Creating altars as a gateway to cultivating, deepening, and healing our relationship with our Ancestors and ourselves!

I am forever a student listening at the knee of my Ancestors. There are so many ways in which they teach me. They are always there, nestled in the portal of my heart. They whisper, nod, encourage, cajole, cheer, and occasionally... sigh in exasperation. When I create space for them in my daily life, I am rewarded with their infinite love and wisdom. My gratitude for this connection and this practice runs deep. It is the foundation from which all my other work flows. Their guidance has shaped and directed my life in ways I would have never expected. This is not a relationship I went looking for, but one that came knocking on my door repeatedly until I answered. I am ever so glad I did.

Why create an Ancestor Altar?

We all walk in the world with our Ancestors by our side. We have come to know our Ancestors as those who have passed on to the otherworld. Some of them we know by name, others we do not. Some of them are our direct relations; some are those that feel more like family than our own. When we create an altar of this kind it becomes a gateway. The Ancestors are calling us to meet them there. It is a place to honor the ones who came before us, to learn from them, to heal. It can create opportunities to deepen the connection to our own lineage. We would not be here or who we are without them. This is an invitation to experience your Ancestors in a new way.

When the world around us feels in an intense state of chaos, such an altar can be a place of grounding and peace. A place to put our hearts. It is an important time to build places of grounding, connection, and trust. To cultivate intuition, to create places to receive love, sweetness and wisdom.

Altars can be a place to:

Meditate, ground

Ask for guidance, assistance, strength, inspiration

Pray, for ourselves or others

To set our goals and intentions

To weep, cry, grieve

To rejoice, celebrate

To charge sacred items, engage in ritual, shamanic journey work

Together we will:

Open the space with an Invocation and receive a message from the Ancestors

Create a virtual community Ancestor Altar and share stories about our ancestors

Journey to connect with and initiate a relationship with one (or more) of your ancestors

Explore ancestral patterns through dyads in breakout rooms.

What we’ll be covering:

~How to initiate, open, and close an altar

~How to begin nurturing a relationship with your Ancestors

~The importance of offerings, how to tend to your altar

~Invocations

~Creating language, finding your way

~How to work (If you choose) with Ancestors that challenged or triggered us while they were here.

Please Bring to our Virtual Container:

~A photo/s of your ancestors ( Please note: only ancestors, no photos with anyone still living), you may also bring an item that belonged to an ancestor, or that reminds you of them.

~Rattles, bells, shakers if you have them

~A biodegradable offering for the ancestors in the form of food, sweets, flowers and/or alcohol/beverage of choice

~A journal and pen. A lot of information will be shared!

~Optional: Cushion or yoga mat for comfort while sitting and for the guided journey.

There will be 2 spots available for BIPOC, LGBTQIA folx. Please reach out directly for more info