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March 16 through March 22, 2026

We’ll celebrate the astrological new year this week as the Sun moves into Aries on Friday and marks the start of a new cycle and new season! Add a Pisces new Moon on Wednesday and Mercury turning direct on Friday, and it’s all go for fresh starts and new beginnings! In preparation for all this new energy, the Moon will dance through Aquarius on Monday, filling our heads with innovative and exciting ideas for the future. As it moves through Pisces on Tuesday and then a new Moon on Wednesday, our focus will take on a more spiritual tone. An Aries Moon heralds the Sun’s entry into its sign and Mercury’s shift to direct motion on Friday, giving us the green light to chase our dreams. We’ll have to stop over the weekend to get grounded though, as the Taurus Moon calls for us to attend any down-to-earth obligations that call our name.

The Psychology of Ghost Hunting, by Brandon Alvis

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Death is an inevitable part of life. Reminders of our own mortality surround us everyday. Any time we read a newspaper, turn on the news, or consume media, we are shown heartbreaking stories of a tragic loss of life. As the old saying goes, "If it bleeds, it leads." At some point throughout our lifetime, we will experience the loss of a loved one, a friend, an acquaintance. With each passing, we are faced with a question: What happens when we die? I was first faced with that question on September 8th, 1995, when my oldest brother Eric passed away from cancer at the age of 24.

Learning About Death
I was only eight years old at the time of my brother's passing. The concept of death was a lot for a third grader to take in, let alone understand.

It confused me.

Much of my childhood was spent at the cemetery where my brother was laid to rest. The more time I spent surrounded by tombstones, the more I started to comprehend what death was and how we would all meet the same end. As my mother would visit my brother and grieve, I did what any eight-year-old kid would do: explore. I'd walk around the cemetery. I'd read the grave markers, the names, the dates of birth and death. I'd speak with the groundskeepers and ask them questions about their job. What was it like working in the death industry? I watched as they would prepare the ground for upcoming burials, the funerals taking place close to my brother's gravesite. I would listen to the eulogies and observe how others handled grief. This is macabre, but it helped me begin my own grieving process. As the years passed and I grew older, thinking of our ultimate end became easier for me. In 2002 my grandmother passed away, peacefully in her home at the age of 73. She was ill in the later years of her life. During our final conversation before her passing, I knew her time on earth was coming to an end; and while I fought to cherish the little time she had left, I was prepared to grieve for her once she took her last breath. However tragic death was, I readied myself for this anguish.

I was confident I could properly grieve for my grandmother. Death wouldn't catch me off guard.

But in 2004, my brother Gary took his life. I couldn't see it through the rage I felt at that time, but my way of thinking about our final end would change forever.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die."
?Howard Phillips Lovecraft, The Nameless City

Paranormal Investigation as Grief Therapy
There are many reasons why people get involved in the search for ghosts and hauntings. Some are looking for an adrenaline rush, some for notoriety. One common reason is the passing of a loved one. In my 17 years of research, I have met hundreds of individuals who are willing to journey into the dark for answers about the afterlife, just as I was after the death of my two brothers. Many paranormal investigators have found a sense of peace in trying to communicate with those that have come before us. After hearing countless stories from those in the field, I realized that the act of paranormal investigation was a form of grief therapy. I only ever made that connection when I read a book titled Corpses, Coffins and Crypts: A History of Burial by Penny Colman, which showed up on my radar for a research project I conducted many years ago. In chapter two of Colman's book, she cites a study performed by psychologist Maria Nagy in 1948:

"The children, who nicknamed Nagy 'Auntie Death,' had discussions with Nagy and drew pictures. In addition the older children followed Nagy's request to 'write down everything that comes to your mind about death.' Nagy studied their responses and concluded that some children go through three stages in understanding death. The youngest children aged three to about five tend to be curious about death anad ask matter-of-fact questions about funerals, coffins, and cemeteries. To them, death is a continuation of life but at a lower level: dead people can't see and hear as well as living people, they aren't quite as hungry, and they don't do very much. And they might return.

Younger children appear to think that death is at best not much fun and boring and at the worst lonely and scary. Beginning at about the age of five or six, children tend to realize that death is final and move into what Nagy named Stage 2. Although at this stage, many children realized that death was final, some of them thought that they could escape death if they were clever, careful, or lucky. Christy Ottaviano remembers thinking like that when she was in elementary school. 'I had to walk past a cemetery to get to school,' she recalls. 'I thought that I wouldn't die if I held my breath the whole way. So I did until I was about nine or ten years old.' Christy may have stopped because she moved into what Nagy identified as Stage 3 in understanding death. This is when children tend to realize that in addition to being final, death is also inevitable. Everyone dies, even clever, careful, and lucky people. Or people who hold their breath when they walk past a cemetery. 'Death is destiny,' wrote one ten-year-old child. Another ten-year-old wrote, 'Everyone has to die.' According to Nagy, Stage 3, which starts at about age nine or ten, continues throughout life." (Colman 29, 30, 31)

Death and the Final Frontier
Reading Maria Nagy's The Child's Theories Concerning Death completely transformed my thought process. Having basically grown up in a cemetery and losing someone so close to me at such a young age, I made the jump from Nagy's proclaimed stage 2 to stage 3 in a more advanced timeframe. Other studies have shown that, "children who experienced a parent's death, who are dying themselves, or who have witnessed violent, traumatic death will perceive death in an adultlike manner at much earlier ages than children who have not had such experiences." ("Death—The Development Of A Concept Of Death—Children, Dead, Nagy, and Age - JRank Articles") These experiences of the human condition led me early on in a lifelong pursuit of finding answers about the possibility of retaining consciousness after the brain dies. Like many others in the study of ghosts and hauntings, I have found comfort in journeying into the dark, and I carry this into every investigation I conduct, into every bit of research I perform, and the hours upon hours of footage I review. And I will continue to do so, until I meet my own ultimate end.

