Good Grief

Grief is an emotion that is not easy to talk about, neither is it easy to convey to others. Each of us deals with our grief in unique and different ways. Often grief over death is shadowed with our fears of not understanding death. We don't know all the answers as to why we die, or what happens to us when we die. Although spiritual and religious beliefs of an afterlife can bring us some comfort, it is difficult to think of spending the rest of our lives without the physical presence of loved ones that escape us by their death. Grief is a painful emotional hurt that can be slow to heal.

In a standard deck of tarot cards, one of the major cards is the "Death" card. A card reader will explain that a "Death" card showing up in a reading is not a bad thing, but only a signifier of a change in your life status. A divorce, a move to another residence, or new employment are all forms of death. How many times in our lives have we been forced to shut doors in our lives before we could discover a new door opening up for us? In the Egipcios Kier Tarot Deck the "Death" card has been replaced by a card labeled "Rebirth". I rather like this exchange of cards based on the Egyptian translation of death. The word "Death" sounds so final and foreboding. If you are interested in learning more about Egyptian beliefs you might like to check out The Online Book Version of Egyptian Book of the Dead - The Papyrus of Ani.

The local junior college in the area I live in offers a popular class on "Death and Dying" taught by Linda Takai. I imagine that you could find similar classes in any region as death has no regional or temporal boundaries. I've been doing some surfing the past couple of days looking for some sites that offer healing for the grief-stricken. I was amazed at how many posting boards are available for posting memorials to our departed friends, family, and loved ones. What a beautiful way to remember those that we cherished during their presence on the planet.

Resources: Bereavement / Grief