MODULE 5 ANCESTOR VENERATION I

The first four modules of this course have been about learning to listening to yourself, your surroundings and the oldest ancestors, the lands. All of this is in service of making space to listen to your ancestors more deeply or for the first time. In the next two modules, we will begin to directly engage with our ancestors while continuing the practices of Modules 1-4.

Practice 1: Experience Your Medicine.

• Drums and rhythm are present in many forms of ancestral calls and ancestral veneration. How do you experience these drums?

• To experience your medicine should not leave you in a place of fear. If you are experiencing fear, please slow down and examine what are you afraid of? It is important to be able to be vulnerable when talking with your ancestors, but if there is fear, something might not be quite right.

Practice 2: Ancestor Altar Basics*

• Review Ancestor Altar Protocol

• *If you have an Ancestor Altar already set up, tend to your altar. Change the water. Meditate at your altar. If there is a dish they want you to prepare, prepare it for them. If there is a dance or song they want you to learn, go ahead and start learning. Ask your ancestors to visit in your dreams. Be specific about the symbols you would like them to use or the type of information that you would like to receive.

Practice 3: What is your ancestral connection to water spirits?

• Consider these questions after reviewing the Flow Article from MODULE 4.

  • Oral history: What stories of interaction with water have your family members share with you?

  • Astrological: Where is there water in your chart?

  • Geographical: Which bodies of water have been closest to you in this life? Which bodies of water have your family lived near?

  • Political: Which bodies of water have you protested for?

  • Spiritual: Which bodies of water have you held a ceremony at?

• Write and draw the answers to these questions in your dream journal. Take note of how these connections and answers relate to the water that has been present in your dreams.

• Review Water Offerings.

Practice 4: Rest and Reflect

We are continually considering water during our work together because water is something like both our ancestors and our medicine. However, it is unclear from which language(s) and tradition(s) this information is translating to me. Ultimately the relation of water as a human ancestor and as a gift of medicine is a story that I am still remembering and unweaving.

For the remembrance of sacred/ancient knowledge (ie ancestral communication) in dreams, it is wise to visit your altar regularly for meditation and request this type of information.

MODULE 5 REFLECTION QUESTION: How is your altar both a mirror and a portal?

• Journal about your reflection question and if you’d like to share a few reflections at Ocean Hour on 12/18.