Witchcraft, Folklore, Polytheism

Who counts as an ancestor, and why should you talk to them? How does ancestry relate to family, to trauma, to animals and plants? Honoring Your Ancestors is a human and heartening guide to a very tricky subject, which will benefit anyone seeking a resource for genuine spiritual connections.

Conscious of religion, but not distracted by it, Mallorie Vaudoise provides useful approaches to connecting and working with ancestral spirits from a variety of perspectives. Those who are hesitant to work with the spirits of their own family will not feel that she is trying to convert you or coerce you—there's a great deal of honesty in her approach to the issues of consorting with the dead.

Vaudoise moves easily between traditional contexts and her own anecdotes, balancing the practical and personal extremely well. She instills confidence in her advice right alongside a humble relatability that imparts of a sense of magic and ritual as natural, approachable rights belonging to all humans. Her skill in this is matched by few other authors. Chapter 11, "A Selection of Spells" is full of lovely and brilliant rituals; at once potent and achievable. She is upfront about the fact that some of the spells "look more like practical advice than magic until you apply them and see the results for yourself." Vaudoise is right: sometimes very real magic does flourish in seemingly mundane tasks and rituals do indeed begin with their preparation. Fear not; the author is very clearly aware of the concrete reality of magic and miracles. Trust the process. In Chapter 1, Vaudoise mentions that restless ghosts, unlike ancestors, shouldn't be strengthened with offerings or called upon for intercession. This is sound advice for the kind of spiritual systems this book provides—however, the very brief section on ghosts does gloss over the robust history of seeking out the restless dead to carry out magical operations. Probably a wise choice on her part, casual readership considered. On the subject of spiritual hygiene, she mentions that foul odors are often considered attractive to evil spirits (like to like). While there are certainly many cases that underscore her point, there are also many customs that contradict this statement and could be mentioned here; such as the burning or wearing of sulfur, garlic, or asafoetida, to keep foul and dangerous spirits at bay.

Honoring Your Ancestors pulls from a colorful basket of magical and religious paths to provide concrete rituals and prayers one can use with ancestral spirits. Vaudoise is candid about her Italian-American Catholic touch points, but kindly provides many alternatives and permission to adapt her rituals as needed. One non-biblical variation of a prayer to the hyssop plant on page 113 (of my edition) struck me as particularly beautiful:

Mighty hyssop, forgiving hyssop, you who have washed away so many mistakes: please wash away the pain of what I have done, for which I am truly sorry. Guide me back to my true path, the path where I am able to nourish the living and bring honor to my ancestors.

This prayer is an effective charm: conjuring the precedence of hyssop's expertise, honesty and sincerity from the speaker, and purposeful motivation for the work at hand.

This book is obviously focussed on ancestral veneration, however it simultaneously provides a workable and approachable template for any spiritual practice. I highly encourage anyone who moves through it to consider how they might adapt the advice and rituals from various sections to other kinds of spirit work and magic. My book club and I performed a group version of the "Ritual to Reconnect with Your Ancestors" from Chapter 1, page 23. It was a powerful and sweet experience, which brought us closer as a group and also brought each of us into closer connection with our familial ancestors. It beautifully harmonized with the warning Vaudoise gives about spells sometimes sounding like 'practical advice,' as much of the magic in this ritual comes from the preparation for it. I'll leave you to discover that for yourself.

Thank you @cultusquercus for tagging me — sorry it's taken me so long!

If your magic had a theme song what would it be? There really isn't one, oddly enough. Music is a big part of my practice and I often sing songs to spirits as offerings, or tell timely stories with ballad verses, or summon particular conditions by bringing such stories into a room. I do also know many old songs about magic and spirits, and a few about witches—however, none of them exemplify my practice. They would all paint an inaccurate picture of what I get up to. But I will say that Goblin's "Suspiria" always makes me wanna get up to some shit.

And, of course after I've typed this out, I remember The Gentle Roar by Nikki & the Dove, which does fit the bill.

What’s the weirdest substitute component you’ve ever used? Ha! This doesn't specify "successfully used" so I get to mention the time I was feeling sufficiently menaced by a spirit outside my kitchen door, many years ago. Without much thought, and having badly misunderstood a bit of folklore I'd recently read, I tossed a menacing stalk of kale at the being... who watched bemusedly as it flew past him, and definitely did not run away screaming.

