Anya

Do you have any phrases or wording that you use to address them? If so, can u share examples? I find myself questioning if im doing this right so any answers or advice is welcome

Let's get into it! These are some of my personal favorites; they're all full of good content but are super accessible. I haven't included any hardcore occultism, academic texts, or reference texts here.

Astrology

You Were Born For This by Chani Nicholas

Ancestor Veneration

Honoring Your Ancestors by Mallorie Vaudoise

Theology

The Divine Dance by Mike Morrel and Richard Rohr

The Way Of The Rose: The Radical Path Of The Divine Feminine Hidden In The Rosary by Clark Strand

Shameless: A Sexual Reformation by Nadia Bolz-Weber

Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God by Kaitlin B. Curtice

Spirituality and Ecology

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Tarot

WTF Is Tarot by Bakara Wintner

Witchcraft

The Altar Within: A Radical Devotional Guide To Liberate The Divine Self by Juliet Diaz

Just finished redecorating my altar! Left is for the ancestors, right is for the spirits, middle is for the Gods. Lately I've been drawn more to the ancestors and spirits, and seeing the Gods in a similar fashion within the world surrounding us.

My hope is to continue developing my practice towards a more animistic point of view, which is hard and will take a long time, but rewarding in a sense that the mundane becomes the sacred, instead of having separation between the two.

Let’s talk for a moment about ancestor veneration. Things it is: beginnner friendly, safe, easy and really rewarding. Things it isn’t: a closed practice, disrespectful to any culture, or perpetuating colonization. When its done correctly and with respect to the plight of people that have been oppressed it is a great way to learn from our past’s mistakes.

Let’s start with the basics. What is ancestor veneration? It’s the practice of remembering those who came before us, both family and not. Many practioners include those beyond their relatives in their veneration. Personally I have three of my closest friends who i have lost, my best friend’s aunt, and the Golden Girls. Because everyone needs to remember the strength of friendship. But I also have something for my birth mother, and a small led tea light i have on mostly always for “those who came before me who wish me well”. It doesn’t just have to be about blood relation.

I know there’s discourse about the ethics behind venerating those who may have been involved in colonization, war, slave trades and other atrocities. To that I say, yes remembering that many of our ancestors have participated in some horrible practices is important. But I at least personally am not venerating them for their actions. I’m venerating them as a part of what has made me, me. And part of that is learning from some of the horrible things they may have been a part of in the past.

♧ Folk Magic ♧

♧  What is folk magic?

♧ What makes folk magic and witchcraft different?

♧ Divination ♧

♧ How to Read Playing Cards: Introduction

♧ How to Read Playing Cards: Suits, Jokers & Numerology

♧ How to Read Playing Card: ♤ Spades ♤

♧ How to Read Playing Cards: ♢ Diamonds ♢

♧ How to Read Playing Cards: ♧ Clubs ♧

♧ How to Read Playing Cards: ♡ Hearts ♡

♧ Southern History & Culture ♧

♧ Haints, Haint Blue & Bottle Trees

♧ Southern Superstitions ♧

♧ #1 - Don't Bring Birds in the House

♧ #2 - Don't Rock Empty Rocking Chairs

♧ #3 - Always Exit the Same Way You Enter

♧ #4 - Mirrors on the Porch

♧ #5 - Cover Your Mirrors

♧ #6 - Never Eat Both Ends of a Bread Loaf

♧ #7 - Always Buy a New Broom for a New House

♧ #8 - Don't Clean on New Years Day

♧ #9 - Keep Cash in Your Pocket on New Years Day

♧ Animal Archetypes ♧

♧ What I Use Animal Archetypes For

♧ Snake

♧ Crow & Raven

♧ Fox

About Me Catgender Collection

Grimoire Pages Advice for New Witches Animals and Nature Baneful Magic Cleansing and Warding Divination For the Spoonie and Neurodivergent Pagans/Witches For Pagans/Witches to Beware of Goddess Devotions Hellenic Polytheism Magical Self Care and Routines Magical Things Magical Topics My Posts Related to My Practices Otherworldly Beings Religions and Deities Rituals and Spells Sigils Spell Jars and Spell Bags Spirit Work Tarot/Oracle Spreads

