Not long ago I watched a TV episode of Bizarre Foods in which the host (Andrew Zimmern) visited a tribe of Kalahari Bushmen in Botswana who reportedly live as humans did twenty thousand years ago.1 During the filming, Zimmern attended a ritual designed to call the Ancestors. The rite was directed by a Kalahari shaman, and it involved attaining altered states of consciousness. The goal of this particular ritual was to summon the Ancestors for the purpose of healing.
As the ritual proceeded, Zimmern commented that he is a 21st-century man losing all familiar points of reference. He goes on to say that he is slipping farther away from the world as he knows it. Near the end of the rite the shaman approaches Zimmern and places a hand on his chest. Zimmern comments that something happened in that moment that he never before experienced. He goes on to say that for a moment he was in another place. Zimmern becomes emotional and starts to cry, stating that he does not understand why any of this is happening to him. In his astonishment, Zimmern remarks that he felt his life was a book of photos and someone had just spun the pages. He sums up the entire experience as something very personal that he cannot explain.
When the TV show ended, I said to myself that this man came to the crossroads where past and present generations meet. He clearly did not know it, but what he felt was renewal; he rejoined the Living link that flows from one generation to the next. It is noteworthy that he shed tears. In the ancient Mediterranean a belief once existed that tears entered the soil and filled a river in the Underworld. The Dead quenched their thirst in its waters, and having done so, the Dead then remembered life. Once life was remembered, the Dead desired to return once again. In this light, Zimmern may well have shared this ancient drink with those who came before him. If so, he was no longer a 21st-century man lost in time. He was instead a 21st-century man companioned by all who had come before him.
I feel it is a tragic mistake for humans to believe they exist only in the here and now. This mindset cuts us off from the living current that moves through time and in which all time periods flow together as one. One mystical belief calls this the Living River of Blood (a concept we encountered in a previous chapter). Without it we are left to feel alone in time and space. We simply live our lives in service to the needs of the bodies we inhabit. We die never knowing the power of the lineage we possessed in life.
Earlier in this book we noted that people often wonder whether there is a purpose in life. They ask: Why are we here? Is there an intentional reason for us to be alive here and now? Before we can understand and appreciate who we are, we must look back upon who we were in existence. This is a long and fascinating journey. It is your story.
Science tells us that particles in our bodies originally came from the stars. In other words, we animate bodies made of stardust. In a sense this means that our most distant Ancestor is the starry outer space seen in the night sky. We are descended from the stars. Our second oldest Ancestor is the earth upon which we live. In this light our nature is both celestial and terrestrial. Perhaps this seed of thought grew in the minds of our human Ancestors and became the concept of a soul within a flesh body.
Our distant Ancestors believed in “the Spirit of the Land” as something sentient in nature. It taught humans and guided them. This relationship is at the core of the idea of sacred places. In other words, the Spirit of the Land was sensed with more intensity at various specific places. Our Ancestors marked them with stones to alert people to their precise location. There are many ancient “standing stone” sites that can be thought of in this way.
Whether intentional or circumstantial, the ancient sites draw us back to our Ancestors. The stone structures influence us to think of the people who came before our time. In this light the sites are a living catalyst and an interfacing tool drawing us into the past. It is interesting to note that when people enter a sacred site, one of the first things they do is touch the stones with their hands. This is connection and it is primal. I think of this as a means of “uploading” what is stored within the stones. To me it is as though these stones recorded and archived all that was performed by humans who gathered at such sites. The songs, the prayers, the invocations, and the drumming vibrations of hands and feet upon the earth are all remembered within stone.
The question as to who the Ancestors are is easily answered. They are those who came before us. They passed their knowledge, experience, and wisdom on to future generations. Collectively we call them the Ancestral Spirit. The question as to where they are is not so easily explained. In this section we will explore this theme in our search for understanding.
Humans tend to think of time as linear, and therefore we assign time to past, present, and future. This mode of thinking causes us to believe that “now” is the only reality; the past is gone and the future is yet to come. This vision is not unlike hiking up a mountain and thinking that the flat land behind us no longer exists, and what lies beyond the mountaintop is not already there until we see it.
