When your animal or pet passes part I - connection beyond death

Due to the death of Curie, the magical white mare you see on the picture above, I have been confronted with the death of a close animal friend for the first time, since Animal Communication and TCM have been part of my life. Curie was a lot for me - a close horse friend, photo model, a teacher in Acupuncture & Animal Communication, my niece's first horse friend. Together with Andela, my sister's mare, she was an integral part of my Swiss-German animal family. Accompanying her and her heart-people through the time of transition, now leads to those articles about dying from the perspective of the old Chinese Teachings and some suggestions, what might support you to let go of your animal. Once again you open a new door for me, Curie, and for that I say thank you with all of my heart💖

Death as a farewell gateway

For me personally, death is not the end, but it is a gateway, a door, a transition to a new life in a different form - without the solid body in which we knew our animals in this life. What lives on in the Daoist idea, are their Shen and Hun, i.e. their "Higher Self", their spirit, and their Wandering Cloud Soul. The physical body, the Body Soul Po, the Intellect Yi and the Will Zhi die and transform back into the earth, from which they originated. You can find more information about these spirit beings and their concept on my Instagram channel and, soon, also here in the blog.

Hun and Shen can keep the connection between you and your animal

Hun is the Wandering Soul, that accompanies your animal through each of its lives. No matter how, where and as what it is/has been incarnated - it retains the memories, impressions and connections of its past life, whether they have been physical or psychologically, emotionally or mentally. This also explains why we can still "reach" our deceased animals: in the way of communication with animals, which we now call Animal Communication, I speak with his/her Shen, the heart mind, or his/her Yuan Shen, the Chinese name for what is now often referred to as the Higher Self. Through the close connection between Hun and Shen, your animal remembers you, its companions and everything it has experienced in its life. Hun is the messenger of Shen, and as such carries the messages of his/her Higher Self into the consciousness of your animal, while it is incarnated in his body. However, Hun also carries everything that it collects up into the spiritual level of Shen, which is why your animal's spirit stays connected with all those memories.

Your animal reflects its life and others will mourn

In Animal Communication, I often find that animals look back very well reflected on their life, and have messages full of love, peace and compassion for you as their human. When I talk to deceased or dying animals and convey their messages, I often feel like a comforter for his or her human and/or animal family.

And yes: animals also mourn! Andela was a very close friend of Curie and already missed her a lot during the period of isolation, which was unfortunately necessary due to the strangles, Curie had caught. She was allowed to watch her fall asleep, but even though, she knew what was going on, the physical loss of her beloved friend was just as hard for her as it was for us humans. She is still grieving and says herself that she knows it is a normal part of life. But also a difficult one, as we have to let go of a beloved creature and it seems like a farewell that is forever.

Grieving and letting go are an essential part of the Chinese Metal Element

This is why it is important to allow all of us to mourn in peace! No matter how you and your other animals mourn, no matter how long - in the end, as so often in the metal element, the process of accepting, saying goodbye and letting go counts. So that something new can be created again, through the love of your heart. I think one of the reasons why the old Chinese have attributed the transformation phase of the metal to the emotion of grief, is because a lot has to be purified in its extraction. When ore becomes iron, the pure, precious iron remains at the end of a long and hard process, in which a lot of impure things are separated off. In order for new, wonderful, beautiful things to emerge after this time of separation and letting go. For you and all other family members, friends and animals, that were close to the dying one, it is therefore extremely important to mourn. To give grief the space and time it needs. Why? Because the energy of acute or unprocessed grief blocks your system. Physically, it can lead to (chronic) diseases of the lungs, large intestine or heart. It can also negatively affect the behaviour of an animal, e.g. to lack of appetite, withdrawal, aggressive behaviour or a drop in his/her performance.

In the second part of the article, which goes online next week, I will therefore give you some suggestions that might help you to process the death of an animal or pet.

All the best,

Antonia