Ancestor Worship in Modern Witchcraft    

By Sarah October 30, 2009 Animism, Necromancy, Spirit Work, Witchcraft & Magic 5 Comments

t is a common practice of Neopagans today to remember and reverence the

ancestors only at Samhain. Pictures of dead loved ones are placed on the
altars along with food offerings and candles lit for their remembrance.
Other than this most Samhain rituals consist of the attendees letting go of
something from the previous year in a spell during ritual. Today necromancy is a dirty
word and the souls of the dead are no longer consulted for divination. However in
other traditions like Hoodoo, Vodou, Santeria, Palo, Brujeria as well as other cultural
folk traditions, the cult of the dead remains strong and ancestors are reverenced and
called upon year round mimicking their place as spirit guides in shamanism. The
shamans of old did not just have animal and plant spirit helpers, they also had
ancestral ones aid them in their magic and ritual.  Worship of and contact with the
beloved dead shouldn’t be a once a year event, but instead they should be reverenced
year round not just as a reminder of the eternal cycle of life and death, but also to keep
our past close to us so we do not forget the wisdom of the ancients and break our
lineage with them. This connection keeps them as the “beloved dead” rather than the
pissed off “why haven’t you talked to your mother in 5 years” angry dead.

Necromancy

Necromancy is the art of conjuring up the spirits of the dead in order to commune with
them to foretell the future, gain advice on events in your life, or to learn wisdom and
knowledge. In general the practitioner does not journey to the underworld except in
times of dire need such as initiation or soul retrieval. Instead, the practitioner calls the
spirits to them within a safe and protected 

environment. Necromancy can be as simple as invoking the

ancestral spirits you work with to help you with a tarot
reading to a much more complicated ritual to summon a
spirit of the dead to ask who killed them and what to do
about it. Working with ancestral spirits can actually be easier
than working with animal and plant allies as ancestral spirits
were once mortal and understand us much better. Also, many practitioners work with
deceased relatives giving the spirits an invested personal interest in their well-being
and success in magic.

The trouble with working with spirits is that most people cannot see or hear them.
There are ways around this for those who wish to learn. There is a seal from the Key of
Solomon which allows those in its presence to see the spirits summoned (see right).
There are also older natural methods to gain the sight, for instance in Celtic folklore it
is believed that if you rub male fern spores onto your eyelids, carry a four-leaf clover,
or look through a holey stone that you will be able to see all the different types of
spirits. Others believe that the caul-born or those who had the baptism water fall in
their eyes as children will be cursed with the ability to see ghosts and other spirits.
Failing this one can always use divination or signs to commune with spirits. For
example, if you ask a spirit a yes or no question ask for their affirmative response as a
robin’s call and silence as the negative and for divination use throwing sticks or three
differently coloured stones for responses. These methods can be used to ask the dead
questions for a divinatory reading, spell working, or ritual for yourself or a client or
they can be used for something as inane as playing a hand of cards with a ghost in a
cemetery.

The Ancestral Shrine

Most cultures both ancient and modern who worship the ancestors have a shrine that
is maintained at all times throughout the year. It is here they are told of all that
happens in your life – your joys and sorrows – it is here offerings are given as the dead
are believed to still require the nourishment they receive from our libations and burnt
food offerings, and it is at this shrine that their spirits are petitioned for aid or advice.
Whenever something is received from the spirits of the dead something must be given
in return. This could be anything from a libation or burnt food offering to certain
incenses whose fumes are as food to spirits.

The ancestral shrine can be anything from a small shelf with photos of loved ones,
candles and an offeratory dish to a full altar with ritual and divinatory tools as well as
spirit vessels to house the ancestors you work with. The most common way in folk
traditions to work with ancestral spirits regularly is to have a vessel consecrated in
ritual for them. In Haitian Vodou the vessel is known as the Govi which is a spirit pot
that houses the ancestral spirits of the priest(ess) or the Ghédé themselves. In
European witchcraft a spirit box is used which can also take the form of a fetiche like a
real, wooden, or ceramic skull stuffed with taglocks of the deceased relative. If the
spirit you work with is not one of the recently dead you can stuff the vessel with red
thread instead to hold the spirit to the vessel. A quartz crystal is also a good addition as
many cultures worldwide believe this stone has the ability to ground spirits and keep
them in one place so you can commune with them. Ancestral spirits should never be
bound or trapped in a vessel, they should be free to come and go as they please. They
should also always be worked with out of love not force.

Summoning/Invocation

I have known people who have an open door policy with the spirits of the dead for their
home. I have to say that this is a VERY dangerous thing to do, especially if you have
children or do not live alone as you are endangering not just yourself but your family
and roommates. Inviting a strange spirit into your house is like taking a stranger off
the street into your home – they could either be a lovely person or they could kill you
and steal everything you own – you just never know. Unfamiliar spirits should be
summoned within a well-made protective circle only. Familiar ancestral spirits do not
need such formalities, but just make sure it’s actually your ancestor your talking to and


not a demonic imposter. This can be done by asking questions only your ancestor
would know the answers to or by simply using their full name (including all middle
names) or basic genealogy each time you call them.