From a metaphysical perspective the so-called past, present, and future all exist at once. Just as we can change the present, we can also change the past and the future. It is a difficult concept to fully comprehend. However, as we will see in the course of this book, one of the reasons we experience the present is to reconcile the past and recreate a balanced future. Without this concept the present can appear to be nothing more than a chance experience without much meaning. It can be reduced to just tending to your needs in the moment because you are here, and this exercise continues until you die. From a metaphysical point of view, that seems to be a waste of time within an endless Universe filled with limitless possibilities.
Our distant Ancestors tried to find reason and purpose in life. From this seeking came forth myths and legends intended to provide origins and explanations. This went hand in hand with religious beliefs and concepts. One culturally widespread tenet involved the practice of Ancestor veneration. At the core this seems connected to the ancient belief that the Dead influenced the Living. Keeping the Dead happy maintained peace; this in turn assured well-being for the Living in the future. This involved leaving offerings for the Dead, usually at a shrine or at a crossroads. In this light we can say that our Ancestors believed the Dead were among us or could come and go within the world of the Living.
In some ancient cultures the Dead were believed to dwell in an Underworld, with the gods or in a mystical realm. The latter was often envisioned as a secret island, or in some cases the Dead dwelled in the Faery Realm. Entrances to and from these abodes were depicted as doorways, tree hollows, misty lakes, caves, wells, or bridges. This indicates the belief of an Afterlife and a place to which the Dead traveled after leaving the world of the Living.
In some of the oldest lore concerning the Dead, they pass into a tree to await rebirth. This is connected to an ancient belief that the Dead dwell on the moon and are afterwards reborn through trees on the earth. From this depiction one can envision that the branches of trees are bridges to the Moon Realm upon which the Dead cross in their journey. This may have been one of the reasons why our Ancestors venerated trees.
In a meditation with the Greenwood Realm, I asked the question: What happens when I die? Through the “inner voice,” the reply came from the Forest: “It is simple. When you die I will breathe you in, hold you for a moment, and then breathe you back into life.” I found power in this imagery, and it all seemed to make sense. I am part of the cycle of life on Earth as long as I remain in the Wheel of Rebirth. In other words, as long as the soul has need of another lifetime in the Material Realm. The process of reincarnation is connected to the natural order and the cycle of things upon the earth.
One night I was talking with a friend of mine who I regard as very connected to the Otherworld or Spirit World. We discussed death and the Dead, and the conversation turned to the question: Where are the Dead? My friend remarked that the Dead are within us, within our bodies. They reside in the “River of Blood” that flows in our bodies as it once did in their flesh bodies. This river has flowed through time unbroken and unending since the first humans. The beating hearts of all your Ancestors kept this in motion and passed it on to you. Your DNA is a beacon, and is the vessel through which the flowing blood continues on through time. As long as it does, so too do the Ancestors.
One stumbling block for many people is the concept of reincarnation. This raises the question: If we are reborn, how can anyone communicate with who we once were? This is not an unreasonable question. What does happen to who we once were? One metaphysical explanation involves the concept of the “quintessence” of the soul.
For the purposes of this section the soul is considered to be created by Divine Consciousness or through some Divine process. Through this the soul acquires a form in which its own sentient consciousness is housed. This Soul Body is perceived as one of energy or light. In mystical thought it is envisioned as a flame, spark, or emanation passed from the Source of All Things into souls, which then become self-aware beings. Souls are, in essence, the offspring of that which created the Universe. You are one of them. Let us look at one model showing the mystical process.
Metaphysical philosophy envisions that four elemental energies exist through which creation takes place when they join together. These elements are called Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. In ancient thought we find the idea of a fifth element, which is called the quintessence. From an alchemical perspective this is what is created when forces condense into oneness. In the case of the Four Elements, the quintessence arises when something merges with the four elemental natures.
The soul in its natural environment has an Energy Body. It contains all the imprints from all the lives it experienced through reincarnation. An easy way to think of this is as follows. At one time in your life you were a certain age within the decades of child, teen, and adult. For example, you can think back on being a teenager. This memory can evoke how you felt at the time, or simply allow you to recall yourself at that time in your life. However, you are no longer that teenager; you are no longer that person. You have simply retained the experience, and it has been added to all that you are right now. In this same way the soul retains and remembers all its lifetime experiences through the people it once animated. It is, however, none of the people from those past lives. It is the accumulation of them all, and so we can say it is the quintessence of distilled lifetimes. In this light, you are the quintessence of your current lifetime experiences.
