Graveyard, Ancestors, Mediumship, Dying, Death, The Dead

Unread post by **RevJames** » Sun Apr 08, 2018 9:44 am

Pyromancer -

I would suggest LM's 7-11 Holy Type oil - http://www.luckymojo.com/7-11holytype.html

As for the Rose of Jericho, holy water would certainly work - sometimes I do find they are prone to mold on occasion, if you experience this I would suggest trying distilled water to reduce the amount of any potential contaminants.

Good luck!

Unread post by **Sister Jean** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 5:35 pm

Hello Pyromancer,

You can also respectfully take holy water from a church--just bring a nice bottle to put it in and ask permission if there is a priest nearby.

Take care.

landsgenesis2 · Unread post by **landsgenesis2** » Fri Apr 13, 2018 6:03 am

I am adopted, so what I would like to know is if it is wise to call on my biological ancestors, or my adoptive ones as helping agents. Need I make any distinction between them?

When praying into the ancestral realm, whoever comes to me, is willing to help, generally, right?

Do the ancestors of my biological family work in concert with the ancestors of my adoptive family?

Burzeli · Unread post by **Burzeli** » Sat Apr 14, 2018 1:22 am

Do you know your biological ancestors?

I'm just asking because if you do not know them, it could be risky calling on someone who may or may not be a good person. Personally, I'd do a lot of research first on who I'm calling on, I would want a good benevolent spirit to help me...unless I want to harm someone, then I would probably want a not so nice spirit to help.

Unread post by **RevJames** » Sun Apr 15, 2018 10:42 am

Landgenesis2 -

I will do my best to give insight from what I know about the questions you asked in the order you asked them:

1. I think this is a personal decision - I personally "Hail (names of known and loved/respected ancestors stated), and ancestors both named and un-named, known and unknown. I call you here, I call you near, and as I light this candle (lights candle) to light your way to me, so do you light my way forward in my life and in my work" this ensures (at least to me) that I'm getting the ears of everyone, but only those that wish to help me on my path/with my situation are those that are lead to me.

2. Well depending on your request/prayer I would say yes, but there are those that would say if you have mean-spirited or trickster type ancestors they may run amok. (which some say could be remedied by honoring them, appeasing their spirit, where others say you shouldn't work with them if you didn't get along in life, again I think this is a personal decision and a matter of how specific your "Call" or request for them is)

3. I think they do as I was adopted myself (but closer with my biological family) and I believe my "Ma" and "Pa" (parents of my adopted father) are still around me as I swear I smell the perfume and cologne they wore on occasion.

I wish I could give you clearer answers, but I think its personal decision here unless as Cat says in a post above, you are a part of a specific religion/tradition/culture that does ancestor reverence a certain way.

I recommend two books that may also give some insight in deal with your ancestors: Deliverance by Khi Armand - http://www.luckymojo.com/deliverance.html & Hoodoo Shrines and Altars by Phoenix LeFae - http://www.luckymojo.com/hoodooshrinesandaltars.html

I hope this gave you another perspective that will help you decide how to approach your ancestors.

Unread post by **Sister Jean** » Sun Apr 15, 2018 6:25 pm

Hello LandGenesis2,

RevJames gave you some very generous advice!

landsgenesis2 · Unread post by **landsgenesis2** » Sun Apr 15, 2018 6:42 pm

Burzeli, thanks for replying. I don't know them personally enough, perhaps.

And Rev James, thank you! I know for certain that my paternal lineage is from Louisiana, a hoodoo hotspot. And the family is quite well-known in the country. It's the perception I have of what could potentially be found there, in exploration, hidden and known, that draws me to call upon that biological line where I'm sure workers were and are present, though I may not personally know so.

Adoptively, as I stated much earlier above, my great-grandmother was a rootworker, and very, VERY protective of her family, although very much cantankerous and hard to get along with. So in both my biological lineage and my adoptive one, spiritual work is very present in its history. I know I can call on my great-grandmother, but I will take caution in drawing from energies which come from a place where not much is known. As you stated, "they may run amok", especially if I don't know the stories of beneath the surface interactions that may affect how an ancestor may respond to me.

I truly gleaned insight from your remarks that I will carry with me in this work.

Pyromancer · Unread post by **Pyromancer** » Mon May 07, 2018 9:40 pm

I need help. I dabbled with automatic handwriting. This is not the first time I did it. Whatever came through at first was very accurate and knew things. He knew about every detail of who I was trying to reach. I believed it was him. I did it a second time. Whatever came through was starting to say mean things. I ended the session quick. I have done protection prayers all times, and even used protection oil on myself. I felt very drained all night last night, and this morning. I got up and bath in ammonia, and scrubbed down my place with it. I immediately felt energized, and refreshed. My place felt nice too. Earlier I got into an argument with my man, right after I felt a prescence. I did meditation to communicate with the spirit of an actor I communicate with daily. He said it’s him, and he would tone it down (the feeling of a prescence). He also told me it was a demon that came through with automatic writing, but it’s gone now because of the ammonia. I’m still feeling that prescence sense. I don’t know if it’s him or something else. It’s not a heavy feeling like before. What should I do?

