Ancestor Offerings & Shadow Work Prompts

Good morning Moon Babes!! Today I wanted to continue the shadow work series from the book “Honoring Your Ancestors - A Guide to Ancestral Veneration” By Mallorie Vaudoiuse!

If you are new and have not seen the past two shadow work prompts that I shared from this book you can always look back at old archived post and start there!!

For this shadow work session I want you guys to push yourself a bit, If you don’t give offerings daily to your ancestors maybe leave them one 30 minutes before you start your session. For me I know certain ancestors REALLY like candy, while others might prefer that I sing, draw, craft, pick up trash outside, some like that I leave actual money for them, others like that I burn 2ancestor money, ect. Take some time to meditate with your ancestors before offering them something and ask what they would prefer! Listen to your gut and set it on their altar. I like to talk to my ancestors while I do this, sometimes It is explaining the product (if its something random in nature i found and just felt the need to place it on their altar.) Other times it might simply be praying with the item and placing it on their altar.

I personally find leaving offerings to be a really big help with my ancestral practice most practitioners normally do, however remember you don’t always have to spend a bunch of money on supplies! Try to get creative with what you give them, go into nature and walk with them, take your ancestors to your favorite place and tell them your favorite memories there. Listen to music with them, have a tea/coffee/shot with them!! To be 100% honest when I was super super broke in college I offered them fasting, because its white frankly all I could offer. (That would only last5 for a few hours before I got yelled at to stop lol) The more conversations you have with them on a day to day the easier it will be to tap into their energy. Remember your ancestors aren’t tied to their altar, they walk with you everyday!

For this next section of this healing ancestral trauma shadow work here are the prompts. Remember to be kind to yourself during times where you are doing shadow work. I like to cleanse myself, my space, ancestor altar, light an incense, ground and center myself then start. These shadow work prompts can get heavy, this book doesn’t play around (so If you read over these and choose not to do them it is totally okay! I thought these questions were a bit odd in relation to ancestral healing but soon realized why they were in this book as I worked through the prompts.)

1. how do you feel about forgiveness? Is there anything you could benefit from forgiving today?
2. How do you feel about death? Have you ever come close to dying before? If so, how did it change your perspective on life?
3. Do you feel prepared to die? What small step could you take that might help you prepare for that moment mentally?
4. What would happen if we defend ourselves by our ecstasies rather than our traumas?

I hope these prompts/ tips help in connecting deeper with your ancestors!

Blessed be, Anastasia