References
Colman, Penny. 1997. Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History of Burial. N.p.: Henry Holt and Company.
"Death—The Development Of A Concept Of Death—Children, Dead, Nagy, and Age—JRank Articles." n.d. Social Issues Reference. Accessed December 4, 2021. https://social.jrank.org/pages/186/Death-Development-Concept-Death.html#ixzz7E9jWV4N5.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2022. All rights reserved.

I have a friend whose family is from another country, and in their house, they have an altar set up to their ancestors. They regularly place flowers, paper money, food and things on this altar. They pray to their ancestors, and I think they believe that if they didn't do these things, their ancestors would be sad or angry with them. I know this is a pretty ancient and widespread belief in some parts of the world. Do you think there is some thread of truth in this? If so, I feel bad because my family does nothing like this at all. Thanks for your fascinating column!

Amanda

Astrea:

The tradition of praying to and honoring ancestors goes back thousands of years. Before most organized religions flourished, many people set up altars and monuments to the people in their families. In Egypt long ago, living people built pyramids with lovely gardens so that their children and grandchildren could visit and bring them gifts of food, flowers and valuables.

This happens all over the world, and religion doesn't always play a part in the ways that people remember the deceased. In Mexico they have Dia de los Muertos, The Day of the Dead, which takes place November 1. Many people set up little altars in their homes and feed the departed. There are parades and parties and other celebrations throughout the country to honor all the ancestors.

There are many simple ways to honor our dead. Any Catholic church will let you purchase and light a candle for someone who has crossed over. Many Christian churches as well as other mainstream religions have ceremonies to honor the dead, so if this appeals to you, find a church, synagogue or temple that offers those kinds of services. Some places even do services for our departed animal companions!

I don't believe that people in the Afterlife become angry. I think that's an emotion that gets left behind; at least, I certainly hope it is. I think that spirits do notice the way that we choose to honor them, and that it makes them feel happy, but if that's not a part of your life, I don't think they become upset.

Once people have fully transitioned into the Afterlife, they are usually at peace and happy. While they would be delighted with any kind of honor and remembering you do for them, they certainly don't require it to help them or to stay connected to you always. As long as those people are alive in your mind and heart, they live.

Your friends are honoring their predecessors in their own traditional way. If you don't feel that you're doing the right thing for yours, you can create your own rituals to honor the dead in your family.

On feast days, I always feed my Granny and my best friend who passed away with whatever we are having for our big meal. Whether they eat it or not doesn't matter; it's the presentation and the feeling behind it that's important.

Thinking of our dead with love is enough, but if you feel you need to do more than that, figure out what works for you - just leave off the guilt. That's one thing I can assure you that your ancestors don't desire or require.

*****

Susyn:

Rituals can play an important part in people's lives. Different cultures practice various ways of honoring their ancestors - there is no one right way.

The practice of placing flowers, food and money on an altar for the deceased is common in Hindu and Buddhist cultures. This is similar to the practices of ancient Egypt, where people were entombed with their favorite objects, foods, water and blessed oils to carry with them over to the next world. Though the details may differ from one religion to the next, the idea is the same.

Keep in mind that most of these rituals are designed more for the living than for their departed ancestors. This is a wonderful way to maintain the heart connection we feel with our loved ones who have crossed over. Even religious practices in the Western world have rituals whose focus is to honor the dead while comforting the living.

You can set up an altar on your own if you feel the desire, and use it to honor your ancestors as well as for other spiritual practices. It is always a good idea to have a special place where you can pray, meditate and converse with your spiritual higher power and any loved ones who've crossed over.

Find a special location to set up your altar. Ideally this should be an area that won't be disturbed by others and offers a quiet, serene atmosphere. Avoid placing your altar by windows or doorways where outside distractions could occur.

There are endless different options for creating your altar. Before you start setting it up, you should cleanse the area with a sage smudge stick or sage incense to bless it.

A small table or desktop will make for a solid base. You may want to cover this area with a special cloth. From this point you can create your altar by gathering together objects, gemstones and candles that speak to you spiritually.

If you are constructing the altar in honor of your ancestors, you can include photographs or possessions connected to them. Flowers, fruit or a small fountain will add a lovely touch to your altar.

If you are going to use this space for personal meditation or daily prayer, you may want to add a special chair or cushion as well so that you can sit comfortably.

Once you've constructed your altar, be sure to set aside time each day to pray or meditate in front of it. Rituals and meditations are most powerful when they are repeated regularly. If you create something special, your altar will not only enhance your spiritual growth but become a quiet haven for you.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.