Ancestral Connections To Earth
How far do you need to travel back in time to find ancestors who lived on and were connected with the Earth? Perhaps that connection lives within you.
Whether your grandparents, great-grandparents, or distant ancestors lived in close relationship with the land, you are part of a thread of history. By honoring the elements and the wisdom of those who came before us, we can reconnect with our own wild, instinctual self and the Earth.
Listen to the whispers of those who walked before us
By reflecting on those who came before, we may find new ways to root ourselves in the present. Do you have healers, Shamans, Medicine people, or Witches in your ancestral line?
Reflect on your lineage. Who in my family lived close to the land? Were they Indigenous, farmers, stewards of land?
Connect with nature as you honor your ancestors—walk barefoot, sit with a tree, or offer water to the land as they would have done.
I honor those who walked before me. Their wisdom flows through me.
Step beyond the known, dissolving into the wild
We can loosen the grip of the familiar and open ourselves to mystery. By setting intention, we step outside of ordinary time and into deeper knowing.
Begin with a ritual space. A candle, bowl of water, stone or wood, sage or sweetgrass.
Whisper: I step across the threshold. I surrender to the wild unfolding of life.
Let go of rigid knowing. Allow yourself to rest in mystery, to feel the presence of the unseen world.
I release control. I listen to what is beyond words.
Earth and Soil – Our Place in the Web of Life
Feel the land beneath us, listen to the wisdom in the ground. The Earth holds the stories of all who have come before. By touching the ground, we feel into connection with past, present, and future.
Place your hands on the ground. Feel the texture of soil, rock, plants, wood.
Imagine yourself dissolving into the Earth. You are part of the web of fungi, roots, and deep time. You are scattered, soft, unformed - part of a vast web of life..
Listen to the ground. The whispers of ancestors, the forgotten songs of the land, live in the soil.
I listen and I am open to knowing.
Air – The Breath of Spirit and Change
Let the wind move through you, carrying messages of transformation.
Air is the element of unseen forces, intuition, and movement. It carries the voices of ancestors and the wisdom of change.
Feel the wind on your skin. Let it clear away doubt and bring new insight.
Breathe deeply. Inhale the wisdom of the unseen; exhale the need for control.
Stand outside and listen. The wind carries secrets from the more-than-human world - the whispers of trees, rivers, ancestors, unseen forces.
I listen without the need to understand. The unseen moves through me.
Fire – Awakening the Wild Self
The flame within us burns, untouched by time.
Fire is the untamed force of instinct, passion, and transformation. It reminds us of our deep lineage of wildness, courage, and power.
Imagine a great bonfire in front of you. This is your fire - the fire that has never gone out, no matter how much you have been tamed or silenced.
Attune to the history of fire and ritual from your ancestors.
Remember your Wild Self—the part of you that runs with wolves, sings to the moon, refuses to be domesticated, and who has never forgotten.
Whisper to yourself: I remember who I am.
I step into my wildness. I burn away what no longer serves me.
Water – The Great Flowing Mystery
Surrender to the currents of time, letting go into the vastness.
Water does not push; it simply moves. It carries us, even when we do not know where we are going.
Stand near a river, lake, or ocean. Observe how it flows.
Place a drop of water on your forehead or lips. Feel its coolness, its quiet presence.
Feel the waters of the earth blessing you. Sense into the water in the air and sky, in your body, in the soil and trees, in the bodies of animals and other people.
Imagine your tightness softening - your edges blending into the great currents of time, the great ocean of existence.
I trust the current. I do not need control. I flow with what is.
Returning from Mystery – Integration
Imagine standing at the edge of something vast—a forest at dusk, a deep cavern, the star-filled sky. Listen as the world is speaking. The wind and water carry stories, the trees hum in slow voices.
I listen with my skin and bones, my breath and body. I know myself to be formed of earth, air, water, fire and spirit.
I am part of the great unknown. I am woven into mystery. I belong to what cannot be named.
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