The Gifts of our Ancestors – Samhain New Moon
October 23rd, 2014
Hello dear ones ~
Today is the New Moon, in Scorpio, with a Solar Eclipse.
I just re-read my words last year at this time: “Witchy Wisdom for the Samhain New Moon,” and realized that 13 moons ago we were experiencing a Solar Eclipse on this very New Moon in Scorpio as well.
We have journeyed around the spiral yet again dear friends. We are the same, and yet we are so different.
It is the time of Samhain, the ancient celebration of our ancestors. And in the Celtic tradition we have arrived at the New Year.
It is a good time to reflect on what has transpired over the past 13 moons cycle.
- What lessons have we learned?
- How have we grown?
- What are the ripened fruits that we now have the opportunity to harvest?
One of my teachers, Dr. Darren Weissman, talks about “gifts in strange wrapping paper.” He teaches that physical symptoms, emotional issues, and challenging life experiences can be perceived as opportunities for healing and growth.
They are gifts that come often in the strangest of wrapping paper that at first may feel nothing like a gift to be appreciated. But when we being to unwrap the package and dig deep below the surface with curiosity and openness, we expand ourselves to perceive what it is the experience is trying to teach us.
If we can hang in there, learn the lesson and integrate it into our lives, then we heal at the Soul level. We heal the energetic blueprint that caused the symptom in the first place. We are free.
As we prepare for our Medicine Path of the Priestess Samhain Women’s Retreat, our awareness turns to our ancestors. Many of us have come from long lines of suffering souls, and the stories of our ancestors is not always pretty. We carry this energy in our own cells and DNA and we unconsciously pass the same burdens onto our children. Many of us are not sure why we ought to honor and celebrate our ancestors.
But Earthkeeper wisdom tells us that if we do not honor and celebrate our ancestors, then they haunt us like hungry ghosts. If we do honor and celebrate them, with the knowledge of “gifts in strange wrapping paper”, and we thank them for all of the lessons they have brought into our lives, then not only will we be able to heal at a Soul level, but so will they. And then we will be free, and so will our children.
This is deep work my friends, and certainly easier said than done, but extremely worth it.
Practice: Build an Altar to Honor Your Ancestors
- Create a dedicated spot in your home for the altar (like a small table or window sill cleared of other things).
- Choose images of your ancestors and/or their possessions and arrange them on the altar.
- Place fresh flowers, incense, a candle, a bowl of water, a crystal and any other sacred things on the altar as offerings to your ancestors.
- Light the candle and incense everyday and offer words of gratitude to your ancestors for all they are taught you. You can get really specific here, perceiving the “gifts” that certain traumas gave you.
Remember that you are a magical being…that prayer works and healing happens. And most of all, have fun with it. Healing without joy is so out of style 
In infinite love & gratitude,
Dayna Seraye
