Ancestors: Weekly Art Making for the Revolution
Growing up I heard very little about my ancestors. We are white, and my family taught me that we are Irish, French Canadien, and Blackfeet. We had a family tree that that no one ever talked about. The only stories told involved the living - we rarely spoke of or acknowledged the dead. And even then it was only a sentence or two, and one generation back.
As is common in working class white families carrying generations of silenced, normalized abuse and ignored trauma of being the oppressor and the oppressed, we had little awareness of ourselves outside of the immediate survival and hoped-for "success" of the living. The silence and separation from our ancestors, cultural history, healing practices, and awareness of ourselves as connected to (rather than fighting to survive) the world was all-pervasive. Generations of whiteness, class, and trauma created a seemingly inescapable path of isolation, with no sense of beingness or belonging outside the living family (and then only if you "fit in").
Ancestors and Relationship
As we continue through this time of great revolution and liberation - we can no longer ignore those who have come before. Our lives did not evolve in a vacuum. Connecting with and understanding our ancestors, human and beyond-human, is essential. Additionally, many BIPOC spiritual and cultural practices understand and embody this deeply. I am deeply indebted to their wisdom in my own practices and in bringing this understanding forward. Many European cultures once understood this as well - with practices to honor and call upon the ancestors. I am seeking out these lost histories within my own practices.
Importantly, when we imagine working with the ancestors, I invite you to work with your healed ancestors only. The ones who, during life or after, healed the ways they oppressed others, held privilege, caused harm, and the ways the have been harmed. Who embody the wisdom of that journey. You have full choice over your connection to ancestors - no beings who have harmed you need to be considered or called on. You deserve protection. Always. Additionally, you do not need to know who your ancestors are. Many folx do not. Ancestor work can be a way to meet them. Lastly, and so importantly, please know - there are ancestors outside of your blood lines that are here to support you. Queer and Transcestors, Disability Justice ancestors, ancestors of the lineages of liberation that you uphold. Plant ancestors. Animal ancestors. Land ancestors. They are also waiting to connect.
Prompt
This week I invite you to explore through journaling, singing, altar-making, prayer, intentional walks, movement, etc. Hold the following prompts within you as your guide. See what may be illuminated. Consider yourself as part of a larger web, and see what may be gifted:
What is my relationship to my ancestors, human and beyond-human?
What have I been taught about building relationship with my ancestors?
How does this impact how I view and experience the world and my role in it?
What would a healed, reciprocal, consensual relationship with my ancestors look like?
Photo by Kris Møklebust on Pexels.com
As always, if you would like support on your healing journey as a joyful, radical empath, intuitive, or highly sensitive person, I am here for you. Please reach out. Additionally, you are welcome to join the waitlist for Soul Sanctuary, my new ecospiritual and expressive arts group for LGBTQ empaths, intuitives, and magic makers on the path to liberation. As a queer, enby, empath, and highly sensitive therapist, I deeply understand the challenges of this journey. I would be honored to support you.
In Healing,
Phoenix