A Guide To Graveyard Work

A Guide to Graveyard Work

One of the earliest introductions I had to spirit work as a baby witch was graveyard work. In short, this practice involves building relationships with the deceased spirits of a graveyard, by communicating, leaving offerings and being mindful of their space. It is part of a wider practice known as death work, but this focuses specifically on how to enter and respect what is essentially the 'home' of the spirits you are working with. You can further build on your practice from this.

This is a handy guide to the different aspects of the practice, looking into the appropriate offerings and etiquette, written with a lot of love.

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Graveyard Etiquette

There are rules you must follow in graveyards, whether for your personal safety, out of politeness, or following the law of your country. Sometimes these overlap. But sometimes, the rules you hear might be no more than baseless superstition, which there is a lot of concerning graveyards. There are way too many superstitions to list, however -

Some good rules to follow are:

Don't begin this work with the intention of taking from the graveyard or using the spirits in your practice. In the same way you wouldn't take from a stranger, it's important to build a relationship before you ask for things.

Try not to stand on graves where possible, out of respect for the dead but also those mourning them. Sometimes, graveyards are set up so that it is impossible to go anywhere without stepping on something, which is okay so long as you're not intending disrespect. However, do be wary that headstones can fall and the ground can shift.

Some people believe you shouldn't take any photos of the graves. I personally think that if the grave is old enough, it doesn't matter too much. If the grave is modern, it might be inappropriate for those in mourning to see you taking photos.

You can clean up trash, but be mindful of what might be considered trash. Obvious thrown-away food and drink packaging might be appropriate to clean up, but what if someone left a deceased one's favourite food at their grave? Or what if you decide to get rid of a toy or letter left there? Try to avoid cleaning up around the actual graves and focus on cleaning near the gates or in empty areas.

Don't trespass! If the cemetery has set entry times, enter and leave only within those times. Don't jump the fence, and don't enter any areas that are clearly gated or off-limits.

Leave an offering when asking to take something from the cemetery grounds. I don't feel it necessary to leave an offering each time you enter, especially if you plan on visiting often. But, if you want to take something like graveyard dirt or plants growing there, leave an offering for sure. And make sure to ASK. If you feel wrong, it's a no.

If you EVER find anything askew in a graveyard, such as vandalism, theft, or even dug up bones (it happens, I've found them before) PLEASE report it straight to the groundskeeper, associated church, or relevant authorities. It is not your responsibility to attempt to fix these things, or take things for yourself.

Offerings

You can leave offerings at the gate, or on specific graves if you want to work directly with that spirit. You don't always need to leave an offering, but it is a good thing to do when building a relationship and especially when asking to take from the site.

Some good offerings are:

Coins, especially two coins. There is a belief that the two coins are placed on the eyes of the deceased to pay the ferryman taking them over the river Styx. This has been maintained as a tradition.

Flowers. Even better if you look into Victorian flower symbolism for older grave sites and base your offering on this.

Origami. I would often fold multiple tiny cranes and leave them as offerings on individual graves. The best part is they are biodegradable.

I would be wary of leaving any kind of food or drink, as you might attract animals or even cause harm to the ecosystems living there. The same goes for anything made of plastic or that could hurt an animal.

Natural items such as seashells, feathers or stones are great, safe options for offerings.

You could also burn a candle or incense, but remember to stay with them while they burn and make sure they are extinguished when you leave.

Offerings don't have to be physical - you could say a few kind words, sing to them, or even just dedicating time to sit with the dead or talk with them can be an offering in itself.

Protection

I personally don't go into my practice thinking I could get possessed or followed by a demon at any given moment. However, I do think it's important to remember that graveyards can be full of a lot of upset, angry, and occasionally malevolent energies. Even if you don't intend to, these energies can attach to you or be taken home by you and can make you feel off.

Here are some ways you can protect yourself:

Cleanse yourself before and after entering a cemetery, even just by meditating and visualising or by using incense.

Check out my post on shielding techniques, and try to familiarise yourself with the visualisation techniques until you feel comfortable doing them.

Charm an item of clothing, such as a piece of jewellery, as an amulet to ward against negative energies that you can wear.

Find or create a protective sigil or rune that you can draw on something or on yourself.

You can pray to any deities you work with to ask for protection, especially if these deities are associated with death or spirits.

