One of the things that the practice of tarot and astrology and journaling all do is to help us see the pattern in seemingly random events; to help us see the tapestry being woven from a tangle of threads.
Recently I've been noticing a pattern.
Beloved people and animals have been dying, a step or two away from me.
I mean that those who have passed have not been part of my closest circle of loved ones, but are beloved by those who are close to me or who are friends to me. Since the full moon of June, three people have died and three animal companions have died. It feels a bit like concentric circles tightening and I have to wonder, who is next? Will there be three more before the full moon of August, the time of the harvest? Is my father's time drawing near?
I don't think this is morbid. I'm just looking at patterns.
I also think it's interesting to take notice of how so many of us who walk the pagan / earth-spirit path or have lived with a consciousness of the power of myth (to borrow Joe Campbell's phrase) have made their passage on or near an auspicious date, when the doors between the worlds swing open just a little bit wider. This seems to apply to our beloved animal companions as well.
Joseph Campbell himself died on October 30, the day before the veils part on All Hallow's Eve. Marija Gimbutas died on Candlemas / Imbolc, February 2nd, as did Asphodel Long (Feb 1st). My friend Helen Farias, founder of the Beltane Papers, died on Autumn Equinox 1994. Monica Sjoo died last year just after Lammas, August 8. I remember her telling me at a Goddess conference ten years ago about her son who died on a full moon in August. My own beloved son also died on a full moon, in April 1990. We shared our stories. More recently our friend Glenn (beloved of those close to me, and part of the Portland pagan community) died this past full moon — last Monday. Waverly's beloved Chester the Dog passed the day after Summer Solstice this year, June 22. Andy's beloved cat Dolly died at the stroke of midnight on Solstice too.
What does it mean? I don't know, I'm just looking at patterns.
I look for (and notice) those patterns as well. I agree that it is not morbid, but rather practical, or better said - natural.
Perhaps these patterns we encounter are a method of connecting with universal cycles... to give them meaning, or at least a kinship and commonality.
Posted by: JLB | July 18, 2006 at 10:04 AM
Dear Joanna,
Thanks for mentioning Chester in such a respectful context. I'm also noticing this pattern but it seems to revolve around 3's and dogs. I went to the bank to tell them about Chester's death and they said 3 of their favorite customer/dogs had died in the
past week. My friend Michael told me 2 of his close friends had lost their beloved dogs in the same week (one in CA, one in Monterey). I don't know what to make of it either.
Posted by: Waverly | July 20, 2006 at 12:30 AM
Joanna, thank you for a thought-provoking read and for mentioning my dear departed familiar in such a respectful and kind context. Dolly was definitely my familiar, though I have yet to fully understand what I mean when I say that.
I think she was a kindred spirit and her passing at such a significant hour on such a significant date can do nothing else other than carry meaning and importance for me. She was a magickal cat and some have said her passing at that time was a signal, a reinforcement, a confirmation. She has certainly been back most every night, showing herself to be a determined and powerful spirit. I think she was and always will be a guide,a helper, a support for me.
It's so strange. Every night I feel her approach - a sense of something electric in the air - and then I feel her firm paws on the bed walking up from the bottom to my side, where she lies down and remains while I fall asleep. One night I reached out to her; I could sense the energy, like static, forming the outline of her shape. It was the most wonderful experience. Of course, I don't know if it was imagined or real for sure - but I know for myself that it was not imagined, that she returns to show her love and connection.
I told D that I am unsure as to how but my whole life changed when she died. I didn't just lose a friend. Her exit from this plane of existence changed absolutely everything. I'm not sure why I say that, or how it can be, but it just is. x
Posted by: Andy | July 22, 2006 at 03:16 AM
I should add that I believe my own father's time is drawing near; in some ways I see the passing of an animal so dear to me for so long as some kind of preparation for that future time. Then, when we lose someone - animal or human - we can, at least for a time, become acutely sensitive. I watch one of the other cats in particular, for he is old and tired, and keep wondering if he is going to leave us soon, at least in terms of his physical form. Of course, he is only old; his time will come when it is due.
And only last night I realised, after weeks of misplaced guilt - the sense I could have done more - that Dolly went because, simply, it was her time and no mortal can stand against the clock which ticks down our hours and days. x
Posted by: Andy | July 22, 2006 at 03:19 AM
Joanna, you will, I think, in the context of your post above, want to read the entry I've just posted to my own space entitled 'Haunted'. x
Posted by: Andy | July 23, 2006 at 06:40 PM