In the spiritual evolution of the soul it is important to differentiate lifetime experiences gained through individual personalities. What this means is that each lifetime is experienced through a persona that is mentored by the soul. The two share consciousness while in the flesh body. This is much like an actor playing a specific role. While in that role the actor becomes and is that character. An actor cannot take that character into a new and unrelated movie. He or she must become the different character needed for the next movie production. All of this hones the skills, knowledge, and presence of the actor.
One metaphysical model for the soul incorporates the concept of five bodies that form with the soul in each lifetime. Only one of the bodies is of a material nature; the others are etheric or energetic fields. They form bands of energy that outline the central Material Body. Beginning from the outermost band inward, we can label them Soul, Spirit, Aura, Astral, and Material. The soul encloses them all in its being.
The image shows the material form (or flesh body) enclosed within four bands of etheric bodies. Together they establish five shared forms that generate the “quintessence of being” in its totality. The quintessence emanates from the integration of these bodies with the soul.
The Material Body is the dense material form. It is the last phase of manifestation and serves as means for the soul to remain within the Material Realm. Without this housing, the soul would withdraw through attraction back to a realm suited to its non-material nature (like attracts like). The flesh body is not only an anchor; it is also a beacon for the Ancestral Spirit. Lineage and communication are never lost.
The Astral Body is an ether-like image of the material form. It is a metaphysical principle that material objects first begin as astral images of them, which then condense into material forms of the astral likeness. While an Astral Body is attached to a Material Body, it is used to carry consciousness into the Dream Realm or into Astral Realms. The Astral Body has all the senses of the physical form, which is why we see, hear, feel, and speak in dreams (and elsewhere).
The Aura Body is the energy pattern reflecting the “state of being” of the personality worn by the soul. Colors indicating the spiritual vibration of the personality emanate within the aura of the individual. From a metaphysical perspective, the lighter the color, the higher the spiritual vibration. The energy of the aura is a contributing factor in our “first impression” of a person. You have probably met someone for the first time and almost instantly liked or disliked the person. Positive or negative feelings about someone are often due to sensing the auric energy around him or her. In this light it is important to note that the aura usually indicates temporary states of being. This changes along with events and conditions in the person's life, and therefore the aura shifts and transforms from day to day. In accord, the colors within an aura change as well, although there is always a background wash of color to the aura that is the general nature of the persona.
The Spirit Body holds the consciousness of the individual worn and animated by the soul. It is sentient and separate on its own from the soul. It is you as the actor portrayed by you the soul. In this light your life is the movie throughout which your soul portrays and projects the role of the character cast in the film. When someone says that another person is such a beautiful spirit, they are talking about what they sense emanating from the Spirit Body. This body survives the initial death experience of the flesh, unlike the Astral Body which quickly dissolves back into the Astral Realm. Further information on the Spirit Body is found in the section on Death and the Dead.
The soul is the original and true vessel of your being. It is who you truly are, and is most recognizable when not acting the role of a character in any given lifetime. It is important to know that you are not the personality in this lifetime. The person on your ID card is not you. You are greater than this finite manifestation, greater than what stands before you in the mirror. You are eternal, but what you see in the mirror is fleeting.
The metaphysical teaching here is that the soul descends into reincarnation through a process. This involves passing through several energetic fields that are called realms, but in effect they are emanations of a different frequency. These energy fields add their unique and specific energy imprint to the Soul Body as it moves through each one. From a mystical perspective, the soul descends from the Stellar Realm that is its natural environment. It then passes through the Solar Realm where it is imprinted with an astrological design and pattern. This appears as the Natal Chart and Sun Sign. In essence this is a type of map to aid the soul in any given lifetime. It defines the strengths and the challenges for the personality, and it offers insights into the experiences that are drawn to it in each lifetime.
