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RITUAL / SPELL GUIDANCE REQUIRED

Merry Meet all, I am in need of some guidance tonight. I am helping a good friend send her beloved dog Sam to Summerland. Sam (female) was my friends familiar for 11 years and was by my friends side as she was burying her. I know for cats they go to Bast. But who's arms will I pass Sam into in Summerland? Any other tips for this type of spell / ritual would be appreciated as it is a new one to me. Many thanks for your help. Blessed be.

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Permalink Reply by Drakill Tannan on November 2, 2011 at 8:15am

Why would Sam need help to cross though? it comes natural to all living beings.

Permalink Reply by MoonJoy on November 2, 2011 at 12:57pm

Cats go to Bast? Where did you get that? Because she's cat-shaped?

Bast is actually a protector goddess, and was seen as the pharaoh's defender - does that mean that all bodyguards go to Bast as well? O_o While cats were sacred to her, she's not the only deity who had cats as sacred animals - and even then, it does not justify sending a soul to a specific deity just because the soul's body happened to be in a shape sacred to some deity. The same applies to dogs (who are sacred to quite a host of deities, too).

That would be like saying that all women must be sent to Venus, and all men to Mars. Too limiting a view, especially if you are dealing with a Soul.

No need to send Sam to a specific deity - first of all, Sam has already passed where she should be. Animals don't suffer from the hurdles humans put on themselves through religion or beliefs. They just embrace the moment - especially well-treated animals, like Sam. So, when she died, Sam just went with the flow. Animals are the wisest when it comes to not fearing death when it comes knocking.

So, just light a candle for Sam, honoring her memory, being grateful for what she brought, and thanking her accordingly. Then just let her go. That should be enough. Remember that funerals rites are more useful to the living (to help with the grieving process) than to the dead (with a few notable exceptions like violent deaths).

I also am wary of anyone who calls their pet their familiar. Just saying. A pet is a pet - the concept of familiar is over-romanticized in Neo-Paganism today. :(

Permalink Reply by Drakill Tannan on November 2, 2011 at 4:38pm

I'd like to add that Bast's asociation with cats most likely obeys this simple logic

When you are gorwing crops, you'll find plagues that will "Attack" them
When you put cats there, the cats will eat the plagues, and "Protect" the crops.
Henceforth, the cat is a symbol of protection, because where there is cats, crops are protected.
So the god of protection is easily identified by a cat. Hence the asociation.

Mind you, crops = food, food = life, so it is kinda of a big deal.

Moonjoy said the rest quite well, but to sumarize
1) Dieties don't manually move spirits of animals from one plane to another
2) All beings, after death proceed in their path swiftly, it comes natural
3)"Familiar" is actually a big deal of a word, not every close pet is a familiar.

Permalink Reply by Laramie Roush on November 2, 2011 at 5:10pm

Moonjoy is quite correct in saying that the animals are much better at this than we are. It is our own grief which needs to be dealt with, and maybe a ritual for letting go is what your friend really needs. Also, these familiar friends do return to us sometimes in another form . . . something to help ease your friend's pain a bit.

Blessings,
Larry

Permalink Reply by Eloise Lilydance on November 2, 2011 at 8:43pm

Thanks for all your input. But NO, Sam has NOT moved on naturally. She's still hanging around, hence my friends request to help her "move on". I was after some practical guidance, not lectures on how wrong I am or advice on farming crops. We do not want to perform funeral rites, she's been buried. My friend is in pain yes, but when she keeps seeing the dog, tripping over the appariton and her kids are confused when they catch a glimpse, we thought that Sam needed assistance to get over to the other side. There is no need to be "wary" of my friend, if she says it was her familiar it was. My friend has let go, it seems that her "only a pet" hasn't.
I

Permalink Reply by MoonJoy on November 2, 2011 at 9:38pm

First, animals, like humans, have energy bodies (apart from physical body, and Soul, etc.) With that in mind...

