I was making the fire the other day, and stumbled upon a death announcement of a long-time resident in the summer issue of the Pique, and I stopped in my tracks with a slow sigh. I had not known, or heard.
There are, I imagine, many fine and beloved humans, who have moved on from their bodies in the past year or two, that we did not get a chance to grieve in community.
I think that’s why my attention was piqued at the invitation to attend a free, guided, internationally-oriented, pandemic-focused grief and ancestralization ritual, from the team at Ancestral Medicine.
Details, if you’re curious, are below:
This Sunday, Dec 19th five awesome folks with team Ancestral Medicine will guide an internationally-oriented, pandemic-focused grief and ancestralization ritual.
This is free, open-to-all, and a gift from us for the season. The ritual will be a space to extend care to those who have died and all suffering with the changes of the past two years.
Details and registration are at ancestralmedicine.org.
Sorrow upon sorrow. Death in isolation, illness with no full recovery, and the long grind of loneliness. Loss of dreams, important relationships, and spontaneous affection. Deepening systemic oppression and ecological catastrophe. As we enter Pandemic Year Three, the-world-that-was further recedes and the heart aches with the layers of pain and hurting.
Our two related ritual intentions are grieving and ancestralization—to hold a resourced vessel to touch sorrow and to support the transition of any among the recent dead who are ready to join their beloved ancestors.
Five ritual co-leaders from different nations and lineages will weave a space for two hours of guided practice and some light teaching, song, prayer, and tending with the powers. We’ll likely have a large group, and there’s no expectation to participate by voice or video; however, live ritual is by nature experiential. Nothing will be recorded, and ritual will be resourced by supporters in the Ancestral Medicine Practitioner Network.
The offering aims to be inclusive with respect to ancestry, gender, colonialism, and other tough histories as they intersect the present. No prior experience or belief in anything in particular required to join.
The Wellness Almanac 