beloved dead

Tomorrow evening is the Samhain ritual. One part of this holiday is honoring our beloved dead. They say the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is especially thin at Samhain and that we can more easily communicate with our dear departed. I haven't felt that and I don't think I believe it, but I am grateful for one day in the year to reflect on the lives my loved ones who have died.

A couple of years ago I took a book making class where we practiced different structures and content for our books. The following images are of a Palm Leaf or Tibetan Book of the Dead style book that I made of my father, who died in January1993. I only bring the book out at Samhain. The rest of the year it lives on my altar.


Dad talked about Heaven as "going out to deep water" so the book is made with an image of him in a boat in deep water, sand & other found objects from the beach we went to when I was little, ocean colors, & a wavy shape. He was also a devout Christian, and was reading the Pslams in the final days of his life, so the book includes Psalm 23 & excerpts from a few prayers.