Frequently Used Tags #witches of color #mother witch advice #mother witch ramblings #spoonie worship #your daily reminder #homemaker #disabled #artemis devotee #religious advice #religious ramblings #religious humor

*Divination practice side blog: @loreleislair. Reading openings will also be announced on main blog. *My inbox stays open. Please read before sending asks. *My blog is discourse free. *I'm a witch, but I'm not Wiccan. *I'm religious and spiritual, but I have nothing to do with New Age, Neopaganism, or fandoms. *I'm a childfree homemaker, but I'm not a "tradwife" or "tradfem". *I support the Xenia Declaration. *I have neither the time nor the energy for any type of bigotry, and I don't tolerate any amount of harm toward minors. My blog is a safe space, but not one for bigots and abusers.

I can literally trace my bloodline back to a named figure on the Confederate side of the American Civil War, so I get that.

I believe it's possible to worship ancestors/those who have come before us broadly, but then you're dealing with just...the unknown dead. You don't know who they are and you don't know what they liked/disliked for sure, you're really down to guesswork and cultural context for clues.

To be honest, I'm not the best person to ask this question to, as I don't do any form of ancestor veneration or ancestor work. I recommend asking folks like @crazycatsiren and @serpentandthreads because they'll have more insight! I'll also toss this out to the dash and see if anyone else who practices ancestor veneration has advice for you.

Lay out the standard offerings: sweet-smelling incense, candlelight and fresh water. Feel free to include other edible offerings as well. Have with you a bell you have consecrated for this invocation, that it will only attract the attention of benevolent ancestors. You may call upon a deity who can help you with ancestor work, but this is not necessary.

With each line of the invocation, ring the bell and feel that your very being is pulling the spirits of your ancestors to you. With your awareness, reach into the sound of the bell as it ripples out into the spirit world. Take your time with this step.

Ancestors of mine Mother’s line Father’s line Ancestors of blood and spirit Ancestors human and non-human* Ancestors, from the first to the last I call to you through space and time Your flesh is my flesh Your blood is my blood Your breath is my breath Follow, my Ancestors, the sound of this bell The sweet smell of this smoke The warmth of this candlelight Come and be nourished by these offerings Come in peace and benevolence

*In my belief as a Buddhist, we have ancestors from this life and all our past lives, some of which will be non-human. 

Now, you can do any number of things:

Sit quietly and meditate on your ancestors, their presence, your connection with them. See if any messages arise.

Perform divination, asking about them, or for advice.

Tell your ancestors about yourself and your life.

Ask for their help and protection.

Pray for your ancestors’ wellbeing. Depending on your belief system, they may be suffering from sin, negative karma, improper burial rites, generational trauma, or simply the consequences of having lived the life they did which were not resolved upon their passing.

In the occult discords I frequent I periodically see questions from new practitioners who want to start spirit work and have been directed to start with their ancestors, but they’re in a bind because like many young folk today they don’t have such a great relationship with their family. For their own reasons they don’t know their family history and either feel disconnected from previous generations or don’t want to connect to their bloodline. Over the years my personal ancestor veneration has taken shape in a way that I think might be helpful or of interest to people who want to strike up a relationship with their ancestors, but don’t have a great one with their living or recently deceased family.

Types of ancestors:

Beloved Dead: These are my known/recently deceased spirits, people I have known in life who have passed on. Not always technically ancestors, because these spirits aren’t aren’t necessarily related to me, or in my direct line of descent. The only requirement is that I knew them in life, as well as in death.

Ancestors: My actual forebearers, the people I’m directly descended from. I know many of their names because my family tree is very well researched, but I never met them in life. This also includes the ancestors whose names I don’t know but are still in that familial line, those spirits I refer to as “unnamed ancestors” or “unnamed forbearers”.

