The work with The Sacred Mother of Death has been a combination of building tools, practices, understanding the core of the death/rebirth pattern, and my personal path within that – but at the center of all of it is taking ownership of this path. Accepting it with all of my being, and becoming it.
It isn’t about a change in what I do, but more a change in the mind. Everything has been stepping stones, leading me deeper and deeper in this one singular path. The path of a Death Worker/ Death Doula. Accepting the path isn’t about knowing it, it is about being able to declare it and celebrate it publicly. My hesitations do not come from me – they come from a place of how others have decided to perceive the path, the stereotypes, the labeling, all from a lack of truly understanding what this path is.
My first reaction – change the name, call it something that others do not know and can not twist or make assumptions about based on what other’s have said about it. This is a common “go to” in my process. It is why “Crane Practitioners” was born. Because people can not get past preconceived notions and assumptions. I can not do that with this though. I can not distort it or change it because it has to stand as it is. It is a core pattern – a core aspect of being, of living. No, there is no easy way around this.
It is not about changing a name – we have to change other people’s perspective of it. It is about being very public. Open celebrations in the light of day, at the forefront, and without hesitation. Using all the platforms I have built over the years for this purpose. To help show different perspectives, understandings, connections, and applications of what the Death/ Rebirth pattern holds for us. To show the Life and Hope within the pattern and the path that leads us to it.
It is not much different than what I have been doing, but there is a different mindset, which leads to some different approaches.
At the core of the Death/ Rebirth pattern is the Sacred Mother of Death. The core energy of all the Guides within the pattern. Where They are all connected and a part of all of Them. All the Death Goddesses – the Reapers, the Keepers, the Fates – all are the Sacred Mother of Death. The difference comes in who we are individually connected to – the Guide that fits our particular path we are walking, and that we reach to for guidance.
For me, the last Guide is the Santa Muerte. She is the faceless aspect of the Death / Rebirth pattern. The Sacred Mother of Death is the faceless and nameless. Removing all the boxes, masks, and things that divide us.
Each Deity that has played a prominent role in my growth, did so from the perspectives and lessons I needed at those points in my path. I had to deconstruct and build new foundations. I had to learn the deeper meanings of concepts like guardianship, battle, duality, perspective, judgment, and justice – not what I was taught but the true aspects of them and in what ways they applied to the path I am on. They taught me skills I needed for the next lesson to come. Each one held significant purpose for me, and each one led me deeper to the center energy of the pattern of Death/ Rebirth. Each one was an aspect of the Mother of Death, and each step led me closer to Her.
Santa Muerte, for me, is the Mother of Death.