The Spiritual Meaning of the Ten of Swords Tarot Card

The Ten of Swords can be a scary card to pull in a reading. But there’s more to this card than meets the eye. What is the spiritual meaning of the Ten of Swords tarot card?

Lessons from Persephone, the Goddess of the Underworld Call

While the common retelling of Persephone’s story may seem heartbreaking, a deeper, more powerful truth lies within.

Lessons from Inanna, the Goddess of the Underworld Journey

The story of this ancient Mesopotamian goddess can teach us important wisdom about the inevitability of death and the changing of the seasons.

Try a Light Transmission Ritual to Strengthen Your Relationships

One author experienced a light transmission ritual and shares how its power can help us navigate and heal relationships.

Cloud Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown

After a compelling conversation with author Perdita Finn, Rabbi Rami considers what he wants done with his body after death.

A Lunar Eclipse Ritual to Unlock Your Personal Mysteries

A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth casts a shadow on the moon. In the same way, this ritual helps you visualize and learn from your own shadow.

6 Ways to Support Grieving, From a Death Doula

A grief coach and death midwife offers six ways for us to support ourselves while we are grieving.

How to Get in Touch with the Energy of Late Summer

The coming of fall doesn’t have to be a hard transition. Honor the magic of the end of summer with an altar, rituals, crystals, and affirmations.

What Is a Cord-Cutting Ritual, and How Can It Help Your Relationships?

A cord-cutting ritual may be exactly what you need to revitalize your relationships and attachments. Learn more about the benefits of this practice.

A Ritual for Lughnasadh

Celebrate Lughnasadh, a pagan summer harvest festival, with an earth-centered ritual. Enjoy the abundance of late summer and honor the ancestors.

A Sensory Awakening Ritual for Couples

Delight your partner in a curated journey of sensual delights to open the body, mind, and heart for whatever may follow.

A Ritual for Litha

Celebrate Litha, a summer solstice festival, with a simple fire ritual. Delight in the longest day of the year and enjoy the fruits of the season.

Podcast: Andrea Sherman, Practices for Shattered Nights

How can life’s most difficult struggles also be blessings? Andrea Sherman explains, and shares her own experience with Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder and how it's affected her spirituality.

Podcast: Chip Conley, The Time of Our Lives

How can we each become modern elders and begin to enjoy the opportunity of midlife? Chip Conley explains, and shares why its important to preserve the heart of spirituality and ritual.

A Goddess Ritual for Falling in Love with Yourself

In need of empowerment? Try a ritual—call on the Great Devi to help see yourself through the eyes of love.

Podcast: Rev. Wendy Van Allen, Relighting the Cauldron

How do we find spirituality in nature, and what has extinguished our connection to the Earth? Rev. Wendy Van Allen explains how humanity has related to nature in the past, and what we can do to save our future.

A Beltane Ritual for Hope, Possibility, and Creativity

Celebrate this springtime holiday with a ritual for inviting in creative energy and blessings.

Film Review: More Than Ever

A Ritual for Shedding Negativity

Release the negative, celebrate the positive, and find resilience even in challenging times with this ritual.

5 Protection Rituals for Highly Sensitive People

Highly sensitive people feel everything deeply. If you’re an HSP, learn how to cleanse and protect your personal energy to avoid overwhelm.

A Goddess Ritual to Release and Manage Anger

Feeling overwhelmed by anger and challenged by vexing people and situations? Call upon the Hawaiian goddess Pele to help you honor your emotions.

Attending to Your Pet’s Body After Death

The loss of a pet can be profoundly impactful, leaving us to make hard choices about their body. Explore our animal chaplain’s advice for what happens after our animal companions pass.

A Ritual for Ostara: Welcoming Spring

Ostara is the springtime pagan holiday celebrating equal day and night and the return of the sun. Celebrate with this uplifting springtime ritual.

A Powerful DIY Ritual to Help Heal Ambiguous Grief

For those of us grieving changed relationships with living loved ones, a faux funeral may be the key to healing. Explore what ambiguous grief is and how this ritual can help.

A Goddess Ritual for Peace and Wellbeing

In times of global unrest and personal distress, call to the beloved Buddhist goddess Green Tara to help you find peace and ease.

An Imbolc Fire Ritual

Honor the pagan festival of Imbolc with a simple ritual designed to release the heaviness of winter and invite in the healing fire of springtime.

Aging With Cats and Dogs

Our resident animal chaplain explores the complexities of mortality as it regards our animal companions—and ourselves.

The Spiritual Meaning of the Death Tarot Card

Though the Death tarot card may not indicate literal death, it does forebode change. Explore the spiritual meaning of this misunderstood tarot card.

A Goddess Ritual for Sacred Aging

Let this ritual for the Great Mother, and your ancestral mothers, guide you into your wisdom years.

