This ritual for the dead calls in the power of an experienced and effective intermediary: St Nicholas.
And All Saints Day – November 1st – is the perfect day to do it.
St Nicholas worked and continues to work with and for the dead. If the overt Christianity in the incantation is troubling to you, you may certainly rewrite it to your preference – but remember, St Nicholas was a Christian in life, and is a Christian saint, so he may well respond to this language.
The Rite of St Nicholas
On the evening of November 1st (or any other day) take some clean fresh water to a crossroads. Spring water, for preference, as both it and the dead are associated with the ground.
Make sure you are alone, tap the bottle of water three times on the ground. Recite the following:
“Oh merciful God. In your wisdom you have chosen Saint Nicholas as negotiator on behalf of the departed. Take pity on those souls who have no particular friends and loved ones to recommend them. Those who are forgotten by all. Spare them, Lord, and give mercy. Let not the souls that you created be parted from you, their Creator.”
Pour water on the ground at each of the four corners of the crossroads:
“Most holy Saint Nicholas, may this offering bring refreshment and hope to the souls in your care, may the spirits of the dead remember and look favourably upon me, as I remember and look favourably upon them. And may the souls of all the departed, through God’s mercy and grace, rest in peace.”
St Nicholas ritual for the dead.
(For a daily remembrance for your ancestors, look here.)
