The Ancestors

[Starlight]

I won't go into too much backstory here, but I'm just wondering: what do our Ancestors want or need from us? I understand how they can be of great help and support and comfort to us, but what can one do for them in return?

 

Thanks, everyone. :)

[katrinka]

This is your guy, he's done a lot of homework. https://www.facebook.com/jonsaintgermain/

 

If you listen to his archived radio shows, he talks quite a bit about keeping ancestral altars and what kind of offerings to make. Or you could just ask him.  ;)

[Page of Ghosts]

The first thing that comes to mind is keeping their memory alive. Telling stories about them, sharing their proberbs... that sort of thing. For me this would only go back to some of my great-grandparents since I don't know much of the ones that are further back. There are the Finnish immigrants, my great-great-grandparents, but that's pretty much all I know about them - that they immigrated from Finland. And obviously I know much more about my grandparents since we spent so much time together.

[Little Fang]

It's our tradition, in Kemetic Orthodoxy, to venerate our ancestors.  We can give them offerings, even if it's just water, (but we cannot consume offerings to the dead).  It's also a good thing to celebrate their birthdays and holidays with them by offerings and just talking to them.  It's important to remember them, speak their names, for if they are remembered, they continue to live on.  That is what they want, and they desire most to see us living a good life!  :-*

[EmpyreanKnight]

I think that even if they have passed on to the other side, our ancestors still love us and feel like they're responsible for our well-being. Since they don't want their line to suffer penury and ill fortune, they try their best to help us by interceding for us in heaven.

 

They would of course prefer to continue being remembered, so we pray for them always and not only when we need their assistance. Here in my country, we also celebrate our own version of the Dia de los Muertos by visiting them in their cemeteries/graves/etc and paying our respects. All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day are national holidays here so we're given some time off to perform these duties.

[Bodhiseed]

The first thing that comes to mind is keeping their memory alive.

This made me think of the movie 'Coco' which made this idea a cornerstone in its plot.

For me (besides remembering them), I can learn from their mistakes and accomplishments. A life well-lived seems like an appropriate offering.

[Flaxen]

I think our ancestors can come to our aid with clearing negative ancestral patterns - for example actions which have sparked a chain reaction down the line of descendants - family karma of sorts.

 

Working with ancestors forms a core part of my spiritual practice - I remember them at special occasion by leaving out favourite food, drink, light a candle to their memory, tell stories about the ones I know. Round midwinter, I'll also do a small ritual to specifically remember all the direct female ancestors who share my mitochondrial DNA. I usually find them willing to help, pleased to be remembered - only the odd cantankerous one.

 

 

 

 

[Starlight]

Thank you, everyone! There are so many ideas here that I'd not thought of, and I really appreciate you all taking the time to share your thoughts and include links. It means a lot and it's helped me move a bit further forward with this part of my life.

 

Thank you so much. Sending you all my gratitude and many blessings.

 

[Albadawn]

I'm so envious of those who have a strong connection to their ancestry. My family line is extremely difficult to trace due to adoptions, and deliberate misinformation recorded on marriage certificates in order to avoid the pursuit of abusive relatives, and just a sense of disconnection in general. I have no idea what my family's roots are, where we came from, what kind of people we were. It's so sad.

 

The only ancestor connection I have is with my grandfather who passed away just over two years ago. I get little messages and signs from him when I need them, which is very comforting, and I remember him on his birthday always and talk to him as well sometimes. I have no idea what he would think about offerings, I think he would be rather bemused by them to be honest.

 

I just wish I knew more but I don't have any reliable way of finding out. My mother tried a few years ago, fuelled by the same curiosity, and she met with a lot of tight lips and anger. My father's side of the family equally says very little, so I am stumped. If there's any other "lost souls" in this area of things... it would be nice to know. Most people I meet have a great sense of where they came from and it feel strange not to have that sometimes.

[EmpyreanKnight]

That's quite unfortunate, Dawn. I was about to suggest genealogy websites but 1) I haven't tried them at all so I can't personally vouch for their effectiveness, and 2) you did say that there were adoptions and even misdirections in your family's official documents so that muddies the waters. If I were in your place and I have some money to throw, I'd hire an expert in investigating ancestries and let him do all the dirty work. Of course he must have impeccable credentials, but it will cost you.

