Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Temple >

Ancestor worship

Page: 1(2)

Nietzsch E. Coyote

20:55 / 08.06.05

Ancestor worship at Key23

Less searchable M0rd4nt

09:17 / 14.07.05

I've been working with this for a while now--since late last year. It startd out with my simply recapping some stuff before I went to bed, just telling "them" about my day, my concerns ect. On Sundays I'd make a special effort to spend some time quietly contemplating my ancestors, where I'm from, all the nations that my family draws from ect. I let it slide now and again, but I'd always get brought back. I was working with a sort of shrine-in-a-box dealy for a while, but that's just unsatisfactory now--they have a proper little shrine next to Thor's. They get candles, incence, offerings of mineral water and so forth; I toast them if I'm drinking, either separately or along with the Gods.

I find all this comforting and grounding, although I do rather feel they may have had something to do with the odd magic-related stuff that's been going on this year. This is very powerful stuff, very potent--more than one might think at first. It's as if the dead can open doorways for other beings and forces to enter one's life in a very direct, immediate sort of way.

11:21 / 22.11.05

Just to bump this, I just wanted to ask a question. I'm currently pondering using a biological-style system to get in touch with the ancestors, through a form of DNA activation/poking. Seeing as how i've got bits of my ancestors in every cell in my body, i thought it could be a potent(ish) was of communing. I've had some results with some of the stuff suggested above: lighting candles, giving offerings, plus asking and i guess praying, for want of a better word, but I just fancied something to strengthen the connection a bit.

Has anyone had any experience with this kind of work? I'm aware the internal stuff has parallels in some strains of shamanism (double snakes, twisted ladders etc.). Or am I just trying to rationalise something to fit into a scientific model?

Cheers in advance.

11:45 / 22.11.05

I'm currently pondering using a biological-style system to get in touch with the ancestors, through a form of DNA activation/poking. Seeing as how i've got bits of my ancestors in every cell in my body, i thought it could be a potent(ish) was of communing.

What does that mean? What are you actually talking about doing? What do you mean by "DNA activation/poking" exactly? What are you trying to accomplish?

11:47 / 22.11.05

I'm curious about this too. Using a sample of one's own DNA (cheek cells, say) as a focus, or fetish?

12:03 / 22.11.05

Nah, sorry...was being a bit flip.

I got into this through past psychedelic use, a lot of the trips were very internal and biological, and after reading a few bits and pieces i realised that ths was a pretty common motif, especially along the lines of ayahuasca use in South America.

I've mostly knocked the drugs on the head, but my meditation, when i've been keeping up with it, has been improving to the stage where it seems it's quite easy to guide the awareness inside the body (possibly boosted by doing one of the 10-day Vipassana retreats, which is all about body awareness).

I suppose my aim is to use this kind of meditation to access, or become more aware of my links to the line of ancestors, represented by my genetic code, or at least to honour the role they had in building it. And recognising them as being a part of me, as opposed to ethereal external spirits. I'm not sure i'm being overly clear here...apologies.

12:43 / 22.11.05

Sounds good and very workable to me. The way I look at ancestors is in terms of the Vonnegut inspired notion of a "time tree" (there's a seperate thread about it) which posits a direct physical continuity between us and all of our ancestors when considered from a point 'outside' of time. So the ancestors are not necessarily "ethereal spirits floating in heaven" as they are direct parts of our own chain of being at previous points in time that can be interacted with as there is no seperation. The ancestral altar becomes a focus for this process. The experience of this, however, is essentially very similar to the "spirit" model in all but the language you use to frame it.

13:04 / 22.11.05

Thanks, thats kind of what i was getting at!

So do you find thinking of it as a 'time tree' instead of a line makes it less about you, and more about the connections? Just thinking that that might be the risk about using something like the DNA model, in that you could get caught up in considering yourself as the peak of your particular lineage? I was planning on keeping up with offerings and stuff anyway, and i reckon the two approaches might work pretty well together.

I guess that it's balancing the rights of the ancestors to be looked at as individuals, as opposed to a generic mass of 'old stuff', and grounding yourself within that line/web?

13:17 / 22.11.05

The thing to remember is that, in terms of the scale of what we are looking at, you will be a part of that generic mess of "old stuff" in the blink of an eye.

Page: 1(2)