How to include your furry family in ancestor season rituals + folklore on pets as psychopomps.
We lost our kitten, Olive, this week. He was just six months old—bright-eyed, mischievous, endlessly snuggly. One of three brothers we rescued from birth, he was our wild little snow leopard baby. And he was my secret favorite.
He died right before we were going to bring him home from the vet, seemingly recovered. But unfortunately, he didn’t recover, and now he’s buried under the olive tree in our backyard.
And we are heartbroken.
Pepino (white) & Mini P (black)
Today also marks five years since my soul-dog Pepino died.
He was Roberto and my first baby. He was my companion through thick and thin, and his death broke something in me that I wasn’t sure would ever fully mend. I still miss his physical form every day.
And then there was Mini P—our guardian pup who suddenly died just days before my son’s complicated birth. I’ve always believed she took the hit for him, or me—crossed over so we could both stay.
Some animal companions do that. They know.
🕯️
In this season when the veil thins, we often talk about honoring our ancestors of blood and bone.
But what about our animal kin?
The ones who lived in our homes, who slept by our sides, who saw us every day in all our mess and glory. The ones who guarded us, guided us, made us laugh, and taught us how to love unconditionally, and then, when it’s time for them to go, how to grieve.
This year, our ancestor altar will be dedicated to them, because our furry family aren’t just animals. They are kin, our chosen family.
Goddess Hel and the hellhound Garmr by Johannes Gehrts, 1889
🐾 On Animal Spirits & Folklore
Across many cultures, animals are seen not only as companions in life, but also as guides in death.
In Norse and Germanic traditions, animals like dogs, horses, and birds appear as psychopomps—beings who escort souls across thresholds. Dogs, especially, were associated with the underworld and the afterlife, guarding gates and walking between worlds. In Norse mythology, Freyja’s chariot was drawn by cats, beings who carried her chosen dead back to her hall with her.
In Celtic lore, the Otherworld is often entered in the company of an animal—especially a hound, cat, or bird. And in Slavic folktales, black dogs, cats, and owls were seen as messengers or intermediaries between the land of the living and the dead.
Even today, many of us sense that our beloved animal companions stay close after death—watching over us, offering comfort in dreams, or showing up in strange synchronicities. They warn, protect, and sometimes intervene for us in the Otherworld(s).
🕯️ How to Honor Your Furry, Scaly, and Winged Beloveds
If you’re feeling called, this ancestor season is a beautiful time to welcome your animal beloved dead back into your space this season- on your altar or in your practices. Here are some simple ways to do so:
• Add their photo to your ancestor altar
• Light a candle for them and speak their name aloud
• Leave a small offering: a treat they loved, a toy, a flower
• Write them a letter of gratitude or tell a favorite story you have about them
• Pay attention to your dreams—they may visit you
• Listen for subtle signs: paw sounds, purring, shadows, or flickers of presence
If you have children, this can be a deeply comforting and healing way for them to participate in ancestor work and remember their darlings. It helps them to see that death doesn’t mean disappearance. That love continues and that all our kinships have a place at the altar, in our hearts, and in our memories.
🐾 Remembering Is Ritual
I believe our animal kin choose us, much in the same way that our children do.
And sometimes, they choose to go—before we’re ready—because they’re still working magic for us in the unseen. I posted about Olive’s death on IG yesterday and a dear person wrote “may his memory be a blessing,” and that really hit home for me, comforting me in my heartbreak.
Maybe Olive had completed what he came here to do.
I know Pepino has never really left.
Maybe Mini P laid down her life so that Rollo could be born safely.
They do these things from their deep and innocent love. So we can remember them and honor them, because for me, they are the unsung heroes of our lives. How many times has your animal companion been the only one to help you out of a dark place?
So, we make space at the altar for their spirit paws, their wet noses, and their warmth.
Because love like that? It never dies.
🕯️
Thank you for remembering with me. If you’re honoring your furry beloved dead this season too, I’d love to hear about them in the comments. 🐾💔
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