Solitary Rite for the Ancestors
This rite is done in front of one’s ancestor harrow. The latter is an altar with images, written names, and/or items belonging to one’s beloved Dead. Some hold strictly to their own blood kin; others incorporate spiritual ancestors – those Dead with whom you feel kinship – and deceased friends. Place several small votive candles on the altar, with one large one in the middle. Begin with the following invocation:
Hail to those who have passed through the veil
From Life to Death, to Earth from Breath.
Hail to those who suffered to gift me with blood,
Hail to those who survived to gift me with body,
Hail to those whose songs gift me with inspiration.
Hail to those whom I knew and loved in life,
Whose memory I carry with me like a word of comfort,
Hail to those who left this land long ago,
Whose names I honor like a word of hope,
Or if I know not their names, whose lives I honor still.
I live and love because you lived and loved,
I speak and struggle because you spoke and struggled,
You live in me, as I will live in those who come after me.
Grant me the patience, O my beloved Dead,
To see the long view, and remember that what I do
Affects a million million souls I will never know.
Then light the central candle. Say, “I am the light of the present shining into the darkness of the past. May I do you honor, O my ancestors.” Then light the smaller candles and name the names of your Dead. After each one, say, “You are a light in my memory, and you have a place at this table.” Then tell them what you will do for the future, so that when another lights a candle for you on their harrow, it will be with the memory of worthy deeds.
Photo by Jan Kameníček.