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Pagan Chaplaincy Resources

  • Jan 5
  • 4 min read

Updated: Apr 9

What are Pagan religions?

Pagan is an umbrella term for several traditions: Wicca, Druidry, Heathenry, various types of polytheism, eclectic Paganism, and many other smaller traditions. Pagan religions share a belief that the divine is immanent in Nature, and most traditions worship both goddesses and gods. Some Pagans are pantheist, some are polytheist, some are monist, some are agnostic, some are atheist.



Who to contact

  • Heather Duke (Waterloo) - email: Amhranai@golden.net

  • Yvonne Aburrow (Cambridge) - email: yaburrow@gmail.com


Pagan liturgy relating to death and dying


Things to consider


While the Pagan patient is in hospital

  • It is very rare to have formally accredited Pagan clergy, so the patient may want members of the local Pagan community to visit them.

  • They may want members of their community to do a Pagan ritual for them while they are in hospital or hospice care. Pagan rituals are typically conducted in a circle.

  • Most Pagans did not grow up Pagan. It may be traumatic for them to be visited by clergy from their previous religion.

  • If Pagan visitors are not available, Unitarian ministers are usually welcome.

  • Many Pagans are members of the 2SLGBTQIA community.

  • Many Pagans wear jewellery related to their faith tradition, including (but not limited to) the pentagram (a five-pointed star), the pentacle (a pentagram in a circle), the mjölnir (Thor's hammer), the valknut (symbol of Oðinn), the Awen (Druid symbol), a tree, and depictions of Pagan deities. These should not be removed without their consent. (Unfortunately some of these symbols have been appropriated by the far right, but Pagans wear them for spiritual reasons.)


Pentacle

Pentagram

Mjölnir

Valknut

Awen


Funeral considerations

  • The family may be from another religion and not know about or approve of the deceased's Pagan faith; in which case it may be that two ceremonies will be needed.

  • Who will officiate at the funeral? A Pagan officiant? An interfaith officiant?

  • What to put on the headstone, if there is one.

  • The bereaved may want to prepare the body themselves, or hold a ritual or a vigil with the body.

  • Green burials and eco-coffins are very popular.

  • Pagan funerals are generally a celebration of the life of the deceased.

  • Some Pagans want to be buried, others want cremation.

  • Many dislike the idea of embalming the body.



Pagan attitudes to death and dying

  • Most Pagans regard death as part of the natural cycle of life, death, and rebirth; many regard the body as just a house for the spirit.

  • Many Pagans believe in reincarnation; others believe in an afterlife; others believe that death is the end and our energies get "recycled" as something else.

  • In Pagan symbolism, darkness and death are not negative.


You can find more about specific Pagan traditions' views of death and dying in this booklet by Ryan Robinson, Death and Dying, at Amawsau.org

Books


Birth, growth, death and rebirth are a cycle that forms the underlying order of the universe. This is the core of Pagan belief — and the heart of this unique resource guide to death and the process of dying. Filled with encouragement, strength and inspiration, The Pagan Book of Living and Dying is an invaluable source of both spiritual counsel and very practical tools and techniques for:

  • honouring and caring for a dying person

  • grieving a beloved relative, partner or friend

  • planning a funeral or memorial service

  • distributing personal possessions and making room in the home for a loved one’s memory

  • understanding and mourning specific types of death

  • providing final instructions for one’s own death, and much more


This book aims to provide a selection of prayers - and shows readers how they can create their own. After an introduction on why we pray, author Ceisiwr Serith explores how people can pray through words, posture, dance, and music. He explains how they can prepare for and compose prayers, how to address and honour the deities, and how to conclude a prayer.

Organizations

Clergy Services for the Pagan Community of Ireland, providing resources and advice.


A website of Pagan resources for death and dying. The owner of this website has sadly passed away but there are some helpful ideas on it.


A group of Pagans
A group of Pagans

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