Unread post by **Sister Jean** » Tue May 08, 2018 4:34 pm

Hello Pyromancer,

You'll find spellwork ideas here:

ghosts-spirits-astral-visitors-hags-hau ... 5-240.html

In the meantime, PROTECT yourself. Call upon St. Michael the Archangel to protect while you work to rid yourself of this entity.

http://www.luckymojo.com/fierywall.html

Take care.

Pyromancer · Unread post by **Pyromancer** » Wed May 09, 2018 12:39 pm

It’s gone. The actor spirit that I talked to said the ammonia took the negative entity away. Thank God! Never again.

Pyromancer · Unread post by **Pyromancer** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 10:40 am

I have Psychic oil, Clarity, Power, and Master Key.

I used to be able to focus, and see very clearly this actor that passed. He would give me visions, and very accurate answers to what I asked. When I would be in despair, he would be by my side comforting me. I could feel his prescence. Sometimes when I would talk to him he would make me feel good by sweet talking me, and again comforting me with words. He seemed all around caring and loving.

Now when I try to talk to him I can’t see him clearly, and it’s hard for me to focus. I have used Psychic oil and Clarity, but it hasn’t helped me (some things might work for others, while some don’t), I have Mercury oil, and I’m going to anoint myself with this while I attempt to reach him again.

I do miss him and talking to him. I’m good at pyromacing, cards, and seeing and getting clairvoyant visions that are accurate and to a tee.

What can I do so I can have crystal clear talks with him? Tobacco oil? Spirit Guide Oil? Any tips advice before I order?

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 10:41 am

Pyromancer, those ideas are reasonable, but there is also another concept from the long tradition of spiritualism and mediumship that i would like to introduce here:

Sometimes a spirit simply "moves on." There are reasons for this that are the subject of speculation and belief within the religious traditions of Spiritualism, and this is not the place to go into them at length, but if i were you, i would try to ask questions via mediumship, or with a spirit board, or with a pendulum, or such. Ask, "Where are you now? What do you see? Where are you going?" Not all spirits stay near to the earth. Some do. A deeper investigation of Spiritualism may be helpful to you.

Here is a brief overview of the topic, courtesy of the Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkrs (AIRR:

Category:Working Within the Spiritualist Tradition
http://readersandrootworkers.org/wiki/C ... _Tradition

Category:Mediumship
http://readersandrootworkers.org/wiki/C ... Mediumship

Category:Spirit Board Divination
http://readersandrootworkers.org/wiki/C ... Divination

Category:Spirit Work
http://readersandrootworkers.org/wiki/C ... pirit_Work

Category:Spirits and Spirit Guides
http://readersandrootworkers.org/wiki/C ... rit_Guides

Category:The Dead and the Graveyard
http://readersandrootworkers.org/wiki/C ... _Graveyard

Pyromancer · Unread post by **Pyromancer** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 11:31 am

Thank you. He did give me a sign yesterday a symbol that we agreed on if I see it I would know it’s him. I will read the links you provided. It is true they do move on

SagittariusLover128 · Unread post by **SagittariusLover128** » Thu Sep 06, 2018 10:00 am

What’s the best way to ask for help from my dead grandfather? I went and buried a lemon spell there today and I talked to him asking him to help me with what I’m trying to accomplish. Is there anything else I should do? Or could do?

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Thu Sep 06, 2018 10:38 am

Hello, SagittariusLover128 --

Generally, one's relationship with one's ancestors is personal, familial, cultural, and socially normative. That is, there is no "approved" or "recommended" way to appeal to them for help or to give them offerings.

Some ancestors, whom you knew in life, you may address familiarly and leave offerings you know they liked in life. Others, further back, may be appealed to and left offerings based on generally accepted practices of your own culture or family. For example, in some families and cultures, flowers are always acceptable tributes; in others, coins are common; in some, the tending of the grave and keeping it clean are of value; and in others the leaving of a small pebble as a token of having visited would be proper.

Conversations with the dead are also a matter of personal, familial, cultural, and socially normative ways to work.

Best of luck to you.

Unread post by **jon saint germain** » Thu Sep 06, 2018 6:39 pm

I talk to my Father often, which is a bit odd now, as for the past few years I'm older than he was when he died. He loved strong black coffee, so when I visit his grave, I bring him three coffee beans.

Once after I visited my Father's grave I had a very vivid dream about him. He gave me some very good advice about my (then) new chapel project. I went the next day to my storage unit to search for some old pictures of my dad that I knew were buried somewhere.

