Series · 6 parts
The Old Ways: Nature-Based & Ancestral Death Care
For nearly all of human history, death was tended by hand: by family, by ritual, by the earth itself. Somewhere in the last few generations we handed that over to institutions, and lost the thread of how to do it ourselves. Six pieces on the nature-based and ancestral death care most of us were never taught: holding a vigil, green burial, deathbed herbalism, Italian folk ancestor rites, bringing it into practice, and a conversation on what a green witch actually knows.
Start reading →Begin anywhere · What Is a Vigil? How to Sit With Someone Who Is Dying
6 partsHeal with Death29 min read
- Format
- Series
- Length
- 6 parts
- Reading time
- 29 min read
- Price
- Free to read
Parts · Read in Any Order
6 Parts.
Start Anywhere.
There is no order to these and nothing to finish. Read the one that matches the day you are having.- What Is a Vigil? How to Sit With Someone Who Is DyingA vigil is staying with someone who is dying. A death doula on what it asks of you, how to hold one at home or in a hospital, and what to say.5 min read
- What Is a Green Burial? How It Works, and Why Families Choose ItA green burial returns the body to the earth without embalming or a sealed vault. A death doula on how it works, how it compares, and what it gives the living.6 min read
- Herbs at the Deathbed: What to Bring Into the Dying RoomWhen someone you love is dying, there is still something you can do with your hands. A death doula on the herbs families have always brought into the room.4 min read
- Stregheria and Death: Italian Ancestor Altars, Vigils and Folk RitesStregheria is Italy's folk-magic tradition, and its view of death is simple: the dead stay in the family. On ancestor altars, vigils and the rites of leaving.8 min read
- Nature-Based Death Doula Training: The Layer Most Courses SkipMost death doula training teaches the logistics beautifully and skips the sacred. On the gap in modern doula training, and why nature-based practice fills it.4 min read
- Nature-Based Death Care: Elayne Sallemi on Plants and BurialElayne Sallemi on nature-based death care: the four-element altar, what is in her apothecary bag, why she covers mirrors, and what a full green burial looks like.2 min read
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