Working With the Norse Goddess Frigga for Empowerment

Frigga is one of the most beloved goddesses in the Norse tradition. Learn how working with Frigga can bring healing and empowerment—especially for matriarchs and mothers.

The Blessings of Being an Animal Caretaker

What lessons can be learned from a dying rescue duck? An animal caretaker offers her wisdom.

A Goddess Ritual for Soothing Anxiety

Experiencing anxiety? Find serenity and alleviate stress by performing a ritual to Lakshmi.

Can Trees Help Us Face Mortality?

By contemplating the heartwood at the center of trees, we can gain a greater respect for the impermanence of life.

3 Druid Fall Rituals to Honor the Earth

Use druid practices to honor fall in your own way.

An Autumn Harvest Moon Ritual

Delight in the goodness of autumn and let go of what no longer serves you with a full moon ritual.

A Goddess Ritual for Summoning Sensuality

Call upon Venus, the Roman goddess of love, to help you discover and delight in your inner sensual goddess.

Lessons From Extreme Rituals: An Interview With Dimitris Xygalatas, PhD

Why do so many ordinary people regularly participate in painful religious rites? Dr. Dimitris Xygalatas explores the answer.

An Autumn Equinox Ritual

Day Schildkret offers a Shake and Harvest Ritual. His newest book is Hello, Goodbye: 75 Rituals for Times of Loss, Celebration and Change.

To Dust You Shall Return: An Ash Ritual for All

Anyone can utilize the power of ash rituals to mark a transition in their lives.

Healing at Home: How to Have a Wake at Home

Having a wake at home for a lost loved one can help make the transition process more sacred.

Embracing Wisdom From Abuelas

Learn a few favorite strange-but-sage beliefs, traditions, and rituals from abuelas.

Podcast: Mara Branscombe, Ritual as Remedy

Find out how to turn your morning cup of coffee into a sacred ritual with ceremonialist Mara Branscombe and Rabbi Rami.

How Rituals Rewire Your Brain

While rituals may define us, we have a hard time defining them. Dig into the science of ritual.

A Ritual-Full Life

“Every time I have gathered in community ritual or personal ceremony, I have experienced a healing.”

What Is Love?

Rabbi Rami dives into deep spiritual waters on the nature of love, evil, truth, and more.

3 Limpias to Help You Find Love

Steep a variety of flowering plants and herbs for a literal and spiritual bath. Repeat the baño limpias to bring love into your life.

A Letting-Go/Calling-In Burn Ritual for the Full Flower Moon

Turn what’s holding you back to ash. Drink in the blossoming energy of the full Flower Moon.

Making Moon Water for the Super Blood Moon Eclipse

Discover how to infuse water with the moon’s energy during a super blood moon eclipse.

Remedying a Community Through Ritual With Mara Branscombe

Yoga, meditation, mysticism, and ritual are at the heart of Mara Branscombe’s Ritual as Remedy.

Bathing in Citrus Magick

Boost your immune system, your spiritual energy, or both with a citrus bath. Discover the benefits of specific citrus fruits.

Beltane Ritual for Couples

Honor your relationship throughout the Gaelic May Day festival with a Beltane ritual for couples.

Book Review: Ritual as Remedy

Gifts From the Departed

Accept gifts from your lost loved ones, even if doing so is difficult. A grief educator explains why.

3 Limpias to Turn Your Luck Around

Discover how to perform Mexican rituals known as limpias to reverse bad luck.

Ritual for the Full Pink Moon

Release winter energy and ignite spring fire with a ritual for the full Pink Moon.

How to Get Guidance From Your Dreams

Dreams respond well to engagement. Asking dreams for guidance is an ancient, widespread tradition, and easily accessible.

A Ritual for the Full Worm Moon

Are you ready to get down and dirty to tap into the energy of the full Worm Moon?

5 Ways to Lament and Acknowledge Grief

Acknowledge your grief and start to move past it with five lamentation practices.

A Blanketing Ritual for the Full Snow Moon

Explore the magical potential of the Snow Moon. Its safety and shelter can assist in letting go.

Winter Magick: 3 Balancing Rituals Using Snow

Snow’s dual energies of quietude and preparation make it excellent for rebalancing our energies.

Spiritual Fire: A Candle-Burning Ritual for Happiness

Ignite spiritual fire and attract joy with this revamped spin on an age-old practice.

Zenju Earthlyn Manuel Is Not Your Typical Soto Zen Buddhist Priest

Soto Zen Buddhist Priest Zenju Earthlyn Manuel wades through the muck of racism, sexism, and homophobia to empower practitioners.

A Ritual for an Imbolc New Moon

When a new moon coincides with the celebration of Imbolc, perform this ritual for new beginnings.