In the bottom of a box of papers I was astounded to find one of my dad's old horseshoes! the last time I had even seen these was when I was a child of about 10 years old. He loved playing horseshoes and was a champion player. I enshrined that shoe on my ancestor altar. I truly believe that it was an apportation. It's not conceivable I could have lugged that horseshoe around for thirty years and not know about it.

I've found it useful to annoint these small gifts with Spirit Guide Oil.
http://www.luckymojo.com/oil-spirit-guide.html

Rev J

SagittariusLover128 · Unread post by **SagittariusLover128** » Thu Sep 06, 2018 6:45 pm

Hopefully it’s not inappropriate— but my grandfather use to have a wall full of magazine cutouts with women in swimsuits

grandpa loved his swimsuit women. Maybe i could roll some of those up and take them down to the grave with flowers.. I’d love to purchase REAL flowers, but the thought of the flowers dying is really bothering me. Would artificial flowers be okay?

Unread post by **Cousin Joshua** » Thu Sep 06, 2018 9:16 pm

Howdy SagittariusLover128,

Growing up, my Sourthern Baptist grandmother kept a hand-held broom in her trunk and would regularly sweep the head stones of our deceased family members. At the change of the seasons (but always before Easter!) she'd collect money from her surviving brothers and sisters and select a seasonably suitable (artificial) floral arrangement to spruce up family members' graves and make them visually pleasing. When I personally visit a family members grave site, I offer them consumable items that they enjoyed or we enjoyed together while they were living: apple fritters, honey, tobacco, whiskey, hot coffee, etc.

However, I would say a fair amount of practitioners honor their ancestors in their homes with daily or weekly offerings on their own little shrine. These days, most folk don't live close enough to their dead to make the trip all that often.

I think there is a distinction to be made between honoring your ancestors with offerings and giving them items in exchange for work they are doing on your behalf in the graveyard.

From your post, it doesn't sound like you've made offerings to him before. Some say it's great to work with an ancestor who is buried near you and who loved you and will therefore already be inclined to do work for you. Since you've already given him a lemon to hold or work for you, I'd definitely give him something in exchange for his help with this. It's typical to give a spirit whose grave you're working with some form of payment, either money or whiskey. Since he's your ancestor and you might have more insight into what he liked, you'll have to determine whether it's suitable (and how) to get him his pictures of swimsuit models. If his wife is buried with him, though, watch out, she may not appreciate it! Also, not knowing your family, I can't say whether such things will cause a ruckus if they are subsequently discovered by living family members visiting his grave site. You know your people better than I do.

Like Miss Cat said above, working with the ancestors brings with it cultural, religious, personal, and familial considerations. Graveyard spells offer additional layers of work and meaning from other, more simple, spells, and it'll be up to you to sort it out for this ancestor.

Miss Cat's fabulous correspondence course covers how to work with graveyard spells and what forms of exchange are traditional in hoodoo. http://www.luckymojo.com/mojocourse.html

And graveyard spells have been a topic on the Lucky Mojo Radio Hour which is downloadable as a podcast on iTunes or available here:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/luckymojoh ... ark-102217

Good Luck!

Cousin Joshua
HRCC Grad #1571

Unread post by **jon saint germain** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 4:57 am

Sagittariuslover,

My dad liked his cheesecake too. I still have some of his pin-up magazines with Marilyn Monroe, Bettie Page and Jayne Mansfield and others. It never occurred to me to put them on my ancestor spirit altar. I assumed if Dad wanted to appreciate attractive movie stars in the afterlife, he can do so now in person, and at his leisure.

There is a patron saint for those who enjoy the pleasures of fine living. San Simon, or Maximon.

Bless you, Rev Jon SG

SagittariusLover128 · Unread post by **SagittariusLover128** » Sat Sep 22, 2018 6:11 am

Thank you for that information Rev Jon SG! I wonder would it be okay to buy a mini statue of one of the saints and bury it with him? Or would it be best to just make an altar that represents my grandfather and add it to the altar?

Unread post by **Sister Jean** » Sat Sep 22, 2018 8:50 am

Hello SagittariusLover128,

I think you could do either, but I'd lean more toward making an altar that represents your grandfather and adding the small statue to the altar, so you can interact with both your grandfather and the saint. Good luck in your ancestor work!

SagittariusLover128 · Unread post by **SagittariusLover128** » Sat Sep 22, 2018 9:31 am

Thank you SIster Jean!

Unread post by **JayDee** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 4:52 pm

SagittariusLover128,

I completely agree with Sister Jean I would work with a statue and photos of the father along with a glass of water and a candle on the altar as the starter items. Add items as you deem fit or moved or learn about adding. You may find this work area expands and more family members come along. Example: When I started a while back praying to a specific few, suddenly other member's names of the family started to pop up and it's an old Euro name you dont hear modern day.

Incense is nice to burn as well as offerings such as coffee, liquor, items they liked. Spend time in prayer and listen.

