Since I've been told that I have some kind of Gypsy ancestry (likely Romanichal but I'm not absolutely certain of this), I've been really interested in my ancestors and healing the lineage that I am part of.
The biggest idea that I've learned is healing my own inner wounds will always heal the wounds of those who come after me BUT also the wounds of those who came before me, all the way back through time. This is called Ancestral Healing although it isn't limited just to the ancestors as I've mentioned.
The definition of ancestral healing is the profound and transformative process of addressing and resolving generational wounds, traumas, and patterns that have been passed down through our family lineage. It's all about acknowledging how connected past, present, and future generations are and recognizing the impact that our ancestors' experiences have and will continue to have on our own lives.
Through this practice of ancestral healing, we can bring our awareness to and heal those inherited patterns of pain, suffering, and dysfunction that may be unconsciously continued without end through our family lineage. If we truly want to release these energetic (and genetic) imprints accompanied by negative beliefs, then we need to start exploring our ancestral history, acknowledging the struggles and traumas that were endured by our ancestors, and honoring their resilience and wisdom.
Ancestral healing gives us the opportunity to forgive, reconcile and heal our family lineage. We can create a sacred space for healing and transformation so that we break free from those cycles of suffering and dysfunction that are likely to have been inherited but to have this space, we need to acknowledge and honour the experiences of our ancestors.
There are many ways or practices we can use to connect with our ancestors and the most well-known ones are: having an ancestor altar, divination spreads, scrying, and "spirit scribbling". And then there are other things that we could do to honour them and use to seek their wisdom and guidance, as well as develop a deeper sense of connection to this ancestral lineage.
With ancestral healing, it is an incredibly personal journey that encompasses self-discovery, healing and results in us feeling empowered. This is then allowing us to reclaim our ancestral heritage as well as embracing the strengths and gifts that our ancestors have passed down to us. All of this leads us to create a new family legacy full of healing and wholeness that our descendants can enjoy.
I like to use divination - whether tarot, oracle, runes or Ogham - to help me to understand certain things but I also like to use it to help me make things as easy as possible. It's a huge part of my life and practice so I will be doing a spread by Emerald Lotus that I think fits what I need using The Enchanted Map oracle deck by Colette Baron-Reid.
What important relationship do I have with my ancestral lineage?
Mountain Reversed
I feel like this card is saying that rather than being grounded in my lineage, I'm disconnected from them. I'm crying out for this connection to be "fixed" but I'm upside down about this situation, which isn't a good feeling, I must say.
There's an energy within this card of the Hanged Man from tarot, that I need to stop and pause before I can try to move forward with my ancestral lineage.
From the Mountain's open mouth, I also get the feeling that sound, or more specifically, songs and music, holds the key to the importance of and connection between me and my ancestral lineage.
How does this relationship affect my life?
Ride the Wave Reversed
With this card, I feel like the message is that this relationship has been affecting my life by turning it upside down and taking control of my life away from me.
I'm not able to feel a familial or ancestral connection because everything in my life has happeneded the way it has. When life (or genetics) happens to me, it's hard to know which way is up and which is down and I can't "Ride the Wave" because the wave is riding me instead.
I also feel like this card is saying that this relationship affects me through my emotions, and how I do and don't express them. I've felt like I've been too caught up in my emotions and unable to express them and I'd love to work through this.
What can I do to heal my ancestral lineage?
Stuck in the Mud
With this card, I feel like I can heal my lineage by spending time just being. My ancestors may have been forced to constantly react to life without truly seeing their surroundings when in actuality, they needed to take some time and be still.
When a crisis occurs, I used to stick my head in the sand and ignore it until I couldn't - that was the extreme of being stuck in the mud. That reaction never served me or was able to help me see a way out of my situation.
I was still acting in the same way as my ancestors but I feel like this card is encouraging me to keep going with my attempts to be more proactive.
What will this healing look like?
Magical Map Shifter, Spark
With Magical Map Shifter, I feel like this healing can be achieved in one of many ways but it's up to me to choose what that method of healing is to be. Admittedly, I do believe that one kind of healing doesn't work on everything so the healing should be tailored to the wound itself. While I could try everything, I think that with this Map Shifter being blindfolded I need need to trust that I'll know the healing when I feel it.
