Graveyard Dirt ~ Edmonton Cemetery

DescriptionRitually collected after passing through the gates at the downtown Edmonton Cemetery that was established in 1886, it is the resting place of many pioneers of early Edmonton. Once the edge of the city’s limits, it is now bisected by a busy road, this cemetery contains the city’s oldest and most architecturally diverse monuments. Graves in the Edmonton Cemetery are oriented east and west, while graves in the Catholic Cemetery are oriented north and south.Many of Edmonton’s original settlers and founders are buried in this graveyard and you may see their names on Edmonton schools, neighbourhoods, and roadways. Within this cemetery is the Military Field of Honour, established in 1922. Marker stones are laid out with no distinctions between rank or file of the veterans. A mausoleum was completed in the fall of 1930 – where Emily Murphy of the Famous Five is buried. It also happens to be the resting place of my Favourite Great Auntie Annie & Uncle Mike. ~ Вічная Пам’ять. May their memories be eternal ~ Graveyard Dirt is used in various spiritual and magical practices, infused with symbolism and believed by many to carry the essence of the place it comes from. Commonly used across a variety of magical traditions and practices, and in a number of different ways. According to accounts found in Northern European Black Books, graveyard dust was traditionally collected directly from the grave and, very often, from specific graves. These would include both graves within the confines of the churchyard—such as the graves of young, unmarried women and the graves of soldiers—and without, with evidence of both being used in a wide array of workings. Dirt from the grave of a criminal, for example, would often be collected from outside of the church yard and would often be used in the prevention of physical harm or theft. Traditions that employ graveyard dirt in their workings include (among others) Hoodoo, Appalachian and Southern American folk magic, Traditional Witchcraft, Spirit-Based magic. In African-derived magic such as hoodoo and Obeah, graveyard dirt is an important “magical link” (in the Crowleyan sense of that term), because of the powerful cultural beliefs centered around the role of the dead in rituals of invocation.4 Dram Bottle