LM produced a book on altars: http://www.luckymojo.com/hoodooshrinesandaltars.html

Pyromancer · Unread post by **Pyromancer** » Fri Sep 28, 2018 7:20 pm

When people refer to the "gatekeeper" of a cemetery, who is the gatekeeper?

Unread post by **Edward T** » Fri Sep 28, 2018 8:51 pm

Pyromancer
The gate keeper is the spirit of the first person who was interred into the graveyard. this spirit can help you find the graves of spirits who may be able to help you. When you enter or leave the cemetery throw 3 dimes at the entrance for the gate keeper over your left shoulder.
Edward T

Unread post by **JayDee** » Sat Sep 29, 2018 3:50 am

Pyromancer,

I was taught the same way as EdwardT except we called it the spirit of the graveyard, same concept they watched over the graveyard, you prayed as you entered for the spirit to assist. I toss a coin as good faith then when leaving as I exit I pay as well asking the spirt to prevent any uninvoked spirits from leaving with me and pay the spirt as you leave.

This is a very common belief in many traditions. I shared this tradition with a good friend one day when we went into a graveyard together. She had never heard of it and thought it was wild. She went home and shared it with her family and about a week later she came back surprised to find out her syrian family also had similar beliefs about the graveyard.

Pyromancer · Unread post by **Pyromancer** » Sun Sep 30, 2018 9:22 pm

What do you pay after you pay with dimes? I asked the spirit I talk to if he would assist me when I do the mirror box. He said that he's a good guy, and he has to think about it. Starnge I saw a new post of her wearing an evil eye necklace all of a sudden

. Its exposed not hidden in her shirt. Is it whiskey or what do I pay with? I also saw 11:11 after talking to the spirit. I have been seeing that alot lately

Unread post by **JayDee** » Mon Oct 01, 2018 4:52 am

Pyromancer,

Depends on your tradition or how you are moved. I pray when I enter asking the spirit of the graveyard to protect me while im in there, I ask for guidance to the grave. If you take dirt or bury something with the dead you pay with a dime. You also may pay spirits with things they like examples include: whisky, cigar, cig, coffee, playing cards, candy, food.

Pyromancer · Unread post by **Pyromancer** » Mon Oct 01, 2018 10:04 pm

Thank you for all the info

MadmoiselleGuinevere · Unread post by **MadmoiselleGuinevere** » Sun Nov 04, 2018 11:55 am

Would you be considered a Natural Born Necromancer if You communicate With the Dead? Demons?

Unread post by **JayDee** » Mon Nov 05, 2018 7:41 am

MadmoiselleGuinevere ,

It would be considered a spiritual gift that you have.

LittleWitch2020 · Unread post by **LittleWitch2020** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 2:31 pm

Hello everyone

I'd like to contact my ancestors. I want to do this right.
I've read 1st and for most I must give water to the earth.
Is that true?
I tried communication last night. I used a white candle and a glass of water. I sat and looked in the mirror. Nothing happened. I said thank you anyway.
I want to try again tonight. This time, I'll add flowers.
How do I end communication? Did I do right by simply saying thank you?
Please, be patient with me. I'm very new at this. I'm learning day by day.
At present, my money, is real funny. So my supplies are limited.
Thank you, a trillion
Little Witch 2020

Unread post by **Miss Athena** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 2:58 pm

Hello LittleWitch2020,

Have you read through the posts in this very thread? There are nine pages of information and advice on working with your ancestors. In the future, please read through a thread before posting questions as chances are you will find the answers you need before asking.

Giving water to the earth sounds more like Gaianism, and this is a forum for the practice of hoodoo. Whether you wish to add elements of other spiritual traditions to your work is up to you, but we can't offer advice here on how to do it.

Thanking ancestors is as easy as you described. You could give them an offering, something they may have enjoyed in life (like coffee, candy, flowers, etc.).

Please read through this thread and if you then still have questions, just ask.

Good luck.

LittleWitch2020 · Unread post by **LittleWitch2020** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 5:30 pm

Yes, I did. With all do respect. I'll just stop asking questions.
Thank u
B blessed

Unread post by **Miss Athena** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 5:37 pm

Hi LittleWitch2020,

No, don't stop asking questions.

If you've read through this thread and still aren't sure what to do, then ask us here.

I couldn't answer your question about non-hoodoo practices, but otherwise what do you still have questions about?

ScorpioKate · Unread post by **ScorpioKate** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 11:49 pm

Hey LittleWitch2020!

I practice necromancy (another word commonly used for mediumship) quite frequently and I always go through one specific ancestor/guide first, to help me find my way around. I've been doing this for years and I still use this method of channeling through him specifically, to this day. It's helpful to find one guide that you can build a trusting relationship with so you always have a home base so to speak. It'll just take time though, either way.

