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Lanterns of the Dead

Departed oil candles in cemeteries.
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A loved one has died. The agony has not yet gone away -- weeks need to pass, months.

While they are now suddenly gone from your life, they are also buried under marble and granite slabs -- imprisoned.

To release your agony and relieve mental asphyxiation of their claustrophobia, visit the cemetery in the evenings, and stop by their tomb to light their lantern.

There are two kinds of Lanterns of the Dead. The first is the Full Spirit lantern -- the body of the deceased is embalmed in a container of lantern oil. A wick emerges above the grave, perhaps on the headstone, or on a little ledge on a mausoleum or wall grave.

Light the lamp, and the pure spirit of your loved one will be set free, little by little, until eventually the oil is gone. By then, so to is your grief.

The second lantern is the Spirit Essence lantern. These are primarily for wall tombs, or mausoleums, and are for the cremated, and are not installed with any oil reservoirs; oil is brought by the grieving. A weather sheltered marble funnel is located on the tomb.

Those paying their respect pour oil into the funnel, which empties into a hidden circular filter not unlike an oil filter, but made out of fine gold or brass mesh; and containing the ashes in suspended mesh fins. The ash-infused oil then pours out to a little ledge where a wick may be placed and lit.

mylodon, Jul 03 2008

Cask-et Cask-et
Don't get these two mixed up! [phoenix, Jul 07 2008]

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