Rite of Release for a Beloved Pet

The altar setting is simple: one central candle (white or whatever color feels right), as well as three others - black, red, and white, to be lit during the ritual; a flower (fully opened - preferably a rose - of whatever color seems appropriate to you), which becomes the symbol of your lost one; It is best to perform this "Rite of Release" when the Moon is at Her darkest, before She is renewed.

Begin by lighting the central candle, and, if you wish, performing a ritual of purification, then proceed with these words:


"It is the way of Life that all living beings, whether early or late, come unto Death, that in Time, they may come round again to circle into Life."

Pick up and hold, cradle if you wish, the flower (rose or whatever you chose), for symbolically, this is your lost loved one.


"And so unto death have you gone, my little one, heart of my heart, I will always remember the deep love that we shared, and will always share... like this flower, a thing of joy and beauty in all its glory, so you were for me a wondrous and magickal little being added to share the years of pleasure that we did. Thank you for your precious gift."


"Of the Triple Goddess, She Who Opens and Shuts All Doors, Lady of All Joys and Sorrows, I ask you:"

(light the black candle)


"That the Crone lovingly fly you to Summerland wrapped in the softest black feathers."

(light the red candle)


"That the Mother always comfort you in Her loving embrace."

(light the white candle)


"That the Maiden always smile brightly upon you."


"Know that there will always be an empty place under my heart that cannot be filled, where your memory shall dwell forever. I bid you a pleasant journey, and a peaceful sojourn. Rest well, be renewed, and return again when you are ready."


"Fare thee well, until we meet again."
Extinguish only the central candle. Take the flower and go outside to some special site you have chosen, where you have prepared a hole, and bury the flower there, saying these words as you do:


"As this hole is filled, so let my wound be healed. For even as this flower returns to Mother Earth, to return again some day as Life, so will you, my little one. And as leaf and stem and petal are drawn back into the Womb, so let my grief be drawn in, to return again one day as joy."

The black, red, and white candles shall be left lit on the altar to burn themselves out.