Sabbath for Souls

Today is my Sabbath, and it's also the time of the doorway to the dark half of the Celtic year, the opening of a new cycle. 

The early Gaels believed that the border between this world and the otherworld became thin at this time of year, and so spirits of the dead could visit the living.

This is the time of year to welcome home the souls of your ancestors. But I definitely feel some angst regarding my relatives who moved here to the "New World" to take it away from the Native Peoples, and who bought into the false American Dream, built on the subjugation and decimation of so many other living beings. 

It has become my custom at this time of year to open my heart to healing the soul connection between me and my ancestors.

Agenda:

1. Unity Art for souls

2. Make Soul Cakes

3. Throw the runes

4. Have a soul ceremony

5. Offer ongoing support for my ancestors

1. Unity Art for souls:

While searching last year for how to go about healing my connection to the souls of my ancestors, I came across an article on ancestor offerings, from Lion's Roar: Buddhist Wisdom for Our Times:

"Ancestors are everyone and everything that existed on the planet before your birth. Ancestors can include the earth, moon, sun, and stars. They can include the people in your blood lineage (loved or unloved). Included are those we want to disown because we feel they did not walk with integrity or were harmful to others. Their “wrongful actions” have something to do with how we personally and collectively live, and they too are ancestors. Ancestors are also people in the lineage of your spiritual practice, and beings in the lineage of life itself. ...

 

When we bring in the ancestors at the beginning of a ritual or ceremony, we are starting with the bones. The bones, in this writing, are symbolic of wisdom. In some indigenous cultures, bones are said to hold memory. It is not our brains that hold the remembrance of human life before our births. The memories in the bone can be stirred or rattled, as they say, through ritual and ceremony. Through our bones, we can access wisdom that has been passed from ancestors to the present".

Last year I set this intention, which I renew today:
My intention today is to invite the souls of my ancestors to gather with me, so that I can honor them, and thank them for my life; I intend to use my creative fire to rattle the bones of my memory, heal the rift in my heart, and forge a stronger connection between us. I'll do this with study, meditative baking, craft-making, and ceremony.

2. Make Soul Cakes:

It was a custom in many parts of the world to go ‘a-souling’ on Halloween - go door to door, singing and saying prayers for the dead; this is the origin of trick-or-treating! In Britain, these people were called Soulers, and folks gave them Soul Cakes. Each cake eaten represented a soul freed from suffering.

 

Today I will make a batch of soul cakes, while channeling all my female British ancestors who may have made a similar recipe at this time of year. The recipe is here.

3. Throw the runes:

Runes are used as a divination tool - I don't have a complete set yet, so I use virtual runes such as the ones at Ifate.

Today I asked the same question I asked last year: "What is my future as a teacher?" and I got this reading:

1 - Underlying influence: Ehwaz inverted (Progress): In the inverted position, it means blocked movement, and an inability to act. The best solution at this point may be passivity, not action. Notice any failure to communicate or act in unison.

2 - Obstacles: Nauthiz inverted (Needs, troubles) is like a canyon or icy crevasse between my current position and my goal. Nauthiz is a demand that overwhelms my savings, or the yearning of the soul which is currently unfulfilled. In the inverted position, this indicates that things are at their worst and the only way from here is up!

3 - Blessings: Thurisaz inverted (Conflict): This rune is the thorn - beauty and danger. In the averted position it indicates that my advantage might be to be resistant to change, and my ability to understand the hardships that I'm dealing with -- don't ignore them as they may become larger problems later.

4- Near Future: Raidho (A Journey) means that, right now, the stops along the way are less important than the journey itself. This journey will likely be successful and will lead to important changes in my life - perhaps a career change, new experiences and insights. All efforts to influence the situation (one way of the other) will likely fail. The hands of fate are at work here -- fortunately the indication is largely positive.

5- Destination: Ansuz (Wisdom, Creative Energy): Usually signifies an authority figure in my life, or movement of the Divine, who will facilitate a positive life-changing event; a creative solution to a long-standing problem. Whatever this achievement is, assistance will be received from someone well qualified to give it.

4. Have a Soul Ceremony:

When we do an action as a meditation, a prayer, anything we do in life can be a way to heal. So, I've designed this personal ceremony to culminate my sabbath for souls:

1. Mis en place: Gather and prepare the supplies - a lighted candle, soul cakes, my ancestor altar, and a list of the names of my ancestors.

2. Observe: Sit down, take a breath, and slowly read out the names of my ancestors, to really notice them and recognize them as being amazing and significant. Listen for messages.

3. Create: My intention is to use my creative fire to rattle the bones of my memory, heal the rift in my heart, and forge a stronger connection between me and my ancestors. I decided to make a bone pendant. 

 

4. Give thanks, share: The culmination of a Medicine Art project is to give thanks, and share. I will eat soul cakes and drink tea, slowly and silently, giving thanks to Creation for my life, and imagine the souls of my ancestors being freed of all suffering.

5. Offer ongoing support for my dead ancestors:

I found this wonderful article from Ancestral Medicine - Five Ways to Honor Your Ancestors:

"Once the dead have become ancestors, part of their post-death journey may include making repairs for wrongs committed while here on Earth. For their sake and for ours, it’s good to spend a little time now and again feeding our relationships with the ancestors. The five suggestions below, none of which require belief in any specific tradition or dogma, are safe and effective ways to assist our beloved dead and to welcome the ongoing support and blessings of the ancestors in our everyday lives."

What a healing way to look at it! So, I've set a third intention:

I intend to continue to honor my ancestors, and heal my heart, by:

-fulfilling my soul's purpose as an ethical and loving person, because this is the best ways to help my ancestors fulfill their's; 

-dedicating positive actions in the name of my ancestors; specifically, I plan to donate money to Native American groups, saying “I dedicate the positive energy from this donation to the well-being of my ancestors; may their spirits be at peace”; 

-continuing to study and connect to the cultural and religious traditions of my ancestors, and create meaningful objects that I can use to honor them, and remind me of our ongoing relationship.