Necromancy and Death Work — Side Notes
Necromancy has always suffered from a branding problem. Popular imagination paints it as grave-robbery and ghoulish ambition, but historically, death work was far more restrained—and far more human. It was about listening, remembering, appeasing, and understanding the boundary everyone eventually crosses. Most necromantic practices weren’t about commanding the dead. They were about negotiating with memory.
The Side Notes in this section reclaim that older, quieter meaning. These pieces explore death rites, ancestral communication, funerary customs, and underworld symbolism through a careful, grounded lens. You’ll find cultural context, historical practice, and modern reflection that treats the dead as participants in lineage rather than props for spectacle.
This is not danger-for-danger’s-sake magic. It’s work done with limits, ethics, and an awareness that the boundary between worlds is not a playground.
Featured Side Notes
You can also find these articles—and many more—within the main Grimoire Blog.
Día de los Muertos: Celebrating Life Beyond the Veil — When the veil thins and marigolds blaze like captured suns, Mexico’s Día de los Muertos invites the dead to dance among the living. Altars bloom with offerings, candles flicker like whispers, and love defies the grave in this hauntingly beautiful celebration of life, death, and memory.
From Ancestor Veneration to Spirit Festivals: Death Beliefs Around the World — From lantern-lit rivers in Japan to drum-thundered funerals in Ghana and solemn ancestral rites in Korea, discover how cultures worldwide honor the dead. These rituals are more than tradition—they are conversations with the beyond, where memory, fear, and love blur the line between life and death.
How to Start Honoring Ancestors in Your Witchcraft Practice — Ancestor work is a cornerstone of witchcraft, connecting you to your lineage through offerings, rituals, and remembrance. Learn how to start honoring your ancestors with simple yet powerful practices, from building an altar to inviting them into dreams, and discover how ancestral healing can strengthen your magical path.
Lucid Dreams & Dream Journals: Why 2025 Witches Are Tracking Their Sleep — Witches in 2025 are reclaiming their nights with dream journals, lucid dreaming, and even TikTok decoding circles. From ancient traditions to modern apps, the dreamscape has become a sacred space for spellwork, self-discovery, and collective insight. Sleep is no longer passive—it’s a realm of magic waiting to be harnessed.
Night Visions and Omens: Ancient Dream Symbols for Today — From serpents and floods to flickering flames, dream symbols have guided humanity for millennia. In 2025, witches blend ancient interpretations with digital dream-sharing communities on Reddit, decoding omens that feel as timeless as they are urgent. The night remains a theater of prophecy, mystery, and transformation.
Rituals for the Departed: Funeral Practices That Bridge Worlds — Across continents, funeral rites do more than mourn—they bridge worlds. From sky burials to lantern-lit rivers, explore mystical ceremonies that honor the dead and invite their presence among the living.
The Dark Mirror: Exploring Ancestral Shadows Through Modern Witchcraft — Witchcraft is casting its gaze upon the past, unearthing ancestral shadows buried in bloodlines and silence. From altars to dark mirrors, modern practitioners are confronting inherited trauma and family patterns through ritual, blending psychology with mysticism. The question lingers—what whispers wait in your lineage?
The Hungry Ghost: China’s Scariest Festival Legend — Uncover the eerie tale of China’s Hungry Ghost Festival—an ancient tradition where restless spirits demand offerings and vengeance. Are you brave enough to learn more?
Death work is not about obsession—it’s about continuity. About recognizing that the dead are part of the same story, just no longer speaking in real time. The Side Notes approach necromancy without sensationalism, emphasizing boundaries, consent, cultural context, and emotional grounding.
Some entries here may feel reverent. Others may feel unsettling in quieter ways. That’s appropriate. This work asks for patience, respect, and the willingness to stop when something feels closed.
Remember: historically, the most skilled death workers were also the most cautious. They knew when to listen, when to offer, and when to step back. These Side Notes exist to keep that wisdom intact.
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