A Celtic Book of Dying by Phyllida Anam-Áire

Author:Phyllida Anam-Áire
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Celtic Spirituality/Death & Dying
Publisher: Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Published: 2021-11-17T00:00:00+00:00

The Work of an Anam-Áire

The word Anam-Áire, as stated before, is from the Gaelic words Anam, meaning soul, and Áire, meaning care. The Anam-Áire therefore takes care of the soul, her own and of others. “Taking care of” means “having a care for”, or “watching with”. I like to think that as a Celtic woman I do both. The idea of an Anam-Áire is Celtic in its origin. Brigid, the Celtic Christian saint, has/d a great care for souls living and dead, and it is not unreasonable to believe that this vocation was handed down to her from the goddess Dana, also named Brigit, as she guided the living and dead to a place of self-honouring and peace.

I remember as a child how the old woman, or Seábhean, in the village or community was always present at the bedside of the dying, murmuring strange things into their left ear and splattering holy water over them; all around the room, especially in the corners, at the door, and under the bed on which the dying person lay. When I enquired what she was doing, she said she was “chasing the Devil away”. Many years later, when my father was dying, my aunt phoned the house and instructed my sister Bernie to “shake the holy water all around the room and out the window and especially shake it under your father’s bed, as this is the time when the Great War is on.”

When my sister asked for clarification, my aunt told her, “Sure isn’t this the time the Devil will be trying to get his soul and God will be trying to save it?” It is clear to decipher where this philosophy had its origin; the Cauldron teaches that at the time of dying there is a struggle between the soul and the ego-mind. The soul wishes to be free from the bonds of earth life and the ego holds on to what it knows and for some it cannot surrender to the light of love.

Another instruction my sister received from my aunt was to be sure and put the rosary beads in his hands, “because the Devil will try and take him by the hands but he won’t touch them if he (father) has the holy beads in them”. Wonderful rich meanderings of Celtic Christian traditions; my aunt knew so many of them. She used to keep the Brigid’s cross above the fireplace and, at the time of a funeral, she would place it on top of the coffin as it was lowered into the earth. When asked why she did so, she answered, “Because when the devils see the cross of Brigid, they will take to their heels and run.”

If someone questioned how she knew this to be true, she would answer smartly, “It is not for us to know the workings of a mighty saint of heaven; you need to have faith and not be asking too many questions.” In other words, she did not have the answers, but she knew the traditions and that was enough.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.