The Passing of Piastra - In Memoriam

[Bracken]

Dear Piastra,

You have been instrumental in teaching me how to speak my mind fearlessly over the past year.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[Adam]

She gave me some great advice and help when I wrote about the use of telling/creating stories to heal. Funny, insightful and wise. Selfishly, I would have like to have known her more, though I am pleased that she is free to take the next stage of transformation... my heart goes to those who she has left behind.

[Fae]

As I sit here reading these posts, with tears streaming down my face and a pain in my heart. I too remember joining the board many moons ago, and reading the lovely pub crawls that Crow, Beith, Pepper, Copperlion, Merlyn and Donata would write up..and I would just sit on the branch of the oak tree outside the door of the pub, wishing I could find the words to participate.

Pepper understood the disconnect between my brain (thoughts) and my hand (written word) and she reached out and befriended me all those years ago. I knew what I saw on the board (firery) and what was real (gentle and caring) was the true Pepper.

We explored and shared our lives past, present and future. We found out that we were kindred sisters of the same tribe in times past, and like Aracos I have not felt her passing yet.

Also, like Crow I know she would have marched right up to the veil and entered with the great spirit that she is. All will know of her coming.

Just a few short weeks ago she asked me to resend bloodmoon to her as she wanted to listen to it on Samhuinn and she had lost her copy in her move. I hope she had the opportunity to hear it one more time.

Peace to you my friend, I have lit the candle on my Brighid altar in memory of you and I will continue to tend the flame.

[Claer]

How is possible for one like Piastra to pass and not feel it? That's what my immediate thought on reading this thread was.

Piastra was the person who encouraged me to become a flame tender with Ord Brighideach, following a discussion between us of a particular meditation I had last Imbolc. It is my shift right now. On my altar a flame is now lit for her also.
I can only say "Thank you, and may you travel in peace."

[Robb Hawklord]

I shall drink some mead to you tonight Pepper, many many times these last few weeks you have come into my thoughts, now I know why. Blessings on your journey.

[Maethydd]

Although I didn't know her, i can see the grief that's present, and my heart and thoughts go out to you all and my blessings on her safe passing.

[Fae]

For those to use as they wish.

For Pepper’s voyage to the Summerlands

Setting up your altar – in a way to remember Pepper. I will use and call the dragons of the 4 quarters, as well as light a central candle in this case Mother Earth. As we were both attached to the dragons I will call them to this ritual

Cast your circle in a way that is comfortable for you!

Call the quarters:

EAST – (Turning to face East)
O great dragon of air, who guards the gateway of the east, bringing insight and vitality to our circle: come, join our ritual and reveal thy inspiration.
Hail and welcome!

SOUTH – (Turing to face South)
O great dragon of fire, who guards the gateway of the south, bringing energy and power to our circle: come, join our ritual and reveal thy power.
Hail and welcome!

WEST – (Turning to face West)
O great dragon of the sea, who guards the gateway of the west, bringing the hidden into light: come, join our ritual and reveal thy light.
Hail and welcome!

NORTH – (Turning to face North)
O great dragon of the earth, who guards the gateway of the north, bringing self-discovery to our circle: come, join our ritual and reveal thy enlightenment.
Hail and welcome!
May the harmony of our circle be complete.

Lighting the central candle say some words to/for Pepper

I light this candle to help you on your way, may you enter the Summerlands, with the vigour, enthusiasm and fire with which you entered life.

May your memory live always in my heart and mind, that I might never forget the ways of someone so dear to me.

Your body will in death, return to our mother, to rest and rejuvenate preparing to join us again. Out of death and decay, comes rebirth. Take care my friend.

Take time to have a quiet meditation before releasing the dragons.

NORTH – (Turning to face the north)
In the name of the guardian dragon of the element of earth, we thank the powers of the North.
Farewell and peace!


WEST – (Turning to face the west)
In the name of the guardian dragon of the element of water, we thank the powers of the West.
Farewell and Peace!

SOUTH – (Turning to face the south)
In the name of the guardian dragon of the element of fire, we thank the powers of the South.
Farewell and Peace!

EAST – (Turning to face the east)
In the name of the guardian dragon of the element air, we thank the powers of the East.
Farewell and Peace!
May the harmony of the land be complete.

Blow out your central candle and uncast your circle.

[Dryadia2]

Thank you for sharing the beautiful ritual, Fae.
I also shared a connection with Pepper and dragons. I included a dragon candleholder, and 72% intense dark chocolate in my ceremony, to bid her farewell.