Next in order, the soul passes through what is called the Lunar Realm. Here the Earth Plane body for the soul is envisioned in accord with the vibrations that added to the soul from the stellar and solar influences. The sensitive and receptive nature of the astral substance (the Lunar nature) reacts and creates an energy form that will condense and become the intended physical body. I say “intended” because material things and situations can alter a growing fetus once conception manifests. One metaphysical belief is that the soul chooses a human bloodline, which has its own traits carried in the DNA. This being foreknowledge, the Astral Body allows for this factor when envisioning the Material Body. Later in this book we will look at how communication between the Ancestors and the soul initiates the entire process.
The final descent into reincarnation requires a Material Body. There are several metaphysical theories as to how this process works. I favor the concept that souls are drawn into a vortex that is created by the energy of sexual intercourse. The soul passes into this vortex portal, and if conception takes place, the soul is bound within the womb gate. This concept has two different schools of thought. One view is that the soul becomes attached to the expectant mother's aura and is later drawn into the infant when it takes its first breath of air. The other view is that the soul enters the fetus at the moment of conception.
With the birth of the infant the soul is now rooted in the Material Realm. It will gradually integrate into the Material Body and slowly relinquish its identity to the host, who will then emerge as the persona or personality of the living individual. One school of metaphysical thought holds that this process takes seven days. This is the same amount of time it takes the soul to disengage its connection to the Material Body following the material death experience. During this period the personality is free to visit loved ones, friends, and other people still among the Living.
During a material lifetime the persona experiences material life and the soul integrates the experience into its own core being. Although each lifetime offers the soul a series of lessons to aid its evolution, the one common acquisition is compassion. However, the soul does not enter into reincarnation solely for its own advancement.
According to one metaphysical school of thought the soul serves as a transmitter back to the Divine Consciousness. This allows the Source of All Things to view its creation from all possible angles. Each persona collects data through its experience of material existence, which is then received by Divine Consciousness through the soul's direct connection to its consciousness. You can think of this as being similar to how we obtain information through the senses of our flesh body. Individual cells in the Material Body constantly transmit to the brain, and from these transmissions a person is informed about their condition and the world around them. He or she then adjusts as needed or desired. In this light, souls can be regarded as cells in the mind of the Source of All Things. In some religions we find the idea that “God” is all-knowing. Perhaps each sentient being is part of that knowing through its communication with the Source of All Things.
At some point in material existence the flesh body will die. This disconnects the soul and the persona. The Astral Body and the aura quickly dissolve because they no longer receive energy from the material form. The Spirit Body preserves the persona. One belief is that the Spirit Body is eventually integrated into the Ancestral Spirit, and we can liken this to what is called the “hive mind.” We see an example of this in beehives where a single bee functions with others as one consciousness—the Group Mind.
When all the energy bodies that were once attached to the soul are shed, the soul returns to full self-awareness (now that is it no longer distracted with the multiple attachments that drew upon it). This is the moment of liberation because nothing is now keeping the soul bound to the Material Plane of existence. At this moment the soul awakens from the dream of life, rises, and returns back home again to its natural environment. It has reclaimed its individual identity from the host.
The disembodied persona is ultimately drawn into the collective of the Ancestral Spirit where it joins others of its DNA lineage. In some cases, such as a traumatic death, the persona may remain for a period of time on the Earth Plane in its Spirit Body. This is a conscious haunting in which the persona can interact with the Living. It is a difficult concept to understand that the persona is a shared consciousness with the soul, and that the soul is the consciousness that can continue to experience beyond its former life as that specific persona. It may help to understand that the persona is not reincarnated; the soul is reincarnated. The persona remains the being it was in life, and dwells with its Ancestors as one of their own. There it grows in the rich collective wisdom of the Ancestral Spirit and evolves to become a guardian and guide to humans in other lifetimes.
In some mystical traditions of the past we find that initiates were trained to recall previous lifetimes. This was done in part to take away the fear of death through discovering that life and death are a cycle. They are not finite, they are cyclical. Most people do not recall their past lives unless they work to discover them. This state appears to be natural. Although past lives are intriguing, is there any reason other than curiosity to recall them?