I personally think you did a great job. Things happen in their own timing with this sort of thing. You'll be stuck for a few sessions and then one day, you'll just see things or hear things or get a completely brand new idea about how to work. It's something that just opens up one day and stays open, but I don't think it's possible to find it on your own. I think it's more that it's "shown" to you. But the quickest way to "find" it, is to just keep trying for little spurts as often as you feel comfortable with. And from my personal experiences, your intentions are pure and you have a good heart to try so hard to be respectful and that's the most important thing. You can't help what you don't know yet. And the dead sense your energy so even if it wasn't done word for word by the book, as long as your intention was to be respectful, you come across as showing full respect to them from your energy.

The only thing that would hinder you by not understanding, is protective and cleansing measures. At least in my experience, I've noticed that the herbs and waters used for these things need to be authentic and your "intention" to protect yourself is not the same as being actually protected. But when it comes to respect and formalities and what you say to them, just coming from a place of love is all that it takes to connect with them. I swear by Florida Water for protection, cleansing, to have a clear channel, and to anoint my forehead with whenever I feel yucky, even when not working with spirits. They also like it as an offering in place of regular water. They come through more energetically with the Florida Water around. It really works in all categories for this type of work. I wish you lots of love and protection though, through your journeys, and I would be happy to hear how this unfolds for you!

Unread post by **JayDee** » Thu Dec 27, 2018 9:19 am

LittleWitch2020,

Working to communicate with ancestors can take a bit more time then one try. Dont give up! It may take a few times before you feel the connections. Many books and ideas exist around this type of work. In hoodoo you will see many establish ancestor alters, an area to honor them, remember them, communicate with them. Two things I was taught to always have was a candle and a glass of water. From that it can be built on.

A great book on hoodoo altars can be found here on Lucky Mojo : http://www.luckymojo.com/hoodooshrinesandaltars.html

Other items I included are photos of the loved ones, personal items from them (if you have some), and I will include items they liked such as a cup of coffee, fruit, cakes , smokes.

Two books carried by Lucky Mojo that are on the topic you are asking:
Here is a book sold by Lucky Mojo on the topic: COMMUNING WITH THE SPIRITS by Martin Coleman
Another listed book on this topic: THE ART OF MEDIUMSHIP: PSYCHIC INVESTIGATION, CLAIRVOYANCE, AND CHANNELING by Elaine Kuzmeskus

Lucky Mojo also has some lines of product that can be used to assist with this type of work:

Spirt Guide products: http://www.luckymojo.com/spiritguide.html
http://www.luckymojo.com/indianspiritguide.html
This book would accompany the Indian Spirit Guide products to help you understand it: THE SPIRIT OF BLACK HAWK by Jason Berry

Psychic vision to help open you up to spiritual communication: http://www.luckymojo.com/products-psychic-vision.html

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Thu Dec 27, 2018 11:01 pm

Great answer, JayDee -- i can tell you are a bibliophile!

Unread post by **Naught1usMax1mus** » Sun Jan 06, 2019 3:12 pm

Thank you so much St Martha and St Expedite for seeing my mother-in-law on her way this morning — she had long disease followed by acute problems starting on 1/1. I kept cleansed and used Hoyts Cologne to ground myself (since this was out of town and I had to work ‘on the fly’). I prayed every day for these saints to help and they are good for the wishes granted. Now it is time to pay the pipers, and thank you so much to Miss Cat for your training and sharing knowledge and experience so I can do that.

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Sun Jan 06, 2019 11:23 pm

My condolences on the passing of your mother-in-law. May her memory be a blessing.

LittleWitch2020 · Unread post by **LittleWitch2020** » Sun Jan 20, 2019 9:39 am

Hello all
Finally I've bought several books by Miss Cat about root work. To be the best at what I'm doing.
One book I read says root work starts with The Ancestors. To honor them, make an alter for them.

My grandmother loved plants. So, I took a bamboo plant I have and put all kinds of stones(amethyst, Jade, green Averterine, garnet, etc. I put water out for them and a plate of tangerines, and a three day candle (white). I introduced myself and thanked them. I had a very long conversation with them. Yet, no response. Nothing.
I go to them daily.

No one knows of my practices. That's why I'm LM bugger boo. I don't have friends who practice hoodoo or witchcraft. I'm alone.

I fear if I can't get them to communicate my work will all be in vain.

Please help me what can I do to make them communicate?

Unread post by **Miss Athena** » Sun Jan 20, 2019 10:32 am

Hello LittleWitch2020,

Don't stop speaking to your ancestors. They can hear you. When, if or how they respond is up to them. You need to have patience, and look for signs of a response. Sometimes they are not obvious, often times they are quite subtle, rarely do they happen overnight.

Also, when you ask "what can I do to make them communicate?" you are suggesting that you could compel them to speak to you. That's very demanding. Spirits work in their own manner, and you can't "make" them do anything any more than you could make someone in the mundane world do anything they do not wish to do.

