Cremation or Burial?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 18 Jul 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

bellesmybaby	18 Jul 2002
I just read Mlle's thread "What song at your Funeral" and it made me think that this would not be an innappropriate place to ask about a subject that has been nagging me for the past year or so. I never really thought about death so seriously before. I didn't think it mattered that much what happened to me after I leave my body. But it is "my body". Will I be attached to it in death? If I burry it will it keep my spirit earthbound? Nothing dies, it just changes form. So if I burn it, will it speed up the transformation process? I hate the thought of being stuck attached to my burried body that may take decades of lying there rotting and trying to naturally decompose before it transforms. I am seriously thinking about cremation but would like to solidify my reasons why. Does anyone know any spirituality or tradition behind cremation? I'm serious, not just curious. I had a brush with near death 2 years ago while delivering Annabelle. An aneurysm was found in my heart and some enlargement, too. I'm 37 years old and here I am pregnant again! I thought i was invincible up untill then. What if........ I feel I should be ready, just in case. Thanks for your input Dee

Red raven	18 Jul 2002
I'd want to be cremated. I'm not aware of any spiritual background, but I know I see it as a heck of a lot more practical. think happy thoughts! I wish you long life and a healthy prgnancy!

wavebreaker	18 Jul 2002
To me, my body is just a casing that I need while I'm alive, as soon as I'm dead I won't be needing it anymore, it won't have any value for me anymore. I don't believe that what happens to my body after I die has any influence on my transformation process, because I think by then I will be detached from it. I wouldn't want to be buried; why take up space as a dead person while there's hardly enough space for the living? ;) I want to be cremated (after they've taken everything from my body that can still be used for organ donation) and I want my ashes to be scattered into the sea, so that whatever tangible is left of me can go off and explore the ocean... ;) Good luck with your pregnancy, I hope everything goes well!!

truthsayer	18 Jul 2002
i want my organs donated to save other lives then i want to be cremated. the cementaries are too full of coffins and taking up too much space. i want to return to the earth just like in that poem-don't stand at my grave and weep. good luck on your pregnancy, dee. sending love and light your way. (((((((((((((((((((((((((((dee))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) it might be good to share your fears w/ your doctor or some trusted friend. it might help your anxiety to express your feelings. hopefully, you will receive some words of comfort from them--particularly your doctor.

Liliana	18 Jul 2002
I want to have as much as me as possible donated to science, whether for transplants or general study I dont care, Im not using it anymore so someone who can use it might as well have it :) Anything left over Id like to be shot inot space, just because I really want to go to space but its not likely to happen this life, so at least a bit of my body would be able to see it then lol Its pretty expensive for the space thing tho, so cremated would work, then some of my ashes could go on my Dads grave and some can be kept with my husband to b buried with him (if i die first) It would solve a little argument we have, i want to be buried with my dad but my husband doesnt want buried in the cemetary :THP

niah	18 Jul 2002
I want to be cremated, and my ashes to be placed in an urn and put in my wall at my house. :) :TCHAR

cricket	18 Jul 2002
I've decided I want to be cremated. If somebody has a problem with that, they can dig a really deep post hole - preferably for a corner post - and drop me down there standing upright, stick the post on top, and build me into a fence. It won't take as much room as a burial plot, the fences stay up for decades (especially the corner posts), and when they compare the two they might decide cremation would be better! :D

tigerlily	18 Jul 2002
Since I don't want to poison precious drinking water with all the yummy liquids that a decaying body oozes out (are you all losing your meals already? }) ), it's definitely cremation for me. And call me egoistic, but I want to be cremated with all my innards still in place. I'm never absolutely sure if everything possible is being done for people who are willing to donate their organs - especially if they're young, otherwise healthy victims of traffic accidents...

Red raven	18 Jul 2002
for some reason this quote just sprang to mind: "... and if they bury you ass-up I'll have a place to park my bike!" it's from that movie Patch Adams... :D

bellesmybaby	18 Jul 2002
Thanks everyone for your replies, and words of hope for my future. I think everything is going to go ok, I just worry, sometimes. Like I said I never really thought about it before. Most of my family lean towards "proper christian" burial and I know if I don't get it in writing somewhere that's what's going to happen to me and that is not what I want! I'll just have to find someone dependable to do it. This was recently a big local news topic and no......not national enquirer although it sounds like it. A local crematorium owner just got arrested this past year for "not cremating" 1,000's of bodies which he had hidden somewhere within his facility. He claims that his incinerator was broken and he couldn't afford to fix it! LOL Only in Alabama, I suppose! Blessings and Hugs to everyone! Dee

cricket	18 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by bellesmybaby ...A local crematorium owner just got arrested this past year for "not cremating" 1,000's of bodies which he had hidden somewhere within his facility... I remember reading about that. Wasn't there a short column in Time not too long ago? It's been a few years, but a couple of those cases were found here in Arkansas, too. There weren't nearly as many bodies or anything. Guess it's just the hillbilly states. ;)

