Many Wiccan funeral poems invoke a sense of tradition, transition, and hopefulness about life and death, making them ideal for remembering family and friends during a funeral or memorial service.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Wiccan Funeral Poems for Parents or Grandparents
- Wiccan Funeral Poems for a Sibling
- Wiccan Funeral Poems for a Friend
- Short Wiccan Funeral Poems for a Eulogy or Prayer Card
- More Wiccan Funeral Poems
Below you'll find elements of color, imagery, and emotion tied in some way to each of the poems. Look for one that features your loved one's role or practices to better advocate for them throughout their transition.
Wiccan Funeral Poems for Parents or Grandparents
The poems below represent colors and transitioning, including one about invocating the Horned God for protection.
1. "Summerland" by Betty Johnson
Johnson's "Summerland" works as a poem for a family's matriarch, one whose wisdom and patience guided her family and loved ones, including her beloved pets. Close beside was respect for Mother Earth — she knew that caring for the Earth meant caring for her family, too.
2. "Color My World White" by Ridge Mayberry
Mayberry's poem praises the color white for its properties of purity, wisdom, and selflessness. So, it may work for the patriarch whose hereditary line imparted white magic on the family.
“A newborn baby, crying his way into the world,
The final breath of an old man, as he passes into Summerland,
The calming sound of the ocean, as it breaks on the shore.”
3. "Beloved" by Jemmy Farmer
Famer's poem is sad but hopeful. On the tragic side, it's about finding the strength to go the road alone without the parental figure you called for advice or support when in need. Yet, hope shines through when referencing Summerland, the place where you'll meet again.
4. "Wolf Dance" by Ban Sidhe
In every season, Ban Sidhe offers something to honor or rejoice in as the world moves from winter to autumn. Life maneuvers through slumber, seed, love, harvest, and birth. But not far behind is the shadow of death.
5. "The Charge of the Horned God" by Rufus Harrington
MacLellan and Cross's compilation of authors in The Wanton Green includes a poem from Rufus Harrington. It'll work for invocations, meditations, ceremonies, and other instances where you'd want to call on Cernunnos to protect your loved one throughout transitioning into the cycle of death.
Wiccan Funeral Poems for a Sibling
Legacy, loss, and remembrance are all themes in the poems below. Look to the final verse for one that highlights these themes.
6. "This is Your Legacy" by Sammy S. Quence
"This is Your Legacy" could work in the previous section, but it also works for that sibling who achieved great things in their lives through family, community, or work. Here are a few poignant lines:
“Either you can define yourself
Or let others define you
This is your Legacy
Live it well for all its worth.”
7. "Flowers on a Lamp Post" by Malcolm Bradshaw
Malcolm Bradshaw's poem, "Flowers on a Lamp Post," describes the tragic death of someone on a roadside. Though the poet doesn't know the person who died, it still works as a poem if you're now caring for any loved ones left behind.
8. "Remember Me" by Keltiad
"Remember Me" is about transitioning from taking one's last breath to rebirth with the stags and deer. It's Keltiad's reminder that life is ever-transitioning and that there's so much joy and freedom to find when walking as "nature's child".
9. "Elegy for a Dead Witch" by Doreen Valiente
Valiente's "Elegy" finds sadness in loss but comfort in what waits ahead. Valiente recognizes that there will be cause for celebration when they've reunited again though the witch is gone.
“To think that we will wait another life
To drink wine from the horns and leap the fire.
Farewell from this world, but not from the Circle”
10. "A Lunar Goddess Trifecta" by Cinder Frost
"A Lunar Goddess Trifecta" tells the story of Selene, who is one of the three moon goddesses. She is the personification of the moon and the one who drives a chariot across the heavens.
In Wicca, she's connected to the moon and the color white and once linked with the soul's destination.
Wiccan Funeral Poems for a Friend
In the poems below, Summerland is either a destination or an experience. Choose one suitable for both your friend's practices and the feeling you want to give to any attending mourners.
11. "Pagan Eulogy" by Clive Culverhouse
Culverhouse's poem recognizes that life is not over simply because one has died. In his poem, life continues in the things you can see and hear—anything that is part of nature. But, more importantly, that life, love, and friendship was nature's borrowed gift.
“Of flesh and blood
that nature gives to our breath
must one day be given back
for life was lent by Earth's hand
and now it is returned.”
12. "Summerland" by Micah Coulter
"Summerland" references midnight dances under the moon while listening to crickets and frogs in the meadows and woodlands.
Coulter relishes this time because it's the one place you can let your dreams feel like reality.
13. "This is My Summerland" by Sammy S. Quence
"This is My Summerland" will work if you're seeking a poem to maintain a connection with a deceased friend.
Quence describes that peaceful place that is more near to a Summerland than far. It's a place of safety and shelter, bravery and peace.
