I often wondered why some people shied away from ancestral connection and magic, until I realized much of it had to do with how they viewed ancestors. Many equating them to the family they have known in this life-time or to genetic markers on a test. Yet the world of ancestors is much larger, much deeper, and much more powerful than that.
I feel it is a good time to bring this subject up again as we have entered the Season of the Spirit. A time when the collective as a whole is shifting their focus to the Unseen realms in one form or another. For witches and occultists, it is very direct and intentional, for others it is the holidays of the Dead and Spooky that call to them. No matter what the reason, all that energy is directed at the spirits, and thus they become much more active in the physical realm on the whole. Those who have been intentional longer will feel this shift as a normal rhythm of the energies – Those who are new often get the feeling of “something big is coming.”
The Re-Framing
Some will re-frame the definition of ancestors to include occupations, traditions, and non-blood forms. You could do this, but for me, this feels more like just connecting to an outside spirit, not an ancestral one. There is a difference in the feel and the work. What I find most often is that people need a broader view of what ancestral ties mean.
Let’s talk about blood first. The most common reason I hear people having difficulty connecting to ancestral work is because they have some crappy living family members. These people are a small grain of sand on your ancestral beach though. Your ancestral pool gets really big, very quickly (see the picture below) and that is only if you are looking at direct line and not including all their siblings, their kids, and so forth. Over time we see all kinds of overlaps and interconnections because people moved and blended all over the world for various kinds of reasons.
Then there is Ancestral Soul. These are a specific set of ancestors that are connected to you in a very unique way – because they were you. They are the ancestors of our Soul. Each life lived adds to the knowledge, skills, and experiences of the ancestral soul. For the general public, they experience the ancestral soul on a sub-conscious level – natural talents, hints of past lives, genetic memory. There is conscious work we, as magical practitioners, can do in this life to access all of those lives, memories, and abilities though. To connect to them, raise them to the forefront, tap into them, and use them for our benefit now.
Blood ancestors will always have a deeper and more unique tie to us. It doesn’t mean we won’t find some that we see as bad – they are in every line. You will find a whole lot more welcoming and enriching ones though, at least from what I have seen and experienced.
When it comes to Ancestral Soul, again you will find some damaged ones there too, the difference here though is that damage is your damage now. I hear people talk about ancestral trauma, and it is the trauma carried forth in ancestral soul that I see. To heal ancestral trauma is to heal it in yourself. You also have a lot of amazing and powerful ancestors in that part of your soul. Ones who have tremendous powers, gifts, and knowledge that we can use to enrich and uplift us in this life.
One Point in Time
There is a strange aspect to human behavior which has the tendency to get fixated on one point of time, especially when talking about groups of people, and generalize all the people of that time and culture. We see it in the colonization discussions often. They fixate on the small elite and not the day-to-day people. They also fixate on a specific point in time which was Europeans coming to the Americas. Now before you you start arguing with me in the comments, let me explain.
People have been migrating, moving, and blending since the beginning of humans. Some were done with open arms and welcoming nature – many others were brought to it through domination and war. This happened all over the earth, throughout various times in history, and continues on today. Natives did it to Native tribes – Countries did it to Countries – Religions did it to other Religions – on and on. In the end though it was not all the people, but primarily their leaders pushing the aggression. Many of the little people were forced into the conflict or unwanted migration.
There is evidence that some of the Mayans migrated along the large river systems like the Mississippi and into the southern Appalachians. There is a lot of speculation that they were the Mound Builders who were lost to time, and lived before the histories of the tribes we recognize today. There is archaeological evidence that other local tribes invaded and conquered them. Like all conquered people, many chose to blend and become part of the new occupying culture/people.
On the European migration: Many were forced out of their countries and shipped to the Americas, such as Scotland and Ireland, unwillingly. Many European prisoners were sent to America to work as indentured servants because their jails were too full and the new colonies needed workers. Some came to explore, some came because they were in the military, some were forced, some came happily. In many places though, between the little people, what we saw was blending between the native population and the new ones. This is very true of places like the Appalachians and Ozarks. You will find a blending of many cultural influences from different native tribes, Irish, Scottish, and others.
I am not diminishing all the horrors and atrocities that also occurred. We need to acknowledge them and learn from them so we do not repeat them again. I feel we need to acknowledge the other side of all of this too though. We need to talk about those who worked together, blended together, and created new cultures through that. If we are only focusing on one point in time, one part of that population, one side of a story, than we will miss a whole lot, not just about our history but about humanity on the whole.
Perspective
We are also viewing this through our modern perspectives and morals, not the ones of the time you are looking back on. We have grown and learned through time. We are able to look back with hindsight to see the results of the actions long after they have passed. This shapes and changes our actions and ethics of now. Society and cultures themselves are different now and that is what molds much of our world view. Perspective matters – and it really matters here.
There are many things in older cultures and societies that we look at today and either cringe or give a hefty eye roll to. Instead of judging them by our current standards though, we really need to understand their perspective from their time. Have some compassion for those things if they have roots in their particular culture and society. I say this, because some time in the future humans are going to look back on our current time with the same disgust. There will be things that make them cringe and want to shy away too.
I am lucky that I have some prominent people in my lines that have allowed me to trace back a lot of my ancestry lines even to the early AD’s. That also means I have a lot of shady people there too. Curses and Blessings go hand in hand. I have people who have stories about killing off their family members for power, who committed horrible wrongs, and others who risked everything to help others in need and lift people up. There are ancestors I work really well with, and others who I am pretty sure hate me. This is family, and no family is perfect.
Protection Aspects
This brings us to the discussion of protections…
When dealing with regular ancestors, no matter how you view them, you should have some protections in place and know of ways to get rid of them when you need to. Like any spirit group, there are good and bad ones in every bunch.
I personally like using a servitor as a gatekeeper for mine. I have built and grown it with very specific perimeters and then let it decide who gets through or not. For me this is just easier and works like a charm. It does take time to create though and some skill in developing its directives.
You can use basic wards like you would for any other spirit. Depending on your tradition, culture, or personal practices, will depend on what that looks like. I am a big proponent of sigil and Rune work for this, and is generally a good starting point for newer people.
As far as getting rid of a spirit – again very dependent on your connections and practices. Voice is the most powerful ally here, at least in my opinion. Also certain smells can be very effective – such as certain incenses, but be careful as some like copal tend to attract spirits.
Do your research, experiment, and try different methods to figure out what actually works for you. Prevention is best, but there will be a time where someone needs to get the boot.
For Ancestral Soul you do not even need to worry about any of that, and one reason why it is the place I think everyone should start at when approaching ancestor work. All those ancestors are you. Whatever bad you may find, you have carried forward in this life and now have the opportunity to heal for all of you – break the cycle! They are also fantastic for getting rid of unwanted spirits. Lastly, your success, your achievements, your life, is their highest priority, because they live through you and you will become them in death.
So if you have been shying away from ancestor work because of the pit falls – start with ancestral soul. Let it be your Guide and show you a world of potential. It is some of the most rewarding work I have done from a self perspective. They are also the best allies I could ask for.
Do you work with ancestors? What are your practices like and what tips would you give others?
Have you connected to your Ancestral Soul? What is your perspective or story?
I’d love to here about it in the comments below!
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