Dark Inquisitor	18 Jul 2002
I have to go with cremation. It seems like a purification ritual somehow. However, the idea of scattering ashes seems too close to dumping an ashtray. Being contained in something decorative seems better, & being buried after that wouldn't seem so bad. Tombstone art should be encouraged. No funeral, however - very morbid, and too many people I don't like would show up. I expect some peace after I'm gone at least. I don't like the thought of regular burial at all. If I think of my late relatives, I can see them in detail underground in my imagination , and I don't want to! Tarotphelia

Dragonfly	18 Jul 2002
I would go for cremation as well both my husband and I have talk about. And this something we both want and that are ashes would be buried together. Good luck with your baby sending you lots of light. I have a heart problem as well so I know what your going through. :)

Emily	18 Jul 2002
I'll be cremated, don't fancy the idea of being buried under the earth at all :)

floracove	19 Jul 2002
I commend you all for so galently donating your parts. As for me they are mine, all mine! I was born with everything and plan to keep everything! I do not want to be embalmed! I do not want to be cremated! To each his own!!!

Umbrae	19 Jul 2002
Woke up this morning Put on my slippers Walked in the kitchen and died And oh what a feeling! When my soul Went thru the ceiling And on up into heaven I did ride When I got there they did say John, it happened this way You slipped upon the floor And hit your head And all the angels say Just before you passed away These were the very last words That you said: Chorus: Please don't bury me Down in that cold cold ground No, I'd druther have "em" cut me up And pass me all around Throw my brain in a hurricane And the blind can have my eyes And the deaf can take both of my ears If they don't mind the size Give my stomach to Milwaukee If they run out of beer Put my socks in a cedar box Just get "em" out of here Venus de Milo can have my arms Look out! I've got your nose Sell my heart to the junkman And give my love to Rose Give my feet to the footloose Careless, fancy free Give my knees to the needy Don't pull that stuff on me Hand me down my walking cane It's a sin to tell a lie Send my mouth way down south And kiss my ass goodbye

Sam	19 Jul 2002
I want to buried, so that my "casing"<--(tarotlady) can have a proper resting place, just like my soul/spirit.

debins	19 Jul 2002
don't quote me on this; I'm quite new to many thoughts and theories...for those who believe in other realms and further journeys it is thought that cremation encourages the spirit to leave the earthly realm since it "realizes" that the body is no longer viable. For some Christians, it is important for them to leave behind a physical body for burial, no matter the condition of impending decay, in order that the body may rise again on the day of judgement and that they be given new, heavenly bodies. Personally, I don't believe that a "God", by any definition, would be so limited as to require my remains. The philosopher John Stuart Mill described "God" as being that which is greater than can be thought. Note, he doesn't say "God" exists; he just says that "God", by definition actually resists definition. I keep this in mind whenever I ponder imponderables. Sometimes wondering about the details really begs the question of what you believe "source" really is. Anyway, I accepted the penny for my thoughts. Namaste, Debins.

Kismet	20 Jul 2002
I had to make this decision for my boyfriend close to 3 months ago. Since he was a burn survivor, I had him buried, I just couldn't see cremating him. I'd originally wished to be cremated and my ashes spread over the ocean as I love the sea, now I plan on being buried beside him after all useable organs are donated for others use. Love and Light, Kismet

VGimlet	20 Jul 2002
Anything usable they can have for someone else, otherwise, its off to the crematorium for me. I'd like my ashes to be either scattered near the ocean, and/or put in the bottom of the hole(s) used to plant a tree or two. Planted someplace where they wouldn't be chopped down for awhile.

