I am Southern. Being a witch doesn’t make me any less Southern. I was raised with a lot of Southern traditions, quite a few that surrounded death. As the South becomes more & more a part of a much larger cultural pattern (US, global) so many of those traditions are falling by the wayside. That’s a damn shame. Tis the season of Samhain, which honors those who have passed on and celebrates their lives. A good time to review a particular tradition.
Many cultures adapt the tradition of never leaving the dead alone. In our post-modern secular culture the fear of death and aging is causing much of society to ignore the elderly and avoid death ceremonies. It has even started happening here in the South. Not for me. I sat with my mother until she breathed her last. As the medical personnel was getting her ready to leave for the funeral home they told me I could go on and leave. I did not. I walked with my mother to the hearse. I could tell that the staff was impressed that I hadn’t fled, but did the Death Walk with my mother.
Samhain is the time of the Crone and the dead God. Letting a fear of aging and death rule you keeps you from getting to the deep places Samhain can take you. Don’t be a weinie.