With Spark, again, I feel like there's an element of music and/or song being involved in this healing. This could be due to an issue with self-expression running in my ancestral lineage. I love music as it helps me to experience my emotions - Memories by Maroon 5 has helped me with my grief as an example. So I'll keep on listening to music that speaks to my heart.
How can I remain grounded while doing this work?
Compass Reversed, Encouragement Reversed, Gentle Gardener
With Compass being reversed, I feel like this is saying that I can remain grounded by re-considering what it is that actually grounds. Wwhat used to ground me may not be what continues to ground me - and that's okay because not everything is meant to stay the same.
With Encouragement also being reversed, I feel like this is saying that this is something I need to do on my own. So I can find grounding within myself because I can give myself encouragement.
With Gentle Gardener, I feel like this is saying that I can remain grounded through Nature, whether that means being in it or growing things.
How can I honour my ancestors moving forward?
Magic Stream
With this card, I feel like I can honour my ancestors moving forward by allowing their song to flow through me because I am the vessel for their healing, their physical manifestation in this lifetime.
With the presence of the Stork, there's an association with the element of Water and I feel like this is saying that I can honour my ancestors by staying in touch with my emotions and allowing them to flow through me without any obstacles.
This card really is all about Water, the element of emotions so by holding space for my own emotional experiences, I can hold space for my ancestors' experiences too. Flow is all I need to honour my ancestors.
The Stork really got my attention so I wanted to share a bit about what the Stork symbolises. In Greek, the name for the Stork is based on "motherly love" because the Stork fiercely guard their nests whether they contain eggs or young storks. Following on with the motherly love and nurturing, the Hebrew name for Stork means "kind Mother" while according to Norse mythology, the Stork King has the power to bring us humans our souls/spirits while also acting as the protector of family values.
Within the ancient Roman mythology, the Stork is not only associated with but sacred to Juno who was the goddess of the heart but also of expectant mothers. (The Greek equivalent is Hera.) Alongside this connection to expectant mothers, I discovered that Storks return "home" as spring starts to blossom so they are also associated with bringing vitality and new beginnings. Because of this link to spring, birth and renewal is brought to the Stork.
Through the research I did, and this is a small part of it, I'm now really happy to have learned about the symbolism of the Stork.
While I was doing this research into the Stork, I was listening to the film Brave and realised that it also has a theme of ancestral healing. Clan Dunbroch is one of four clans, with each of them being descended from the four brothers/sons of the original family. When that original family is wounded by the greed of one, that wound is passed down and Merida unconsciously takes on the healing because she listened to what the witch said ("Mend the bond torn by pride.").
The wound isn't just passed down because it gets repeated through time and this is what happened with Merida: the relationship between her and her mother becomes broken like the relationship between Mor'du and his own father was. The curse gets repeated as well but Mor'du used it on himself while Merida used it on her mother to benefit herself.
Another symbol that this film is connected to ancestral healing is shown right near the end with Mor'du and the wisps. When the henge falls on the bear Mor'du, his human ghost shows gratitude to Merida by nodding at her in acknowledgement before becoming a wisp. So the wisps are manifestations of Merida's ancestors, serving as guides to show her where she needs to be like visiting the witch, Mor'du's castle and the henge at the end). This idea is further cemented by the credits as there's a dedication which has a wisp with it for a time.
I must admit that my own ancestral healing isn't quite as fairy-tale-like because I had a troubled relationship with my grandmother, just like my own mum did. My mum tolerated that behaviour, likely due to a belief that because my grandmother was my mum's mum, she had to. But I didn't have that same belief so I changed my story by holding true to my boundaries and saying, "No, I'm not accepting that behaviour in my life from anyone".
I've also developed a sense of peace with how I live my life, who I am, and especially what I look like. I am a Witch and I own this almost like it's a title that I can be proud of (because that's how I feel about it). I love this peace that imbues every day of my life so I defend it fiercely because I don't want anything or anyone that is unnecessary to disturb it.
So whether this is something you are experiencing or just wondering about ancestral lineage and healing, I hope I've provided enough information to get you started and inspiration through my personal reading.
If you'd like your own personal reading to be done by me, feel free to reach out!
Peace and love to all!!!!
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