A guide to the sacred stages of the death and dying process viewed through the eyes of a Celtic anam-aire.

Emphasizes how shadow work, integrating past wounds, and healing our ancestry allows us to facilitate the ecstatic transition into the next life 

 Offers exercises and visualizations to help us integrate emotions like anger and grief, which impact the soul's readiness to leave the body when the time comes 

Discusses what happens to our cells when we die with regard to the human energy field and explores the soul's journey through the aites or bardo.

In the Celtic tradition dying is considered an act of birthing, of our consciousness passing from this life to the next. The role of an anam-aire is that of a midwife, a sacred guardian of life force, who supports a dying person by witnessing their journey. 

Informed by an early near-death experience and her own life's work, Phyllida Anam-aire offers an intimate overview of the sacred stages of the death and dying process seen through the lens of her Celtic heritage. Showing that we live on after our body ceases to exist, she takes a look at dying from the point of view of our human energy field, and discusses what happens to our cells when we die with regard to the elements. 

Phyllida emphasizes how important it is to work with our psycho-spiritual shadows and wounds and resolve and integrate as much of our pain as possible in this life, so that we may move on unencumbered and gracefully into our next existence. She explains how healing our ancestry before leaving the body eases not only our transition but also sets future generations free from the pain, guilt, and shame held in our family patterns. Including exercises and visualizations, the author suggests ways to integrate suppressed emotions, which impact the soul&;s readiness to leave the body when the time comes. She also shares Celtic blessings and poems to support the process of dying and grieving and stresses that what truly matters is the capacity for authentic compassionate love--in life, in death, and after. She addresses the astral body and the soul&;s journey through the aites or bardo and reveals how, when the soul is fully prepared to leave its material form, the dying individual experiences spiritual ecstasy. 

Providing a deep spiritual understanding of the dying process and the afterlife, she shows how we can experience the last ecstasy in our present life not only by releasing our fear of death and preparing ourselves but also by living consciously and compassionately until the final moment arrives.