NOTE: This a reshare from a Facebook Post I wrote in 2017.
ANCESTORS IN HOODOO/CONJURE/ROOTWORK
Hey, y'all. I shared this in my closed FB group the other day, but the response makes me feel as if this needs to be shared publicly.
I have been getting a lot of one-on-one messages from new workers in the group, asking for rituals & information about how to to work with different deities from Africa and the Diaspora (the Orisa, Lwa, Mami Wata, etc.).
One of my first questions, is if the person has built familiarity with their Ancestors and/or has a functioning Ancestral altar. Many times the answer is no, I don't know how, or I don't think so. Sometimes, there will be a "deity altar", but no altar that is specific and set-aside for the family members who have lived honorably and have earned a spot on the boveda.
Because the tradition of Conjure in the Black south didn't necessarily make publicly known a *set* pantheon of specific deities, people tend to think that Hoodoo is insufficient or lacking in those centralizing forces of nature we call "deities". That is not true. Some of these Spirits were too old and too powerful to be left behind (The Man at the Crossroads, John the Conker, etc.).
Yet and still, what's important to remember is that many of our Ancestors thus became our deities...and that there are practitioners who literally only work with "The Spirit" (the ALLNESS) their Ancestors, and themselves. Dassit.
Sometimes, the people in our community and bloodlines who exhibited greatness would be exalted to deity-like reverence (this was also done on the continent)! Stories would be made around them, they would be named or re-named, depicted, used in parables, etc.
That one Ancestor who shot their enslaver with his own rifle. #Deity.
That one Ancestor who everybody saw morph into a Hawk when a whip cracked her for the first time. #Deity.
That Ancestor Couple who gave birth to 19 children over 27 Years through instances of overseer rape and still managed to have only THEIR own biological children. #Deities.
That being said, there are deities in your Ancestral lineage, whether their stories were passed down, or not.
SO WHY ANCESTORS?
Your ancestors are your first line of defense, protection, comfort, and guidance in spiritual work/ATRs. They are the closest to you, the most willing to work with you, the ones rooting for you the most, and they are the most personally invested in seeing their legacy thrive. Many ancestors, especially the ones who lived lives full up of trauma, NEED YOU to end cycles of disorder through the bloodline. Think of all your "Unknown" ancestors who were ancestors before the Triangle Trade. They didn't forget about us, y'all.
All they need is your recognition, permission, and dedication in order to act on your behalf.
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