Ancestors: Healing and Tending

Working with the ancestors is one of the most important and effective things you can do for your own life and for the future of all humankind. Unhealed and untended ancestors reach into our current lives for help, instead of moving along on their journey. That intrusion may create un healthy behavior patterns, chronic illnesses, and generalized chaos.

I like to teach this class at this time of the year because autumn, and the weeks heading toward Halloween (Samhain in the Celtic world) are seen as a most powerful and effective time to work with ancestors. My approach to this class will have distinctly Celtic influences, integrated with other cross-cultural approaches to ancestor work.

Shamanic practice overwhelmingly points to ancestral issues as a major influence of physical, mental and emotional illness of all kinds, like anxiety, depression and addictive struggles and relationship issues. Doing this work, can bring a positive effect on your own immediate life, and you can help free your family and descendants of negative ancestral influences. One main difference between shamanism and therapy is that, as a science, therapy doesn't claim to send actual healing upriver to the ancestral lineages. Shamanism isn't bound by that.

Ancestor work can also open new vision, creativity and abundance if you feel "stuck" or afraid. Long-term stagnation can be seen shamanically as ancestral energies that are meant to bring you energy and luck (blessing) are blocked in some way.

Structure of the class:

Classes 1-3 will teach you the basic skills and ideas to tend to your ancestors safely, with beauty and love. Some of this work involves self-healing, because these two things are inextricably linked. Safety is important in ancestor work because there is tremendous energy in it. When I do this work, I begin by us  building a sacred container among our group. Our  container will be very safe. You will accomplish significant healing of your ancestral lines and learn skills for continuing the work on your own if you want to. 

Classes 4 and 5 will focus on sending healing to more recent ancestors, where so much of our personal emotional charge is held. You’ll also learn core techniques for clearing negative ancestral patterns that have been laid into you – another skill you can continue to use after the class is done.

We will use the "Shamanic Journey" technique in this class. If you are unfamiliar with it, don't worry. If you want to explore it before class, I point you to my simple guide to journeying.

Even if you have taken this class before from me, or other ancestor classes, it can be helpful to repeat this work in a formal container.