Communication

People who practice death work might communicate with the dead in different ways. They might be clairvoyant, use divination, feel energies or sometimes even just know what the spirits are saying. In any sense, spirit communication is a skill that is very much required in this practice. @koscheys-skull said it best here. You need good communication skills, in the sense that you are still talking to PEOPLE. And you need to go in with good intentions. If you are going in purely with the intention of using the dead for your own benefit, you won't get very far. If you can't talk to and actively listen with some semblance of empathy, you won't get very far. Death work is not an aesthetic, it is not for you to take your emo photos and be disrespectful. it is a serious, difficult and tolling practice that takes a lot of time and refining.

If you have gotten this far, I wish you all the best. It is a difficult but ultimately fulfilling part of spirit work, and if you are ready to dedicate the time and effort to it, you will get a lot out of it.

Thanks for reading! Please visit my tags for more guides, and feel free to reach out with requests for more information. Lots of love.

Planetary Aid TLDR;

The Moon will help you find balance and become in tuned with your emotions. 

The Sun will help you to be confident and aid in your success. 

Mercury will help you when you are traveling or need to study. 

Venus will help you become compassionate and form partnerships. 

Mars will help to set your goals into action and give you a boost of energy. 

Jupiter will help you to become prosperous and improve your luck. 

Saturn will help you to be determined but also to serve justice. 

Uranus will help you to improve your intuition and promote higher thinking. 

Neptune will help to expand your mind and decipher your dreams.

Pluto will help you when you need to change your ways and to reveal all that is hidden.

compiled from my personal grimoire & based on my own associations

updated version [2024]

Airmed Deity Guide

Who is Airmed?

Airmed, also spelled Airmid is a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and an Irish goddess with all of the knowledge of herbalism. She is mentioned in the Second Battle of Magh Tuiredh as she healed those who were injured in the battle. Airmed is one of the deities whose incantations was said to resurrect the dead when sung over the Well of Sláine.

Parents and Siblings

Her father is Dian Cecht, the god of medicine and healing

Her brother is Miach

Cu

Cethen

Cian

Étan the poet

Ochtriullach (Octriuil)

Lovers or Partners

None or not mentioned

Children

None or not mentioned

Epithets

None mentioned, though her name may be an epithet of a forgotten name itself

Notes

Following the death of her brother caused by their own father due to his jealousy over his son’s healing talents, Airmed goes to visit the grave of Miach. There she found 365 herbs and was taught their secrets to healing. She spread out her cloak and began to organize them but before she could finish the task her father found her. Jealous again of his child’s talents he picked up the cloak and scattered the herbs, leaving their sacred knowledge lost to history. Only Airmed remembers all of the herbalist knowledge.

The significance of the number 365 may have been as such: “one for each of his joints and sinews, one for each day of the year, one for each illness that ever had been or ever would be.” (Story Archeology)

Well of Sláine essentially translates to “Well of Health”

Airmed and Miach are both etymologically linked to measurements of grain or cereal. Airmed is more of a measurement and Miach is more of the thing being measured (Story Archeology).

In Old Irish, there were no distinctions made between herbs and vegetables and they were generally all considered “useful plants”.

This would make sense as Airmed’s story involves her organizing and counting these useful plants.

I HIGHLY suggest you look into Story Archeology because the hosts of the podcast go into detail about the etymology and possible meanings behind the story of Airmed.

Modern Deity Work

Keep in mind that due to the very little information left about Airmed, most of this modern deity work will be influenced by those who work with her in modern times.

Correspondences

Rocks/Stone/Crystals

Quartz, amethyst, opal, agate (moss agate), jasper, silver

Herbs/Plants

You could argue that all of them—or at least 365 of them—correspond to Airmed as she is an herbalist

Healing herbs specifically

Self Heal (prunella vulgaris)

Animals

Snakes (sometimes associated with healing as well as waters in Celtic mythology)

Symbol

Mortar and Pestle

Healing Wells

Offerings

Herbs, especially those native to Ireland

Donate to local medical facilities

Any of the above

Acts of Devotion

Learn Herbalism

Practice healing or medicine

Pay respects to those in medical careers

Volunteer at medical centers

Possibly looking into necromancy as she is known to bring the dead back to life (though this is a stretch)

References and Further Reading

Most of these are going to be UPG or similar and not based much in history but I’m trying to add as many as possible for those interested in further looking into this diety.

Airmid (Wiki)

Airmed the Celtic Goddess (Claudia Merill)

Airmid (Amino)

Mythical Women 04: The Story of Airmed (Story Archeology Podcast)

The Celtic Goddess Airmid (The Cottage Mystic)

bruh why are transphobic radfems following me this is not a safe space for you

1920’s French perfume bottle

Midsummer Night or Iris (John Atkinson Grimshaw, 1876)