mermaiden	22 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by truthsayer i want my organs donated to save other lives then i want to be cremated. the cementaries are too full of coffins and taking up too much space. i want to return to the earth just like in that poem-don't stand at my grave and weep. good luck on your pregnancy, dee. sending love and light your way. (((((((((((((((((((((((((((dee))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) it might be good to share your fears w/ your doctor or some trusted friend. it might help your anxiety to express your feelings. hopefully, you will receive some words of comfort from them--particularly your doctor. I agree w/truthsayer about donating and then cremation. I would cremate, though, just because it's part of my religion (I'm Hindu). It's been a tradition of my ancestors for centuries. I also feel like it's the right to do for myself. I guess I also believe that it might 'speed things up', so to speak. However, I also agree with truth sayer in sharing you fears with your doctor. That is very important. Take care, mermaiden

Violet Gargoyle	22 Jul 2002
No, I'm not being morbid, it's a song. Almost a polka, actually. I really would like to be cremated and have the ashes buried with the roots a little tree. So part of me will grow within that tree. Of course I had also tossled with the idea of somehow getting a memorial rock. That way I can say "I got a rock" on the inscription.

Mermaid	22 Jul 2002
It really doesn't worry me whether I'm cremated or buried. What does worry me is the idea of being embalmed! Yuck yuck yuck! I can't think of anything creepier. And what's the point of pumping nasty chemicals into someone if you're just going to stick them in the ground anyway and have them leak out into the soil to poison plants? Actually, a friend of mine had the nicest idea I've heard yet. She wanted to be laid on a boat, covered in flowers, and have the whole thing set alight and pushed out to sea. It sounded great to me, but we decided that we'd definately have to check that the tide was going out before starting the ceremony! I mean, imagine your funeral pyre being washed back to the beach ... how embarassing for your poor family })

floracove	22 Jul 2002
I would like to make an amendment to my comment: I would prefer to be buried unembalmed...but if it were meant to be, laying upon the forest floor and feeding the animals would be OK with me also...

Kath	23 Jul 2002
Hubby and I have decided to be cremated. When one of us goes, we'll buy a silver martini shaker, and put the ashes in there, till the other one dies. When we are both gone, our ashes will be placed into the martini shaker, shook up and scattered over the cliffs of Byron Bay. After that, our rellies can have cocktails at the wake :) Cheers Kath

divinerguy	23 Jul 2002
For many years, I have fished off the San Diego coastline, near La Jolla. The fish have provided me with a lifetime of memories for me and my family. Pour my ashes over the side, and let some big fat momma bass use me for nesting material. May her babies grow up to be big and tasty.

Jenny-Li	23 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Mermaid Actually, a friend of mine had the nicest idea I've heard yet. She wanted to be laid on a boat, covered in flowers, and have the whole thing set alight and pushed out to sea. My plan is to donate everything possible (I actually found one of those cards last week and am now carrying a donation card in my purse. Feels good to know it won't be a difficult decision for anybody else to determine what's gonna become of my remains.) and the cremate the rest. I never could agree with the idea of allowing the slow decay of being buried in the earth, no matter how natural it is... I kind of like the idea of letting the remains pass through fire, it has a nice symbolism and ritual over it. It's, as someone mentioned, like a cleansing ritual. Mermaid: I love the ceremony your friend described, I don't really like the idea of a funeral at all, but if I was to have one, this would be a truely beautiful one. Crematoria (?) are such creepy places, even if I do find them less creepy than being buried. When my grandmother died last Christmas, it was when they took away the coffin after the funeral to take it for cremation I really had to get it into my head that she was gone, until then her face and body, all of that was still there - sort of. It's a misconception, those things are the parts of us that least of all are who we really are, I know/believe that, but it was painful anyway. (It was all very sudden, she wasn't sick and nobody expected her to just die like that, but she did, and we were all in a state of shock at the funeral, I think.) ((((((((((((((((((((((Dee))))))))))))))))))))))))) A huge hug for you, and I wish you all the best for the rest of your pregnancy - and for the new baby! Light and love, Jenny :)

catlin	23 Jul 2002
Hm, years ago I was more for a burial but now I think I'll better be cremated as there will be no-one to take care of my grave and I am not inclined in leaving behind a heap of € for a gardener who will do the whole thing only sluggish and without care. I think the best way for me would be self-combustion, this is really environmental friendly })

jade	23 Jul 2002
for me a pagan/wiccan rite would be best. i feel that cremation is better for the earth as it doesn't take up precious space that could be better used for trees and wildlife............. but if i was buried, then of course, no chemicals and no clothing would be very appropriate. and, of course, donate donate donate!(my organs) in light, jade

The Cremation or Burial? thread was originally posted on 18 Jul 2002 in the Chat board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Chat, or read more archived threads.