2 • January Honor Your Ancestors Spell Ingredients
•• Ancestral altar, shelf, or table •• Fresh flowers •• Candle 1. Nine of Pentacles 2. Six of Cups 3. Four of Wands
Haitians celebrate Ancestors’ Day (Jour des Aieux) today. Relatives celebrate and pay special homage to those family members who have passed to the other side.
Method, Visualization, and Meditation
Ancestral alters can be combined into the decoration of a home. The Nine of Pentacles represents our physical connection to our family tree. The Six of Cups represents emotional qualities and the stories we inherit from our family (positive and negative). The Four of Wands reflects happiness and stability in the hearth and home. Create a space for ancestral photos, items, and keepsakes. Place a bowl of fresh flowers and light a candle. Place the Nine of Pentacles. Enter the card. Stand inside the vineyard and consider how you are the fruit and blossom of your family. Every garden has its season and its day; this moment in time is yours. Consider those spirits who lived before; they stand in the castle, observing. You are the living connection to the past, the result of millions of years of evolution. Place the Six of Cups and consider how you embody certain family traits. How do you experience your birthright? What have you been given? What are you grateful for? Acknowledging the positive, begin to feel an emotional swell of gratitude for the good you have been given. Place the Four of Wands. How has stability been passed to you? Where do you draw your strength? How does happiness bloom and thrive? The cards should be left out for twenty-four hours.
incantation House of spirits Ghosts of mine Thank you for Your gifts divine You lived your truth Now’s my time Thank you for Your gifts sublime
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