The Best Way To Honor Your Ancestors

I always seem to have big things happen in autumn. Job changes, new relationships, the passing of loved ones, windfalls, leases and losses. I used to think it was just random— but now I know that the constellation of your life simply becomes more malleable this time of the year. In part, because the most influential intercessors in our fate have more access to this world. In autumn, the Ancestors of the Otherworld draw close to help us on our journey.
In the Celtic wheel of the year, as well as in other traditions, the autumnal thinning of the veil between life and death is thought to make it easier to connect with those that came before us. When you tune into the Earth in fall, you can feel it. The Ancestors don’t leave, but live right alongside us, affecting our lives as viscerally as autumn winds and the falling leaves. Ancestor honoring has been central to human culture since the beginning. In the West, these traditions are currently surging back into the popular imagination— and for good reason. If ever there was a time when we needed the counsel of the Ancestors, it is now.
For years I’ve collected information about how to honor and work with these loved ones in the Otherworld. I’ve crafted ancestral altars and done family constellations, taken shamanic journeys into the past and made pilgrimages to my own motherlands. But sometimes I still wondered— what was it my Ancestors truly wanted from me?
Then, one afternoon in Ireland, I had the opportunity to sit alone inside an ancient burial cairn. In the near-complete darkness, surrounded by stones carved in spirals and turns, I asked my Ancestors how I could honor them. And their answer, though simple, completely changed the way I practice ancestral reverence.
In this new video I talk about my day inside a Neolithic burial cairn and my Ancestors’ surprising answer to the question— what, truly, is the best way to honor our Ancestors?

Lately, it seems every time I listen to the radio or read the news I hear the same phrase: “we are living through unprecedented times….”
While this is undoubtedly true for us in our individual lives, it is not true for our Ancestors. The tumult we are living through now is nothing new for the ancient ones that guide us. As those who have survived the deep trends of time, our Ancestors know how to weather any storm. Catastrophe, coups, plague and change. We may feel like the world is ending at times… but for them the world has ended many times and begun again. Our Ancestors’ resiliency is awe inspiring— and every drop has been passed down to us.
Honoring your Ancestors is another way to honor, and tap into, this power within you. As the veil draws thin in the midst of this challenging year, the Ancestors are here to say: we are holding you. We are working with you. You have one hundred thousand years of wisdom behind you and we are with you every step of the way.
If you’d like even more support as you walk through this time, come join me for Herbs for the Otherworld— a class that helps you open this gateway to the wisdom emanating from your Ancestors and those denizens of the Otherworld. Because another world is possible, and our Ancestors in the Otherworld are showing us the way.
I wish I could watch the video. It’s not showing up on this article . Is there a way you could send me the link so I can watch?
Thank you so much Asia
Hey Marcus, thank you for letting us know! I passed this issue on to our behind-the-scenes wizards, and they should get the video back up in a jiffy. In the meantime, here is a link to the video on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtGQSraQJwE. Blessed connecting!
Thank you for bringing me back to reality. My passion is growing, learning about and using medicinal herbs. We currently use teas and eo’s as our meds and pain relievers. When I went thru my divorce, I called into California Physics… this young girl started telling me about a past life I lived in the woods with a man whose name started with Th or T.. not a normal name. She continued to say I was a star pupil in his teachings of herbs and he was still with me trying to bring me back to learning about the herbs of the land. She stopped and asked, “Does any of this make sense to you?” I whispered in awe to say, ” my entire office if filled with a hundred books about herbs!” She said, “Are you serious?” Lol. My great grandfather was a mountain doctor here in the hills of KY. Although I was not raised in KY, I moved here 22 years ago, I’m now 57. And I am at peace here.
Being a single mom, making a living on my own, I had no idea how to work with my passion. This year, out of the blue, my husband, of 7 years, bought me a huge greenhouse… we just have to put the plastic up now. I have all the time in the world to go full speed ahead into the herbal realm since 2 of 3 kids are out of college and they all have their own apts….. I will hold tight within my heart your message of our ancesters, embrace it and move forward with a new found confidence and no longer feel lost. My prayers will be different now. Thank you!
You have set me a wonderful task! To name my gifts. Thank you so much for this urging. I am searching for clarity on this very thing. ✨🌿✨
Wow! I also did not expect to be crying as I watched this!! The message of the ancestors totally surprised me. I was expecting them to want me to honour them in some way – but accepting and embracing and being grateful of my own gifts that they worked so hard on … speechless ❤️
I have a dual calling towards being a mom (I’m a mom of two and almost 40 but constantly debating a third), and also a call to the healing arts, especially homeopathy…
I am beyond thankful for your ability to communicate – with the past and to us now ❤️ Thank you for all you do!