14. "Sunset over Lake Ontario" by Kathryn Hinds
Because Hinds explores ideas of transitions in her poem, "Sunset Over Lake Ontario," it'll work as the metaphor for evolving from life into death.
“Walking through the white sweet clover to the road,
we savor what we have tasted —
our world transfigured, transformations far beyond
our human reach, yet reaching us — and wonder
what we would be if we closed all our days
silently watching the sky into night.”
Short Wiccan Funeral Poems for a Eulogy or Prayer Card
The poems below uniquely represent Summerland, including that of color attribution and extensive use of imagery.
15. "Back to the Summerland" by Vee Bdosa
In "Back to the Summerland," Bdosa writes, "Your understanding is your final breath / And life begins in what we think is death."
So, it'll work for a eulogy or prayer card if your goal is to offer hope to those who are mourning.
16. "Lost in the Garden" by Dver Ki
In Wicca, the tree is the link between life and the afterlife—and the greater connection of all things.
The poem, therefore, offers a sense of courage at your loved one's eulogy. It's also short enough to fit a funeral card but symbolic sufficient to suit the ceremony.
17. "The Eternal Flame" by White Wolf
Wolf's poem suggests that life is a constant disequilibrium. The only persistent thing is the natural transition from life to death.
18. "Summerland" by Nigel Harrison
Nigel Harrison's poem is abundant with imagery, combining rhythm and pattern to this Earth. It's best written on a prayer card so your friends and loved ones can reread the words to gain their full value.
“Sunny in the star-wort the trout upstream
shelter their busy tail fins graced the flow
as diving coots splayed lobed toes to a gleam
that flecked white uncorked in pellucid glow.”
19. "Calmness in the Green" by Nigel Darwin Smith II
The color green represents healing and growth as much as it advocates for caring for the Earth. As such, the poem will work for your friend who wasn't only a Green Witch but who was also passionate about all things green.
More Wiccan Funeral Poems
Look for poems below to express love for a pet, the soul's freedom, and bursts of hope.
20. "Eulogy" by Crystal Dragon
As pet owners, the greatest despair is their short life with us. "Eulogy" recognizes that pain and seeks to bring you comfort by giving you hope to know they're patiently waiting for you when it's your time.
“I'll watch you from the other side,
I'll be the one running, new friends by my side.
Smile at my memory, remember in your heart,
This isn't the end, it's a brand new start.”
21. "In the Weeping Willow's Path" by Stefania Carmen Misaila
There are two main ideas at play in Misaila's poem. The first in the transition of life into Summerland. This is done with the spirit and support of the white willow tree anchored on the river's edge. The second is a connection to life still supported by nature even after death.
22. "Plato's Legacy" by Krow Fischer
Fischer's poem exposes the need for patterns and answers; they're a kind of power that binds you and keeps you from growing or knowing more than you could.
“Minstrels and mystics tell tales of the sun
Beset with derision before they've begun
Visions of Summerland, stories they've found
While the concepts of misery are keeping us bound.”
23. "Little Pagan Rain Song" by Frances Shaw
Shaw's poem reflects the way one would imagine a soul free from their body. In this case, the body listens to the rain quench the thirst of the grass above while the soul floats freely and above.
24. "Summerland" by Wicca Gurl
Wicca Gurl's "Summerland" works for a funeral poem because it's about transition and hope. In it, she explains that life is just a moment in time—and that's nothing to be sad about.
“We will meet again, in Summerland,
So when we die, cry not,
Reach out and grasp someone's hand,
After all the period at the end, is merely a dot.”
Wiccan Composition and Verse
Wiccan poetry may not be for everyone, but poetry can provide words at a funeral you can't find yourself. Whether you're planning on speaking at a funeral or you're attending as a guest, consider learning more about Wiccan funeral traditions.
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Sources:
- "The Charge of The Horned God." The Blog of Baphomet, The Blog of Baphomet. 10 January 2014. theblogofbaphomet.com.
- Culverhouse, Clive. "Pagan Eulogy." Poem Hunter, Poem Hunter, 23 January 2019. poemhunter.com
- Doreen Valiente, Doreen Valiente, n.d. doreenvaliente.com
- Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca. 2008. Visionary Living, Inc.
- Keltiad. "Remember Me." Pagan Transitions, Pagan Transitions, 2009. pagan-transitions.org.uk.
- MacLellan, Gordon & Cross, Susan. (Eds.). Wanton Green: Contemporary Pagan Writings on Place. 2012. Mandrake of Oxford.
- Mercatante, Anthony S., & Dow, James R. The Facts on File: Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend. 2004. Facts on File.
- “Wiccan Poetry.” All Poetry, All Poetry, n.d. allpoetry.com