HONORING THE ANCESTORS THE KEMETIC SHAMAN WAY:

Book excerpt from page 64 of the Honoring the Ancestors the Kemetic Shaman Way.

Frequently Asked Questions About Honoring the Ancestors

Does ancestor veneration depend on blood type?

Contrary to popular belief, ancestor veneration is not dependent on matching blood types. It also does not require that you honor everyone on your family tree or know everyone in your family lineage. The theory is that because spirits do not have a physical body, our ancestors can see our ancestral ties going back to the beginning of time. This is because there is an unbroken chain of blood stretching from you right back to the first human on earth, so adoptees have no need to worry. If you are adopted and choose to honor your ancestors, they will know who you are even if you do not know them.

Do I have to honor everyone such as individuals that were abusive and traumatized others?

 The answer is no. You are not obligated in any way to honor or venerate anyone. This is your life and one of the reasons for honoring your ancestors in the first place is to improve the quality of your life by tapping into their wisdom, not them living your life through you. If you do not want to honor a particular ancestor, you do not have to. In fact, if you do not want to honor a group of your ancestors, you can skip them as well, which historically speaking was suitable punishment. The Kemetic people were known for being the most detailed people in ancient times because they documented everything in stone. But, they are also known for punishing souls by removing the names of individuals from stone and their documents especially if the individual caused major problems. The most famous individual during ancient times to be erased from history for their wrongdoings was the heretic king Akhenaten, whose so-called monotheistic religion nearly led to Kemet being conquered by the Assyrians.  Again, you are in charge of your ancestor altar and the only rules you need to follow are the three rules.

How Do I know make Contact with my Ancestors or Spirit Guides?

Ancestors and spirit guides usually communicate to the living via dreams and through influencing people. So, when these spirits communicate to us usually synchronicity kicks in because we are all connected.  For instance, if you wanted to connect with Malcolm X you would read the autobiography, watch the movie, etc. and do a lot of other things to really understand him. Then, one day you might have a dream where Malcolm speaks, you may find that someone says something that reminds you of Malcolm or you might display some characteristics that Malcolm had. These are all signs that Malcolm is communicating to you.

What if You Are of Mixed Heritage?

Here lately the idea that an individual being of mixed heritage has become an issue based upon the complexion of their skin. Family, your heritage is not based upon the color of your skin but the culture you identify with the most. The reason you are reading this book is because you identify with African culture the most, so you have to follow your intuition. Do not let this matter hinder you. Trust your ancestors and if you need clarity on this issue, allow them to speak and give you peace of mind.

When Can I Place an Ancestor on my Ancestor Altar?

Typically, it is advised that you place ancestors on the altar that have been dead for longer than a year and have died of a natural cause. The belief is that the newly departed needs to get acclimated to their new role as a spirit. You do not want to include people who were murdered, died of substance abuse, extreme mental illnesses, etc. because the souls of these individuals are very troubled and will need additional spiritual assistance that you may not be able to provide. Another thing is that your ancestor altar is a microcosm of your life, so if you place energies on your altar that conflict with you, you will see that conflict in your life. Essentially you want to place ancestors on your altar that support you and not add a lot of things so that communication will be clear.

Can I Put Anything on the Ancestor Altar?

Yes, and No. You can put whatever you want on the ancestor altar, but the altar is not for you. It is for your ancestors and it is built to make them comfortable so that they can communicate with you at ease. So, if your ancestors were Christian then you would place a bible or things that your ancestors liked on the altar.

How long do I leave food offerings on an ancestor altar?

Again, I believe that the ancestor altar is a microcosm of your life so when it comes to making offerings to your ancestors and spirit guides, it is best that you do not allow any offering to decay, rot or spoil because it will manifest itself in your life. Decaying, rotting and spoiled offerings attract negative energies and negative spirits. For instance, when my wife and I had our first child we decided to move closer to my family so that our child could visit with their grandparents. After we moved, it took us a little while to settle in but for weeks I did not honor my ancestors and spirit guides because I just could not find a place to set the altar. When I finally found a place, I did not regularly change my water. I didn’t notice it immediately, but my wife and I kept getting into little silly arguments. I mean we were arguing over silly things like who left the toilet seat up and the argument lasted for days. When it finally dawned on me to check my altar I noticed that I had not changed the waters and it had become stagnant. Stagnant water is like water in a marsh or swamp and it is foul smelling. 

Now, I am not saying that because my ancestor altar had stagnant water that my wife and I were arguing over foolish things. What I am saying is that my ancestors were blessing our relationship and when the waters became stagnant, we were not receiving fresh energy from our ancestors regarding our relationship.

So, never allow anything on your ancestor altar to decay. If you place flowers on your ancestor altar, as soon as the petals start falling remove the flowers. If I placed food on your altar, unless it is something like a cookie, bread, cake, etc., which can probably stay on the altar for a week, I would remove all food offerings the next day. Again, refresh your altar at least once a week.

How do I dispose of the food offerings?

Since the ancestors are spirits and do not have a physical body they cannot consume the food, drink, etc. like we do. All they can do is absorb the essence from the offerings that are given, which means after you have placed the food offerings, shortly afterwards your ancestors will absorb the essence from it. Now, this is where you must use your intuition, in some cultures, food is offered to the ancestors and allowed to sit for a few minutes, then the food is removed and eaten. The thinking behind this gesture is that the ancestors are blessing the food. In some cultures, the food offerings are discarded at a foot of a tree or placed in the woods because the thinking is just in case negative spirits are attached to the offering, they can leave at peace. I personally simply throw the food offerings either in the garbage disposal or in the trash because the essence of it has already been absorbed but you can choose whatever feels right to you.