#datwork

An Ancestor Altar is place where you connect with your family that has passed away known and unknown. This is where you give offerings to them, say prayers, and give thanks. A sacred space to honor them. To me an Ancestor Altar is very private. I have a rule of never taking pictures of my altar, I go as far as not even letting my partner see it! I keep mine in the walkin closet. Follow your intution about where you should set it up and who you will allow to see it. Also your Ancestor Altar doesn't have to be super big and fancy. I keep mine in a small portable chest with a flat surface. So I put my actual altar on the flat surface and then if I ever need to put it away, I open the top and put their stuff inside. Garage sales and thrift stores are your friends for finding cool stuff like that! Make sure whatever you decide to use as your Ancestor Altar to clean it with Flordia Water before setting it up.

Here is a list of things you might want to include on your Ancestral Altar:

Photos of your deceased family members. If you dont have any photo you can write their names down on a sheet of paper.

A White Cloth or if your family wants a certain color/cloth they will let you! Follow your intution.

White candles (represents fire and to light the way) if you know their favorite color you can add that color too) note: During Dia De Los Muertos its traditional to include yellow candles so look into your family traditions/background as well!

A glass of water for offering to spirit.

Incense (to represent Air)

Palo Santo or Sweetgrass to clear your space.

Crystals (to represent Earth). Petrified wood, Bloodstone, Obsidian, Snowflake Obsidian are a few examples of earth and ancestor magick energy.

If you don't have crystals use a bowl of dirt collected from the Earth.

Ancestor Money (as an offering)

Fruits, Food, Candy, Cigarettes, Alcohol Soda etc whatever they loved while they were alive.

Flowers (I like to use white and marigolds again only because of my latino culture)

Momentos of your loved ones (maybe you have a watch of theirs or a piece of jewelry)

Flordia water to annoint your momentos with (ancestors love flordia water just don't give it to them to drink)

Fireproof container to burn your charcoal disks, resins and ancestor money.

Incense holder

Here is a photo as an example of an Ancestor Altar courtesy of SL Myer's youtube channel.

May your ancestral altar be a source of love and connection, comfort and blessings! Ashe´

I've had egg cleansings since I was an infant my family believed that it removed the evil eye and in my culture babies are especially vulnerable to the evil eye! An egg cleansing is known through latin american curanderismo we call it a limpia ( a cleansing) but it is also found in hoodoo! Besides removing the evil eye it also helps remove negative energies from your aura. This is best done on a Tuesday or when the moon is wanning. To get started grab a raw room temperature egg (preferably one from a black hen) and annoint it with uncrossing oil if you wish. Feverently pray (if you use the bible in your practice you can read from the psalms) and tell the egg to absorb any negative conditions that your body might have. (This is easier if you have someone do it for you) roll the egg down the body and around your aura visualize all negativity leaving the body and filling up the egg with darkness. Dispose of the egg by throwing it into a running river, the crossroads, or down the toilet. You can also crack it inside a glass of water to read for signs!

Yours truly,

Anisha