After your loved one is cremated, you might place their ashes in a cremation urn to celebrate their memory. However, some families will choose to scatter the ashes in a meaningful place. Here are some common methods for scattering your loved one’s ashes.

How to Scatter Your Loved One’s Ashes

1. Casting

If there’s a place that reminds your family of your loved one, you can honor their life by casting their ashes. Through this method, you throw the ashes into the wind and allow them to spread. You may also choose to do so over water. While this gives you less control over the resting place, your loved one’s remains will become part of the land. 

2. Trenching

Some families will have a specific piece of land, such as a garden, where they want to bring their loved one’s ashes. In this case, your family might consider trenching. This is when you dig a shallow pit, scatter your loved one’s ashes in the soil, and cover the trench back up. You can also bury a biodegradable cremation urn. Most families will mark the area with a small plaque or engraved rock. 

3. Raking

While you bury the cremated remains in the ground through trenching, the raking method involves incorporating the ashes into the soil. Your family would scatter the ashes into garden or yard soil from the cremation urn, then gently rake the soil to mix them in. Any number of people can participate in the raking. If you do so in your yard, your family may plant a tree or flower bush in this soil as a memorial. Check your local laws if you plan to rake ashes in a public place like a park or beach. 

Work with a funeral home that will help you celebrate your loved one’s life. The team at Brown Funeral Home & Cremations in Martinsburg, WV, will be with you through this difficult time, from arranging the memorial service to choosing the cremation urn. They offer funeral planning, pre-planning services, burials, cremations, and grief support for you and your loved ones. To learn more about this compassionate funeral home, visit them online or call (304) 263-8896.