A Prayer for a Sister

Khaire Hekate Propylaia! You who stands at the gates, including the gate between life and death!

Mother, I have been asked to pray, and if it is true that "the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb", then the one who asked me to pray is a sister. She has requested that I pray for the sister of her mother. This woman's time to cross that threshold is very close. May she cross peacefully, without pain and fear and suffering. Her illness has dragged her through too much of that already. May she be as physically comfortable as possible. May her mind find peace in knowing this is, in some ways, the end. And if it would bring her comfort, please let her know that what we so often percieve as "the end" is really a transition, and there are ways she will always be part of this world.

Guide her, Mother. Because of dreams I've had recently, I suspect Hermes may help her. Khaire Hermes! But You stand at the gate. I don't claim to fully understand that. I don't know if Hermes will deliver her to You as she makes her way, or if she'll meet You first, or if trying to think of this in linear terms is a terrible misunderstanding. All I really need to ask is that she crosses over with a peaceful mind, a joyful heart, and that these last days of drawing breath are days of easy breathing.

I also pray for my sister's mother, who is letting go of her own sister in this. It's not easy for humans to see those we share our lives with leave, and it can be even harder when it's a reminder that we may not be here much longer. 

And I pray for my sister. She's not someone who is inclined to pray, and she doesn't have a relationship with an Immortal One to pray to, but she asked me to pray. Sometimes I think her understanding of prayer is too tightly limited by popular understanding of religion. Anything can be prayer, and I think she would recognize herself as having prayed all along if she understood it that way. That simply asking me to pray is, in a way, her own prayer. This will be a difficult loss for her. There's been a chain of losses in the past few years. Even recently, another family member of hers has made that transition. This one would be difficult all on its own. She does not easily let herself accept love and support. Please guide her, and guide the rest of us in the house in how to give her love and support.