The sibling relationship embodies the image of companionship. During the psychologically transformative period of adolescence, sibling companionship often becomes the measure by which an individual encounters the world. Death of a sibling during this period evokes the potential for a variety of psychological implications, one of which is the loss of a life-long companion. What once were bonds of companionship are transformed into bonds of grief that serve as a critical moment in development. Such bonds of grief stretch far beyond the confines of consciousness into otherwise unconscious realms. Here the grieving sibling encounters the departed. Answering the call to bridge the gap between life and death, the departed emerges as guide to the remaining sibling's soulful journey, revealing the dark truth of a loving bond. No longer bound by the conscious confines of companionship, the sibling who remains encounters the dark companion within through a restorative, ritual gesture with the dark companion without. Wounded and withdrawn, the remaining sibling encounters the departed's call through the presence of her absence. Will the separation lead to a transformation and subsequent return?

This theoretical hermeneutic study embraces the etymological, mythic, depth psychological, and cultural origins of grief rituals through an Imaginal lens using alchemical hermeneutic methodology and its processes in an effort to return soul to the experience of adolescent sibling loss. Through dreams, fantasy, and reverie, the companionless adolescent painfully passes through the threshold of grief having been transformed from wanderer to wonderer. Formerly bound to the complex chains of grief, the remaining sibling encounters the dark companion within through the reverent gifts of permission, compassion, and heart-felt restoration. The restored heart rejoices in the bonds of companionship through a ritual restoring justice and transforming the sibling bond of grief into a transformative act of soulful loving. The restored sibling finds presence in the departed's absence drawing the journey to an end as the work begins with a question: "Who?" Who is present in the field of psychology and restores the broken bonds of companionship between its members?