With Love, Respect, Gratitude, and Happy Memories of Pepper,
/|\

[Loosh]

I think I had a premontion of her passing in October. I saw a falling star. I know that sometimes you make a wish, but at the time I felt that someone I knew was going to pass over. I am very lucky that I was able to communicate with her a few more times before the event.

I will miss her humor and warm spirit but will look for her elsewhere...in the flame

[Alferian]

Thanks to all who have posted here. I myself am still in shock and grieving. I always hesitate to share my visions of signs and portents or communications with those who are of other worlds, and I do think that we all must expect to feel Chalcedoni's passing in our own way. Passage to the other world, despite what the death of the body suggests, is not something fixed at a particular moment in time. It is something eternal and beyond time.

Nevertheless, for me, Chalcedoni came to me almost as soon as I heard the news. She was probably waiting for my mind to be opened, to be receptive to her presence. I won't speculate on what she is up to, but it occurred to me that we are not without a suitable portent for her. As many of you must know, the comet "Holmes" has been erupting and growing to be one of the brightest objects in our solar system. On October 24th it lost its tail and became a million times brighter so that it is visible to the naked eye, passing on an arc through the constellation Perseus, from our point of view.

Intuition tells me this is significant. It certainly marks the time of Chalci's passing. The comet is still growing brighter and astronomers are watching with interest to see what it's next trick will be, as they've never seen this happen before. A Samhuinn star.

Perseus, you may recall, was the son of Danae and Zeus and was sent to slay the Gorgon Medusa. Reading about Perseus, I was reminded that one of the old names for the Mycenean Hellenes is the "Danaans." How close this is to the Gaelic Tuatha Dé Danann, the people of Danu, who is sometimes considered to be the druidic Great Mother.

Well, with a score or so of foster kids, over the years, there is no question that Pepper was a great mother, and as these memories posted here attest, she was always a great Celtic woman warrior. She wanted to join her tough and wise Aunties and more than once expressed a desire to have done with a life that had worn out her body, so she could move and live more freely. I have the privilege of calling her my anam cara too, a soul-friend, a dear one. We share a particular attachment to owls.

When Pepper came to me yesterday, she said what she has long said to me, in nearly every email: that I need to get my books finished and published, particularly my book on wandlore, which is just about ready to send off. So, with a prod like that, I had better get cracking. The think about passing into the Otherworlds is that a person is actually closer to you than he or she was before, when space separated you. The Otherworld is always there, figuratively beyond the veil. Chalcedoni was never one to be shy about casting aside anything so insubstantial as a veil to have her say.

She joins my own spirit guides and guardians and I expect to be seeing a lot of her. I expect many of you will too.

I think it is worth considering too how this news came to us right before Thanksgiving Day (in the States), and we would do well to remember Chalci at table with thanksgiving and joy and feel blessed to have her in our hearts.

/|\

[greymore]

Piastra
an inspiration
in life and in death

[Selene]

I've been having a very hard time trying to put words together here. I can't say I was surprised at her passing—as Crow says, Piastra had been ready to cross over for quite some time—but I was shocked. It's always a shock, I guess, to lose a friend, even when the actual loss is expected.

Piastra, then known as Chalcedoni, was one of the first who befriended me when I took my first tentative steps on this board. We burned miles of electrons in PMs and e-mails and I wish we could have met in person. We always thought we would some day...share some tea and chocolate and a lot of laughs. Alas, that will have to wait for another lifetime.

Gruff though she may have seemed at times on the board, her off-board personality was one of great humor, warmth, and empathy. She held my hand through my husband's various health crises, wept with me over the loss of a beloved cat, and shared joys and jokes as readily as she shared sorrow.

I will miss her very much but I am so relieved that she is no longer in pain, held down by an ailing body.

Farewell, Daughter of the Stones. Your time here was brief, but you made every minute of it count. May your spirit dance in the Summerlands until you step out onto the Wheel once more.

[shirley mclaren]

Blessings for the journey and life to come Piastra.

BB

Shirley

[Susan Jones]

I had known she was very ill for some time, but that doesn't lessen the sadness.

It was almost 5 years ago to the day when Pepper first introduced herself to me. I grew fond of her as we met up at various points along her path through the OBOD course. Yes, she could be pre-emptively scarey - expecting to be given as good as she gave. But she was generous, encouraging, playful and loyal. With Pepper you could feel as happy as the cub of a great lioness.

In April this year, ill as she was, she entered OBOD Druid grade. So she left this life, only age 51, but leaves so much to so many people - for me it's her inspiring confidence of other lives past and future.

I have written to the family.

Beith's idea of a memorial 'best of Pepper' sounds a lovely idea, and I have a contribution ready.

Peace to those who grieve here, know that you were to her dear friends.

Susan

[DaRC]

As for others there is shock and grief at the loss at her passing.

