Who are your Deep Ancestors?
There is a root that stretches back in time. Follow that root far enough and you’ll reach ancestors for whom you have no names. Follow that root long enough and you’ll meet those who hold the memories that can heal our world.
When I was first introduced to ancestor work I was taught to reach out to the ancestors whose names I knew, or who were remembered in my family. I made altars with items passed down from these family members and used the Samhain season as a time to invite healing for those in my lineage. But no matter how rich this work felt, I knew something was missing.
Connecting with our more recent ancestors can be potent. It can also be complicated. Recent ancestors are often closely woven into the current matrix of our family— including its idiosyncrasies and traumas. They are also more tightly tied to the paradigms that dominate recorded history, like colonialism, religious oppression, ecological degradation, and displacement. As I went further into this work, and the healing it can bring, I began to wonder— what about the deeper ancestors? Those who names I don’t know, but who lived before the traumas in my lineage and the rise of our current systems? Might these ancestors have valuable information about how to bridge back into wholeness?
Once, in the deep past of human history, every person on Earth lived in unbroken connection with the land. Who were these ancestors of my lineage?
Then, one day, I had an experience with the deep ancestors that blew my mind. Through this life-changing encounter I realized— not only are the ancestors of the ancient past accessible, they are profoundly interested in talking with us. Because we are the ones that can help the old ways return.
In my new video below I share the story of how I first met my Deep Ancestors and show you how to make a powerful connection to the deep ones of your lineage this Samhain season.
In geology there is the concept of deep time, a perspective that considers all ages of the Earth’s 4.5 billion years of existence— not just the eras in which we find evidence of life. Similarly, connecting with the Deep Ancestors means we bridge beyond historical record back into the lineage of humankind. With the Deep Ancestors, we can go back to the very beginning of our species— meeting with the wise grandparents who knew how to live in concert with the magics of the Earth.
You are a sapling in this sheltering grove of ancestors— those who have lived through every ending and beginning— and they are here to show you how to reseed a new-old way of being on this planet. You are here to help this Earth heal, including the earth within, and the Deep Ancestors are holding you every step of the way.
If you are feeling the call to connect with your ancestors (including the deepest ones) this Samhain season, come join me for Herbs for the Otherworld. In the course we talk about how to use the innate power of autumn to work with our earthen ancestors and bring healing from the Otherworld into our day-to-day existence. See you inside.
Links mentioned in the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raGXzprw6dg
https://asiasuler.com/shamanic-journeying/
Thank you for this juicy info! Can you point me in the direction of the link you mentioned about safely journeying? Thank you so much!!
Hey Melissa, Shannon from the team here. How cool that you are drawn to go deeper with journeying!? Here are the links Asia mentioned:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raGXzprw6dg
https://asiasuler.com/shamanic-journeying/
Wishing you blessed journeys ahead!
Hi Asia, I just signed up for Herbs for the Underworld. This particular class has been calling out to me. (All your classes have resonated with me and I am very grateful!). This fall has been a fuzzy and unclear time. Something is pushing me in the direction of connecting with the deep ancestors. I feel like there is a great deal of trauma in my ancestral lineage so when i saw your video about connecting with the deep ancestors, this drew me in. Im looking forward to tapping in and connecting and see where it takes me. Thank you for all your wonderful guidance, wisdom and inspiration!
Hi Asia, I’m so grateful to have found you and your work! I do feel a calling to connect with my ancestors. I am an Australian of European descent, I’ve always felt a connection with Celtic heritage but also a kind of discombobulated feeling to do with the Celtic seasons and festivals whilst having always lived in the Southern Hemisphere. Australia is so big and it’s seasons are so diverse, it’s hard for me to even get my heard around just swapping Samhain for Beltane. I’m worried the autumn/Samhain content in the herbs for the otherworld course would confuse me 🤦🏽♀️ Would you recommend I do it anyway or do you have something similar for ancestor work but less season/place based?
That makes a lot of sense Sally! I always think it’s most potent to connect to the seasonal shifts that are happening in our immediate ecology. Every place on Earth has it’s own “liminal times”, and we only have to trust our instincts for when that is. Herbs for the Otherworld does cover a few specific herbs that are more commonly found in the Northern Hemisphere: Hawthorn, Angelica, Ghost Pipe, Reishi. But the information about ancestor tending, ghost clearing, working with the Otherworld and liminal states is applicable to anywhere in the world. Trust your gut with that seems right for you at this time! Much love to you during these seasonal shifts.
I love this idea and feel that intuitively I have been more drawn to ancient ancestors. It comes more through feeling and resonance than anything else for me. When I read the book The Great Cosmic Mother and began to learn about Neolithic cultures, other ancient Goddess worshipping cultures, and Old Europe something in me clicked and woke up. I feel that I often channel the wisdom of ancient ancestors through my art and music. This has all been an intuitive process, and I’ve been trying to connect with more recent ancestors with intention, but it feels different for some reason… For me ancestor work usually feels more vague and abstract and I try to follow what comes up, though usually I am not sure where it’s even coming from, but there is a definite connection to deep earth wisdom coming through. Thank you for putting words to this, and for your beautiful videos and work.
Thanks for this beautiful comment Sam! I very felt much the same way when I started to learn about Old Europe. I think these Deep Ancestors are very much working, and channeling, through us as we navigate this era of such big change. We each know intuitively how to connect with these ancestors, and it sounds like you are following that thread so beautifully. Big blessings to you and all your wise creations!