The End of the Year

I've been debating the best way to write this post. Should I write something pertaining to the new year, or can that wait until tomorrow? Or should I write something for a dear friend of mine who passed on? With my friends passing, it does hold some meaning for the new year. One year ends and another begins. One life ends and others begin. I'll mesh the two and see if it works.

My friend Stephanie was an interesting woman. She had a difficult life growing up, and made several mistakes in her life. She joined the army at a young age, and though she was happy to serve, she regretted it later. Once she was deemed unfit to serve, she went to school studying the Middle East. She wanted a job working for the government in that field. She visited Egypt often and brought back many gifts for my family. She tried to see the brighter side to her problems, but things got worse. She eventually left her husband and had partial custody of her six kids. She worked at the University of Utah teaching Hebrew for two years, and spent her winter breaks in Cairo.

Over the summer, she met a man who practically completed her life. Her ex got along with him, her children loved him, and he took care of her. But his life was bad as well. He committed suicide using her pills, and she was the one that found him. She couldn't get over it, and the other night, took her life as well.

I'm sorry she is gone, but I also know she is happier now. We all feel her loss, she was quite the interesting person.

She brought me a pyramid once, that had a pharaoh etching, Thoth, Horus, and Anubis. I chose Anubis to worship today, and ask to guide Stephanie safely in the after life.

Anubis is the jackal god of mummification and the guardian of the dead. In legend, he'd embalmed and protected the body of Osiris after death. He helps prepare the mummy for its journey, and guards it in its tomb. 

It is I who hinder the sand from

choking the sacred chamber,

And who repel he would repel him

With the desert-flames. I have set

Aflame the desert, I have cause the path to be mistaken.

I am for the protection of Osiris.

A spell found upon many Pharaoh's tombs. The symbols for Anubis are the jackal head, an ox skin hanging, black, and hematite as well as all embalming tools. 

Today at my alter I have

Anubis

Thoth

Horus

1 black candle

Hematite

Spell

Picture of Stephanie

Charcoal

Myrrh

I wrote the spell on the opposite side of the picture, placing it under the stones. I put Anubis facing the spell and my black candle behind it. I placed the charcoal and myrrh to the left. After lighting the candle, I spoke my spell out loud and meditated on my favorite memories of Stephanie for several minutes. She will be dearly missed.

Hold Stephanie's hand

And walk her through death,

Keep her mind clear.

She knows she is loved

And we worried for her,

But now we have nothing to fear.

Her spirit was freed

To be with who she loved,

Stand by her for me.

So it is, so mote it be.

The best way to tie this into the New Year is by saying, though life ends it keeps going. Stephanie may be gone, but her memory will remain for us who are still here. With the New Year you have to remember to have hope. Staying positive is one of the hardest things to do. I often loose hope and wonder why I try, thus the blog. Yet I look at how Steph handled it, and realize I can never do that. I don't want to loose everything I have. So with the new year, I will remember my friend as the happy woman she was and grow.

May the Gods and Goddesses grant you peace.