Tag: ancestor worship

Tea – How to Share It with Your Ancestors

Tomorrow many Daemonolaters will celebrate the equinox rite of Leviathan, which is traditional held on September 21st of each year. I plan to hold my ritual on the 22nd, when the actual equinox falls in my city. This rite symbolizes the changing of the daemonic elements. This is the time of water, highly apt since I am working with an ancestor who used to find wells with divining rods in addition to the Nine.

The Rite of Leviathan also symbolizes the turning of the Wheel of the Year. Although autumn supposedly starts tomorrow, it is already rained here for several days. I’ve given up ice cold diet colas for warm drinks.

tea ancestors ancestorworship magick domagick candles
Create a space to share a cup of tea with your ancestors. This can be as plain or as elaborate as you like.

If you’re similarly inclined, here’s a way of sharing water in the form of tea with your ancestors.

  1. Create some sort of space to drink tea with your ancestors.
  2. Brew yourself a large cup of your favorite type.
  3. When the tea is the right temperature to drink, pick it up with your left hand and inhale it scent. Truly try to savor it, for you were smelling it for both yourself and your ancestors.
  4. Transfer the cup to your right hand.
  5. Dip the ring finger of your left hand (the one tied directly to your heart) into the tea. Flick your wet finger three times into the air, once for each of the three levels of the Otherworld. Our ancestors and all their wisdom are said to reside in the Lowerworld.
  6. Dip your ring finger into the tea again. Anoint your third eye, your mouth, and your heart.
  7. Drink half of the tea and leave the remainder in a place you have set up for your ancestors. Let them drink from the energy of the tea as it cools.
  8. If you have pets who may knock over the tea, you can dispose of the tea as soon as it has cooled completely, either by drinking it yourself or returning it outside. Otherwise, let the tea sit on your altar for 24 hours before being respectfully returned to earth.

(If you read cards often you may know what I mean by the following statement: today I fell down the reading rabbit hole. What I saw worried me, so one question quickly led to another. Soon I’d read five different spreads about work and finances. I’d even made a phone call to put my concerns to rest! The candles on my altars had burnt low by the time I’d gotten to the heart of the matter. I packed my cards away feeling better, but even so I’m keeping today’s work for this Domagick challenge to myself.)

 

Crossing the Significator Spread for Lenormand and Tarot

This morning I talked to the Nine about my writing, using a spread called Crossing the Significator. This spread can be performed for either Lenormand or Tarot, but when using the Lenormand you will choose a specific card to represent your question. This will be the Significator. Some common topic cards that can be used as Significators are:

  • Luck = Clover
  • Health = Tree
  • Love = Heart
  • Money = Fish
  • Work = Moon
  • Decisions = Path

Feel free to be creative. I wanted to find out about my next book project, so I used the Book.

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Example of Crossing the Significator. Here you can see the position of each card around the topic: Above You, Below You, Behind You, and Before You.

When using the Lenormand with this spread, shuffle your cards while thinking about your question. Then turn your deck face up. The card at the very top of the deck becomes what is Above You. The card at the bottom of the deck becomes what is Below You. Now go through the deck until you find the card you have chosen to be your Significator. The card to the left of the Significator becomes what is Behind You. The card to the right of the Significator becomes what is Before You.

When using the Tarot with this spread, you have two choices. You can either choose an appropriate card as the Significator, or you can simply shuffle while thinking of the question. When you feel ready, cut the deck into three piles. The top most card in the left pile is Above You. The bottom card in the pile on the right is Below You. Turn over the three other cards. These are Behind You, the Significator, and Before Your respectively. Since you didn’t choose a topic card using the second method, it isn’t a significator in the traditional sense, but it can inform you more about the matter at hand.

Above Your Head – Conscious concerns, motives, plans, thoughts, worries

Below Your Feet – How I am rooted, how I am grounded, unconscious concerns, unconscious motivations

Behind You – The past, triggering incidents, conditioning

Before You – The future, likely outcome the result

Beyond that, you can sometimes get more information from reading the triplets in the reading… but that isn’t always the case, as you’ll see today.

In today’s reading, I asked “What can I expect with my next book project?”

Above My Head – The Scythe – danger, break up, accident, severance, sudden cutting, clearing, division, disconnect, rupture – No dangers concern me, but I do feel disconnected from my inspiration.

Below My Feet – The Stars – inspiration, wishes, vision, precision, guidance, direction, hopes, dreams, creativity, prophecy, harmony, good judgment, potential, improvement, exposure – I feel inspiration should guide me, however, this card could indicate a tendency to think I should write to market instead.

Behind Me –The Fish – Money, cash flow, having the means, prosperity, liquidity, business – I was taught that vocations that didn’t make money were a waste of time. My parents expressed similar opinions about occupations that didn’t make enough money either, like writers. My chosen profession was never looked on very highly.

Before Me –The Cross – crisis, transition, test, necessity, fate, trial, burden, difficulty, challenge, priest, minister, examiner, initiate, holy, sacred – Well, I’m still in the midst of rewriting a religious educational program. This card can also refer to “sooner than you would like” in terms of timing when it comes to the Lenormand. Today it seems like the Nine are talking in the very short term when it comes to my next project. This one is slated to roll out October 1, 2017. My fingers are crossed.

The only other information I got from the demonic divine was in the form of these two triplets in the reading:

Fish + Book + Cross = This will likely be a nonfiction, occult book that I put up for sale rather than offering for free.

Scythe + Book + Stars = I feel disconnected from my inspiration right now, unsure which project to choose.

I knew both of these things already, so I don’t feel like I was given an incredible amount of insight. Despite this, my time with the Nine today felt productive. My candles for them are still burning, though I will put them out soon.

I go outside each morning to return the remains of yesterday’s incense offering to the earth. It’s pouring rain today, and I nearly got soaked in the few moments it took to turn the ashes back into the soil. The cool water felt marvellous and put me in mind of the upcoming second rite of Leviathan. I sent out a cup to catch some for my upcoming ritual.

I didn’t return yesterday’s ancestral offering to the earth yet, though. The tomato hasn’t withered, so I feel grandpa is still feasting on it. I set some fresh peapods out for him. I enjoyed my time with him more than I thought I would, and found myself regretful when a phone call interrupted it.