Please have patience, continue speaking to them and ask for their help rather than try to compel their reply.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

LittleWitch2020 · Unread post by **LittleWitch2020** » Sun Jan 20, 2019 12:17 pm

Your right. Once I wrote it that I felt like it wasn't the right thing to say or do.
I'll continue to talk to them.

ScorpioKate · Unread post by **ScorpioKate** » Mon Jan 21, 2019 1:16 am

Hey LittleWitch2020!

I had worked a few years ago to try to talk to my ancestors and to use scrying methods and all the things that you're trying for. I was highly intuitive and had a lot of success with Tarot but I couldn't seem to break the barrier to be able to communicate with spirits. I let it go after a couple months of trying and came back to it a couple years later. I had different reasons to come back to it, though. I wasn't trying so much to get direct answers. I was more using it as something like a therapy session where I would just talk and try to sort things out that were crazy in my life at the time. I imagined just sitting there and talking to my grandpa like I had when he was alive.

What started happening though, was that I would get visions while I was forming my ideas and talking. They were just in my mind but they weren't my own. They gave me information that I didn't know before. Then, I started being able to hear something like "flows" of sentences. Almost like being in a crowded hall and everyone's talking at a normal volume but you're trying to hear your grandpa only. So you can follow a sentence or two but it'll get drowned out by someone else's conversation after a few seconds. You can just find the channel that grandpa is on and pick up where you left off but it starts to get pretty muddy after doing that 4 or 5 times. Anyway, it all developed without me really trying. I didn't know that that's what I was even looking for. It might be completely different for you, too. But it's definitely an individual thing as to how you perceive what they're saying to you.

I feel very strongly that your work wouldn't be in vain if you didn't hear from them in the way you think you should or in the way that others do or even if you didn't hear from them at all. It wouldn't be in vain if you consider it something where you're presenting them your ideas and your thoughts and worries and frustrations with the sole purpose of just having someone to talk to. That's worth it all on it's own. But they'll still find ways to reach you, even if it's not immediate or through direct communication. It takes a lot of the pressure off and lets you be completely open.

I've come to the altar with music playing and incense and candles and a lovely ambiance and it was really nice.. But I've also come to the altar mad as hell and bawling so much I couldn't formulate sentences and it was still really nice, just in a different way. For me, it built the bond stronger between myself and the friends and ancestors that I knew personally and from there, it made it easier to see the visions and hear things because it's grandpa and he loves me.

Maybe seeing them as the people they are, instead of ambiguous energies that reside in some nebulous far off realm, it might help you to feel them a lot more. My grandpa is here right now, sitting in his chair, making crass jokes that only himself and my dad would find funny lol. Your family loves you too and would be happy to communicate with you I'm sure, but you just have to work out your own code or find the channel they're speaking on. For me, it only came through when I wasn't searching for it so much. But they hear you either way so it wouldn't be for nothing.

LittleWitch2020 · Unread post by **LittleWitch2020** » Wed Jan 23, 2019 6:03 pm

Thank you so much. I'm in tears. I want to communicate with them because I love and miss them.
I know no one loves me like that they do.

It's been so hard. I lost my family at 17. I had to become an adult over night. I finally started to heal a year ago.

What made healing so hard? I didn't get air before the wind was knocked back out of me. Life's wind. Not having them to hold me and say, "it's gonna be ok, I got your back". Has been a pain so horrible I can't explain.

I get so lonely. When I get off work, I tell them about my day. The things I'm trying to accomplish, my goals, my dreams. I tell them I love them and no matter how tough life gets, I'll never give up. I don't have that choice like they didn't.

I want to thank you again for reaching out to me.

The Mango Witch · Unread post by **The Mango Witch** » Sun Jan 27, 2019 5:39 pm

So, I have a quick question: Could I use Indian Spirit guide to communicate with my Native ancestors? My family is Yaqui and Apache, but this seems more aimed at Plains groups rather than Southwest and Desert groups. I think I'm overcomplicating it, but I'm curious.

I burn incense and leave offerings to my ancestors already, but I'm curious how I could incorporate this.

Unread post by **Miss Athena** » Sun Jan 27, 2019 7:36 pm

Hi Brujo_Sireno,

Yes of course you could use Indian Spirit Guide to contact your Native ancestors. Their specific tribes shouldn't affect your work with this product. You may indeed be over-complicating things so have faith in your work and you should be fine.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

red_crowfeed · Unread post by **red_crowfeed** » Thu Jan 31, 2019 12:15 pm

Does anyone else have pictures of friends that have passed on their ancestor altar?

Unread post by **JayDee** » Thu Jan 31, 2019 1:44 pm

red_crowfeed,

Yes, as well as family, photos of family, items from them that I still own. I have a friend who is in her upper 60s from the south and lived the last 40 years in Detroit, she told me that you never place the living among the dead, in her home the living are on one wall while the dead on the other. You post made me think of that!

