So here is a fun puzzle you can help me toy with: How would you make an ancestral altar complete with a home for them when you know nothing about your ancestors - save a bunch of the recent ones from an adoption were asses - and would like to make sure that altar is linked to your blood line so that not just any spirit could use it claiming to be related. Again I have no personal artifacts, few names, and very few photos for my Grand-mothers part of the family, no less from my grandfather's side and pretty sure there is nothing at all from my mother side at all.

A general offering "to the family" is not appropriate here - I don't think - I was told to look for one woman in particular who is several generations back of unknown relation to me.

I was thinking about using my blood in some way, but am unsure what principle would survive death. Perhaps a spirit house is not needed for contacting the lady and making general offerings but it is sticking in my mind for some reason.

I have heard that the bones of ancestors are kept in special conditions due to their connection to the spirit. However you might also track down a grave and take grave dirt. Other than this, it seems to me that using your own blood to invoke your ancestors generally should be successful. You receive your blood directly from your mother, who received it from hers, and so on. At least a matrilineal line of ancestors should be philotically linked in this way. Take time out of the equation here and you have a single seed substance, like a line, which every female going back to the beginning would be in direct convergence with.

Bones might be more difficult, unless you have one to spare!

This is just my general thinking on the subject, personally I haven't worked with ancestors.

peace

Neither have I, until I was told how helpful they could be. I had read that in Indian scriptures it is important to make offering to the ancestors as it retroactively upgrades your own spiritual potential. I think it works thus: The ancestors from generation back put a lot of literal and metaphoric energy to their kids, who did the same for theirs and so on as though time as it builds. When it gets to the the total energy invested in you is enormous. Each generation is able to give what they can to you and if they have more they can give you more. By doing ancestor offerings they have the resources to give to you again. I might be reading too far into this but it sounds like offerings are also become (in death) as they might have been if better conditions existed in life. This is passed on to via a spiritual link, that might have something to do with leftover mental modifications from other incarnations.

In any case the texts that talk about it make it clear it helps you a lot. The nice voodoo people I am talking with also say the ancestors will act in your favor in material ways - location jobs, finding friends and lovers - like a spectral recon force.

I have asked a spirit guide I met some time ago to act as bouncer for my spirit house - a clay pot I am planing on stuffing with materialization, physic enhancing and divination herbs. I think this will work without the blood, but I will keep that in mind. I still like the idea, just not too sure why I'm reluctant to use it.

I never saw the word "philotic" before so I googled it and got something from Enders Game. Could you explain how use use it in this instance.

That all makes a great deal of sense. Perhaps I'll explore some of that myself.

Philotic Lines/Philotic Links might have originated semantically with OSC, ender's game is not a recent book, and I learned the word only a few years ago. I philotic link is an insubstantial, non material connection between two things. Like Sympathy through contagion, etc., but used as a more overarching and basic term.

Good to stick to a tradition I suppose, in certain African Traditions not all ancestors are seen as being beneficial, some have bad karma from their lives and may carry it over into yours, Dark Deceased as they are called in a more Kemetic discourse. Ancestrial rites are central to African culture but many of us have the same problem as you have mentioned, having a some what broken linage through our holocaust, also carrying rape genes etc which have to be purged from ones line .lol. Strange to think my family were owned/abused by none other than Captain Morgan and likely have a link to that family **shudders** Grandmother still carries the last name. Problem with A.Tradition at times is that its often linked to the rest of its practices but you could find a group willing to teach you a method if you were to look and take part in the culture. Depends on your path I suppose.

Divine ancestors are called, 'Shepsu' and its them you are looking to contact rather than the dead and blind who are still attached to the material realm.

Peace
.M.

I was wondering about that recently, the energy I am attracting is very different and not as pleasant as my normal visitors - Gods and Bodhisattvas. I was thinking that just because I have someone working to weed out anyone who is not related and does not have a family bond does not mean I want them hanging around. Sometimes they are just "sticky." I was thinking of some herbal mix that would attract nicer relatives.

The nice voodoo people I am working with suggest working with some of their gods to make it easier, but that is a lot of work and to be honest I want to know my ancestors not practice voodoo.

It would be so much simpler if I could find details on how to conduct and vedic ancestor sacrifice.

Yeah, is a tough one, as said, you can't really borrow from African stuff and leave the rest behind like that, they're holistic practices, its a lifestyle... you could be participating in something left over from said ancestor or force allowing it to manifest in your life/environment... could immerse yourself in the culture for a period of time before moving on in order to cross relate. Is basically what I'm doing with the GD. They do have various cleansing approaches, baths etc you could undertake.

I had an altar for Enki and some other In goetia ... but not anymore because I was not welcomed so I drop it XD

But you can look for example Thoth he is Egyptian god so something Egyptian or something when you read about them (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) ( you must do this yourself read about some God you want to put altar on or some who you really feel close to you (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

But I do have an altar for Mother Nature- (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) and sometimes I give her some gifts (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Laila, we appreciate your vigor in posting but please keep your posts topic-relevant and substantial. Substantial here means a post that adds to the discussion and preferably longer than one or two sentences. Many of your recent posts do not add anything to the forum and are off topic. Also please review the forum rules about double posting.

If you have any questions please feel free to PM me.

Did I mention a DNA test could be of assistance in this?

Find out where the bulk of your ancestors were from and then look into that culture.