What’s a superstition you don’t believe in? Aye yeah I like the one @cultusquercus mentioned, and I think most of the tarot-related ones I've heard don't seem to hold up, when I've asked proper tarot readers about them. There are many as well but I love black cats so let me just assure folks that they aren't bad luck, and that there's just as much lore out there about them being good luck. Cats are cool, black animals are useful in rituals, so I get it—but nah.

What’s the most chaotic spell outcome? How off target did it go? I'm sure there's some occasion I'm failing to recall, but when my spells have failed, I think it's usually been more along the lines of a 'fizzle out' than an 'explode in the wrong direction' situation.

What’s something completely mundane that feels magical to you? I don't know that I believe in anything being completely mundane, theoretically speaking, but I get the gist. I'd say poetry: it transports and affects the reader/listener/poet, written or spoken both work but are different, something is a little different after a poem has happened, and it has a habit of enlivening or reminding the world around and within us into movement or consciousness. It can also be ugly, tacky, and bad but still work. It can also not work.

What kind of magic are you bad at? There are absolutely exceptions to this, but the clearest answer is 'overtly Christian magic.' It's not that I'm anti-Christian magic, it's that when I try it it fails. The written amulet works until I pray a Christian prayer over it; then it fails; the holy water rots quickly; etc. Again, there are exceptions to this. I've done Christian magic effectively, but I have a hunch that there are usually pacts and influences involved in those instances that make me nearly irrelevant. I think I was born very much not a monotheist, and then very heartily rejected Christianity at a young age, and now it's just a flop for me. Which really is more limiting than I'd like it to be, in terms of written sources on traditions of magic from Europe.

What’s a sign or omen you completely misread at first? I've been practicing playing card divination for a while now, and what comes to mind here is when I pulled the 5 of spades for how the weather would affect my friend's wedding. I first interpreted it as "an obstacle to overcome with difficulty," but that reading taught me that (subjectively, in my readings) that is a card of "it will not happen." The wedding did happen, just not that day, which was relevant to the phrasing of my question.

If your altar could judge you what would it say you’re neglecting? Which altar? I guess the first that comes to mind is the hearth mantle, which I've already been told is in want of a designated incense burner and glass.

What is one witchcraft hill you will die on? I'm going to reinterpret "witchcraft" as "magic" here. I prefer a strict definition of "witchcraft" which limits it to a secretive and antisocial enough practice to not really have hills to die on, in this sort of social way. Magically speaking, I'll die on the hill that magic is real; it's part of the world, and therefore it tends to behave (in general ways) like most other things. Take something that anyone is saying about magic: change the subject away from magic toward something else. Is it still good advice? Does it make sense? Does it sound helpful or totally disconnected? Is it brilliant, rude, or both? What's the fallout from that advice? Those answers will probably relate to the magical subject as well.

What’s a habit you’ve turned into ritual? I love that you're singing to spirits and such as well @cultusquercus! My morning coffee has become my meditation practice time as well. I'm not sure how I'm liking that, but it's happening for now!

If you could take the shape of an animal for a day what would you choose? Hmmmm owl, falcon, or crow probably. I'd like physical flight and keen senses, plus a good chance of survival.

If your magic had a moral alignment, what would it be? 'Neutral good' I guess? Maybe?

What’s a belief you had early in your practice that you laugh at now? Direct and exact justice for our actions; that we will get exactly what we put out in a spell returned back to us, or that it will be returned and multiplied. Why laugh? See the hill I'll die on, above.

If you could bottle one type of feeling and use it for spellwork what would it be? Potentiality; that empowered, bendable, 'anything can happen' light in your eyes: metis.

What’s your shouldn’t work but it does method? Oh gosh idk. Magic is all silly, on some level. I can't pick.

What’s the most aesthetic thing over practical you’ve done in your practice? Aesthetics are practical, they just aren't helpful in every type of goal. I will coopt the answer @cultusquercus gave and say my early spell books and magical notebooks, which sat untouched for years because they were too pretty to write in. A great example of aesthetics being unhelpful. I've found mildly-pleasing but not too-fancy notebooks to be a huge boost.

If your practice had a warning label, what would it be? Keep your word. And rituals and magic in general will take more time than you think it will, so plan around that.

What’s the first magical book you read? Oh gosh, I'm not sure. Maybe Green Witchcraft II: Balancing Light & Shadow by Ann Moura. Whatever I could get my hands on that seemed at all relevant and affordable for a teenager.

This was fun! Thanks for tagging me.