The House Witch: Your Complete Guide to Creating a Magical Space with Rituals and Spells for Hearth and Home - Arin Murphy-Hiscock 2018

Incorporating Your Ancestors
Your Spiritual Hearth

Family is one of your connections to life. They are a source of strength as well as something to protect and care for. Living or dead, they contribute to the energy of your home. Acknowledging the contribution of ancestors, be they biological or spiritual, is a way of honoring their contribution to the world in which you live and also of maintaining continuity of tradition. Expressing your gratitude and respect for them is one way to touch that sacred space symbolized by the hearth.

There’s a lot of emotional energy tied up with home-based activity, especially in creating favorite family foods. Challenge someone on how they prepare a dish considered a family specialty, and you’re liable to encounter aggressive defense, if not an all-out attack. They may defend their methods and by extension those family members from whom they learned them. “My mother always did it this way” is something you may often say in the kitchen, whether you’re making gravy, rolling gnocchi, adding a pinch of a certain secret ingredient to a soup or stew, sweeping the floor after scattering salt on it, or soaking linen napkins after use. You absorb a lot of tradition in and around the kitchen simply by being exposed to how someone else performs tasks, and by replicating those techniques you are in essence maintaining a tradition of sorts.

Many cultures honor or worship their ancestors. “When you drink water, think of its source” is a Chinese saying that illustrates the impact and presence ancestors can have upon your life and spiritual practice. The saying suggests that through acknowledging your ancestors you are not alone, that you come from somewhere; your ancestors anchor you in the world. Essentially, you owe what you are and what you have to work with to those who came before you.

Ancestors are always a part of the spiritual hearth’s energy. Ancestors are tied into the concept of hearth and home, both as family and as guiding energies. Like the hearth itself, your ancestors are a source of inspiration, energy, and support, a place of safety and restoration for you and your current family.

There is no hard-and-fast rule dictating how to incorporate ancestors into your spiritual practice. Simply remembering them ties their energy into your home and your life. Actively honoring them with words or actions further weaves their energy into the wellspring of energy that is maintained by your spiritual hearth. It may be enough for you to know and understand that they have had an effect upon you and who you are today. If you wish to honor them in a more structured fashion, try making an ancestor shrine. It doesn’t have to be complicated; it can be as simple as placing a photograph of a relative who meant a lot to you near the spiritual heart of your home, or an item that belonged to them, or a small assembly of objects that you associate with your ancestors. Ancestors are not limited to biological relatives, either. Spiritual ancestors are people who have somehow shaped your outlook or way of life and whom you wish to honor or remember in some way. When calling upon the energy of your spiritual hearth you can wordlessly appeal to the ancestors as well or speak aloud to them and ask for their support and blessing.

Here’s a sample prayer to the ancestors for guidance or thanks:

Ancestors, thank you for being here with me and my family.

Guide us daily, and help us to make the right choices.

Be our strength and our comfort,

And help protect this home.

Thank you for your lives and your accomplishments.

Ancestors, we thank you.

At this point you may make an offering to them. Offerings are a sign of respect, not necessarily a sign of worship, and can be anything suitable. Ancestor honoring in many neo-pagan paths involves offering a small portion of something a specific ancestor enjoyed in life, but if you are calling upon your ancestors in general, then something like a small thimbleful of tea, wine, or the food you are preparing is ideal.

If you don’t know very much about your ancestors, try asking living relatives about their parents or grandparents. They may know stories that reveal hints about the ancestor’s personality or activities. Genealogical research is another avenue you may wish to follow if the idea of ancestor energy particularly interests you. Learn as much as you can about ancestors, both biological and spiritual. Let them be a source of inspiration for you.