Tarot for Ancestor Work

RiverRunsDeep

I'm not quite ready to move on to a new spread with a new ancestor. I think my uncle has more to tell me. My plan is to come up with a mini-spread to draw out more specifics from him. I'm going to try, anyway!

In the meantime, I enjoy reading everyone's posts and experiences. Loving this thread!
 

Barleywine

I've been working with this spread for a while now and find that my results have been a little out-of-focus and disjointed. I'm finding that some of the questions may be a litle too broad, so I created my own spread that tries to get down to the details. A couple of observations:

Contacting your ancestors in this way assumes: 1) they have a desire to communicate with you, and 2) they value your appreciation and honor. Lacking the first, they may just be silent, without the second they could be indifferent. Because we want to talk, it doesn't mean they do.

One other point is that communicating with those from "the other side" involves navigating the astral plane, where everything may not be what it seems. I decided to start the reading by inquiring whether the "channel" is clear of astral negativity. If I get a cautionary card, I either will not continue or will apply additional psychic safeguards.

After that, I ask what the ancestor's intention toward me is at that time, whether to bring encouragement or warning, which leads toward one or the other of two main options. A third thing I learned from readings by my cousin, who is a Spiritualist medium, is that sometimes other family members come into the picture with different viewpoints, so I added a position for that. I retained the "honor" question at the end because it seems like a good closing action.

I haven't tried this spread yet, just wanted to share my experiences.
 

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celticnoodle

interesting points, Barleywine. Just like with a psychic reading/medium reading, and any other form of divination, one should always protect and ground themselves. Sometimes people don't think this is necessary to do so, but yes, it really is, I guess.

Any form of divination can bring spirits or who knows what through to us. So, we should always be careful and take the proper steps to being safe before participating in any form of divination. Thank you for the reminder. I did have a look at your spread and I like that too. But, even in this case, it may still be best to protect and ground oneself before any reading of any kind. Asking our guides to always watch over us and protect us from anything/anyone harmful is just one small simple way of protection, or you can take whatever forms of protection and grounding that you feel is necessary. And, perhaps we should do this. Though, I admit, I don't usually think of doing this when I am reading cards. Not sure why I don't, as I do it before scrying, (which I don't do much of) and before any psychic or medium reading. Maybe I should though, eh?
 

Barleywine

interesting points, Barleywine. Just like with a psychic reading/medium reading, and any other form of divination, one should always protect and ground themselves. Sometimes people don't think this is necessary to do so, but yes, it really is, I guess.

Any form of divination can bring spirits or who knows what through to us. So, we should always be careful and take the proper steps to being safe before participating in any form of divination. Thank you for the reminder. I did have a look at your spread and I like that too. But, even in this case, it may still be best to protect and ground oneself before any reading of any kind. Asking our guides to always watch over us and protect us from anything/anyone harmful is just one small simple way of protection, or you can take whatever forms of protection and grounding that you feel is necessary. And, perhaps we should do this. Though, I admit, I don't usually think of doing this when I am reading cards. Not sure why I don't, as I do it before scrying, (which I don't do much of) and before any psychic or medium reading. Maybe I should though, eh?

I always do so as soon as I pick up the cards, as a matter of long-standing habit. In the case of this spread, if I got a strong negative, I might decide to put the deck away. A weak negative would cause me to stengthen my psychic defenses by mentally reinforcing my Will, after which I would proceed. I just did a spread with this using the Chrysalis tarot, and will post when I figue it out. The usual interpretations don't really hold water with that deck (it feels more like an oracle) so I'm having to browse the LWB in addition to my intuitive perceptions. One thing I didn't mention is that I'm not after genealogical validation with this spread, just ancestral insight and guidance.
 

Barleywine

I've attached the spread I did using my revised version. The gist of it is that it emphasizes success in solitary and introspective pursuits. All-in-all, it was a positive debut for this new spread design. Moderators, if this should be moved to Your Readings, I'll add some lead-in explanatory text and repost it there.

Ancestor Card: I used the card I drew for previous attempts at ancestor work (the female Hermit of the Chrysalis Tarot) since my grandmother was always my spiritual role-model while she was alive.

Card 1: Is the way clear? - 8 of Scrolls means "No worries, abundant information will come through unimpeded."

Card 2: Intentions - 4 of Spirals shows that her emphasis is on encouragement: me performing spiritual housecleaning in an environment of peaceful solitude and introspection. "It's a new season and a fresh challenge is on the horizon."

Card 3: Encouragement - 6 of Spirals implies Success, the shedding of leaves to make way for new growth.

Card 4: Warning - 5 of Mirrors suggests a wrong that needs to be set right, and healing through forgiveness of that wrong. I know exactly what this means. Last week I sent negative energy toward some unknown person who stole something valuable of mine at a party my daughter held here while we were on vacation. It took several years and a very thorough search of the house to finally realize there was in fact a theft. Seeing this advice, I withdrew the negative energy and granted forgiveness.

Card 5: Others' Advice - The Lovers could mean a few things. It could be a reconciliation or an actual wedding. We are in fact attending a wedding this Saturday, and my son announced his engagement a short time ago. But I'm thinking that my daughter is returning from NC with her long-term bf for the wedding, and maybe she will be announcing her own engagement.

Card 6: Honor - The Divine Child (Hierophant) seems to be advising to continue my journey of self-discovery through study and use of the tarot; my grandmother was a playing-card reader in her early years so it would be natural for this to appear as a way to honor her.
 

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RiverRunsDeep

Barleywine,

Thank you so much for posting this spread and the results you had with it. I really like the details you were able to get. These are the kind of details I was hoping to draw out of the reading I already did. So, of course this means I will now proceed to borrow your spread. :D

I like the idea of a "cautionary card". And I appreciate the reminder to ground/protect before reading. I generally do, but I need to make it a habit, especially with readings of this nature.
 

