I was on chat and some how the subject got on about death and the grim reaper.

I told the story about how when I was younger I saw a figure standing by my grandmother's bed the night she died. It was a female figure, I drew her shortly after as she appeared in many of my dreams for a few years after. Always just staring and looking sad.

It got me thinking, death is usually portrayed as a male figure....so to anyone who has worked with his spirit I guess, is it a male type spirit, or could it be female as well?

Also, if it wasn't death "himself" could it be a minion of death? A spirit (if that's what they are) that does death's work....

Also, what about stories about the angel of Death? Could it be that the Grim Reaper is actually an angel of sorts that just does what is necessary.

I obviously don't believe e is evil, as it is necessary that our souls at some point leave our body.... but bc of his work, he would be on the darker side, correct?

Anyway, if anyone has insight, I'd love to hear it?

Wow, Alex, amazing information! I love the history behind it!

I've seen Death portrayed as both male and female throughout fictional literature, though my favorite portrayal has to be Neil Gaiman's version in his "Sandman" comics. In these books, Death is an amazing individual who is a total goth with the all black clothing going on, she's empathetic, listens to her siblings when they have problems (The Endless, Dream, Destruction, Delirium, etc) and yet smacks Dream over the head with a loaf of bread because he was being too emo and quotes Mary Poppins. She's awesome.

No encounters on my part, though I wonder if a very frightening visage I saw in a dream years ago might have been him warning me, his eyes look a lot like the picture Phoenix posted.

Thank you Alex!

That's exactly what I was wondering. The woman appeared over and over again in my dreams after my grandmother died, always looking kinda sad though, or at least that's the feeling I received. To this day I still do not know why she did this as one day the dreams just stopped. She never said anything, just stared.
I had to draw her, it was too compelling for me not to, so, yes, allycat, that's my drawing of I guess death as she appeared at my grandmother's deathbed.

I work intimately with the forces of Death and Entropy on a regular basis both in a personal capacity and a professional one. I have tended the passing of several friends and family, as well as assisting patients as a healthcare provider (nurse). I spent my first five years working nightshift in a very small rural hospital, and had the honor of attending multiple passings.

Death is… personal. My death will not be your death, which will not be his death, etc…
(although I did not particularly care for the second Hellboy movie, the depiction of death struck me as uncannily accurate) “I am his death and I will meet him at every crossroad.”

I have seen Death come as a radiant light, golden and glowing, waves of the most perfect peace, perfect love. The scent of sun drenched roses and fresh honeycomb. This energy could be feminine or masculine, but it’s central focus was that perfection of love and acceptance. It always brought tears to my eyes.

I have seen Death come as a child, both male and female. The child is usually bare foot, wearing “play clothes” (not your school or church clothes), and a little grubby. Not like a child neglected, rather one that has enjoyed a long wonderful day playing outdoors. You can imagine he or she is going home to a good dinner and hot soapy bath. The child is sweet and gentle but insistent when the time has come.

I have seen Death come as an elderly man or elderly woman, usually heavily robed.

I have seen Death come as a cold, heavy, muffling Silence. A weight of Presence but not a human form. When denied, the air in the room becomes increasingly oppressive until it can be difficult to breath or even stand upright. Like you can feel something shoving down on your shoulders, bringing you to your knees, squeezing and constricting around your chest.

I have seen Death come as a Soldier or Warrior, usually male but not always.

There are many for whom Death does not come, but rather a loved one, spirit guide, or beloved pet to guide them to the next world. (I read a beautiful story once about all the creepy critters that awaited Steve Irwin when he crossed the bridge.)
We had a cowboy in his 90’s one winter, a HERD of wild horses came for him. An entire herd. The nurse from pediatrics called because she could hear the galloping. The day nurse later told me his daughter said her father always said it would take a herd of wild horses to drag him away, because just one wouldn’t be enough.

Death is whatever it needs to be, whatever it wants to be.

What struck me each time though, was the sense of relief. The struggle was finally over, and it was such an incredible blessing.

in Hindu mythology, they call grim reaper as yamaraj who give judgement to the soul whether it will go heaven or hell or maybe reborn(incarnation). his servants call yamdut or yamdoot are those who take the souls from the body and present it to yamaraj. sorry, if my post is kinda off topic. by the way i have many facts and stories about and there is also a fact that the river yamuna situated in india as the second holy river represents as the sister of yamaraj.

I do not mean to highjack the thread, however; this one in particular sparked a question within me. If...death can be conjured and bound, or at least spirits of whom do death's "work" or "Ankou", could one have their OWN death bound to them, to help them along their own personal journey with working with death energies? Could I have Ash find and bind the "being" whom will guide me to the other side when my time on earth comes to it's end? Be it the grubby little girl, the herd of wild horses, the robed skeleton with his sythe etc.

Bumping for some input on the idea of the binding of your own "reaper".

Wiccan Warrior Alex wrote:The Angel of Death and the Grim Reaper are two names for the same entity. Grim Reaper is the English name, while
Angel of Death came from the Hebrew bible.

Death is portrayed as a male form in many languages, including English. But in others death is portrayed as a female spirit (Slavic, for example) . Old Slavic tribes viewed Death as a woman in white clothes, with a never-fading green sprout in her hand. The touch of the sprout would put a human to an everlasting sleep.

In Germanic folklore, death was a guise of Odin, the Grim of Grim Reaper being perhaps derived from Grimnir, a name for Odin.

Ancient Greece found Death to be inevitable, and therefore, he is not represented as purely evil. He is often portrayed as a bearded and winged man, but has also been portrayed as a young boy. Death, or Thanatos, is the counterpart of life; death being represented as male, and life as female. He is the twin brother of Hypnos, the god of sleep. He is typically shown with his brother and is represented as being just and gentle. His job is to escort the deceased to the underworld Hades. He then hands the dead over to Charon (who by some accounts looks like the modern Western interpretation of the Grim Reaper, having a skeletal body and black cloak), who mans the boat that carries them over the river Styx, which separates the land of the living from the land of the dead. It was believed that if the ferryman did not receive some sort of payment, the soul would not be delivered to the underworld and would be left by the riverside for a hundred years. Thanatos' sisters, the Keres, were the spirits of violent death. They were associated with deaths from battle, disease, accident, and murder. They were portrayed as evil, often feeding on the blood of the body after the soul had been escorted to Hades. They had fangs, talons, and would be dressed in bloody garments.

To the Celts (Welsh), he is Angeu and Ankou to Bretons. He appears as a man or a skeleton in a hooded robe (invariably black), sometimes carrying a scythe, riding a cart in which he collects the dead

In the Baltic tradition, Lithuanians named death Giltinė, who was viewed as an old ugly woman with a long blue nose and a deadly poisonous tongue. The legend tells that Giltinė was young, pretty and communicative until she was trapped in a coffin for seven years. Later, Lithuanians adopted the classic Grim Reaper with a scythe and black robe.


In summary, Death can be male or female, depending upon the tradition being viewed.

Namaste,
Alex

I've heard all of that before & I think stuff appears to us the way we see it for example I grew up knowing that the grim reapers was skeletal with a black robe with either a sythe or black wings or both so when I die I think I'll see him the way I know him. & as you can see in my pic. I'm attracted to this pacticular entity I don't know why but I just always like him I have wallpapers, I draw the reaper, etc... I guess he's a favorite. Haha