Psychopomps are Guides of Souls, Ushers of the Dead, particular spirits, angels, animals or deities whose responsibility is to escort the newly-deceased souls to the afterlife. Psychopomps appear in many and diverse forms, but no form has more impressed us than that of the Dog. Seguir leyendo »

Pet Ghosts?

Pet Ghosts: Animal Encounters from Beyond the Grave

Can animals return as ghosts? Many are the tales of spectral Black Dogs, wolf spirits and ghostly herds of horses, and of pets who prove their loyalty in the afterlife. Seguir leyendo »

And a dreadful thing from the cliff did spring,
and its wild bark thrill’d around,
His eyes had the glow of the fires below,
’twas the form of the spectre hound ..

One of the most chilling omens of death in English folklore is the large, spectral demon dog called Black Shuck. Seguir leyendo »

Just south of Snowdon, in the grey-stoned village of Beddgelert set among the wild mountains of Wales, is the Grave of Gelert. Here, in a beautiful meadow below Cerrig Llan, is a large stone slab lying on its side which owes its fame to the legend of Prince Llewelyn ap Iorwerth and his faithful hound. Seguir leyendo »

Dogs were of supreme importance in earlier societies and the possession of superlative specimens was of great importance to warrior heroes. Seguir leyendo »

Ruling over both life and death, the Crone holds within her all aspects of the Triple Goddess. She is the mature and aged Maiden and Mother now possessing the wisdom and experiences of youth, adulthood and old age. She stands at the crossroads, at the bridge between death and rebirth. Seguir leyendo »