Chrystella

I've been working with this spread for a while now and find that my results have been a little out-of-focus and disjointed. I'm finding that some of the questions may be a litle too broad, so I created my own spread that tries to get down to the details. A couple of observations:

Contacting your ancestors in this way assumes: 1) they have a desire to communicate with you, and 2) they value your appreciation and honor. Lacking the first, they may just be silent, without the second they could be indifferent. Because we want to talk, it doesn't mean they do.

One other point is that communicating with those from "the other side" involves navigating the astral plane, where everything may not be what it seems. I decided to start the reading by inquiring whether the "channel" is clear of astral negativity. If I get a cautionary card, I either will not continue or will apply additional psychic safeguards.

Thanks for sharing, Barleywine. This is a great spread. I can see myself using this to read for others as well. I think it's a good spread for asking a specific ancestor or other spirit that you have a good relationship with. A spirit that knows you well and is involved in your life is in the best position to give advice, insights, and warnings.

I failed to mention in my original post that I've been doing ancestor work for a few years so I've already established some rapport and some basic practices around that which include grounding, centring and invocations or prayers.

Not only are there some ancestors we that may not want to communicate with us, there are some shady characters in our lineage that we may not want to deal with. It's good to set those boundaries.

I just want to highlight though that, for myself, I was looking to marry a daily single-card draw to ancestor work in a way that told me more about them rather than more about myself. I know that doesn't work for everyone and that's why I named this thread very broadly so we could explore different methods. It's exciting to me to see what everyone comes up with.
 

Tanga

...thanks for your response. do join in with your own reading too!

I failed to mention in my original post that I've been doing ancestor work for a few years so I've already established some rapport and some basic practices around that which include grounding, centring and invocations or prayers.

Not only are there some ancestors we that may not want to communicate with us, there are some shady characters in our lineage that we may not want to deal with. It's good to set those boundaries.

I just want to highlight though that, for myself, I was looking to marry a daily single-card draw to ancestor work in a way that told me more about them rather than more about myself. I know that doesn't work for everyone and that's why I named this thread very broadly so we could explore different methods. It's exciting to me to see what everyone comes up with.

I was just thinking of how to answer celticnoodle with an explanation along the lines of - though I love the idea of what you guys are up to and am following it with interest - I feel that presently "I just shouldn't go there" myself. Don't know how to put my finger on the feeling though...
Now - Chrystella has just crystalized :) :) the explanation somewhat for me here.
I have no ground "rapport and basic practice" for this in place.
And on my father's side there are some "shady characters" in my lineage. On the other... I just feel no (perhaps) real connection... almost like, its superfluous to go there. ??

Contrary to every other subject on this forum - contacting Ancestors is the one thing I have the least experience with and my instincts tell me that before using cards, I must first begin with a different medium...?
Or/and ofcourse - through questioning my present family about my ancestors.
Hmm - yes... I shall start with this maybe... (sadly I've no one on my father's side whom I would want to rush to speak with about this - we don't really get on. Lol. And then interestingly - my Sir name - is after a "Great Ancestor" - Okondo - meaning "the man with feathers on his head" - apparently he was a feared warrior. If one saw the feathers-on-the-head in the distance, it was intimidating.).

? :)
 

Chrystella

I have no ground "rapport and basic practice" for this in place.
And on my father's side there are some "shady characters" in my lineage. On the other... I just feel no (perhaps) real connection... almost like, its superfluous to go there. ??

Contrary to every other subject on this forum - contacting Ancestors is the one thing I have the least experience with and my instincts tell me that before using cards, I must first begin with a different medium...?
Or/and ofcourse - through questioning my present family about my ancestors.

Tanga, I suggest starting with whatever feels comfortable with you because, in my experience, even when we don't know our ancestors, they know us. They want to be acknowledged, they want to tell their stories, and once you open that door, they will come through in unexpected ways.

Today I was talking with my mom on the phone and she told me she recently connected with a cousin on Facebook, a cousin she hadn't spoken to in years and that I'd never heard of (they had lost track of each other during family migrations). And then she started talking about her mother's siblings, both deceased and whom I'd never heard of (I didn't even know my grandmother had siblings). So, today, I learned the name of two ancestors and a new surname to add to my genealogical research.
 

Tanga

Tanga, I suggest starting with whatever feels comfortable with you because, in my experience, even when we don't know our ancestors, they know us. They want to be acknowledged, they want to tell their stories, and once you open that door, they will come through in unexpected ways.

Thankyou Chrystella.

And this is exactly it - I have to watch out for the "coming through in unexpected ways" bit.
On a subconscious level I "know" all about my ancestors - if you see what I mean.
My spider sense tells me "caution". Just as for example, after many years - I am now more interested in the idea of spirit boards (ouija) and am slowly and carefully investigating this (for those many years previously, my spider sense told me "caution - this is not the time").

Speaking of strong Ancestors - the one I'm named after (my 1st name, Tanga) is a real powerhouse too. (On top of my sir name).
She IS (still today, wrestling matches are held in her honour) an oracle, and her mode of communication is possession.
OK - that gives me the creeps - so... "caution".
After her death (murder) her body "refused to be buried" for 3 days. i.e. everytime they buried her - the next morning she was found outside the grave. She requested burial as a warrioress and was treated accordingly afterwards (no more cadaver resurrections).

The plot thickens does it not?

And by-the-way - these two aforementioned (Tanga and Okondo) are not the "shady" ones I spoke of - only overwhelmingly strong ones, as you now see.