Unread post by **catherineyronwode** » Thu Jan 31, 2019 1:48 pm

red_crowfeed --

"Should i place the dead among the living on an altar"

That is a good question, and the reply i am going to make will be a bit more complex that you may have expected, for it is not a simple "yes or no" question.

Ancestor Veneration in Christianity

Hoodoo developed in the USA under conditions of Catholic and Protestant Christianity. Most African Americans are Baptists. No form of Christianity endorses what you (and others) call "an ancestor altar." The only altars sanctified in these denominations are those dedicated to God and His heavenly entourage, as perceived within the culture and denomination to which the practitioner adheres.

For example, among the Catholics of all cultural origins (including European and African), images of canonized and beatified (church-approved) saints may be placed on both church and home altars, and these saints may include formerly living human beings as well as heavenly angelic spirits.

On Protestant home altars, however, since there is no church-designated list of canonized saints, one sees fewer such visual representations. Here we will see photos or painted portraits of ancestors or respected persons.

However, Christianity does not exist in a vacuum, and so here we will have to look into African American customs that came out of the pre-slavery African experience.

Ancestor Veneration in Indigenous African Religions

Although many first-generation enslaved Africans were Christians or Muslims at the time of their capture, most of them practiced a local indigenous religion. These indigenous religions are regional and therefore they are varied in their cosmology, theology, and liturgy, but most African religions include some form of ancestor veneration, in which one's worthy ancestors are presumed to require or desire a specific place of veneration at which culture-specified offerings are to be made at culturally-determined intervals, and, in addition, some especially powerful ancestors are presumed to have been elevated to rank among the heavenly host.

You can see the highest form of such elevation of the dead in the religion of the Yoruba people of Nigeria, for example, where Shango is known to have been the fourth king of the Yoruba people, elevated to deific status.

Ancestor Veneration in Judaism

You will see ancestor veneration as well in ancient Judaism -- which is one of the reasons some people consider Judaism to be an African religion -- for example, in the parable that Jesus taught about the beggar Lazarus, wherein Lazarus meets and is comforted by his direct ancestor Abraham in the afterlife, Abraham having been elevated to a position near to YHVH, the creator-God.

By the way, to some Jews, the entire religion of Christianity seems to be a breakaway denomination that elevated one particular human being to a status like unto ancestors such as Abraham, collateral relatives like Ezekiel, and the rest of the worthy dead -- and then left Jewish theology behind forever by asserting that Jesus had never been "the son of man," but was instead, after the form of a Greek demi-God, "the son of God." And, as another parenthetical aside, the elevation of certain human ancestors to near-deific or fully deified status is also found in Chinese indigenous religions, but that is a bit far afield for this discussion.

Ancestor Veneration in African American Society

Given the African roots that support the structure of African American Christianity, it is not surprising that the home altars of Black Americans often do include images of ancestors, or that ancestors are honoured in a space that functions as an altar but is not designated as such -- for instance a mantle piece or upright piano top or book shelf on which photos are arrayed, or a place on the wall where photos are hung in great accumulation.

These "memory places" do not generally involve conventional African religious sacrificial offerings of food, but it is worth noting that in America, among African-descended Christians, food and other offerings may be made at grave sites. Instead, African American Christian domestic altars serve as places to light candles or to display mementos or to encompass things of beauty such as flowers or figurines.

In the context of these African American Christian family memory spaces, it is entirely appropriate to include pictures of people who are not ancestors, such as collateral family members, friends, personal heroes or inspirations, beloved pets or livestock, as well as old greeting cards and calendar prints, and pictures of idealized devotion, such as the image of a child at prayer. These are African American CHRISTIAN altars, and because they are domestic altars, they take the artistic form decreed by the one who establishes them.

Ancestor Veneration in Latin-American African-Diasporic Religions (ADRs)

Now, in recent years, there has been a strong movement on the part of some African Americans, and especially those with a Latin-American family history rather than an Eastern or Southern USA family history, to incorporate elements of Caribbean African Diasporic Religions (ADRs) as well as African Traditional Religions (ATRs) into their lives. Membership in ATR and ADR denominations is initiatic, and at the time of initiation, the adherent is required to undertake certain vows of behaviour with respect to the group's initiated lineage-holders of authority, who in turn grant the adherent "licensia" (license) to worship. In some of these lineages, centuries of a family's Catholic faith may co-exist with preserved, revived, or recreated ATRs and ADRs.

Central to these ADRs and ATRs is the continuity, revival, or recreation of -- and a dogmatic insistence upon -- specific forms of ancestor veneration. Within these various religions, there are numerous rules and regulations regarding the physical form and structure of these ancestor altars, with respect to their placement in the home, what images may or may not be included, and how and when specific sacrifical or other offerings may be placed on them. This goes far beyond the African American Christian concept of a devotional and domestic religious "memory place" set aside for ancestors, departed friends, heroes, mentors, and pets.

