Daily Draw: Tarot of Oz ~ DeathYesterday we prepared the grave for our old dog Windsor. I talked about him recently in relation to the Strength card but we recognize that this week all the signs of being his last are there.
I'm reminded by Dr. Pipt that death has a magic of it's own in many cultures and is part of the journey, not the end of the journey. To that end, I have a sealed tin of Windsor's favorite good boy award, Danish Butter Cookies. I have his Tupperware traveling water bowl clean and full. Where he rests these last days his two favorite toys stand ready to travel - Hermie & Wonker. I've washed and mended his favorite blankie. As best we can do, when Windsor's next journey starts he will be outfitted like an Egyptian Pharaoh with food, drink, and companions and be sent off with love and hope that we will all meet again one day.
The really odd thing is we don't do this for our human companions. We stick 'em in a hard box covered with cold slick satin, dressed in clothes they seldom wore in life, drop the lid and shove 'em off. No book, no bit of stitchery, no doll, no fishing pole, no notes to carry to those that have gone before...what are we thinking to make burial the end of the journey?
"Who is the third who walks always beside you
When I count, there are only you and I together
But when I look ahead up the white road
There is always another one walking beside you "
T.S. Eliot 1888-1965
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I'm so sorry to hear that your dog will no longer be with you physically. You have done such a wonderful job of preparing his journey back to spirit.
ReplyDeleteOn a comparatively unimportant note, I'm enjoying seeing you work with the Tarot of Oz deck this week. I really love the artwork and colors. I have been reluctant to get it, because I haven't read all the books, and that seems a daunting task before being able to relate to the characters in the deck. Have you read all the stories? What is your opinion on the deck, when used for readings?
I love this entry! When my father died I wanted his quilt buried with him, I made it for his comfort, shouldn't he have comfort with it for all eternity? My mother strictly forbade it, said it belonged in a museum, not a grave. Hmmm, I wish I had stuck to my guns.
ReplyDeleteDarlene