NaBloPoMo 2: Honoring the Ancestors

 Dear Reader,

This post is on a topic that is close to my heart. In most of the United States of America's pseudo-Christian over culture, the dead are forgotten as soon as they're in the ground. There used to be a ritualized period of mourning but this gave way to hurry up and get back to work. It is considered to be morbid or impolite to discuss the dead after their funeral except in passing. This is not because of concerns that it would draw their spirit to you (which is found in many other cultures) but because death is a taboo topic for the majority of my country. Unless you're talking about murdering others in the abstract, the it gets bantered around quite casually.

In the pagan community the time around Samhain (also known as Halloween) is a time for honoring the dead. Altars and shrines are set up to them and rituals are practiced to keep their memories alive. This is not the only time of year one can spend a moment honoring they who went before us. It can be a daily practice such as what I have. Every morning, I brew a pot of coffee and put out a cup as an offering to my ancestors. It is a small act of welcoming, but it can be a big thing.  Small ritual acts build up big energy over time.

It's like building a cairn. Each small pebble is not much in itself. The entirety, however, can be breathtaking in what is built. There are days where I'm not feeling well or I just don't have the time for that morning offering. I trust that the ancestors are forgiving and understand when I am unable to do my daily ritual. They say that each of us are the result of the love of thousands. That love is deep and can carry us through hardship. Even when that hardship is having a bad case of the flu and being sick in bed most of the day, our ancestors will care for us and lend us the energy we need to be healthy and well.

Some may say, but I'm an orphan, I have no ancestors that I know of. Or I have disowned my family, I can't venerate them. Remember that line about the love of thousands? That means you have ancestors that are not going to be recognized as related to you. That means that you have ideological ancestors who guide you as you try to navigate life in an ethical way. That means that you can venerate the dead and let them reach back to you with the same care you extend to them, regardless of how much blood quantum connection is there.