Ancestors of the Spirit
Try this experiment: do two web searches, one on "ancestor
worship" and the
other on "necromancy." The results for ancestor worship will be mixed
-- strict
monotheists disapprove, ethnographers simply describe, indigenous
faithkeepers
advocate the practice. But the results for necromancy will be
irrationally
fearful and bitterly hostile, even when it comes from those faith
groups who
venerate saints.
There's really not much difference between ancestor worship, veneration
of
saints, and necromancy. But "necromancy" has become a loaded term,
strongly
implying that either the practice itself, or the particular ghosts that
are
being called on, are gross and evil. (Just notice the difference in
feeling tone
between "ancestral spirit" and "ghost"!) So, our community honors our
blessed
ancestors; those people
summon up the evil spirits of the unquiet dead. In fact,
I do revere the spirit of Charles Seymour (an early twentieth century
advocate
for the restoration of Goddess worship). But "Saint" Dominic, that
cruel
instigator of the bloody Albigensian Crusade and inspirer of the
Inquisition --
feh!!
None of us choose our genetic ancestors, or our genetic endowments and
deficiencies. But we all get to choose our ancestors of the spirit, and
of the
mind. These are the people, whether genetically related or not, that we
would like to
emulate in our own lives. To understand this, let's take a moment to
honor all
the non-relatives who nurtured our child-selves: the schoolteachers,
scout
leaders, kindly neighbors, and parents of our friends. Just as they
gave us some
things our own parents could not, so we receive from historical figures
some
things we cannot derive from the dead of our own families.
Intellectual and spiritual legacies are gifts we can claim or decline
(or simply
neglect). This is true for everybody, but it's more obvious with
Pagans. The
vast majority of us were born and raised in other religions, and came
to
Paganism by conscious choice. Only a very few are here through inertia
and
habit. First-generation intentional communities have a special
vibrancy.
However, choice always brings responsibility for the choices we make,
and for
their outcomes.
Lineage and Tradition
We have formed new kindreds and created our own family trees of choice,
grafting branches to roostocks in a complex and patient process. Our
teachers
had teachers. Our chosen ancestors of the mind and spirit also had
teachers,
mentors, and role models of their own. They took what they received,
developed
it further, and passed it to us. We will pass it to those we train. My
teachers'
teachers, my students' students, and I comprise a lineage. What we hold
in
common, our way of doing things, can be called a tradition. But living
tradition
is a co-creation, a continuous process, not a static object.
James Fowler, a liberal Christian theologian whose book Stages of
Faith presents
a model of faith development that is useful for any religion, brings us
the very
important concept of cumulative tradition, which he derived from the
writing of
one of his own teachers, Wilfred Cantwell Smith. Fowler writes:
- "Speaking of religions as 'cumulative traditions,' he
[Smith] suggests that we see a cumulative tradition as the various
expressions of the faith of people in the past. A cumulative tradition
may be constituted by texts of scripture or law, including narratives,
myths, prophecies, accounts of revelations, and so forth; it may
include visual and other kinds of symbols, oral traditions, music,
dance, ethical teachings, theologies, creeds, rites, liturgies,
architecture and a host of other elements. Like a dynamic gallery of
art, a living cumulative tradition in its many forms addresses
contemporary people and becomes what Smith calls 'the mundane cause'
that awakens present faith.
- Faith, at once deeper and more personal than religion, is
the person's or group's way of responding to transcendent value and
power as perceived and grasped through the forms of the cumulative
tradition. Faith and religion, in this view, are reciprocal. Each is
dynamic; each grows or is renewed through its interaction with the
other.
- The cumulative tradition is selectively renewed as its
contents prove capable of evoking and shaping the faith of new
generations. Faith is awakened and nurtured by elements from the
tradition. As these elements come to be expressive of the faith of new
adherents, the tradition is extended and modified, thus gaining fresh
vitality." ( Stages of Faith, pp. 9-10.)
Words like cumulative, dynamic and reciprocal are very important. What
Fowler is describing is a healthy interaction, a co-creation. At first,
the
tradition informs, nurtures and guides us as we develop our conscious
contact
with the Ancient Gods. As the flow of inspiration is opened, we in our
turn
extend, refine and modify the tradition, adapting it to the
ever-changing
circumstances of our lives, keeping it alive and thriving. This process
is
pretty obvious in Paganism, newly awakened from a long dormancy, having
to adapt
to enormous material and cultural changes all at once. It happened much
more
gradually in religions whose development was not interrupted, but just
try
comparing their understandings and practices of 500 or 1,000 years ago
with
those of today.
The Mighty Dead
What does the phrase mighty dead mean to you? I wasn't really given any
definition by my own elders, so I worked out my own. Yours may be
different.