To summon your ancestral spirits call to them while burning an incense that both
facilitates attracting spirits as well as aiding in communication with them, essentially
opening the doorway between worlds. Some trusted and true ingredients for such an
incense include althea (marshmallow root), wormwood, copal, graveyard dirt, mullein,
pomegranate skin, poppy seeds, and camphor. For an offeratory incense to be used as
thanks for services rendered, preferred ingredients include rose, tobacco, lavender,
damiana, frankincense, and bone meal. The rose and lavender also help to let the
spirit(s) know it is time to leave and go back to their realm as lavender helps to break
the tie between spirit and mortal and wild rose is used in Native rootwork to keep the
souls of the dead from following you.

If you are a polytheist, the master of keys or the guardian of the threshold must be
called upon to part the doorways and let the spirits of the dead through. A traditional
offering to him/her is olive oil and honey together in a dish. There is more than one
guardian, if you already work with a pyschopomp then they can also do this for you.
Such deities include Hekate, Hermes, Prometheus, Heimdal, Anu, Gwyn ap Nudd,
Cernunnos, Nicnevin, Manannán mac Lir, Anubis, Papa Legba, Baron Samedi… and
such like.  Do not mix and match these deities, stick to the culture you normally work
within.

“I adjure you, O Spirit, Ram-bearer, who dwells among the graves upon the bones
of the dead, that you will accept from my hand this offering, and do my will by
bringing me _ son of _ who is dead. Raise him up so that he will speak to me
without fear, and tell me the truth without deception. Let me not be afraid of him,
and let him answer whatever questions I ask him.”
 Sefer ha-Razim or Book of Mysteries, 300 CE 

Lastly, do not forget to send back what you call forth! Especially if you are working
with an unfamiliar spirit. Make sure either you or the master of the keys closes the
doorway between worlds after your ritual is finished.

Further Reading:

An Archaeology of Ancestors: Tomb Cult and Hero Cult in Early Greece by Carla M.
Antonaccio
Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead by James Frazer
Communing with the Spirits: The Magical Practice of Necromancy by Martin
Coleman
Conjuring Spirits: Texts and Traditions of Late Medieval Ritual Magic by Claire
Fanger
Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the 15th Century by Richard
Kieckhefer
Greek and Roman Necromancy by Daniel Ogden
Key of Solomon (Clavicula Salomonis)
Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds by Daniel Ogden
Return of the Dead: Ancestors, Ghosts & the Transparent Veil of the Pagan Mind by
Claude Lecouteux
Seeing the Dead, Talking with Spirits: Shamanic Healing Through Contact with the
Spirit World by Alexandra Leclere
Spirit Speak: Knowing and Understanding Spirit Guides, Ancestors, Ghosts, Angels,
and the Divine by Ivo Dominguez Jr.

ARCHIVES

Archives
 Select Month 

RECENT POSTS

On Flying Ointments as Medicine

Curses & Blessings at the Witches’ Sabbat

On Serendipity and Iron

The Evolution of the Apothecary

A Wintry Day in the Life

Forest Chai

It’s All Indie Cards Two

Hunting Mycelium in the Wildwood

Six Herbs for Spirit Work

Calendula and the Lily of the Valley

Next Post

Shivian Balaris Interview on

Feast of Fun

Join the discussion

5 Comments
Jaime Cowley 
September 4, 2013 at 11:40 am

If you have published books I’d love to find them, and if you haven’t you
really should! Reading your blog is so educational for a solitary and
beginning student such as myself. Blessings!

Halia
September 5, 2013 at 1:21 am

Agree with paying attention about having “an open door policy with the
spirits”… often they aren’t as we imagine/remember them.
Big post, as usual.
Halia

Evan
September 6, 2013 at 4:05 pm

Hi I really love this article and reading your work it is very inspiring and a
great resource for a solitary like my self. I just want to ask a question about
the mixing of deities. I have found that I don’t have one culturally specific
deity that I normally work with or am devoted to, I find that I am open to all
gods so how should a polytheist like this approach contact with gate keepers
and spirits of the dead?

Jose Prado
September 12, 2013 at 6:12 pm

Well, to me as a Gnostic I dont believe mixing is really mixing.

 We believe all religions and peoples were One until humans insisted on 

social, economic, and political divisions. So all religions are rooted in the
same Gnosis or Knowledge.

Do I expect everyone to agree with me? Hell no! We all have our way. But
many other than myself have called on various Beings and Gods and had no
trouble. The problem.starts when the person neglects the basics like
establishment of Intent and paying attention to detail.

Or, as you pointed out, when one is decieved by Imposters like Demons. As
always, loving your Blog and all the info you put in them!

-Jose

Jose Prado
September 12, 2013 at 6:15 pm

Oh btw here is my own make shift Spirit Guide Altar for all of my Spirits
including Ancestors. Figured you might be interested.

http://paranormal-corner.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-to-make-guardian-
altar-by-jose-prado.html?m=1

QUICK LINKS

About

Press
Subscribe 

Contact

META

Log in

Entries RSS

Comments RSS

WordPress.org

NEWSLETTER

Email Address

Preferred Format

HTML

Text

Subscribe

© 2016 Sarah Anne Lawless. All Rights Reserved.

 