I shall miss her 9x9 and her PM tales of life in Alaska.
It explains that nagging feeling I'd had at the end of Oct that I should contact her...
<shakes head sadly>

Travel true to the Summerlands Piastra / Chalcedoni

Please add my condolences to her family

[GreenOak]

[Alferian]

Dear friends,

I thought I should pass on a little more about how Piastra passed on. Her daughter tells me that she apparently died in her sleep on Nov. 2nd. According to her express wishes, her body was cremated and her three biological children (1 daughter, 2 sons) each have some of her ashes.

As most of you knew, she had just moved from Alaska back to Ohio to be closer to medical facilities and family. An island off the Alaskan coast, beautiful thought it is, can be inconvenient. According to her daughter, all her worldy goods are still pretty much in Alaska or in transit yet. That seems a bit symbolic to me, somehow.

Pepper was looking forward to Samhuinn as her "spriitual birthday" because that was the day she took the definitive step upon the druidic path through the forest of life. It strikes me that all of her friends know different things about her and her life. She shared different facets with each of us. I remember that she first contacted me when she was looking into druidry and I recommended that she check out OBOD. Susan said that was five years ago. My goodness, it seems much, much longer ago than that!

It does strike me that it might be nice to collect her letters and edit them as a book. Not every little thing, of course, and perhaps many are too personal to be shared. But she was a woman of letters and it seems to me that it would be an interesting and heartening way to bring together all the threads of her many friendships so that all of us together can share a bit. I would be interested to hear from any of you who, like me, have volumes of correspondence with Pepper, and hear what you think of the idea. Don't reply here, but send me an e-mail note or a p.m. to let me know if you think it a good idea or a bad one or whatever. It will, partly be up to her family too, of course.

I suspect that she also kept journals and notebooks and as I have literally dozens of boxes of such stuff of my own, I am accutely aware of what a difficulty it might present to her children who may have no time to read it or no place to store it, or not even what to read them because they are too private. A person's private papers, it seems to me, are best left private for some time after they are gone, but they ought to be preserved and cared for.

Anyway, just some further thoughts. She Herself is standing over my shoulder now telling me to get back to work editing my book manuscript.

-- Alferian

[Philip]

To Chalcedoni...

Many many blessings as you travel to the Summerlands. The love that travels with you is palpable - how wonderful that you have so many friends.

Blessings!

Philip /|\



Good ideas Alferian!

[Ruthie]

Momma?
Momma Duck?

What am I going to do now, momma? You kinda took over after my first one died, you saw me through all the big stuff in a woman's life that she sorta needs a momma for.

You silly thing I remember you chattering away with a certain pair of overseas guests while they visited me. Neither of them know about you leaving us, and I don't know how to tell them.

You'd say to just tell them, try to be gentle, but you'd be right, they'd deserve to know.

I hope you finally got that flange-bracket off your ankle; the one from Gorn's dishwasher (I still don't want to know how a dishwasher's flange bracket got caught round your ankle) when I first met you, in the 'Duck, those aeons ago. I remember us all trying, Merlin hit it with his staff, and I rained on it, and we even poured some of that unlabelled stuff on it, but it wouldn't budge. I think it was gnomes or leprechauns finally got it off, and the price for that was high, too.

I really appreciated how you told me that going slow in my lessons was neither good nor bad, it was simply how I went.

And now I guess I'm kinda glad you said not to come when I told you I wanted to visit you in Ohio next week.

I miss you Momma Duck. I hope you can come to my dreams sometime, I think you are probably reading this somehow, because it'd be something you'd do. I'm happy the pain and all that stuff is finally done, that's real good.

I have a good life now, Momma. You did a very good job of "take-over mom" for me, and I'm so grateful, but you knew that. I told you all the time.

I love you so much. I miss you.

Your little Quackling.

[Fitheach]

What a magical woman, Chalcedoni. Daughter of Stones, Fiery Dragon Spirit, Mamma Duck. To me she was my sister in the Raven Tribe, and our spirits soared and met in that form. She was always availalbe to offer encouragement, talk me out of depression, take up the sword and fight for a worthy cause, prompt us into action. Truly a large soul. I never met her physically, yet she was a great presence in my life. We haven't lost her, friends. I can hear her communicate with us even within this thread. She is now one of our beloved guides, and will be there to greet us when we pass into the Summerlands ourselves.

Thank you, Fae, for the ritual. Michael and I will be performing it in her honor this Thanksgiving. I am so thankful that I knew her, and that her spirit is still close.

I love the idea of a collection of her writings, Alferion. By sharing what our experiences with her, we will all have a chance to get to know her even better.

May Brigid light her way.