Cultural Ancestors: This by far the largest category, because there is no upper limit to the number of sub categories I can squeeze in there, none of which rely on actual blood ties. It has my ethno-cultural ancestors, the Irish people who came before me, the Italian people who came before me, the Norwegian people who came before me… etc. But it also has the ancestors of the things I choose to identify my self as: The disabled people who have come before me, the witches who have come before me, the Sailors, the Dancers, the Musicians, the Storytellers, etc. Everyone in this category connects me to some kind of cultural history that exists outside of my bloodline.

Who To Call On and When?

For me calling on my ancestors is a lot like calling on a deity. I petion them/ dedicate my actions to them, when I’m doing something that’s in their realm of influence. For instance: Say I’m cooking a traditional Italian meal, I would call on my Italian cultural ancestors, and they would get some of the meal as an offering in repayment. I would also probably call on the individual spirit of my grandmother, one of my beloved dead, since she was the one who taught me Italian cooking, and it’s quite likely her recipe I’m using.

I also have specific days set aside for my most frequently called upon groups Christmas Eve was always big with the Italian side of the family, and I still celebrate it the traditional way, so that’s become a day for my Italian cultural ancestors. St Patricks Day is for my Irish cultural ancestors. St. Lucia Day is for my Norwegian ancestors. I’ve set aside Talk Like a Pirate Day to venerate all of the sailors, fishermen, and wayfinders who have gone before me, and

Why Approach Ancestor Work/Worship/Veneration like this?

I feel like this approach gives me, and perhaps others, the most flexibility and the most options to approach ancestor work on terms that work for me. Have a great relationship with the family you’ve interacted with, but uncomfortable with the actions of your ancestors a few generations back? Interact only with your Beloved Dead and your Cultural Ancestors. Want nothing to do with your biological family, but still want to do ancestor work? Create a spiritual found family by working only with Cultural Ancestors. This way of thinking about those who loved what we love before us could be applied to any interest or personal identity that a person holds dear. However you choose to define yourself you can can use to draw a connection to people who also defined themselves that way in the past.

In the occult discords I frequent I periodically see questions from new practitioners who want to start spirit work and have been directed to start with their ancestors, but they’re in a bind because like many young folk today they don’t have such a great relationship with their family. For their own reasons they don’t know their family history and either feel disconnected from previous generations or don’t want to connect to their bloodline. Over the years my personal ancestor veneration has taken shape in a way that I think might be helpful or of interest to people who want to strike up a relationship with their ancestors, but don’t have a great one with their living or recently deceased family.

Types of ancestors:

Beloved Dead: These are my known/recently deceased spirits, people I have known in life who have passed on. Not always technically ancestors, because these spirits aren’t aren’t necessarily related to me, or in my direct line of descent. The only requirement is that I knew them in life, as well as in death.

Ancestors: My actual forebearers, the people I’m directly descended from. I know many of their names because my family tree is very well researched, but I never met them in life. This also includes the ancestors whose names I don’t know but are still in that familial line, those spirits I refer to as “unnamed ancestors” or “unnamed forbearers”.

Cultural Ancestors: This by far the largest category, because there is no upper limit to the number of sub categories I can squeeze in there, none of which rely on actual blood ties. It has my ethno-cultural ancestors, the Irish people who came before me, the Italian people who came before me, the Norwegian people who came before me… etc. But it also has the ancestors of the things I choose to identify my self as: The disabled people who have come before me, the witches who have come before me, the Sailors, the Dancers, the Musicians, the Storytellers, etc. Everyone in this category connects me to some kind of cultural history that exists outside of my bloodline.

Who To Call On and When?

For me calling on my ancestors is a lot like calling on a deity. I petion them/ dedicate my actions to them, when I’m doing something that’s in their realm of influence. For instance: Say I’m cooking a traditional Italian meal, I would call on my Italian cultural ancestors, and they would get some of the meal as an offering in repayment. I would also probably call on the individual spirit of my grandmother, one of my beloved dead, since she was the one who taught me Italian cooking, and it’s quite likely her recipe I’m using.

I also have specific days set aside for my most frequently called upon groups Christmas Eve was always big with the Italian side of the family, and I still celebrate it the traditional way, so that’s become a day for my Italian cultural ancestors. St Patricks Day is for my Irish cultural ancestors. St. Lucia Day is for my Norwegian ancestors. I’ve set aside Talk Like a Pirate Day to venerate all of the sailors, fishermen, and wayfinders who have gone before me, and

Why Approach Ancestor Work/Worship/Veneration like this?

