The Wild Hunt (https://wildhunt.org/tag/cancer)
What does Ásatrú theology have to tell us about end-of-life issues? How does it help us to understand our experiences as we care for those with growing cognitive issues and as we develop those issues ourselves?
“When I got some energy back, I sat down to tend my altars. The small chores of cleaning, sorting, and reorganizing took all of my attention. As I worked, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the tattoo had changed something, had somehow shown that I was serious enough to have some credit.” Luke Babb writes on the lessons and absences that made up their December holidays in 2021.
[Today journalist Terence Ward shares an interview with a Pagan doctor who is helping other magic-workers and healers understand cancer. If you enjoy articles like this, please consider donating to The Wild Hunt. We are now at 44% with 10 days left. You make it possible for us to continue to provide a platform for our communities’ important news. What better way to celebrate the October season: Donate to a news organization that is, in part, for and about modern Witches.
Modern Paganism has matured to where we now have rituals and specialists to help us deal with many of life’s changes and challenges from a religious standpoint. The happy events were first. We have clergy ready to help us get married or handfasted; midwives to assist us in giving birth, and perform naming ceremonies for babies. We also have rituals and spiritual specialists for the tough times. There are ceremonies used for divorce; and we have specific funeral rites. We also have prison and military chaplains, and a growing number of death midwives to help ease us from this world to the next.
Cancer. Coming from a doctor’s mouth, it can be a terrifying word. Cancer can kill, and even with medical advances, the treatments can be life-altering. And, some cancers and their treatments can strike at the heart of a patient’s identity. One small Pagan community was recently confronted with the reality that two of its members are in different stages of cancer treatment.