An Invitation for Your Ancestors
When we are unwillingly alone, we may have thoughts of wanting to come “home.” The past two years of the pandemic tested many people with countless lonely events wishing for time with close ones. This yearning may also translate to a deeper desire to connect more intensely with a place of belonging, community, or ancestral lineage. This was my feeling when I was in the throes of lockdown; I mustered the courage to meditate or practice yoga by myself in my spare bedroom where I had propped the mattress against the wall and piled books in a corner to make space for my mat. It was messy and disorganized, but it was the space I had. This need to “come home” budded from days of being alone. It inspired me to look beneath the surface so I could eventually teach others how to invite ancestors, guides, and loved ones into meditations. As I practiced this more and more, I looked for more ways to tap in.
My memory of my own ancestral lineage is shallow. Time and space feels fleeting when you finally want all the details of your family’s stories. I hope to use that time more wisely as I continue to learn my family’s history. Becca Piastrelli, a writer and ancestral folk medicine keeper, affirms that “it is important to know that human history is endemic, complicated, and deceptive filled with suffering like migration, famine, war, and separation of families over centuries. Much of the wisdom and real historical accounts have been lost or deliberately silenced.” As you embark on your own “pilgrimage,” be cautious, but eager to make connections.
Although this is not necessary, you can do your own research to understand where your ancestors are from and how they migrated. Once you have an idea who they are, you can learn the history of your family’s land. Having an image of where your ancestors lived, the waters they drank from, or the valleys they walked, may be helpful as you prepare to meditate with them in mind. If you do not know, do not fret; you can use your imagination to come up with a visual.
You can also research and try the folk practices from your ancestral region. We receive information from the external world through our senses. Becca Piastrelli says “When I talk about incorporating my senses, I mean literally eating the food that my people used to cook, listening to their folk songs, learning their folk dances (like the Polish polka or the Italian tarantella, for example), and reading or listening to the old myths and folktales that have lasted through time. It’s important to connect to these folkways of your people because they are the traditions that were able to survive the rise of Empire over the generations and throughout the world. These are the ways in which our roots haven’t been colonized.”
Learning the stories of your ancestors from family members or connecting to your ancestor’s folkways are ways to be in relationship with your ancestral lineage. However, these are not the only ways, and the use of more energetic tools have been most effective for me. Invite your ancestors to be with you by creating an altar, which is an intentional area with tangible items that are meaningful to you. Your altar can be anywhere! It can be in that messy room with the mattress propped up against the wall and a pile of books in the corner. Place personal tokens, totems from travels, ritual objects, and old family photos that bring you joy on your altar to focus your presence on what is before you. Bring in seasonal things from nature that represent all the elements and light a candle when you are ready to go inward.
I used jasmine, eucalyptus, rose buds, lavender, chamomile, and crystals to make altar candles.
Once the invitation is set for your ancestors to join you, place yourself in a comfortable position suited for meditation; I like to do this practice reclined. Source the presence in your space with your eyes closed. Imagine your set up for meditation as an altar itself that belongs with the special altar you have just created. Visualize those you cannot be with joining you in your space, as if you set a table for them to sit and commune with you. There is no need to analyze how this is supposed to be, look, or feel – it’s just an experiment. Rest in the knowing that the energy is with you and that by connecting to yourself, you are purposely connecting to the layers of the past and present. Gently ask your guides, ancestors, and loved ones to be with you and notice if by doing this, you somehow feel closer to “home.” That maybe you sense “home” is rooted within of you.
When your visitation feels complete, make your way out of your comfortable position and extinguish your candle. Close the energetic portals by bringing your hands to prayer and acknowledging that you are now done with your meditation. To integrate your experience, write in your journal using the prompt below.
