Ancestor Veneration

 Today, we are going to talk about our ancestors. A common question I see in groups is "how do I work with my ancestors?" To me, ancestral veneration is a heavy part of my spiritual practice.

Who are my ancestors? You have generations of ancestors. They go way, way back to the beginning of time. Your ancestors include your bloodline, adopted, family friends, and cosmic ancestors. You may not have had a good relationship with some of them and that's okay. A lot of times I have spoken with people who didn't want to practice ancestral veneration based on their recent generation of ancestors.  Don't let that stop you. You don't have to work with them. So many other ancestors are waiting to build a relationship with you.

Another question I see is "How do I set up an altar?" Honestly, that depends on which tradition you partake in, if any. A basic altar consists of a glass of water, a white candle, and a white cloth or any cloth that you have declared as your sacred ancestor altar cloth. As time goes on you can add personal items, pictures of your ancestors, offerings, plants if you would like, etc. Each altar will be different from another.

My ancestors are my go to squad. They hear my ups and downs. They are always there for me to guide me and love on me even when I am hard on myself. Sometimes they keep me up just a talking. When Bey said "Ancestors on the wall, let the ghost chit chat" I felt that. That brings me to another point. 

"Can you put your altar in your bedroom?" This answer will vary by who you are talking to. The answer is yes. However, they may disturb your sleep. I hear some say it's disrespectful for them to be in your bedroom but believe me when I say your ancestors are NOT confined to your altar. They can and will roam. However, out of shear respect you can cover your altar with a sheet before your change clothes or have sex.

All in all I am a firm believer in ancestral veneration. Some don't work with their ancestors at all. I respect it but yeah no. For me, it's a must. I think it's disrespectful to MY ancestors to jump straight to deities. I have seen people praising deities when the whole time it was an ancestor who did the work. While it's nothing wrong with working with deities I wish people put that same respect on working with your ancestors. I am wrapping this post up but if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I will try my best to answer. Until we meet again stay BeYoutiful fam.

Full Circle

I thought for my first official post back I'll write about how I ended back here. 

So, you know how you avoid doing something? Like you keep putting it off and making a million excuses of why you just don't want to. Well, that's me. I didn't want to write. I have a trillion reasons that I shouldn't be. Why me? Nobody is going to read it. My grammar is bad. Yada, yada, yada. 

Listen, my ancestors said " Oh yes you, Bitch!" I have been running from this. I am cusser okay. I am not for the general public. So I tried working a 9 to 5. They were like nope, give me that job. Eh, okay. So, I tried to run a business doing something else I love. They swatted that shit out the air like Lebron. Enter a bunch of eye rolling and lip smacking because I know they lying. So by now I'm pissed. "What do y'all want from me?" Now, I ain't a saint so add a few more profanities to the end of that because I need money and y'all playing. These people of mine gonna tell me I am a healer. "Bitch,who?...Me?!". These past couple of weeks they have put me to test. Told me I've been running long enough and basically if I keep ignoring them it's not gonna go well. Sigh. 

Moral of the story when you aren't aligned with your destiny everything will go full circle till you get it right. I ain't happy right now but I'll be alright. I am a planner. I want to know all the details beforehand. Instead I'm being thrown in head first. Ok, cool. Not like I got a choice. It's all good. At least that's what I keep telling myself. Listen to your ancestors people. Or get thrown into your path like me. Stay BeYoutiful.

Life 2020

 Life is funny. I had long forgotten about this blog. Over the years I have continued my spiritual journey and learned a lot about myself. Today, a good friend suggested I start a blog to write down my thoughts and it hit me like a train "Hey, I have one of those!". So, here I am again.

I am not some profound writer so I have no clue how this is going to turn out but I'm going to give it a try. My thoughts run deep but my words are limited sometimes. I am aiming to write myself to healing. To express my pain, joy, anger, and anything else in between. To connect with others who may relate. To drop some information on how to heal past hurts and be the best you can be. Of course, since I am also on a spiritual journey I will include spiritual tips I have learned along the way. This blog will be my safe space and I hope it will become someone else safe space too. Until next time family stay BeYoutiful.