It is one metaphysical concept that a past life trauma is carried over into the next lifetime if it was not resolved by the soul. This is not unlike the experience of trauma in any current life, and many people seek counseling to help them resolve it. Violence, abuse, and oppression in any decade of our life can affect our current mental and emotional health. Counseling is a way of looking at our past, understanding how it affects us now, and discovering ways to resolve it so we can be liberated from this influence.
Most people do not require counseling, and in this same way most people have not had past lives that left any trauma significant enough to carry over into another lifetime. In this light the recollection of past lives is not required nor will its memory necessarily aid the work of the soul in its current material life. We are, however, left with the problem of our Ancestors who lived lives of personal trauma, or who caused serious trauma to others.
Our distant Ancestors understood that the living generation is never cut off from the past generation. The influence is always present and always active. In an old movie titled The Emerald Forest there is an important scene that connects with the Ancestral Spirit. The movie is based on a true story of a South American tribe living naturally within the forest. This makes the scene all that more important to our understanding because in living naturally the tribe is still an active part of the living roots. They have not been “robbed of the magic” by the distractions of modern life.
In one part of the movie we find the tribe performing a ceremony for their recent dead. The bodies are cremated and the remains are ground in a stone mortar and pestle-style implement. A large gourd (decorated to resemble a pregnant woman) is then produced. It contains some of the ashes of all of the Ancestors of the tribe. The chief states that this goes back to the first Ancestor. A portion of the ashes of the newly cremated are added to the gourd and mixed in by hand. The chief then scoops up some of the mixed ash and adds it to a drinking gourd filled with water. This is passed around to each tribe member and each one drinks from the gourd. This practice can be shocking and repulsive to the average person in modern society. At the core modern people have lost their connection to the Ancestral Spirit; therefore intimate contact with it is something alien.
In a meditation I was introduced to the theme of modern burial practices of preservation. Unlike the majority of our Ancestors, today the body is preserved and sealed in a coffin that is designed to survive the ages. It does not become absorbed into the earth like the bare wood coffins of past centuries. From a mystical perspective it does not become embraced by the Spirit of the Land, at least not in the intended organic sense. In this light it appears that modern burial practices may interfere with, or delay, the natural process through which each generation is connected together. It may be that such practices create a weak signal and make it difficult to interface directly with the Ancestral Spirit. In my meditation a thought arose that in modern culture the religious or spiritual focus is upon the heaven worlds, the celestial. Modern humans have disconnected from the terrestrial connection known to our Ancestors. Perhaps the modern view of the earth as nothing but a resource to be plundered stems from this detachment that favors a heaven world versus the one of our Ancestors.
In one teaching, the Ancestors are said to have a vested interest in the living generation. The Dead want to be remembered, and the living generation sustains them energetically when they are honored and venerated. In another chapter you will find rituals, customs, and ceremonies to keep and strengthen ties with your lineage.
Earlier in this chapter I mentioned the idea of the Living River of Blood that flows through each generation. The Ancestors communicate to us from the cellular level of our bodies. You carry this connection within your body, and your DNA is the bridge erected by your Ancestors. You stand on one side of it as the steward of your entire lineage. You are the current keeper of the River of Blood that flows from all who came before you.
In my previous book The Cauldron of Memory, I explored the idea of what is passed to us within our DNA. We know, of course, that in the DNA of our parents we receive the instructions on how to build us. This is the material reality. The metaphysical perspective is that we also receive the memories or the distilled experiences of our Ancestors. In this light we find one explanation for such things as child prodigies, and for phobias that have no basis in current experiences (as well as personal mannerisms that were previously those of someone departed).
Our DNA possesses particles and energy, which is a relationship not unlike that of the terrestrial and celestial. This was passed to us from the DNA that existed in the bodies of our parents, which contained the DNA passed to them by their parents. This DNA chain goes back to the very beginning. As mentioned earlier in this book, you exist as a person because each of your Ancestors in your direct lineage lived long enough to reproduce. You come from an ancient unbroken chain that survived the ages.
In some systems of metaphysics the phrase Living River of Blood is used in reference to the concept of the continuing Ancestral presence. The basic idea is that within our cellular makeup is an interfacing or meeting point between us and our direct Ancestors. As mentioned earlier the DNA particles and the biological energies are beacons for the Ancestral spirit, and we previously touched on the idea of morphogenetic fields. Another aspect is known as morphic resonance, a principle championed by biologist Rupert Sheldrake.
