Module Nine
Ancestor veneration, or the honoring of your ancestors, has been practiced across varied religious and spiritual paths throughout history. While someone with psychic senses may be adept at recognising when Grandma is showing up in the kitchen to tell you to use ‘just a pinch more’ salt in her famous spaghetti recipe, the mystic seeks to move beyond sensing the presence of Grandmother’s spirit to engaging MeeMaw’s participation and assistance with psychic energy work.
The best way to effectively divine whether an ancestor is interested in joining your spiritual support team is to ask them! You will be given a template or suggested practice to do this in your homework for this module but, as always, we encourage you to be guided by your intuition to make it feel right for your unique practice.
Ones religious background and spiritual beliefs about the afterlife may colour the way in which they approach an ancestor; for example, if your belief system suggests that Great Aunt Carol is lapping up a horn-full of Mead with the Viking ancestors of olde in Valhalla, tidying up her gilded mansion in Heaven, or hanging out in the corner of your living room during your annual family thanksgiving holiday celebration, the way in which you approach them may be quite different.
It is a long held belief in Spiritualism, which began in the 1840’s and rose to great popularity at the end of the US Civil War in 1865 , that when one calls on the spirit of a loved one who has passed on by name, they can hear that call as loud as thunder and be able to commune with the caller through a variety of techniques made popular in that time in history, such as Ouija or spirit boards, seances, or even spirit possession of a psychic medium.
While we don’t believe that this forum is appropriate to cover the intricacies and possible dangers of possession, we do believe that building on the sense of spiritual support from spirits who are already vested in your best interest (because you carry their DNA) can be very beneficial in assembling your go-to spiritual squad.
The way in which you approach your ancestors can also be influenced by your ancestry’s traditions, beliefs, and cultural backgrounds. Calling on and communing with the spirits of your ancestors can be as different, unique, and personal as your relationship with any family member still living. The important thing to do is to communicate in a way that is meaningful for you and honors the life of the spirit with whom you are attempting to communicate.
A standard in ancestor veneration is setting up an alter to your ancestor. While this practice is commonplace on the birthday of an ancestor or on the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos, setting up a simple alter to them when asking for their assistance in your psychic energy work is a great way to build the connection, begin the conversation, and learn the ropes of how they will show up to you from the spiritual plane.
If you had a relationship with the person while they were living, you have the benefit of a built-in personal connection with them and their energy can be sensed even through your memory; however, with the introduction of such modern technologies and the rising popularity of ancestry studies through platforms like ‘ancestry.com’ or ‘23 and me’ we have access to learning and meeting sources of our DNA that generations of the past scarcely had access or opportunity to.
Modern conjure practices include many forms of ancestor veneration that borrow from a buffet of spiritual traditions including and often times marrying those of North American indigenous peoples, African traditions, and European Catholic influences that have created an evolved practice where commonality of tradition can be found, but also leaves room for individuality of expression for those on a more solitary spiritual path. This has led to a very unique brand of folk magick in North America that has its roots in Celtic Faery traditions while simultaneously honouring traditions of Native American tribes. A perfect example of the evolution of a spiritual practice is Hoodoo. Hoodoo has roots in the Haitian religion of Voodoo, which then made its migration to North America by way of Africa and the abhorrent slave trade, where it was then married with European theology, and is now practiced mainly by Roman Catholics and protestant Christians.
And so, as the evolution of Hoodoo shows us: the modality with which the mystic chooses to commune with their ancestors can be dictated either by tradition, personal preference, or a little bit of both!