Working with the Ancestors

Lesson on Necromancy

Part 2 Working with the Ancestors

As we learned in the previous lesson many cultures practice in the art of vegetation (honoring the dead). In this lesson, we will be focusing on how you can learn to connect with your ancestors and how to use this practice in our witchcraft.

Dia De Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) is one of the most important holidays today in Mexico. This holiday is traced back to 3,500 years ago to the Aztecs. The ancient Aztecs believed in several planes of existence. This was broken down into 13 overworlds of heavens above the earthly terrain, and nine underworlds. Each plane was ruled by a specific deity and held specific characters to represent that world. They believed the spirits depending on who they were in their human form, is what world they would travel into the after-life. This strong belief in the afterlife led to a month-long celebration honoring the dead.

What we can take from this is how we understand how the spirit travels through the astral planes and how we can develop a relationship with said spirit. In today's culture, some of the most common ways to celebrate this holiday are through cleaning and decoration of the graves and holding all night graveside vigils. However, for the Aztecs, this was a far more elaborate ritual that involved the invocation of the goddess Mictecacihuatl (Lady of the Dead).

In the Pre-Hispanic era, skulls were kept as trophies and displayed during the rituals to symbolize death and rebirth. These ancestors passed down the knowledge that souls exist after death. Now as witch or divination worker you can use this type of vegetation and incorporate into your craft. You do this by creating a mutually beneficial relationship with the spirit. When working with a past loved one you can create an altar that is fitting for their traits and then call upon them and ask your favors or questions.

Moving onto another culture where we discover in the Old Norse literature, the most frequent gift of the ancestors is the fertility of the land. This is direct correspondence to the earth providing us life. As a witch, you can take this tradition and create an outside altar to honor your ancestors. It was also believed you inherit your ancestor's success or failures. So pleasing them would help your personal luck in the mundane world. When working with the ancestors in this point of view one must understand the difference between human ancestors, elves, and land spirits as they were closely related.

Moving onto the Vodu religion in Hati which roots can be traced back to 6,000 years in Benin (formerly Dahomey) West Africa. Voodoo in the name itself means spirit and this may be one of the oldest forms of ancestral work. During the Vodu ritual, believers gather outdoors to make contact with the Loa who are spirits and try to invoke a spirit. This type of necromancy is using possession to gain insight. When a Haitian loa possesses a person, a markedly different personality seems to take control. This would reflect the Loa personality traits. During this time period, the individual who is possessed would temporarily gain the ability of mediumship. However, after the Loa leaves the body the person who was possessed seems to forget what has happened. This possession could have lasted few hours up to couple days. The Loa was invoked through drums, dance, and signing. The Loa had the ability to heal, cleanse, and even bless you. As a witch, you can learn the practice of the invocation to your ancestors, to gain the same benefits.

If you want to make an ancestral connection you can set up an altar to honor them, you can write songs, you can dance to drums, and make offerings of food or drink. During Samhain also known has Halloween a portal opens between the worlds. This allows the communication to open up easier.