Morphic resonance is a process whereby inherited memories are passed. Sheldrake points out that memory need not be “coded in genes” but is conveyed through resonance from previous members of the same species. In this light each individual inherits a collective memory. Morphic fields can also influence individuals bathed in the energetic current. Here we begin to catch a glimpse of how the “voices” of the Ancestors are not echoes through time; they are active communication.
One metaphysical tenet is “as above, so below,” meaning that the material and non-material realms share likeness. For every law or principle of physics there is a corresponding one in metaphysics. In this light we can say that group connections (and family lineages) exist on both planes. They share a morphic field and remain connected. This is one way in which we can think of the mechanics of connecting with the Ancestral Spirit, or more accurately with its collective.
We have touched on the idea of the Ancestors communicating through the River of Blood, but this begs the question as to why and how this takes place. Let us begin first with the question of why. One answer resides in a two-part concept. The idea is that some of our Ancestors require formal “redemption” or healing for lives that resulted in negative energies that delay full transition following the death experience. In this light you have returned, in part, to aid them. Additionally, bloodlines that are still working to manifest something in the world of the Living need a living agent. Both of these situations can draw a soul to enter a specific bloodline and champion the cause. Further on in this book you will find rituals you can use on behalf of your Ancestors.
The pride that people feel in their nationality, and the attraction to discover details about their Ancestors, is more about a living energetic connection than a desire to satisfy curiosity. The pull is from the roots; it is a calling to take the position of a bridge and to be a vessel that connects past and present. You are the needed synapse that can bring the Ancestral consciousness through time. It is one of the reasons why your soul currently resides within a body, which is linked to the experiences of a bloodline. Through the cellular consciousness of your DNA you can interface with your Ancestors. They are not as distant as you may think.
Ancient myths and legends paint various pictures of an Afterlife. Some envision heaven worlds, underworlds, great banquet halls, and so on. These depictions are subscriptions to religious beliefs that provide a specific notion regarding what happens following the physical death of an individual. One less built upon that view is that when a person dies she or he enters into the Ancestral Realm at one point. This is a dimension that maintains the individual's consciousness within a collective. To try and understand this it helps to accept that the personality in each life is released by the soul. What enters the Ancestral Realm is the persona that was worn and enlivened by the soul. The soul is you; the persona is the role you played in material life.
An associated metaphysical perspective is that when different nationalities interbreed the offspring are connected by an interlacing field. In this light there can be various lineage attachments within the Ancestral Realm. For example, a person who is part German, Scottish, and Italian is connected with those lineages through a type of morphogenetic field that networks with others in morphic resonance. We should note that the Ancestral Realm is not actually a place per se; it is a state of being symbolized by the concept of the Ancestral Spirit.
In metaphysical philosophy there are seven planes that comprise Universal existence. These are envisioned as Ultimate, Divine, Spiritual, Mental, Astral, Elemental, and Material. The Material Plane is where energy is so dense and concentrated that things appear and act as solid objects. This state of existence binds energy fields to it much like a planet holds its atmosphere. In this light we can say that the Ancestral Spirit is bound to the land or to the Spirit of the Land. This gives stronger meaning to the idea of Ancestral lands. In effect the Ancestral Spirit is indeed connected with the Spirit of the Land, and dwells in-between the Organic Memory of the Earth and the Elemental Plane. More details can be found in the chapter on Death and Rebirth.
In previous writings I have discussed the idea of the Organic Memory of the Earth. The concept is rooted in the fact that all living beings go into the soil following material death. There they decompose and become absorbed beneath the land (the exception being body preservation). The metaphysical principle is that this forms a reservoir of their experiences, the memories of all that had been. This zone is sometimes called Shadow. We can liken this to the idea in Eastern Mysticism of the Akashic Records, which is a concept that all memories are held in the bound energy field of the earth. Perhaps we are looking at spiritual and organic counterparts.
In my personal work with the Ancestral Spirit I find it most effective to connect inward. I can feel my Ancestors within my body, and my body is linked to the Spirit of the Land. My Ancestors seem to speak loudest at sacred sites, cemeteries, and in that state of being between dreaming and awakening. I sense the Ancestors outside of me as well as inside.
