ioqayin:

ofwoodandbone:

themixedwitch:

themixedwitch:

Uhhh okay every time I try to reach out to my ancestors they either ignore me or are just straightup mean/negative

“Don’t make my ghost coffee! I’m a good Christian, leave me alone!”

And when I go back more than 3 generations on the white side of my bloodline, they’re all racists. Kay.

I need to stop casting such a wide net, and contact individuals who are actually interested in hanging around

I hope you don’t mind me adding onto this post, but it poses a really great point. 

This is really common and something that a lot of people don’t warn about when suggesting that people try ancestor work. 
Ancestors can be downright malevolent. Not everyone had great families. 
Even more than communication, they can cause ill intentioned supernatural events when contacted. 

It’s always a good suggestion to start with specific family members and work your way forward (or back). Use the connection from one family member to another to gain trust. 

Agreed. Best to start with ancestors you knew and had a good connection with while alive.

I once kept a crucifix for one of my grandmums, but she didn’t like it for some reason. I thought she had been Catholic (my grandfather is, so I just assumed). I asked my dad about it: Protestant.

I find, the more we talk with our ancestors, the more they understand. They still want that connection to their family, and once they realize that you are that connection, they chat with you more.

As for racists and abusers and that jazz, I go through a process of “washing the dead” to cleanse them of these sins. It’s hard work, and we have to bring that work into our everyday lives. We can’t just leave them to continue influencing our descendants with racist rhetoric floating around in the spirit world.

On the other hand, don’t call up your abusive mother, for example, if you aren’t ready to deal with any demons you had with her. That, too, is part of our underworld work. They live in the blood.