Death Awareness: Wrestling, Reflecting, and Revising the Final Act

Practicing death awareness need not be morbid. It can help you live your values more fully and cherish your life.

Future Field Trip: A Writing Ritual for Alignment and Inner Peace

Try this guided writing ritual to set intentions and meet your future self.

Winter Solstice Magic: A Spell for the Solar New Year

This ritual to invite winter solstice magic is best done sitting in a circle (real or virtual) with others.

Podcast: The Second Sight, When Coincidence Might Be Premonition

Where can the divide be drawn between premonition and coincidence?

Podcast: After Death Communication ... Don’t Be Afraid, You’re Not Alone

“I understood then that this was the point of the dream. That I was being shown this world as a guest, that my job was to witness, to validate its existence. Perhaps even report that I had seen it.”

Living in the Now Through Ritual

Let go of nostalgia and start living for today through ritual. "It is essential to our sense of belonging ... that we mark the moments of transition in our lives."

A Letting Go Ritual for Couples

Expressing and releasing a specific resentment makes space for love in this letting go ritual for couples.

Wonder Seeker’s Practices for Connecting With Nature

Discover 3 ways to actively seek wonder in the natural world around you.

Spiritual Meaning of the Full Moon

The full moon illuminates a time of heightened emotions and potent creativity.

Spirituality and Dying

“I don’t want to romanticize dying, but I do want to liberate it from the fears we foist upon it.”

Root & Ritual With Becca Piastrelli

Becca Piastrelli’s Root & Ritual explores ways for you to connect with your ancestors, the land, your community, and your Self through rituals, recipes, and ancestral wisdom.

Holding Death Close

“Holding death close serves as a continuous, gentle reminder that every moment I am alive is a special but limited opportunity.”

A New Moon Meditation for Abundance

The new moon brings about an opportunity for abundance and expansion. New moon meditation practice allows you to tap into this lunar phase of infinite possibility.

Spiritual Meaning of the Crescent Moon

The waning and waxing crescent moon offers two distinct paths to deepen your moon practice.

What Would Spirituality Look Like if We Could Live Forever?

Thanatology focuses on life extension, but what role would religion play in our lives if we no longer feared death?

Form a Goddess Circle, Find Your Sacred Self

Maiden, Mother, or Crone, there’s a goddess circle for you.

Embracing New Moon Energy

A new moon can be a time to plot change, plant seeds, and bathe in darkness.

Rethinking Burial: Burial Shrouds and More Ideas

Burial shrouds offer a better way to tend to the dead, according to one shroud-maker.

Complicated Grief: What Happens When You Can’t Go On

Complicated grief is more than the intense, acute grief almost everyone experiences after someone dear to them dies. It is prolonged and all-consuming.

Consumable Magic: A Ritual to Honor the Strawberry Moon

The beginning of summer is a time to rejoice in nature’s abundance. This ritual uses delicious strawberries to connect with love, good fortune, prosperity, sensuality, and fertility.

A Ritual for Summer Solstice and Father’s Day

The summer solstice occurring near Father’s Day is a powerful opportunity for exploring the balance of masculine and feminine within yourself.

Add Salt to Your New Moon Ritual

The combination of the lunar phase and the spiritual potency of salt amplify the power of this New Moon ritual.

Off the Screen and Up to the Stars

Media task-switching is linked to increased anxiety, depression, and mental exhaustion. Try this simple, 30-second ritual to establish positive associations with tech breaks.

Feeding Your Demons

A demon is a metaphor for anything that is taking your energy, be it fear, obsession, addiction, or something else.

The Spiritual Meaning of the Full Flower Moon

The May full moon marks a turning point, a movement into the bright, sunshiny half of the year.

10 Affirmations for Your Next Full Moon Ritual

Every full moon is a chance to metaphorically and physically drop anything that no longer serves you. It is a night to release negativity and practice gratitude.

Holding Difficult Emotions on Mother’s Day: A Ritual

Some have a simple and loving relationship with their mom. For others, Mother’s Day can be a day where we pull out our complex feelings about mothering and unpack them a little bit.

Father’s Final Words Not the Last Word

Psychotherapist Kevin Anderson offers advice to S&H readers. “As professionally prepared as you were for your father’s dying process, there are no credentials or letters after our names that can fully prepare us for losing a loved one.”

A Letter-Writing Burn Ritual for Healing

With this ritual, become an observer to your emotions surrounding loss, and release them into the universe.

Dr. Bruce Greyson Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal About Life and Beyond

What will you see on the precipice of death? Dr. Bruce Greyson explores what near-death experiences reveal about the afterlife in his book “After.”