[Canid]

It's our tradition, in Kemetic Orthodoxy, to venerate our ancestors.  We can give them offerings, even if it's just water, (but we cannot consume offerings to the dead).  It's also a good thing to celebrate their birthdays and holidays with them by offerings and just talking to them.  It's important to remember them, speak their names, for if they are remembered, they continue to live on.  That is what they want, and they desire most to see us living a good life!  :-*

 

I agree. I think what’s important to think of them, love them, talk to them, & special events can jog our memories. They’re NOT dead. We’re the dead ones...sorta.

[~D~]

I think that even if they have passed on to the other side, our ancestors still love us and feel like they're responsible for our well-being. Since they don't want their line to suffer penury and ill fortune, they try their best to help us by interceding for us in heaven.

 

They would of course prefer to continue being remembered, so we pray for them always and not only when we need their assistance. Here in my country, we also celebrate our own version of the Dia de los Muertos by visiting them in their cemeteries/graves/etc and paying our respects. All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day are national holidays here so we're given some time off to perform these duties.

 

 

*so we're given some time off to perform these duties....Now that is really really Cool! <3

[~D~]

I'm so envious of those who have a strong connection to their ancestry. My family line is extremely difficult to trace due to adoptions, and deliberate misinformation recorded on marriage certificates in order to avoid the pursuit of abusive relatives, and just a sense of disconnection in general. I have no idea what my family's roots are, where we came from, what kind of people we were. It's so sad.

 

The only ancestor connection I have is with my grandfather who passed away just over two years ago. I get little messages and signs from him when I need them, which is very comforting, and I remember him on his birthday always and talk to him as well sometimes. I have no idea what he would think about offerings, I think he would be rather bemused by them to be honest.

 

I just wish I knew more but I don't have any reliable way of finding out. My mother tried a few years ago, fuelled by the same curiosity, and she met with a lot of tight lips and anger. My father's side of the family equally says very little, so I am stumped. If there's any other "lost souls" in this area of things... it would be nice to know. Most people I meet have a great sense of where they came from and it feel strange not to have that sometimes.

 

Hi! Dawn,

I know who mine are sorta, but never met any of my Grandparents as they were all over in the UK...Parents came over to Canada after WW2, and only went back once before me.. Also some tight lipped stuff in the family too...BUT, i did listen to my Moms stories about her Mom, and her Gran Mom...etc...

[Millie]

Lately I have found that our Ancestors can both help and hinder.  While they may wish to help us, their own beliefs and prejudices can interfere with our decisions.  Honour them all but also keep your own boundaries.  I believe one of the reasons that our Ancestors kept the deceased at a reverential distance was in order to stop them from influencing or hanging around unwanted and hungry.  Having a way to speak to them, honour them and ask for their assistance but away from the home is essential but what is also essential is to honour them all, not just the ones we think had similar beliefs to us.  You may not believe what they believed but they still need to be acknowledged, thanked and honoured, just not invited in!  ;)

[AJ-ish/Sharyn]

Shaman's Oracle

You might journal your way through this wonderful deck?

I've used it a number of times on my blog, and it always surprises me how it hits a nerve.

[Starlight]

Lately I have found that our Ancestors can both help and hinder.  While they may wish to help us, their own beliefs and prejudices can interfere with our decisions.  Honour them all but also keep your own boundaries.  I believe one of the reasons that our Ancestors kept the deceased at a reverential distance was in order to stop them from influencing or hanging around unwanted and hungry.  Having a way to speak to them, honour them and ask for their assistance but away from the home is essential but what is also essential is to honour them all, not just the ones we think had similar beliefs to us.  You may not believe what they believed but they still need to be acknowledged, thanked and honoured, just not invited in!  ;)

 

Thanks, Millie. You make some good points!

 

I know there are cultures that have their "hungry ghosts" but they weren't a part of my own upbringing and I'm not certain they were part of the culture going back further in time either. In fact, keeping the heads of enemies and esteemed forebears in their homes was not unheard of! (ETA: Let me just add that I'm talking thousands of years back! Not today!!lol)

 

I was taught that once our Ancestors passed, they gained a wiser perspective on life than they had while they were alive, and so they can be very helpful. Then again, apart from memorial cards for the deceased and rosary beads hanging from a Sacred Heart picture, most people go to the graves of their departed and feel that their loves ones are there, perhaps, more so than still at home.