Although in my practices, the rise of Ancestors has already begun, the collective generally starts feeling that pull around September/ October. So I thought this was a good time to talk about four different kinds of Ancestors and ways to connect to them.
Territorial Ancestors
Territorial Ancestors are ones who are connected to the land you currently inhabit. Many would consider these as just the humans that inhabited the land before us, but I feel it also includes the other spirits that we share the land with. We will just stay focused on the human element here though for simplicity sake.
Humans have been around for a really long time and every currently inhabited land has a history attached to it. To start the connecting process I suggest researcher your area. Go back as far as you can to see a larger snapshot of the people and events that have taken place there. You can do this for the specific property you are inhabiting, but I like to go bigger and see the larger picture. I start with the land I inhabit, move outwards to the town/ city, and then the region.
Just about every land has a sketchy history where humans are involved. People who invaded, people who carried out destructive acts, and so forth. These things are not unique to any area but they also do not show all the wonderful and beautiful things that happened there as well. When looking at the history of your land and the people who have inhabited it, I feel it is important to understand the scars but to also recognize all the beautiful things as well. Something to keep in mind as we move further.
Written history is much newer than the span of life in an area. You will probably be able to find a good amount of information that way but with considerations. Keeping in mind who wrote the history – there is bias in our history because it is written from a persons/ groups point of view. You’ll need to use some critical thinking and perception skills to try and understand the perspective of all sides.
There were also people and events that happened there that was never written down. By looking at geological and earth events such as earthquakes, volcanoes, weather patterns, animal and human changes/migrations, you can start to piece together theories as to what the people might have encountered.
Connecting to the People
We are spiritual and magical people, so we have more at our disposal than just physical research. The connection techniques here are ones that you can use for any Ancestor work.
You can start by energetically connecting to the land. This can look like many things depending on what your personal skill set looks like. For me, it starts with observation. I try not to make any assumptions because I understand what I am experiencing in this moment of time may be very different than what those before me experienced. I take note of things like the weather patterns, animals in the area, landscape features, and how other people are interacting with the land.
I will sit with the land. Feeling its energy and vibrations. Even though this will give me more mixed energies because it is not just the people I am feeling – The people, their energies, their memories are infused in the land as well. Over time it gets easier to separate what is the core energy of the land and what has been added to it due to human occupation.
If you are a spirit worker, you can start the process of directly reaching out and communicating with the human spirits that inhabited your area. In my experience and beliefs the majority of these are more like echoes than sentient spirits, especially the further back you go in time. You are still able to interact, learn from them, but they hold the memories of their experience and not so much what happened outside of that lifetime. I look at it like dealing with a hologram, similar to ones you might see in sci-fi shows.
You can honor the memory of those who came before you. Perhaps pick a day to create as sacred for them. You can time it to a calendar day, a specific moon or sun position, whatever works for you. Hold a special meal in their honor or light a candle in their remembrance. If possible, perhaps even create and maintain a special protected sacred space directly on the land for them. This can be in your yard, on your property, or even in a nearby park. Just some place you can create a sacred space just for them, inviting them to interact with you while you are in it, and inhabit in peace.
Tell their stories. This one seems to be the most appreciated in my experience. Find and tell the stories of the people. Yes, some may be formed through theory due to the limitations of recorded history, but there is truth in all stories – the whole story doesn’t need to be true. By telling the stories we keep the memory of them alive, thus feeding energy to them. Share the stories with others. Write them down, speak them, share them with others.
There are also many divination techniques to help learn more about them and their stories. Trance and Dream work, tarot as a conversation tool, and spirit walking are just a few. I always suggest placing “checks” when getting stories this way. One effective way I found is asking them to tell the story again on another day to see if the story and elements of it stay consistent, especially in the beginning of working with them. I will generally do this three time but that is completely up to you. After awhile the bond has been built, the checks are consistent, and trust has been built, so the checks are not needed.
Taking time to get to know others in your area, especially our older people, can add to those stories. Their memories, their experiences, and when they pass their stories will continue as well adding to the collection.
Archetypal Ancestors
I do not personally connect to this on an Ancestor type of level but I know many who do. An Archetypal Ancestor is one who is not connected by blood or land. They can influential of famous people in an area of interest, such as an author, musician, witch/ magical user, a leader, or designer. I tend to think of people who are connected to a profession, skill, or area of study, but they are not limited to that.
I am not going to go too much into this, as it is not an area of my practice. I would like to note though, personal ancestry is extremely large the further back you travel. People are connected through many variations of lines. This does not mean you are definitely related to the these people in some way, but I think there may be possibilities of it at some level. In my experience there is always a reason why we are drawn to what we are, and sometimes we find it is because we are connected to them in that way.
Blood Ancestors
Blood Ancestors hold a massive pool of people, as the picture of the ancestor pyramid below highlights. That picture is also just a small snapshot of the entirety of what you are connected to by blood. I ask that you just take a moment to reflect on the enormity of people before we move further – going all the way back throughout human existence.
I have encountered many people that start their ancestor focus on those they knew in life. For some this is positive and encouraging, but for many, there are issues and trauma connected to living family that cause them to shy away from ancestors as a whole. Those people though, the family you have know in life, is just a grain of sand on a beach of available ancestors.