Book Review: After

Having Just the Right Amount of Death Awareness

How much should we think about death? What’s too little or too much? “I try to stop figuring out if I believe in life after death and get back to believing in life before death.”

Refresh Body and Spirit With a Moon Practice

Does your New Year’s Resolution feel like a distant memory? The moon provides a monthly fresh start.

Throwing the Bones: Finding Your Future

What does the future hold? Consult with the ancestors about what's to come through a form of divination called bone casting. What will you learn by throwing the bones?

Rabbi Steve Leder on The Beauty of What Remains

After death, what remains? Rabbi Steve Leder discusses his book The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift.

Visits From a Mystical Messenger

The symbolic meanings of animals often vary from culture to culture. Different animals and their symbolism can serve as a great comfort and reminder that you are not alone, even in grief.

Winter Solstice Ritual and Meditation

Celebrate the coming of longer days with a winter solstice ritual.

Podcast: Dr. Lydia Dugdale on the Lost Art of Dying

Anticipating our mortality via the lost Medieval practice of ars moriendi.

Soul Companion: Journeying With Another At the End of Life

“Many therapists work to help clients create a better life—a Soul Companion works with clients to create a better death.”

Celebrating the Spiritual Meanings of Halloween

More than just candy and costumes: Halloween is a holiday that can, with a little thought, become deeply spiritual.

Questing for Ancient Ritual

A writer of historical fiction shares how she uncovered 2,000-year-old rituals that are still relevant today.

Laced With Grace

“I realized that avoiding death, so common in American culture, would not stop it. Instead, taking the time to thoughtfully and actively participate in her transition helped me join her in that state of grace she taught me so much about.”

Devotionals: Connecting With Unexpected Ancestors

Devotionals serve as a grounding presence during unprecedented times. “The practice of a daily devotion connects to the idea of spiritual reflection as a way to gain clarity and peace. Daily time for devotion creates inner peace, slows us down, and allows us to connect with the divine.”

Fall Is So Yin: Embracing Autumn Energy

“The fall/winter ... is full of yin energy, a darker, softer, slower energy. Now is the time to head indoors, eat warm cooked food, and get close to our loved ones.”

Dying Without Religion: The Existential Concern

Does a nonspecific spirituality (aka spiritual but not religious) suffice to address existential qualms at death's door?

The One Minute, Icy Cold Path of Awakening

If you stay warm and dry it will take 10 minutes.

Memento Mori: A Practice for Living

Memento Mori: Remember your death. It may seem grim, but it's an ancient practice meant to invigorate your life.

The Lost Art of Dying

Lydia Dugdale, author of The Lost Art of Dying, on the art of dying and why we should instead face our finitude squarely—while we still can.

A Norse-Inspired Sleep Hack

Try this 15-minute Norse-inspired ritual before bed for blissful sleep.

A Morning Practice to Find Your Purpose

This sweet morning practice will help you align with your purpose.

Gratitude Ritual for the New Moon

The new moon, fully inhabiting the shadow, offers a potent time for exploring gratitude for the rhythms of life.

A Prayer to Comfort Those Passing

In these heartbreaking times, being together during life's passages is often impossible. Rabbi Rami shares a prayer to bring comfort to those who are passing.

Death Is But a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning at Life's End

In his book Death Is But a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning at Life’s End, hospice doctor Christopher Kerr offers a glimpse into what happens at the end of life. “What the dying fear most is not death but the loss of a life they can recognize as their own. Ultimately, to die well is to humanize dying from an irredeemably grim reality to an experience which may also be rich in meaning and love.”

New Moon Meditation for Calling in What You Desire

New moons are traditionally about planting seeds, setting intentions for what you desire.

Moon Rituals: Tending Your Internal Garden

“New moons are related to water and fertility. Metaphorically, in the dark of the new moon, we pause to consider our desires, set intentions, and think about what we might want to put our energy into as the moon waxes towards full.”

Book Review: Death Is But a Dream

Living a Full Circle, Aging, and Coming to Terms With Death

“Could they imagine that the bikini scar left across my pelvis after my uterus was removed, leaving me childless, was the reason I was lying there?”

Ritual Connection: 5 Daily Practices to Strengthen Your Relationship

Connecting in small and simple ways is the lifeblood of relationships. Try these practices to stay close to one you love.

A Love Spell and Ritual for Valentine’s Day

“On Valentine’s Day, I want to focus on true love: the energy of power, desire, courage, intuition, and deep emotion. This spell invites that energy into our hearts while mindfully clearing whatever may stand in the way of that love.”

A Ritual for Honoring the Loss of a Human or Animal Companion

Rosemary has long signified deep friendship and lasting memories. This ritual for grief, built around rosemary, creates time and space for grieving and allows others to join and share the healing process.

