Do any of the druids out here know of a Druid funeral prayer for my mother ?
She passed away on Monday saddly .
Any help is much appricated
Thanks
Lewis
I'm very sorry to hear about your loss and I'll help however I can.
Unfortunately Druidism is such a diverse path that it's difficult to have a single prayer for the dead. Could I ask what it is you believe happens after death and what (if any) deities you include in your worship? I'd hate to give you a prayer that contradicts your beliefs is all.
I'm also sorry about your lose, your in my prayers *hugs*. As for Druids funeral prayers you'd need to ask a Druid I only know Wiccan funeral prayers, Wiccan funeral right & Egyptian funeral rights. I'm really sad for you, for what your going through. If you need to chat please feel free to PM me or anyone else you feel you can talk to. Please don't feel you need to deal with this alone.
Thank you both ,
I'm an eclectic pagan .
Either ee go to avalon (not the mystic place , the place of the dead ) or the other world awarn looks after .
Well , its along list of what I worship . Athena , hecate , haphatos , thantos , hares , hera , Zeus , isis , Thoth , ma'at , osaris , Anubis , cerrerdwin , arrianhod , gwidion , myrriden , Airmid , dianct and Bridget.
I'm more of an Irish pagan than welsh but I can share my own funeral traditions that you may then want to take aspects of at least. It's based largely around the Tuatha De Danann I'm afraid so you may need to adapt it to your own deities. I also assume passage through the Otherworld over Avalon in my beliefs, just so that you know what this is aimed at more.
When my grandmother died I held my own private memorial for her after the funeral but if you wish to hold a more public one I did find the following website which outlines a neo-druid tradition. It may be worth a look even for a private ceremony as it might hold some ideas for you. http://druidnetwork.org/rites/passage/passing/passingrites.html
What I did when my grandmother passed away was two friends and myself took a collection of items that meant something to both me and my grandmother to a henge not too far away from where we lived, that's just because I like to work in henges as the walls present an obvious barrier to follow when circle casting. We then opened a circle and invited a number of Irish Celtic deities to attend (Danu the mother goddess, Dagda a farthrly figure with powers over life and death, and Cailleach as she rules over the winter months and it was early February at the time). For about an hour after that I simply reflected on my grandmother's life with my friends as a way of honoring her. After that there was a "feast" which was actually just a picnic for me in which I asked the Dagda to share his food with my Grandmother, Danu and Cailleach (to keep her happy). Finally I got onto the actual prayers, unfortunately thay were heavilly based around my pantheon so you'd probably want to invent your own. I dug a small hole in a cove of the henge and used the prayer as a means to allow the spirit to pass into the Otherworld with the protection of the gods as I put the items into the whole and covered them up. I then finally closed the circle while asking the Calleach to watch the henge over winter to ensure the remains were undisturbed.
As a side note I know of the saying "Long is the day and long is the night, and long is the waiting of Arawn" (translated) which you're probably already aware of but it may be nice to work it in to any prayer you may use.
Druid funeral rites were always quite diverse as there was quite a lot of regional variation so there's no right or wrong way of doing it. I hope I at least gave you some things that you might like to use, again I'm sorry for your loss.
your pantheon (the gods listed ) are very simerlar to mine of the celtic tree as i call it , i would just work the greek and egyiptian tree into it
it sounds like you did your grandmother proud , it beutiful how youve done that and i like it alot . sadlly , i just a prayer i can do at night , im not good with words. i try and do prayers and i fail really bad .i think of went like "now life has begon let it end".... talking about an oxymoron.
thank you anyways it much appriacated and i will use your ideas :D
many blessings of all who above see such great deeds to thee, not the sun nor moon shall leave your path , for the illumunation should find you your way.
Lewis
Oh I'm sorry I misunderstood what you wanted. If you want a simple prayer you could lift bits from the farewell section of the link I posted above (http://druidnetwork.org/rites/passage/passing/passingrites.html)
Below I've edited it a little so that it reads I instead of we.
"I call to the gods that (deceased) may know this road and travel it with courage and with joy, accompanied by friends, companions and loved ones. May (he/she) find the mead sweet and the bread always fresh upon his way. So may it be.
Death is merely that place where souls are detained only long enough to be sained with the purifying smoke, fanned by the white wings of the sacred winds, until they are whiter than the swans of the songs, white than the seagull of the waves, whiter than the snow of the peaks, whiter than the pure love of heroes. Death is no oblivion, but a journey through cleansing, healing and change. We will meet again those whom we have loved. Such is the law of existence.
So do I call to the guide and guardian of the dead, you who ride the night with the wild hunt, gathering the souls of the departed, leading them along the hidden ways to Arawn, the place is no place, where they will rest after the struggles of this life, nourished and healed for their journey of rebirth.
Guide well the soul of (deceased) on that journey of the setting sun, through the darkness of night to the place of peace."
Or if you prefer something simpler the Welsh saying "Long is the day and long is the night, and long is the waiting of Arawn"
Hopefully that's of a bit more use. As a side note the Welsh and Irish pantheons are almost identical except for a few individuals and the names.
