My Ancestors, the Portal

It was all new to me—ancestral ritual and healing, even just talking to ancestors or asking them for help. Then, alone in an old farmhouse my first night, I was awakened by footsteps on the stairs and the rattle of the doorknob. I found no one there. Back in bed, it happened again. Then an unbidden request poured from my mouth, first asking the house spirits to allow me to stay, I mean no harm, and next a call to my ancestors to protect me. I fell asleep.

For the next six weeks that I lived in the farmhouse, I called on my ancestors every night and the late-night spirits never bothered me again. Soon after I began to learn about my family lineage, became closer to my father, and developed a relationship with my 95-year-old paternal grandmother for the first time.

I look back now and see that night as the key moment in my growth. It was the start of energetically working with my ancestors for personal and ancestral healing, and the portal to all of my spiritual work that followed. They are my most important allies, part of my everyday life, healing work, and rituals.

And so, each day, I sit at my altar. Dip my fingers into a small vessel of water, sprinkle to my right for my paternal line. State my father’s surname, and sometimes include up to seven generations of names in the lineage. Dip again, sprinkle to my left, my maternal line, and state my mother’s surnames. The water is an offering of thanks, and I express my gratitude, ask them to join my ritual, and sometimes I ask for help too.