Reconciling Faith and Science

“I found an email address for Philip through his publisher and wrote a long query asking him how a doctor who believes in God but also knows facts about certain diseases can honestly tell a terminal patient to have faith and believe and not give up. How can I pray for my patients when I already know how God is going to answer?”

A Ritual to Reclaim Dinner

Rather than thinking of dinnertime as a chore, create nightly dinner rituals to connect more with the loved ones around your table.

Build a Better Morning with Ayurveda

Integrative psychiatrist Judith Pentz, MD, shares six ways Ayurveda can rejuvenate mind, body, and spirit.

A Ritual to Reconnect With Your Ancestors

Try this ritual to invite connection with and guidance from your ancestors.

3 Steps to Get Your Writing Back on Track

Make your way through the season of life when writing seems impossible.

Find a Fresh Perspective Through Inversion

“Inversions allow us to rebel against the routines that dictate much of our world.” Take a new look at the world around you by flipping everything upside down.

3 Water Rituals to Reset Your Wild Spirit

Being near or immersed in water offers the opportunity to set an intention of cleansing on all levels.

Full Moon Ritual Bath

A ritual bath for self reflection and integration of our shadow selves.

You Don’t Need to Be Brave

“Bravery is the suppression or masking of fear but sharing one’s fear makes more sense to me.”

A Ritual for the Deeper Meaning of Halloween

Connect with the wisdom of this holiday, which comes between the fall equinox and the winter solstice.

A Ritual For Welcoming Moon Season

Fall is the perfect season to release that which no longer serves us. Try this moon ritual to help you let go and move on.

Mabon: A Ritual for the Autumn Equinox

Honor the shadow and the light with this Mabon, or Autumn Equinox, ritual.

Ending It Well: Missives From Inside the Death Wellness Movement

The death wellness movement is about facing hard choices openly and mindfully. For author Leslie Krongold, this has been a very personal exploration.

4 Energy-Amplifying Crystals for the Full Moon

Amethyst, Labradorite, Rainbow Moonstone, and White Moonstone are powerful crystals for a full moon.

Is It Okay to Grieve for a Pet?

A comforting prayer to use when releasing a pet from this life.

Honest Feasting: Mourning and Celebrating within Jewish Traditions

Weddings and funerals: Rabbi Rami has an honest conversation about traditions and how we honor them.

June: The Harbinger of All Things Good

How to celebrate the summer solstice and other special occasions this season.

Create an Intentional Morning Routine

There is a sacredness that is found in the first moments of the morning. While it may feel overwhelming to change your entire morning routine in one day, consider slowly adding components to it that will set the tone for your day.

Moon Practice: Ritual for a Spring New Moon

Julie Peters shares her personal ritual for the new moon.

Ayurveda Inspired Rituals for Spring

Instead of our working against nature to fit our own needs and desires, Ayurveda teaches that when we accept what Earth provides, we keep seasonal illnesses at bay.

Guided Morning Meditation

Start your day with intention and mindfulness with this guided meditation.

Moon Practice: Ritual for a Spring Full Moon

On the full moon, create a ritual that has meaning for you.

Minimalist Religion, Maximalist Faith

Contributing editor Rabbi Rami asks whether you're a maximalist or a minimalist when it comes to religion and faith.

The Equinox as Catalyst for Healing

Think of March as a second New Year with resolutions for healing and recovery in our lives.

Podcast: Loss and Laughter with Rebecca Soffer

Modern Loss co-founder Rebecca Soffer shares how she transformed personal tragedy to a needed resource for others grieving.

Powerful Practice for the Waning Moon

Use the waning moon as an opportunity for release.

Ceremony for First Year Anniversary: Reconnect

People new to mourning are often surprised at how brutal the run-up to the first anniversary of the death can be.

Meaningful Rituals for Winter Solstice

How you can create some new traditions to celebrate the winter solstice.

3 Ways to Find Light When the Holidays Feel Dark

When the holidays remind us of those that have been lost.

Winter Solstice Meditation

A winter solstice meditation can be a time for grieving, acknowledging what’s been lost, and letting go.

Ceremony for First Year Milestones: Do Not Hurry

In the Presence of Death: Using ceremony to explore mindfulness in the journey of dying, death, and the years following, in this 9-part series

Do No Harm to Those You Love

In my work, I have witnessed many beautiful words of consolation and comfort gone awry.

Ceremony at Final Resting Place: Revisiting your Dead

The final resting place is where, for those who seek it, we come to sit, reflect, and share with someone who has died.

Ceremony at Commemorative Event: Do Something

Ideas for commemorative events beyond traditional funerals.

Ceremony When the Body is Removed: Leave Taking

In the Presence of Death: Using ceremony to explore mindfulness in the journey of dying, death, and the years following, in this 9-part series

Become Your Community's Ritual Maker

Humans needs to unite with like-minded and like-hearted people and organizations to actively take part in nurturing our communities and helping them grow.