I am not saying all of them will be good or have your best interest at heart – but I feel the majority do. You can start connecting to them under specific perimeters such as: Only those who are aligned with my goals and growth are allowed in – Only those who want me to succeed – Only those who want to protect me (and Guide me). Think about what your perimeters may be – what do you really want from this connection? What do you need from it? – and then set them into any sacred space or communication work you do with them.
In our current age, society does not place a lot of emphasis on the family, the deep connections between them, honoring family that has passed, and even our older people are often tucked away in some form or another. These are recent society views and behaviors – we have a much longer history where this was not the case. The wisdom and stories of our elders was revered and honored. Families worked closely together, assisting and leaning on each, weathering storms together, and working for the success of all. Again, not all, but this was more common than not – some for survival reasons and some because this is how those cultures/societies viewed family.
Connecting to Blood
Setting sacred space – finding and telling their stories – have a sacred day that is focused on just them, or just lighting a candle for them, are all ways we talked about above and that apply here too. Knowing your ancestry can also be useful. I realize that there are many challenges and road blocks here for various reasons. If you are one of those people I would suggest a DNA test and then taking that and running it through mytrueancestry.com . I have tried many but this is the one I find the best and most consistent – while giving you the most in their free version. I am a frugal witch after all.
The DNA test itself will be more focused on more recent connections and populations, while the true ancestry focus on more ancient ancestors. By using both, you can get a snap shot of where your people are from, cultures they were connected to, lands they inhabited, and even how they moved and migrated from one area to another. This opens up a whole new pool of potential ancestors to connect to!
You do not need a name. I actually suggest by starting with just calling certain ones to you through the generalized methods above. If you know the lands/cultures they were from and specifically want to connect with one, add it to your parameters. You may have someone specific in mind, but your ancestors may have another. I find by setting a more open invitation, the success and relationship is much more solid. Not everyone will want to work with you, but there are some just waiting for you to call them forth.
Ancestral Soul
What I consider the Ancestral Soul is a little more complex. I have spoken on this in several other articles but I will do a quick summary here.
The Ancestral Soul is made up of very specific people within your ancestral pool – not all of them. It is directly connected to DNA memory that is passed down, this is why this specific group is blood related. There has also been made a case for incarnation along blood lines because the energy associated with spirit and DNA would be very resonate of each other, thus easier to bond or follow. My personal belief is that reincarnation happens more in blood lines than not – but again this is my personal belief.
These specific Ancestors are the ones we can have the closest ties to and gain the most from, because they are a part of us. Their memories, skills, stories, all passed and held in our DNA – it just takes some practice to connect and bring them forth.
Working with the Ancestral Soul is different than just family, because their soul is blended into a part of yours. You are still separate in a sense, but also not. It is a duality concept where both are true at the same time. I find by using the separation aspect I can connect, get to know them as they were/are, get their stories, let them help guide me and so forth. Then by viewing the blended aspect I can see where we have overlapped, traits and abilities that may have come from them, and so forth.
The parameters for me and these Ancestors is very different. It stands as an open invitation to all of them. Since they are a part of me, directly connected to me on a soul level, they do have my best interest at heart, because what happens to me is happening to them as well. We are their legacy in the truest sense. They are generally the ones who are more willing to show up consistently, have your back, and want you to be successful in this life. This does not mean they are always right or guide us to the right action – but that is more an error of being human then it is trying to be hurtful or mean.
I have only connected and worked with a few of the many so far, those interactions have been incredible. The stories, the knowledge, and the understanding of them also has helped me understand deeper parts of myself. I highly suggest trance or spirit walking to begin these communications. I also love tarot, but I think it depends on how you learned and how you read tarot. Don’t focus so much on your version of the cards like definitions – but listen to the story being told to you from within. These are not spirits outside of yourself, external to you – they are a part of you. Turn inward – listen inward – be present.
Ending Thoughts
There are many kinds of Ancestors and many ways to connect, hear, and work with them. Play to your strengths and what works for you. Develop your own way of how that looks, what you do to recognize and honor them. There is no right way – just your way.
Out of all of them – I have am more interested in, and engage more with, Ancestral Soul than any other in my personal work.
I honor all my direct line Ancestors in a way, even the ones I perceive as bad, because without them, I would not be here. I also don’t know the full situation, what was in their mind and heart, and their motives for the actions I consider bad. Humans after all make huge mistakes while trying to do something they feel is good – so some grace in perspective I feel is needed. I honor that they lived and acknowledge them, but that does not necessarily mean I honor their life, choices, or who they were as a person. I honor the human spirits of land in much the same way – for much the same reasons but from a different perspective.
Do not be limited by the idea of Ancestors and those connections. No matter what your living experience, there are Ancestors out there just waiting to connect, to be remembered, and to help you along your path/ life. They can be our greatest allies and teachers because they have a unique connection us vs other types of spirits we may connect to.
So I am encouraging you to explore this more, especially if you have shied away from them for other reasons. I can not even begin to say in words how pivotal this work has been for me personally. I have seen the same with others as well.
Tis the season of the Ancestor, so now is a good time!
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In