Hoodoo is Domestic African American Folk-Magic, Not an ADR

To be clear: the African American home hoodoo way of memorializing the dead is a domestic remnant or retention of an African way of thinking that has for centuries been embedded within the context of Christianity, but the American ATR or ADR ancestor altar is a full-blown continuity, revival, or recreation of an African religion, in all of its clerical and dogmatic parts.

Your Paths Are Your Own

So -- and here is why i told you at the outset that i would not answer "yes" or "no" -- it is up to YOU to consult with YOUR religious leaders, YOUR family's way of working, and YOUR own spiritual discernment. Only YOU know YOUR path, and the only logical advice i can give you is to plow the furrow set before you by your own direct experiences of God (this is called "personal gnosis") and / or to work by the rules and regulations set forth (or not set forth) by the clergy of your own religion, if you have one.

Read a lot more in this book:

BOO-FLS-HSAA
Hoodoo Shrines and Altars by Miss Phoenix LeFae
$12.00

You can order right here in the Forum by clicking on the blue Add To Cart button.

For more information, see:
https://www.luckymojo.com/hoodooshrinesandaltars.html

Unread post by **Miss Athena** » Thu Jan 31, 2019 5:31 pm

Thank you, Miss cat, for such an epic and enlightening post! I read it on the subway home from work and nearly missed my stop because I was so engrossed in your words. That was wonderful, thank you.

red_crowfeed · Unread post by **red_crowfeed** » Fri Feb 01, 2019 10:49 am

Thank you for sharing that knowledge. That is awesome.

Unread post by **jon saint germain** » Tue Feb 12, 2019 5:48 am

Yes, what Sister Jean says. You can also make an Altar Box if you are short on room. Collect items and photos in a box that represent your beloved ancestor, bless and sanctify the box as you would an Altar, and keep it somewhere safe (away from kids, cats and dogs, for example). I've seen lovely Altar boxes, with decopage and applique. Good luck, and bless you.

Mamawolf · Unread post by **Mamawolf** » Thu May 30, 2019 10:43 am

Can anyone recommend someone they have worked with in regards to getting an ancestor reading?

Unread post by **JayDee** » Thu May 30, 2019 12:00 pm

Mamawolf ,

We do not make recommendations on the forum as many of the members of AIRR are also members of this forum and contributors to many of the Lucky Mojo productions. You can go to the AIRR website and read about the different members, and read through the customer testimonials on the forum about those readers.

You can also search through the directory of AIRR members who perform mediumship and contact with the deceased, including ancestors:

http://readersandrootworkers.org/wiki/C ... or_Clients

Hope that helps.

Unread post by **Miss Athena** » Thu May 30, 2019 12:41 pm

Hello Mamawolf,

I have moved this conversation to the topic on working with ancestors. Please read through this new thread for other advice and information that can help you.

Good luck.

martinezmarco296 · Unread post by **martinezmarco296** » Sat Jul 20, 2019 2:28 pm

First and foremost I want to let you know I looked and could not find an answer to my question.

I want to know if there is a way to do a "spell" or work to call on family that has pass on to help.

I want to ask my grandmother and my great grandmother to help me with a situation with an individual.

In place of calling on evil or things like intranquil spirit I was wondering if one can asked a deceased relative to help instead.

Is there any spell or prayers , candles etc., I could use. Both my grandmother and great grandmother were strong believers.

Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Unread post by **Miss Athena** » Sat Jul 20, 2019 9:25 pm

Hello martinezmarco296,

Yes you could call on your ancestors for help. Have you read through the posts in this thread? There are lots of ideas here to help you get started, so do please read from the beginning. If you then still have questions, feel free to ask us.

Good luck.

Learline · Unread post by **Learline** » Fri Nov 01, 2019 9:03 am

Hello everyone
I want to set up my ancestor altar on my fireplace mantel where I have the ashes of both my parents. My question is should they be on my altar if they both were alcoholics and drug addicts? They were not together and did not speak to each other. Should I keep them there or remove them? I'm asking mainly because of the addictions. Thank you.

Unread post by **FreyaRose** » Fri Nov 01, 2019 9:18 am

Hi Learline,

It really is up to you which ancestors you feel drawn to work with on your altar. It's a very personal decision, based on what feels correct for you. If you don't like that they were alcoholics and had drug addiction issues, maybe think about whether or not you'd like them assisting in your work, or whether you'd like to keep that separate.

We really can't advise about what you "should" do, because it's dependent on your relationships with the deceased and how you feel about building a personal altar.

If you're stuck, the book Miss cat mentioned above, "Hoodoo Shrines and Altars: Sacred Spaces in Conjure and Rootwork" by Miss Phoenix LaFae may help you make those decisions for yourself and your husband.

https://www.luckymojo.com/hoodooshrinesandaltars.html

Best of luck to you both!