Do you teach that there is an afterlife? Maybe a Heaven and a Hell? From K—, England

Hi K—,

There are many mysteries in life. Given the immensity of even the known universe, we can truly only speculate.

That said, there is a beautiful resonance to the idea of eternal recurring life for those who desire it, much like the eternal recurring life of seeds. We believe this was the essential teaching of the Eleusinian mysteries.

There are other options, also. Many indigenous groups from around the world believe that human spirits, for those who are ready and desirous, could evolve to be spirit protectors of the land. They would be considered spirits of the land. Hell is a Christian construct, and it has no place, as it is commonly understood, in our religion. The underworld, in Greek times, was considered to be the realm of Hades, who ruled that space. When Persephone joined him in marriage, the myth is that she brought with her both love and the possibility of renewed life for all the souls who were there. But the underworld was seen as the place of seeds as well as souls, and not a place of suffering. Blessings to you,

Jo

Do bad people cease to exist, spirit wise, when they die? From K—, England

K—,

“Bad” covers a lot of different kinds of people. Some seem bad because they are mentally ill. Some had terrible childhoods. There’s always a story behind everything and every one.

Again, we don’t know all the answers; but it seems likely that at death, consciousness expands to more awareness, regardless of the kind of person you have been while alive. If one has been a “bad” person, being now aware of the harm one has caused would be quite painful. The person might suffer quite a bit. But as awareness continues to expand, they might also gain more perspective on the factors that contributed to their choices, and be able to forgive themselves. That would probably be necessary for them to move on; but again, we aren’t really privy to the details of how it works.

I have a feeling that how things really are may be difficult to conceptualize for us here on this side.

Blessings of the Merrie Maiden,

Jo