Witch Woes: What If I Have Problematic Ancestors?

What To Do If Some Ancestors Weren't So Great....

“How do I work Magick with my Ancestors if some were awful?”

Oh, hey!!! It’s Halloween season! For many Witches, this is a time to deepen their relationship with their Ancestors to better deepen their Magick and steer their spiritual journey.

But what if your Ancestors were colonizers? Enslavers? Abusers? Or just downright mean to people in their village?

What then???

This season also brings the eternal question: “How can I possibly connect with my Ancestors when some were so problematic???”

Here is something to remember…

Modern people are estimated to each have roughly 2,046 direct ancestors, spanning over 10 generations. Go back another ten (to a total of twenty) generations, that number jumps to an estimated 1,048,576. Even on the low end of those numbers, not all of them are going to be great. Some of these people were mean. Others downright despicable.

Ancestral lines are full of contradictions, made up of both oppressed and oppressors, abusers and abused.

Basically, you are FAR from being the only Witch with problematic Ancestors.

There is not a single person on earth who does not have, at the very least, a handful of Ancestors who did terrible things in life. Likewise, there is not a single person who doesn’t have Ancestors who were wonderful in life.

Here is the good news! You don’t have to connect with icky Ancestors. Read on for more. But first…

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Don’t forget to register for Hekate and the Healing Journey
My brand-new, three-part virtual class on Hekate and the Healing journey begins Oct 27. In this class, we’ll explore the Goddess Hekate, her mythology and legacy of healing, connecting with Hekate during major life transitions, and building a personal healing practice in partnership with Hekate.

Book your space, here. If you can’t join all (or any!) of the classes in live time, every session will be recorded and available to all registrants for 30 days after final class.

Paid subscribers: Scroll to the bottom of the page for a link to the subscriber discount.

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Having a relationship with Ancestors is a core component of many Witches’ practice and for good reason.

By and large, Ancestors are invested in your personal well-being. They do not need to be worshipped, placated, feared, or invoked through complicated rituals in the way that some Traditions require of Deities or other Spirits. While a little respect, honor, and love will go a long with with Ancestors, connecting with them is generally a logistically easy process with powerful results.

At the same time, you do not need to honor, revere, and include all of your Ancestors in your Witchcraft.

If you’d like to build a relationship with some, but not all, of your Ancestors, here are some practices to try:

• If you have Ancestors you knew, loved, and trusted while they were alive, that’s a good place to start. Encourage them to “vet” the Ancestors you perhaps don’t know as well. Keep their pictures in a prominent place in your home and periodically wish them peace as you pass the pictures.

• If you’d like to connect with other Ancestors whom perhaps you didn’t know, light a candle for them while stating the intention: “May I be connected with Ancestors who lived well and died well and who were remembered with love” (credit to my friend Chiron Armand for teaching me that intention!)

• When embarking on a personal endeavor that you’re not sure which, if any, of your Ancestors would support, pray this before beginning the work: “May I be supported by Ancestors who see the good in what I do, and are mission-aligned with me in the present.”

Just as there may be people in your family, whether immediate or extended, whom you don’t get along with, so you keep a cordial distance. There may also be family members in your life with whom you choose to cut all ties for one reason or another.

The same is true for Ancestors. Not all of them will be on your side. Not all of them will understand you. But some will.

The journey to connecting with supportive Ancestors is exactly that—a journey!

Sometimes it will be easy and powerful. Other times, it will be confusing It will change over time. Meanwhile, take it one beautiful day at a time.