Cemetery Angels at Easter

-->

Angels abound in the cemetery.  They have been described since ancient times as the guardians, guides, and intercedents for humans; as well as carrying out heavenly tasks, and acting as messengers of God.

Angels are considered to be spiritual beings that take on a human form with wings.

Angels are prevalently mentioned in the Bible during the Passover and Easter seasons.    They are recognized in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, although most Eastern religions do not believe in angels.

It is an angel that appears to Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, at the cross.

It is an angel, which rolls the stone away to reveal an empty tomb on Easter Monday.

Angels in the cemetery offer us clues to their identities, if we search for the symbolism surrounding them.

An agent of God can be seen pointing the way to heaven for a departed soul, or holding the wreath of victory over death.

There are also several famous angels found in the cemetery.  In Thomas Heywood’s Hierarchy of Blessed Angels, written in 1635, the Angels of the Four Winds are Gabriel of the north winds, Michael of the east winds, Raphael of the west winds, and Uriel of the south winds.

Gabriel is God’s primary messenger and the first angel to be mentioned by name in the Bible.

Gabriel is an angel in many religions including Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  He is mentioned in religions such as Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Anglican Communion, and the Catholic Church.

Gabriel is considered to be a kind angel who performs acts of healing.  He is easy to identify in the cemetery – Look for his horn. Gabriel is usually shown with his horn in his hand or blowing his horn to indicate the Second Coming.

Another well known angel is Michael.  Michael is an archangel and known as the holy fighter.  He performs acts of justice and is considered the most “God-like” of the angels.

In the New Testament, Michael is the leader of God’s armies against Satan’s forces.  He is considered an angel in Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Islam, Judaism, Anglicanism, and Oriental Orthodoxy.

Michael is usually seen with a sword, carrying a banner or scales (for justice,) or seen stepping on the devil.

 

Another cemetery angel is Raphael. He is recognized as an archangel in Christianity, Islam and Judaism.  Raphael is the angel that heals.

Raphael may be seen holding a bottle or flask.  He can also be identified when carrying a staff or fish.

Uriel is an archangel recognized in such religions as Judaism, Anglican, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Oriental Orthodoxy. He is known as the “light of God.”

Uriel is depicted in the Apocalypse of Peter as the angel of repentance. Uriel is also the angel that checks the doors of Egypt for lamb’s blood.  He is the keeper of the key to the Pit during the end of times, and can be identified carrying a sword or a palm.

Yet another angel seen in the cemetery but usually not identified is Samael.

Samael is regarded as an angel who is both good and wicked.  In Judaism, he is the angel that tempted Eve. He is also the angel of death.

Samael is depicted in the cemetery as the grim reaper with a scythe in hand.

There are said to be over 30 varieties of angels, but most are not given names.  They are shown to be like humans with wings and halos; acting as the servants of God, messengers of God, and who intercede between humans and God.

Angels are considered to be benevolent spirits, who protect and guide humans before and after death.  This may be why they are so prevalent in cemeteries around the world – Helping those who have passed, and comforting those who remain…

~ Joy

Psychopomps - Guides of the Soul into the Afterlife

Grim Reaper

Psychopomps is an odd word we don’t really use much, but do recognize the mean of –a guide who escorts souls to the afterlife.  The word originates from the Greek words pompos, which is a conductor or guide, and psyche, which means breath of life, or soul.  When you think of a pyschopomp, you may think of angels, ancestors, owls, even the Grim Reaper! These are just a few of the many ‘soul guides’ that have been mentioned throughout history.

Psychopomp

The main role of these spirits is to provide safe passage for a newly departed soul to the afterlife, or the next level of being. The psychopomp helps guide the deceased through the veil in a calm and peaceful manner.

Hermes

In ancient times, the Greeks believed that Hermes was a spirit guide.  An Olympian god, Hermes was a guide to the Underworld and assisted souls in getting to the River Styx, the boundary between earth and the Underworld. If a coin had been placed in the deceased’s mouth, the ferryman would transport their soul on to the Underworld. If not, they could not cross the Styx, and were forever doomed to wander.

Anubis

For the Egyptians, Anubis was the guide through death.  Anubis, the jackal-headed god, was viewed as the protector of the dead and their tombs. He represented mummification and the afterlife in Egyptian religion.

Valkyries

The Norse soul guides were represented by the Valkyries – winged female warriors who decided who would die in battle.  They would then claim their chosen and take them to the Hall of the Slain where they would prepare daily for an immense battle, and feast nightly on the resurrecting beast, Saehrimnir.  Valkyries could also be represented by ravens or swans.

