Spirits of the Dead

According to traditional Chinese philosophy, some illnesses or other afflictions, particularly those of a chronic nature, may be caused by unhappy Ancestral Spirits. Ancestors may be aggrieved because a grave is neglected, or perhaps illness and disaster result from a lack of sufficient sacrificial offerings to sustain beneficial energy. These ancestors aren’t necessarily malevolent; they just lack enough energy and power to keep harm from your door.

What can be done?

First of all, feed them, and feed them well. Have certain days where they are invited to dinner, set places at the table for them, and have a nice chat. Take picnic lunches to grave sites, and share food with them there on sunny afternoons.

Secondly, verify if a grave needs tending. Make improvements if you can. If this is impossible, if a grave site is situated in a location beyond your reach, in parts unknown, or does not, in fact, exist, then explain this to the Ancestors in detail, including what your plans are for compensation. Divination may be in order to receive their opinions on the matter, too.

You can also create a small shrine or ancestral altar in your home, with old pictures or memorabilia and leave small offerings of sweets etc.

And last but not least, burn paper offerings. The traditional offering is  joss paper – called “spirit money” or “ghost money.” In a pinch, any paper resembling money will do.

From: The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells

  • Goal: To use if you feel the presence of benign spirits.
  • Optional extras: White candle

You can do this spell in front of your altar or walking around the house (be careful to have the candle in something that will render it safe to carry) or any place in the house where you are particularly aware of the spirit’s presence.

Familiars are particularly helpful in working with spirit entities since they often sense energies that people do not. If you find your pet consistently looking at a particular spot in the house or acting as if they see something you can’t, you may want to do this spell, just in case!

Note:

This is not a banishing spell. If you want to be rid of a spirit, this is not the spell to use. This spell is essentially a way of saying, “I know you’re here, and you are welcome to stay as long as you don’t cause any problems.

The Spell:

Greetings, O spirit
Whose form was once flesh
And who lingers on
For reasons I cannot know

You are welcome here
In this place that is mine
As long as your intent is benign
And your energy mellow

I will not interfere with you
If you will not interfere with me
Let us live together in peace
And may your spirit be blessed.

From: Everyday Witch A to Z Spellbook

The Lemuria, is an ancient Roman festival in honor of the Lemures, the spirits of dead family members who wander the earth on these three spring nights (May 9, 11, and 13). This is a banishing ritual to ensure that no bad energy and no angry or hungry ghosts can hang around.  A simple version can be found here: The Lemuria.

Note: While this ritual is specific to The Lemuria, I see no reason why it cannot be used anytime this type of banishing is needed.

  • Colors: Black and grey
  • Element: Air
  • Offerings: None. This is a banishing. All carry cymbals, drums, or noisemakers.
  • Daily Meal: Goat meat. Beans.

Altar:

Upon cloth of black and grey set a bowl of beans, nine black candles, a brazier with incense of agrimony and rue, a bottle of good wine, a bowl of clean spring water, a knotted rope, a bowl of asafoetida, and a skull.

Lemuria Invocation

(First the one who has been chosen to do the work of the ritual stands forth, takes the knotted rope from the altar, and unknots it, and throws it into the brazier.)

Call:

Shades of those who have gone before us!
Ghosts and demons, inside us and outside,
Hear us!

Response:

We cast you out!
We drive you before us!

Call:

Begone from house and hearth,
Begone from mind and heart,
Begone from roost and stall,
Begone from field and garden,
Begone from path and road,
Begone from all places
Where you might harry us!
We scatter you before us on the wind!

Response:

We cast you out!
We drive you before us!

(The officiant makes the sign of the ficus towards the west, and all follow in turn. Then the officiant washes their hands in the clear spring water, and brings the bowl to all, who wash in turn. The water is poured out in the libation well. Then the beans are passed around, and all take a handful or a mouthful. Each spits or throws the beans in a different direction.)

Call:

Hace ego mitto,
his redime meque meosque fabis!

Response:

Manes exite paterni!
Manes exite paterni!
Manes exite paterni!

(All walk through the house and around the boundaries of the property, clashing cymbals and beating drums and making noise to drive away all evil spirits. This ritual repeats for three days, only on odd-numbered days, which are luckier than even-numbered days.)