Ceremony at Death: Do Nothing

How do you stay present in an out-of-time time?

Practices for Death and Rebirth for Scorpio Season

Honor your grief as we enter into the season of generative death and prepare for the coming season of rebirth.

5 Ways to Use Sound for Energy Clearing

Different sounds are powerful tools to clear and transform energy.

Ceremony for Dying: The Altar

Using altars to focus intention and connection in a space.

Ceremony before Death: A Living Memorial

Suggestions for Living Memorials—gatherings for a person who is present and alive before death.

How to Design a Successful Ceremony

An excerpt from The Book of Ceremony

A Full Moon Ritual for Release

The full moon offers a potent time to create rituals.

Podcast: Comforting Silence with Mirabai Bush

Mirabai Bush shares revelations about dying and living from her close relationship with Ram Dass and shares a special practice preparing for death.

Land of the Remembered: Rituals from the Heart

Creating grief rituals is as individual as the one who mourns and can help us continue to feel connected.

Music Review: Secularia

3 Simple Ways to Work Real Magic Today

Magic is a way of working with energy and vibration to create positive change according to your will.

Create A Living Ritual

No matter your spirituality or background, it's possible to turn every day into a living, breathing ritual. Explore how one author transformed her life by doing so.

The Commons: The Best Place to Die?

Remodeling the nicest home in town for hospice

The Therapeutic Value of the Five Elements

The Five Elements offer information that connects us to nature and our bodies and helps us to understand our energy and emotions.

5 Morning Rituals You Haven’t Tried Yet

Start your day off feeling energized and creative.

How to Ground and Refresh With a Bath-Time Ritual

Try this loving bath-time ritual on your own and receive a dose of self-love you likely need and surely deserve.

Making Everyday Spaces Sacred Through Intuitive Ritual

Draw sacredness into your life whenever you need it with simple intentional rituals.

Letting Go of the Fear of Death

An excerpt from Grateful Exit: How to Advocate Effectively, Take Care of Yourself, and Be Present for the Death of a Loved One.

Fierce Grace

An excerpt from Ending the Search: From Spiritual Ambition to the Heart of Awareness

A Good Death with Samuel Harrington, MD

Samuel Harrington, MD shares how you can improve your end of life.

Film Review: The Departure

Each unanswered call could be one more person on the edge who desperately needs his help.

How to Create a Morning Routine that Inspires You

Set the tone for your day by developing a morning routine that engages your imagination.

The Power of the Moon

Tap into the power of the moon with these easy practices for moon spirituality.

End of Year Ritual: 7 Questions to Ask Yourself

A simple and effective end of year ritual is to carve out a little time for yourself to meditate and journal.

A Creative Contemplative Offering for Solstice

The Solstice is a time of celebration in anticipation of Light’s return and the rebirth of the Sun.

The Heart Within the Holidays

Learning to choose loving rituals that work in your family, that are meaningful, relaxed, realistic and reasonable, is as important and as individual as each of us.

Poetry: Heritage (For Walter Leonard)

Poetry from Nikki Giovanni's new book, A Good Cry: What We Learn from Tears and Laughter

3 Ways to Make Friends with Time

Access vast reservoirs of hidden time.

Why a Will is Important for You and Your Loved Ones

Being prepared for the inevitable will help your loved ones left behind.

Dying is a Sacred Act

Dying is itself a time, a space, and process of surrender and transformation.

Simple Human Kindness

Caring is a natural expression of our humanity.

​Exploring Near-Death Experiences

Do all people encounter the end of life in the same way?

Morning Altars by Artist Day Schildkret

Learn more about artist Day Schildkret's daily practice of creating morning altars here.

Book Review: Resilient Grieving

How to Connect to the Rhythm of Rest

Planting for the Future

Sponsored Content from Celebrant Foundation & Institute

The Beauty and Magic of Dawn

Try something new. This Ayurveda morning ritual connects you with the magic of mornings.

Book Review: Extreme Measures: Finding a Better Path to the End of Life

Creative Spiritual Practices for Your Family this Lent

Sponsored Content from Chalice Press

Healing with Trees: Cultivating Patience and Presence

Sponsored Content from The Celebrant Foundation & Institute

How to Get Really Good at Dying

Get comfortable, close your eyes. And say to yourself, over and over again, I might die today. I might die today. I might die today.

108 Day Mindfulness Practice

Here are 108 suggestions for your own personalized 108-day mindfulness practice.

Why Morning People Shouldn’t Work at Night

Some brains perform less accurately in the wee hours, a new study shows.

