a grief ritual

I received this ritual in the summer of 2020 as I wept and worked in the garden. That is where I spent most of my free time, wet with tears and sweat, pressed against the body of the earth, grieving and anxious. When I received this ritual, my children helped me harvest our plant kin with care and love. We asked permission from the land and the plants to harvest their bounty, laid offerings in the soil and washed their green bodies and bright petals with cool water, prayers, and songs. We patted them down with soft cloths and held them between the flesh of our palms before making tea and tinctures.
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I find myself drawn to this ritual often, grateful to work with the fresh offerings of plant kin when available or with the homemade tinctures that some mysterious and wise aspect of my being guides me to craft in advance.
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I share this with you, hoping that you, too, might be inspired to co-weave and engage with rituals for expressing grief. I share this because I am learning that our rituals carry the most potency and ase when they are shared with and support others.
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