Found in: Pagan Book of Hours

hekate_cosmic_threskeia-220x300

The Eurasian spirit Hecate guards the frontier between the realms of the living and the dead, negotiating the sometimes divergent needs of both parties. Although she may not banish ghosts entirely (you can ask, though!), she can enforce their good behavior. Hecate is traditionally depicted having one body but three faces, sometimes that of women but most typical that of a dog, a horse and a lion.

Each month, at the full moon:

  • Bring a three-headed image of Hecate to a three-way crossroads.
  • Place the image so that each face points toward a road (or as close as possible).
  • Place food on the ground including fish, honey and a round cake with candles.
  • Make an invocation to Hecate requesting that she make the ghosts behave.
  • Leave the meal at the crossroads for whoever takes it.

Source: Coven of Hecate

 

s-l300Do the dead rest easy? Flowers and flowering shrubs may be planted on the grave to serve as barometers. Allegedly if the flowers thrive and bloom, there’s no need to worry about whoever’s in the grave. Of course some plants are considered better barometers than others. Marjoram is believed to provide a good guarantee – if it thrives on a grave, the person within is certain to be content.

Other grave site plantings include the following:

Plant Aloe Vera on the grave site in order to soothe the deceased, ease any sense of loneliness or abandonment, and prevent their longing for the living.

A carpet of chamomile planted over a grave encourages the dead to sleep and also eases their passage to the next realm.

Cover graves with a carpet of daisies and blue bells to bring peace to the deceased and joy to the bereaved, and to invite the presence of benevolent guardian spirits.

Plant rowan trees in the cemetery, especially overlooking graves, to watch over the spirits of the dead.

To encourage the dead to sleep peacefully and deeply, strew wild poppy seeds throughout the cemetery.

Asphodel is allegedly among the favored foods of the dead. Asphodel is sometimes planted on graves, however the legend is also taken literally. Prepare asphodel – it’s typically roasted – and leave it atop a grave to comfort and satisfy the deceased within.

Tansy is described as an herb of life everlasting. It allegedly comforts the bereaved while assuring the dead that they will not be forgotten.

128145587_9fdcc9014bOn the Eve of Samhain, (the night before Halloween), get a white candle, matches and mirror for this spell. At dusk, go to a haunted area or a place you feel the spirits are especially powerful. Make contact by walking about and allowing your mind to roam. Light your white candle and stare into it saying:

Clear as midnight,
the spirits are bright.
Ghostly curiosity
brings you to me.

As a form takes shape,
I am not asleep.
Spirit awake,
take your shape.

Let the candle flicker. Glance into the mirror and look past your shoulder. Do you see mists or lighted balls in the reflection? This is how ghosts typically appear. Return to the area on the next three nights. Take some pictures. At home, place your mirror face down. Mirrors trap spirits. Some spirits will track you as you search for their reflections. If you want your those to leave, just say so. Follow this up by putting a broom over your transom and burning sage.

~by Susan Sheppard

black_magick_revenge_let_them_see_ghost_spirits_haunted_spell_cast__5098a972Samhain (aka Halloween) is a magical time of the year. It has Celtic roots. It marks the beginning of the “dark” part of the year. It’s also the moment when the “veils” between the realms of the living and dead are “thinned” making communication easier.

You can actually invoke blessings from “hungry” ghosts who are without any family or friends, and that have long been forgotten. You’ll love the little strokes of “good luck” and other goodies you begin to receive.

Beginning 1 or 2 weeks before October 31, (Samhain/Halloween), here’s what to do:

Every night before you go to bed, place a glass of milk and a plate of barley outside your home under the stars.

This will ease lonely ghosts’ “hunger” for attention. It will prevent any mischief, and will bring blessings, luck, and fortune into your life during the next week.

Source unknown

streetghosts-1

It is traditional on Samhain night to leave a plate of food outside the home of the souls of the dead. A candle placed in the window guides them to the lands of eternal summer, and burying apples in the hard-packed earth “feeds” the passed ones on their journey.

For food, beets, turnips, apples, corn, nuts, gingerbread, cider, mulled wines and pumpkin dishes are appropriate, as are meat dishes.

Found at Simple Magick

our-dead-spiritsDuring the period of Samhain, the time when the world of the living is closest to the world of the dead, it is often a good idea to make offerings to the spirits to keep them from doing harm. Traditionally on Halloween night, gifts of milk and barley are left out beneath the stars to acquire the blessings of ghosts and prevent them from harming your household.

From Simple Magick

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