Maybe it's just a "residue" of Sam - what you describe reminds me of those hauntings that are caused only by whatever energy body we leave behind after the Soul moves on... That would not be the Soul, but the ethereal body for example; so, not Sam herself, but a leftover that has clung to the place she used to live in.

In cases like this, a good thorough energy cleansing of the house is the first order of things - so I would suggest you do that. It can take more than one ritual for that - if you do it during the waning moon, it will be stronger. Also, if your friend is still in pain from the loss, it's possible that she is unconsciously attracting those "leftovers" like a magnet. If she has let go, it might be someone else in the house that hasn't - you mentionned kids...

I don't know when Sam died, but if it's recent, maybe it's just a question of time before the household stops seeing her. If after several months (give it three months, maybe), "Sam" is still around, do a divination and see what's going on.

It's also possible, if Sam acted like a watchdog in her life, that they might have acquired a guardian of sorts... Who knows? (That's where divination can come in handy.)

Permalink Reply by Laramie Roush on November 3, 2011 at 6:47am

That info might have been helpful when you posted this discussion ;)

It's not unnatural to continue to see shadows of our dear departed friends for a while after they pass, be they human or another species. They are imprinted on our hearts and that is where they continue to live. This experience may have even spawned a major religion (Christianity). What I am hearing though, is that they are experiencing full-blown apparitions (???). With physical manifestation that can actually be felt in the physical, to the point that people are tripping over Sam?

There are many theories about why this phenomena occurs, but many "experts" seem to think that a buildup of emotional energy can leave a residual energy which can be manifested on the physical plane. Another school of thought is that a being will hang around if it feels it still has a job to do, perhaps in this case being a friend and protector to this family. Either way, the being knows what he/she is doing and would in no way be a threat to anyone. Exorcisms do not work . . . this is not a malevolent non-human being. The best you could do is to research pet seances and to try to speak with the Sam's spirit. But . . . I am finding many cases where a pet hung around for a time and was able to save families and/or friends from disaster. After that they seem to move on. Click here for a good example. So if Sam still has something to do she may hang around until it gets done, and sending her on may be detrimental to your friend's family.

Finally, I really don't think that anyone was trying to "lecture" you, you simply didn't supply enough information about the problem. We took the time to reply because we wanted to help, not because we wanted to "show off".

How to hold a seance (Notice that in item #6 deceased pets are specifically mentioned as possible contacts)

Two Wonderful Books Show Our Pets Live On

Audio of a seance mentioning animals in the afterlife.

Hope that some of this helps :)

Blessings,
Larry

Permalink Reply by Drakill Tannan on November 3, 2011 at 7:52am

From a psychological perspective, it is posible that your friend "Makes it up" (Unconciously) because she hasn't handled the loss very well. If she ever talked about it and her kids heard it, they would've picked up on it. If that is the case, time alone should solve the problem.

It could also be an Egregore or thoughtform of Sam the one walking arround the house, if her grief led her to constantly keep thinking of sam, she couldn've created it unknowingly.

I really, really don't think an animal needs help crossing over. Humans are quite independent in their actions, but animals aren't, even if they get stuck, and there is no reason why they should, the matter would be quickly solved by the spirit in charge.

Either way, this is not a lecture. We're just trying to help out :)

Permalink Reply by Fay Netherlan on November 3, 2011 at 3:27am

Anubis!

Permalink Reply by MoonJoy on November 3, 2011 at 11:08am

No, Anubis is not for dogs. Anubis is for ALL those who pass over to the Realms of the Dead. He was the god of afterlife, not the god of dogs. (Tongue twister: say "dog of dogs" very fast, ten times!)

Besides, he's not a dog, but a jackal. :)

Permalink Reply by MoonJoy on November 3, 2011 at 11:35am

Darn. I meant to say *god of dogs* in the tongue twister :(

Permalink Reply by Laramie Roush on November 3, 2011 at 2:22pm

That would be like saying that Thoth is the God of long-beaked birds.