Let It Be Kind To You

“Whatever bad things have happened to you in your life, whatever hard things you’ve gone through, you have to do three things: You have to accept it. You have to be kind to it. ... And listen to me. You have to let it be kind to you."

Solstice: The Wheel of Life

Sponsored Content from The Celebrant Foundation & Institute

Dinacharya: A Yogi’s Routine for a Long and Healthy Life

Align with nature’s rhythm and see your own radical change

Gratitude: An Act of Truth Telling

An excerpt from Ambition Addiction: Giving Thanks on the Road to Recovery.

Book Review: The Grace in Living

Rites of Autumn Equinox

Sponsored Content from the Celebrant Foundation & Institute

The Heart of Hormonal Balance

8 Ways to Start Your Day With Intention

Permission Slip for Self-Care

Excerpted from A Mindful Morning by David Dillard-Wright, PhD.

Minor Effort, Major Changes

The New Physics of Immortality

What if we put two geniuses in Schrödinger’s cat box?

Losing the “God Talk” in Grief Groups

“To say you need the afterlife to have meaning is the bleakest form of insanity.”

Ignite Your Spirit: Begin with Ceremony

To sit in Ceremony is to make a conscious decision to shift into a sacred space

Meeting with our Loved-Ones in Sleep

Sponsored Content from The Joseph Communications

Deepening In

Book Review: Psychology and the Near Death Experience

Hill blends in first-hand, anonymous near death experience accounts as well as personal stories and empirical evidence.

Unleavening

The Ancient and Modern Practice to Free Your Soul

Celebrations: Rabbi Rami Shapiro

10 Years of Roadside Assistance

Book Review: Awake at the Bedside

Your Assignment: Build Your Own Morning Altars

A longtime altar maker shares his practice

Creating Your Dharma Vision Through Contemplation

Adapted excerpt from Awake at the Bedside

Drinking in the Joy

An excerpt from Randi Ragan’s book A Year of Living Mindfully: Seasonal Practices to Nourish Body, Mind, and Spirit

20 Morning Affirmations for Clarity, Purpose, and Joy

Kick-start your day with intention and positivity with these empowering morning affirmations.

Understanding the Aquarian Sādhanā

It is through a daily spiritual practice that is consistent, like the heartbeat, that we change the psyche to know that we are in fact putting the Soul first.

Dying as a Spiritual Practice: An Interview with BJ Miller

Aging With Consciousness

Baby Boomers, never ones for rocking chairs, are increasingly looking at life’s third act as one filled with many possibilities, instead of none.

Music Review: Into the Silence

Letting Go of Solitude

Caretaking gives this writer an opportunity to enter a new kind of sacred space – not a place of solitude, but a place of wholeness and holiness.

Building Altars For Personal Transformation

Building an altar with an intention for transformation is powerful. The altar keeps your focus on your intentions.

Let’s Talk About Death

Excerpted from Let’s Talk About Death: Asking the Questions that Profoundly Change the Way We Live and Die

Bond Between Spouses Stronger Than Death

Death cannot stop true love.

Book Review: When Breath Becomes Air

Sustenance Rituals to Replenish the Well

Sponsored Content from Celebrant Foundation & Institute

7 Sacred Resins to Burn for Clearing Negative Energy

Move beyond sage. These seven sacred resins, including myrrh and benzoin, clear negative energy in your space.

My Practice: Mas Vidal

See how a renowned instructor and dedicated yogi and ayurvedic practitioner, Mas Vidal, kicks off his day.

My Practice: Morning Pages and Ayurveda

Learn how a renowned Ayurvedic and yoga practitioner moves through her day.

Cultivate a Daily Practice and Sacred Space

Creating a daily ritual and sacred space can be the difference between a mediocre day and day filled with intention and positivity. Learn how to start cultivating a practice to start your day off on the right foot.

My Practice: Morning Altars

An artist shares how his practice of creating beautiful morning altars blossomed.

My Practice: A Feng Shui Expert’s Daily Routine for Wellness

Take an honest walk through modern day feng shui expert, Laura Benko’s daily routine.

Forgiveness from the Other Side

An excerpt from The Light Between Us

My Practice: Circular Breathing and “Sourcing” Meditation to Receive Daily Blessings

Learn how a renowned intuitive guide and spiritual teacher receives divine energy to fuel her day.

Seven Keys to a Good Death

Is a “good death” just an oxymoron?

11 Ways to Raise Your Vibration With Water

Throughout history, humans have sought physical relief, emotional healing, and even spiritual renewal in water.

Book Review: Death Makes Life Possible

5 Questions for Diane Meier

A dialogue on end-of-life care

5 Questions for Koshin Paley Ellison

A dialogue on end-of-life care

5 Questions for Katy Butler

A dialogue on end-of-life care

What Good is Meditation in a Plane Crash?