I feel like this approach gives me, and perhaps others, the most flexibility and the most options to approach ancestor work on terms that work for me. Have a great relationship with the family you’ve interacted with, but uncomfortable with the actions of your ancestors a few generations back? Interact only with your Beloved Dead and your Cultural Ancestors. Want nothing to do with your biological family, but still want to do ancestor work? Create a spiritual found family by working only with Cultural Ancestors. This way of thinking about those who loved what we love before us could be applied to any interest or personal identity that a person holds dear. However you choose to define yourself you can can use to draw a connection to people who also defined themselves that way in the past.

What is ancestor veneration?

Veneration simply means "to have great respect". I choose to use the term "ancestor veneration" over "ancestor work" because I believe that if you want to work with your ancestors, then you need to start by having a strong sense of respect for them. Your ancestors aren't attack dogs, nor are they slaves. They are not there for you to give orders to or treat with disrespect. Your ancestors are your family. Your ancestors are your guides and your protectors. They are the ones who came before you and are the very reason you were able to exist.

I say this because I often see people in the witchcraft and magic community try to treat spirits like attack dogs and slaves. Hell, I've seen people treat deities as such. It's pretty disturbing to me. Don't be one of those people.

Working with your ancestors is similar to all other forms of spirit work, though I wouldn't approach it the same. Your ancestors were once human. They had flaws in life and chances are some of them carried those flaws into death, too. They have their own morals and values. Not all of them deserve respect, and chances are there are some ancestors you don't want in your space. I'll address this later, though.

How do I determine who my ancestors are?

If you were raised by your blood relatives, this may be a little easier for you. The first thing you will want to do is ask your living family what they know. Parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents... Ask them what they know and remember about your past relatives. Try to write down names when you hear them. If you are lucky enough to have relatives who keep detailed documentation about your ancestry, that is even better.

Depending on where you live, public documentation can be of great help. Old newspaper articles, obituaries... Try to figure out how you can make connections this way. You'd be surprised by the information you can find.

If you really want to dive deep into your heritage, ancestry DNA kits can help you with that. It can be expensive, and the databases of these companies vary, but it can be helpful. Some can connect you to distant relatives that have used the same ancestry DNA company. They can also give you a very general idea about where your ancestors came from.

If you were adopted, or generally have zero information regarding your blood relatives, that is okay. Your adopted family is still your family, depending on how you view them. If you love your adopted family, and truly consider them family, then you can choose to work with them, too.

I personally don't believe in the whole "your blood determines who your family is" thing. Family is more complex than that to me. That being said, if your parents or other relatives have any close friends that you grew up with, they could be considered family, too. Sometimes we are lucky enough to have people come into our lives and treat us like family. If you grew up with anybody like this, and consider them to be family, they can count as an ancestor too.

What if my ancestors were bad people?

I most commonly see this question being asked by white people. They usually refer to their racist, white ancestors. I even see people go as far as to claim white people can't work with their ancestors because of this.

Here is the thing: everybody has at least a few shitty people for ancestors. Your race does not make your immune to having bad people in your ancestry.

It is up to you to look at the ancestors you know of and determine who you want in your space. You are not required to work with every single ancestor you have. You have the right to say no to an ancestor and tell them to stay away from you. You do not need to work with racist, homophobic, transphobic, or whatever else ancestors.

You can set boundaries with your ancestors.

How do I start ancestor veneration once I determine who my ancestors are and which ones I want to honor?

Start by considering an ancestor altar. This can be easy for those of you who are in the broom closet due to hateful family. You can always pass it off as a little memorial spot for your past loved ones (this isn't even a false claim- an ancestor altar is literally a place to pay your respects). If you are able to, start collecting things for an ancestor altar.

The first things I suggest looking for are photos of your ancestors and things that belonged to them, if possible. You can add jewelry, things they used for their favorite hobbies... If you can't find the exact things they used for their hobbies, you could consider buying something that they would have used.

