The ritual is concluded, the candles flicker while the smoke from the burnt offerings lingers as a ghostly witness to the incantations spoken into the night; the journey however, has just begun.
Honoring the Ancestors
Ancestor veneration is not an isolated practice or a special ritual we start and stop by lighting a candle and saying a few prayers. It is not tied to a specific season, month or reclaimed pagan holiday. It is a lifestyle we maintain, an invitation for our ancestors to come forth and take an active role in our lives.
The Ancestors and the Dead
From our earliest origins we as a species have kindled a sacred relationship with our dead. Fueled by a belief in the continued existence of the soul and the ability of the dead to influence the lives and events of the living, the cult of the ancestors arose as our most primordial and universal tradition.