An Interview with Allan Lokos

How to Cleanse Energy by Burning Sage

If you’re interested in cleansing your body, mind, aura, or just your physical space, try these 10 tips for smudging sage.

To Die with a Song in My Heart

How deathbed singers infuse comfort and a sense of the sacred to the dying

How Do You Want to Die?

Sponsored Content from The New York Open Center

Film Review: A Will For The Woods

The Joy of Spring

Modern living causes us to overlook the obvious. Here’s how not to let that happen.

Connecting with Your Irish Ancestors

Whether they are real—and you are Irish—or not

Weave a Culture of Belonging

Rabbi Rami: "I Find Myself Wishing My Dad Would Die?"

Roadside Assistance for the Spiritual Traveler

Book Review: Being Mortal

The Significance of End-of-Life Dreams and Visions

Music Review: Ritual

Book Review: The Grace in Aging

Mark Nepo: Open Your Heart

The best-selling author reflects on facing the loss of his father, in his latest book, The Endless Practice.

The Breath of Life and Death

“These heart-stopping moments lasted a few months. Although only given a few weeks to live, he endured incredible pain, suffering, and even hung onto the slightest bit of hope, because he wanted to see me walk across that stage to receive my diploma.”

Fresh Start

Try one of our favorite morning rituals to set the right tone for your day.

Rabbi Rami: My Morning Ritual

So what’s it really like to be a Death Midwife?

Ask A Practitioner

The Accidental In-Law

As she celebrates a new life with her husband, Amy Paturel finds love and acceptance where she least expected it—in the memory of his first wife.

The Stairway to Heaven May Be Sound

Neurosurgeon Eben Alexander woke from a weeklong coma claiming he’d been to a place that many believe does not exist. Now he says he’s found a way to return.

Water Rituals Around the World

Whether they involve steaming or soaking, geothermal or heated tap water, bathing traditions worldwide offer community, cleansing, spiritual renewal—and sometimes a legend or two.

Create Your Own Tea Ritual

A Grandfather Glimpses Life—and Death—Through Young Eyes

A Good Death

Two new memoirs examine the way we die—and reflect on how we can do it better.

91-Year-Old Meditation Master Ruth Denison

In the California desert, a vipassana pioneer prepares for the next stage of her remarkable life.

Support for the Bereaved Animal Lover

Pet-loss support groups can help the healing process when we lose our most constant companions.

Reb Zalman: The December Years

Approaching the final years of life with a sense of peace.

The Venerable Bead

A nonbeliever seeks comfort in the ritual of the rosary.

Joy in Her Bones

An American journalist honors her mother with an altar during Mexico's Day of the Dead celebration.

4 Steps to Transform Your Morning

Stretching, meditation, and gratitude make up this simple daily ritual from writer and teacher Geri Larkin.

Find the Right Tea to Soothe Body and Soul

Find the right tea to soothe yourself, body and soul.

Happier Endings

The Power of Group Devotion, 100 Million Strong

Right to Die: Does Facing Death Set Us Free from Suffering?

Holding up the Mirror: Rituals for Self-Reflection

3 Ways to Celebrate Your Canine Companions

Yes, I’m one of those crazy dog lovers. My husband and I have a household of older and special-needs dogs, all rescued from neglect and abuse.

Circle of Strength: A Ritual for Times of Change

Rituals to Restore & Refresh the Spirit

Ritual Science

A new field of research explores how diverse spiritual practices use the same scents, sounds, and movements to tap into our deepest selves.

Honoring Everyday Transitions: "Do, Be"

Turning to the Morning: Sunset Rituals

Keening: The Power of a Really Good Celtic Cry

Gifts of the Spirit

Going Out Green

Remembering Our Roots

The Great Symphony of Life

Paranormal

Bringing Food: Making a Gift of Comfort More Meaningful

Enjoy Every Sandwich

Memory Walk: An Everyday Ritual to Connect to Nature

A Ritual to Honor Water

Ten Thousand Joys & Ten Thousand Sorrows

Practicing Death

12 Rituals to Reopen Your Life

The Chant at This Sacred Ritual Is Cheers

It was a Saturday evening, and attending would mean spending two days in a row in church. Nevertheless, many of the congregation gathered in fellowship for a sacred ritual—the annual beer contest.

Honoring Our Ancestors: They are Closer than We Think

Deepen Your Practice: A Neighborhood Pilgrimage

Celebrating Winter: Retreat and Renew

Use these practices to inspire more ease and play this season

The Holy Family

Ritual: Go Inward With the New Moon

Being There for the Passing of a Loved One

Visualize a peaceful letting go for your loved one.

Imagery as a Spiritual Practice

Let your imagination lead you into an inner realm of emotional discovery and spiritual growth.