Over time I entered into an “agreement of consciousness” with my Ancestors from which arose the vision of the Ancestral Realm as a beehive. I like this imagery for it is not unlike the ancient burial mounds of our Ancestors in which a single hole opened into the interior. Archaeologists and some anthropologists believe this was designed as a type of doorway through which the soul could exit and enter the mound (and by extension the Hidden Realm within it). Similarities exist in the lore connected to openings into a Faery mound.
Regarding the theme of a hole as the entrance and exit to the Ancestral Realm, we find a connection to serpent symbolism. Snakes disappear into burrows, which connects them to themes of the Underworld. They also shed their skins, a trait that links them to reincarnation. It is interesting to note that our DNA has a serpent-like appearance in its double helix formation.
Many cultures that practice Ancestral veneration include serpent symbolism of one type or another. In ancient Rome we find the Lare spirit, which represents the Guardian Spirit of the surviving family lineage. Ancient Roman households featured a portrait of the head of the family (as genii or begetter) flanked on each side by Lare. Beneath the images a serpent represented the Ancestral spirit depicted as moving along the foundation. All of this symbolism expressed the importance of preserving lineage. Further information about the Lare spirit is found in Appendix Two.
In ancient imagery the serpent is a symbol of health (as in the caduceus) and also a protector and preserver. The latter is found in the old practice of placing a snake in the grain storage bins to help prevent the supplies from being consumed by rodents. This promotes the idea of the snake being the protector and preserver of seeds, which is symbolic of aiding the Ancestral lineage.
Mythological snakes are sometimes associated with trees of which they are guardians. This theme was later changed to depict the snake as an evil character as reflected in the myth of Adam and Eve in old Hebrew culture. As mentioned in Chapter Two, ancient lore indicates a belief that humans are born from trees (and a belief that souls await rebirth in trees). It is interesting to note that the hollow of a tree was believed to be an entrance to the Faery Realm. Some commentators have linked the Faery Realm with the Land of the Dead. This is based upon the idea of old Neolithic burial mounds and their later connection to the lore of Faery mounds through which faeries and their world can be encountered.
Ancient Greek philosophers such as Plutarch wrote that the souls of the Dead reside on or in the moon. One mystical thought is that the moon collects the souls of the Dead each night as it crosses over the world of mortalkind. The light of these souls is gathered in by the moon and its brightness expands until it is full (of souls). As souls are released back into mortal bodies the light of the moon decreases until it can no longer be seen in the night sky.
We can think of the moon as symbolizing the survival of the soul. The sun, a symbol of daily life, diminishes and dies as it sets. The moon represents the survival of that worldly light (the soul) into the next phase (the night). This metaphor speaks to the mystical concept of this world and the Otherworld. The Living walk in sunlight, and the Dead walk in moonlight.
Scholar Jules Cashford, in her book The Moon: Myth and Image, writes that the moon has long been regarded as a portal or doorway to another realm. She goes on to refer to the moon as the door to the eternal world. Cashford remarks that the moon is beyond the phenomena of time and change, which are connected to the earthly realm. Within the realm of the moon souls are received and regenerated.
Some ancient writers refer to a mystical island of the Dead that lies in a vast sea. This “island” is the moon and the “sea” is the vast night sky. In tales of this nature souls are depicted as journeying by boat to the island. This is reminiscent of the Greek myths in which the Dead must give the ferryman a coin for passage. In this idea we can see a symbolic depiction of the soul relinquishing its material form (represented by the coin) so that it can move on to a non-material realm.
In a spiritual sense, the moon can be a symbol for us of the Ancestral Realm or the light of the Ancestral Spirit itself. The changing and ever-returning display of its cycles speaks to us from another realm of the great mysteries of birth, life, death, and renewal. The Ancestral wisdom shines down upon us from the night sky. It is enlightenment in the places of darkness; we are guided and companioned by all who have gone before us. That covenant shines brightly in the night sky.
1 “Bizarre Kalahari,” Bizarre Foods, Fourth Season, The Travel Channel, May 3, 2011, directed by Chris Marino.