Defeating Satan

Michael

The Archangel Michael is viewed as the Christian Angel of Death.  At the time of death, Michael gives each soul the chance to redeem itself before passing on. Michael is then the guide who takes the soul to heaven, where each is weighed on his perfectly balanced scales. Michael is depicted as the ultimate enemy of Satan.

Angel

Angel

Other angels are often regarded as psychopomps, guiding and protecting mankind, while interceding for him in heaven.   Angels act as messengers of God.

Owl

Native Americans considered Muut to be the messenger of death.  Muut would take the form of an owl.  He or death was said to be close when owls hooted at the same time and place on consecutively nights.

Ankou

The Celts believed the Ankou was a soul gatherer and guide.  The Ankou was said to be the spirit of the last person who died in the village the previous year.  The Ankou, or Graveyard Watcher, drove a creaking cart, piled high with bodies.  He usually wore a wide hat over long white hair, and his head revolved completely around so he could survey all.  His task was to collect lost souls so that he could pass on to the other side. If the cart stopped in front of a home, all inside would die.

Grim Reaper

In modern times, it is the Grim Reaper that we recognize as a psychopomp, directing the recently dead to the afterlife.  This specter of death is shown as a skeletal figure, which may or may not wear a long black, hooded robe.  The Grim Reaper carries a scythe used to harvest souls.  Some believe that the Grim Reaper can actually cause a person to die.

Psychopomps are portrayed in many ways on tombstones, as dogs, ravens, owls, horses and various birds.  But all have the same mission, to escort the newly dead, in a calm transition, into the next chapter of the unknown.

~ Joy

The Symbols of Autumn

Autumn in Brown County,Indiana

Today is the first day of Fall, also known as the Autumn Equinox. It’s that time of year when the days become shorter and the nights grow longer in the northern hemisphere.  It is one of only two days in the year, (the Spring Equinox being the other,) when daylight and darkness are of equal time.

Harvesting Wheat - 1800's

Pumpkins

The arrival of autumn has been celebrated for centuries, from ancient Egyptian times, to the present, with harvest festivals. These festivals are usually held at the end of the growing season. People throughout the ages have commemorated the hard work involved and the abundance of foods available; pumpkins, corn, squash, beans, wheat, apples and nuts, during this season of plenty.  

Autumn Celebration -
Daniel Macllise

At harvest festivals contests were held, music was played, bonfires were built and plenty of eating and drinking took place. It is no wonder that in the Western Hemisphere, autumn is depicted by full, lush women bearing ripened fruits and grain.  The North American Indians also had many festivals tied to autumn and gathering food from the wild to prepare for winter.

September 2011 Harvest Moon

Harvest Moon - 2010

The harvest moon is another symbol of autumn.  This is the full moon that occurs at the closest time to the Autumn Equinox.  Usually it is in September, but it can occur in October, as it did in 2009 and will again in 2017.  The full harvest moon was so named in the eighteenth century because it was bright enough that farmers could work into the night by it’s light.

Autumn is a time of melancholy for some.  The end of the summer’s warmth and light has come, and the prospect of cold and darkness lay ahead for many months.  It is a season that inspires you to look inward, to reflect and consider the choices you have made, and the options still open to you.

Death is also linked to the autumn and harvest.  Crops were gathered from the field in autumn by reaping with a sickle or scythe. So too were souls depicted as being gathered from the earth.  The Grim Reaper, also known as the Angel of Death, first came about in the 15^th century and was depicted as a skeleton carrying a scythe.  Some believed the Grim Reaper was simply an escort to the afterlife.  His role was not to judge, but to provide safe passage for the newly departed soul.  Others thought the Grim Reaper actively sought souls and caused death to occur.

Other gravestone symbols for autumn include wheat sheaths, gathered and tied for harvesting.

Acorns and Oak leaves can symbolize strength and prosperity on a marker.

Abundant fruit as a sign of a pleasurable life, lived to the fullest.

And plowing, tilling the soil as done when planting or harvesting.

Autumn - Frederic E. Church

Autumn Equinox Sunset 2010

Autumn also comes a sense of balance, abundance now, leanness to come; equal hours of daylight and darkness, feelings of warmth and of chill.   Tonight, celebrate Autumn as your ancestors did - with an abundant dinner, a glass of wine, laughter, stories, and a soul-warming bonfire.

Autumn Bonfires (1885)

Raymond L. Knaub

In the other gardens

And all up the vale,

From the autumn bonfires

See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer is over

And all the summer flowers,

The red fire blazes,

The gray smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!

Something bright in all!

Flowers in the summer,

Fires in the fall!

                  - Robert Louis Stevenson

Happy Autumn!

~ Joy