associated feelings of
frustration, guilt or even rage. This ritual releasing or purification
brings in a higher vibration of love to assist in the dissolving
process. We are reminded that Ishtar is both lover and beloved,
and Hers is the love which opens and transforms us. Those attending
the dying priestess can remind her to consciously work with
and surrender into the energetic waves of opening and surrender
which begin to wash through her subtle bodies as physical death
approaches. “What belongs to the Goddess returns to the
Goddess”. The dissolving and releasing of the cords of
attachment which bind the desire body to the physical plane
culminates in the ‘second death’ which generally
occurs one to three days after physical death.
As attachments to this world are loosened and released, so
the vital fires begin to wane. As in life, the blood mysteries
open us to our innate power and authority as co-creators with
the divine, so in death as the fires in the blood fade and die,
the serpent rises and finds her wings. In each of us is a child
of the great Tiamat mother of life, which rises up through the
rainbow spectrum of light corresponding to the seven chakras
of the body and finds her wings. Before this can happen there
may be a need to clear repressed rage, sometimes locked up in
smouldering hatred or the bitterness of rage turned inward.
There is an opportunity in death to purify the red fires within
where this was not done through cultivation of tantra practices
in life. Meditating with a candle flame can help.
As with all candle magic, focus your attention into the clear
part of the flame. This forms a gateway into the realm of pure
tantric energy, the inner fires in the blood, the domain of
Red Ishtar. Breath out the stuck rage or other manifestations
of blocked life force into the flame and see it transformed
into pure clear energy. Begin by breathing from the base chakra,
the deepest place in your body. If you cannot feel the rage,
simply breath out your intention and desire to transform and
purify your vital fires. As the candle burns down you may feel
drawn to move your awareness up to your belly, then your solar
plexus, and on up to your heart, and possibly on up to the throat,
third eye and crown. If the dying priestess is no longer communicating
with her attendants, those sitting with her may perform this
meditation on her behalf, either inwardly or speaking aloud
to the dying priestess. As the candle finally gutters out, so
the vital fires of the dying priestess are withdrawn from this
physical plane, returning to the Great One who is the source
of all creative fire.
Our breath self comes from the stars and returns to the stars.
Holding a mantra or prayer on the breath is a useful practice
here. Those attending the dying priestess can breath with her,
supporting her prayer. When life has retreated to the heart
and lungs, the process of singing the spirit home may begin.
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