To me, mighty dead means something very similar to what my Catholic
friends
refer to as saints. A Buddhist might call them bodhisattvas. Secular
anthropologists describe them as culture heroes. They are people who
lived
before us and whose stories we find instructive or inspirational. These
dead
people continue to guide us, at least by example and perhaps also by
inner
communication. From a spiritual or magical viewpoint, these beings are
both human and Otherworldly -- mediators,
translators, potential guides for our own explorations of the
Otherworld. Our
mighty dead show us how to come closer to the Ancient Gods, and how to
live
well, applying ancient wisdom to our daily lives.
Catholics pray to saints whenever they please, but also dedicate a
festival to
their honor, called All Saints Day. By no coincidence at all, that is
the same
day as the Pagan feast of Samhain. We
welcome our mighty dead at Samhain, but I
know of no Pagan rule against honoring or even invoking them at any
other time.
Ancestor worship, and necromancy, are also normal parts of most
indigenous,
tribal, unbroken Pagan traditions, world wide. It's not surprising that
we are
discovering the need to include them in our own reconstruction of the
Pagan
lifeways of European culture.
One important difference is that the Catholic Church has a fairly
elaborate
institutional procedure for determining just who is a saint. So the
saints are a
group of spiritual ancestors approved by the elders and shared by the
entire community. In contrast, Pagans make personal choices. Each of us
addresses those historical figures whom
we find worthy. (Sometimes small groups, such as covens or kindreds,
will honor
their group's ancestors -- their elders in lineage who have passed
over, and
perhaps some historical figures that inspire all of them.) I believe
that such
freedom of choice regarding spiritual ancestors reflects our
polytheistic
approach to Deity. So there's something else to think about: who are
your
personal mighty dead, and on what basis did you choose them? What do
you do to
make these ancestors part of your life here and now?
Necromancy
Necromancy is a step beyond ancestor worship. If ancestor worship is
like the
ordinary, exoteric "lay" practice of any religion, then necromancy is
the esoteric,
mystical aspect, the inner game, the active search for conscious
contact with
ancestral spirits. The word necromancy is derived from two Greek roots:
nekros (corpse) and mantis (prophet). So necromancy is
specially-focused
possessory work, calling on the ancestors, usually for purposes of
divination.
Because necromancy has been practiced in many cultures, it includes a
variety of
techniques.
Some of the questions we bring to the ancestors will directly concern
our
spirituality, our relationship with the Gods. Others may seem to
involve more
secular aspects of life, such as family or career issues. Yet we know
that the
Sacred -- and the sacred aspects of meaning and values -- permeates
every truly
religious life.
Here's an example: The martyred Hypatia of
Alexandria was one of the
last Pagan
academics of classical times. I believe we could benefit greatly from
her experience, wisdom and guidance now, as we rebuild a Pagan
community and culture. Indeed, Cherry Hill Seminary has
adopted Hypatia
as the ancestress and patroness of the school as a whole. When issues
of
Pagan scholarship arise, we might seek Hypatia's aid in a number of
ways, such as:
- simply asking ourselves "what would Hypatia do?"
- meditatively contacting the spirit of Hypatia and asking
her directly, perhaps as part of a dream induction.
- asking Hypatia to be with us, within us, during a critical
moment and to lend us her wisdom and guidance.
It's good to
have the benefit of somebody else's longer experience. Still, whether
the
advice comes from the living elders or the mighty dead, we must not
follow it
slavishly. Instead, we should gather as much information as possible,
as well
as advice from many different respected sources. We should listen
carefully,
consider both thoughtfully and meditatively. Ultimately, we must make
our own
conscientious decisions and live with the outcomes of the choices we
have
made. Neither the ancestors nor the Ancient Gods can relieve us of this
responsibility.
To Learn More:
- See the section on ancestors (pp. 229-235.)
- Although this book is marketed to aspiring writers, it's
really one of the finest books I know about spirituality. It contains
great exercises for establishing relationships with spirits and
God/desses. The section about contacting the spirits of writers you
wish to emulate ("Lineage and Teachings" pp. 199-214.) could easily be
applied to any of your mighty dead. Deena Metzger, among many other
things, is the author of the beloved "Isis, Astarte" chant.
- See Chapter 1 "Joseph Binbin Mauvant" and Chapter 2
"Azaka." This book is an exploration of how the energies of various
spirits are manifested in the life of a Haitian-American family. The
whole book is well worth reading. The first two chapters focus on
family and ancestral spirits.
- The UCLA Folklore and Mythology Archives has a
cross-cultural selection of articles on
ancestor worship.
- Ancestor worship is important in indigenous African
spirituality. The Ifa
Foundation web site has more information.
|