Your ancestors will need offerings, too. I know people tend to get a little intimidated about giving spirits regular offerings, so I suggest starting small and try keeping up with a schedule. Dedicate a specific day of the week to start. Once you feel comfortable with that day, make it two days of the week. If you are comfortable giving them offerings every day, even better!

Some of the easiest offerings you can give your ancestors include coins, cash, flowers, incense, candles, tobacco products and the sacred text of their chosen religion (such as a Bible). You can also include more personal offerings, such as a handwritten letter from yourself or a piece of artwork you created for them.

Food and liquid offerings, in my opinion, are a necessity. Your ancestors deserve to be well fed, too! They may not be here in their physical form to enjoy it, but it is still appreciated regardless. Get some plates and cups specifically for the ancestors. Give them a small portion of food before you eat. Leave it on the ancestor altar until breakfast/lunch/dinner time is over. What you choose to do with the food after is up to you. Some people throw it away, others eat it themselves. Drinks are important, too. Water is the most basic liquid offering you can give. I suggest changing water offerings out daily, if you are comfortable with daily offerings. You can also offer coffee, teas, soda and alcohol.

How do I communicate with my ancestors?

For you, it is as simple as speaking. Just talk to them like you would with your living relatives. This should be an obvious thing, but I have met people who have never considered just... talking. You don't need to use divination every time you want to talk to your ancestors. Just talk out loud to them. Whenever you give them offerings at their altar, thank them for any help they give you and talk to them a bit. Let them know you are thinking of them.

In terms of figuring out messages your ancestors send you, there are a few ways to do this. Divination is one of the most common ways to get their messages to you. You could also ask them to send you signs. Personally, when I'm asking my ancestors for signs, I use divination to try and get some symbolism to look out for. If I can't get anything from divination then I ask for specific things, such as coins. If you're the type to do dream work, you can also ask your ancestors to present themselves to you in your dreams.

Communicating with the ancestors isn't limited to these things, though, so see what works best for you. Sometimes different ancestors have different preferences and communicate different than others.

What can my ancestors do for me?

As I've mentioned before, your ancestors can guide you and protect you. You may also have ancestors who wish to help you with your magic workings, too.

Don't forget that your ancestors were once living people, too. They had their own boundaries when they were alive, and chances are they've got boundaries still. Be sure to get to know them, whether it be through listening to stories about them from your living relatives or through your own means of communication. One ancestor may not offer the same guidance or assistance that another ancestor does.

Book Recommendations

➳ "Badass Ancestors: Finding Your Power with Ancestral Guides" by Patti Wigington

➳ "Honoring Your Ancestors: A Guide to Ancestral Veneration" by Mallorie Vaudoise (I haven't been able to read this one yet, but I see this book praised often.)

(This is my first post that wasn’t a reblog, so sorry if the formatting is garbage)

This is a question for the general witch community, but I’ve been thinking about it recently. I was listening to my favorite witch podcast, Books and Broomsticks, and I believe it was one of the Italian Folk magic episodes where they were discussing reconnecting to one’s culture. They were talking about at what point is someone too Americanized to be able to reconnect, if that’s possible, etc etc. This is just me asking for other peoples opinions. For example, if you have, let’s say a great grand parent or a great great grandparent that immigrated from Finland and once they immigrated they didn’t pass down traditions. So although your ancestor is from that country, since you weren’t raised around it, it would be similar to an outsider coming in. Or would it be a reconnection process of finding yourself again?

Also there are no wrong answers! I just want to hear everybody’s opinions and have a thoughtful discussion. Especially since a lot of witchy creators on tumblr have been complaining of a lack of content/discussions, so hopefully this adds a little something.

Cultural Appropriation

Closed paths and practices

Cult warning signs

Spiritual Discernment

Herb interactions (i.e. how they interact with your medications, if they are poisonous, if you are allergic, can you ingest them, etc.)

Fire safety (for candles, smoke cleansing, incense, etc.)

Crystal Care (learn if your crystals will dissolve in water, if they can be in the sun, if they can be in the cold, etc.)