Ancestral Aspirations
“TO FORGET ONE’S ANCESTORS IS TO BE A BROOK WITHOUT A SOURCE, A TREE WITHOUT A ROOT.”
~ Chinese Proverb
The veil is thin. Keep your aspirations high.
This season of the year is historically when the “veil is thin,” meaning that our dealings with the spirit ‘world’ may be heightened, accelerated, or amplified. Cross-culturally it is a time when one’s ancestors are venerated and rituals and offerings are made as a show of love, respect, and remembrance. If you already have a practice with your vibrant ancestors, this is a time to continue to nourish and feed those connections.
If you are new to ancestral relationships, a great starting point is to entertain the idea that beyond the last 5-10-15 generations of people whom you may know something about (or nothing about!) that there is a deep well of goodness in your lineages. This can be a difficult thought to entertain given that so much unmetabolized intergenerational trauma can land within and around us. As my mentor Daniel Foor says, “let it be aspirational.” This simply means, let us aspire to the idea that just as we are benevolant, so were our people. Considering this idea is a first step into opening lifelong relationships with your ancestors.
questions for reflection
Who are your ancestors? What is your best sense of where they originated from (area, region, country)? How does knowing or not knowing effect you? Do you hold a sense of pride, shame, indifference, or ALL of this about where your people came from?
Consider that your ancestry extends thousands and thousands of years back into time. You are more than just a child of your parents, you are a child of 40,000 to a million years plus of evolution. How does reflection shape the way you view your ancestry now?
Make some time to take stock of your hobbies, interests, passions, and curiosities. Do you ever wonder why in the world you are interested in some of the things that you are? Does your passion for certain causes hold a level of intensity that feels overwhelming or unfounded at times? Reflect on the idea that you are your own person AND you are an incredible composite of ancestral energy that may hold the origins of what intrigues and motivates you.
Season Ritual PDF
An opportunity for continuous ritual..
“Any ritual is an opportunity for transformation.”
~ Starhawk
monthly ritual
These rituals arise from a combination of experience, divination, guidance, and natural cycles. Create the time & space to bring regular ritual into your life using these pdf’s as guideposts.
October meditation
Journeying with the Ancestors
Use this paritally guided drum journey to safely connect to your wise ancestors.
audio Book Recommendation
I wanted to recommend a fabulous audio book this month by Sobonfu Somé. It is available on Audible and (maybe) through your public library’s online resource (it is NOT in print).
About the Women’s Wisdom From the Heart Of Africa:
For the first time, Sobonfu shares the essential principles and practices of African feminine wisdom in a complete audio learning course.
In 12 intimate sessions, listeners will learn universally applicable teachings to claim their unique gift; engage their dreams; honor transitions; reclaim their ancestral lineage; identify power places in nature & in their body; & open the gateways to intimacy.
Highlights include:
• 7 hours of rituals, reflection, and stories to immerse yourself in the traditions of the Dagara tribe and expand any spiritual practice.
• Use ritual to discover “power places” in nature—and in your body
• Form a council of women to initiate growth and change in your community
• Leadership as seen through the eyes of Dagara women: a different way of using your power
• How to create a shrine in your home to call in the divine
• Your unfiltered intuition: a guide you can always trust
• Call in the “spirits of the elements” to create balance and harmony
• Reclaim your ancestral lineage to learn who you are and what are your greatest strengths
• How to use grief and mourning to restore, renew, & regenerate your spirit.
Jen Hudziec is Ritualist, Ancestral Lineage Repair Practitioner, Death Doula, Fire Walk Facilitator, and Dagara Diviner. As an animist she has spent decades integrating Earth honoring practices with her former Catholic upbringing while reviving the traditions of her Slavic ancestors. She is a student of the Dagara tradition and credits her mentors Malidoma Some and Ann Sousa for passing on the elemental wisdom of the Dagara. Jen offers online private sessions, public rituals, education, and group circles. She can be reached at Jenhudziec.com
