Podcasts about ancestor worship

Why is Christmas the perfect time for ghost stories and ancestral healing? Let's unpack the mystery. --- Join and support the community: https://www.creationspaths.com/ In this episode, Charlie and Brian, Christopagan Druid practitioners, explore the importance of ancestor work, particularly during the Christmas season, a time historically linked to ghost stories and reflection on family and traditions. They discuss the complex layers of ancestral connections—ancestors of land, blood, and milk (found family or influential figures). They address the unresolved traumas associated with colonization, land, and lineage, emphasizing the need for healing and recognizing ancestral legacies without perpetuating harm. The conversation touches on the subtle energies influencing relationships, the concept of soul families, and how seasonal reflection can help individuals assess and "weed" their ancestral garden. Listeners are encouraged to embrace both the hard and joyful aspects of ancestral work, from addressing historical wrongs to preserving fond memories. Thank you for Liking and Subscribing to this podcast Thank you for sharing this episode with your loved ones, friends and community --- Thank you for Tips or Donations: https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett https://patreon.com/cedorsett Substack: https://www.creationspaths.com/ For all of the things we are doing at The Seraphic Grove go to Creation's Paths https://www.creationspaths.com/ For Educational Resource: https://wisdomscry.com Guided Meditations Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV0C8kiTKv0J2QAAlD1uaIJvQ3Sr9sIqO Christopagan Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV0C8kiTKv0ISXDQkZBRB7EHrUUJgXlGN The Everything Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV0C8kiTKv0Ln3eGW-tDk2R68PM6c182O Creation's Paths Podcast: http://www.creationspaths.com/podcast Church of the Oak Podcast: http://churchoftheoak.com/ Hallowstead Podcast: http://hallowstead.com/ Social Connections: BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/creationspaths.com Threads https://www.threads.net/@creationspaths Instagram https://www.instagram.com/creationspaths/ ## Chapters: 00:00 The Tradition of Christmas Ghost Stories 00:56 Introduction to Hosts and Ancestor Practice 02:39 Understanding Ancestral Lines 03:43 Dealing with Ancestral Trauma 04:58 Colonization and Land Trauma 07:38 Cutting Off Toxic Ancestral Energies 09:59 Racism and Ancestral Influence 13:20 Personal Ancestral Reflections 15:50 Questioning Ancestral Shame 16:11 Beliefs on Reincarnation and Life Choices 16:41 Responsibility for Ancestral Actions 17:00 Resources for Ancestral Work 17:35 Different Types of Ancestors 18:50 Balancing Ancestral Good and Bad 19:15 Seeds of Enlightenment and Ancestor Work 20:24 Winter as a Time for Reflection 22:16 Purity is a Myth 23:19 Various Forms of Ancestral Work 23:52 Addressing Ancestral Land and Colonization 26:34 The Importance of Community Over Bloodlines 27:20 Finding Joy in Ancestral Memories 28:23 Engagement and Support 30:21 Concluding Thoughts and Prayer

Sunday Teaching: Ancestor Worship Sunday Teacher: Apostle Lou Young Sunday Message: Seed of the Serpent Sunday Teacher: Apostle Stan Johnson

Sunday Teaching: Ancestor Worship Sunday Teacher: Apostle Lou Young Sunday Message: Seed of the Serpent Sunday Teacher: Apostle Stan Johnson

Kaz did not grow up in a Christian home, his family actually did ancestor worship. After getting trapped for 4 hours in the aftermath of an earthquake and being rescued, Kaz's life was changed. He made some Christian friends who invited him to church. It started out as Kaz's little secret, but then he finally invited his sister to join at Christmastime.They both ended up giving their lives to Jesus through a Bible study led by a construction worker who shared his testimony. When their mom found out that they became Christian, she was upset that they were not continuing the ancestor worship. But Kaz asked her about her reason for worshiping the ancestors and it made her think… then through both Kaz's mom and Kaz's dad having cancer at different points in life and hearing the gospel through their children and through friends, they had to decide for themselves. Listen to the episode for more!If you like listening to the podcast, please rate, write reviews, and share with your friends!You can follow us on instagram @lifeishardgodisgoodpodcast or join our Facebook group!Have a great week! May the LORD bless you and keep you!

Worshiping, venerating, working with the Ancestors is a very important aspect of many traditions and paths. This week we will be discussing some of the aspects of this old practice. Check out our website at https://intothewyldwood.com You can also support us by leaving a donation at https://www.intothewyldwood.com/?page_id=32 All of our links at https://linktr.ee/intothewyldwood --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/intothewyldwood/message

In this fascinating episode Tori and Mike are joined by historian and mythologist Paul Stobbs to dive deep into the weird world of clowns. This isn't your typical circus talk! We explore the ancient origins of clowns, tracing their roots back to early civilizations. Paul enlightens us on how these colorful figures might connect to the mythological Nephilim, the mysterious giants mentioned in ancient texts. The conversation takes an unexpected turn as we delve into the world of psychedelics. Paul shares insights on the historical use of DMT and other substances in rituals and their surprising links to clown symbolism and lore. This episode is a rollercoaster of history, mythology, and modern interpretations, shedding light on how ancient practices and beliefs might have influenced the clowns we know today. Paul's Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@uconspiracy Become a member of Camp Hermon @ ⁠⁠www.camphermon.com⁠⁠ Sponsor: Kevlar Joe's Coffee Company: ⁠⁠https://www.kevlarjoe.com/shop⁠⁠ Use promo code for 10% off any order: CAMPHERMON10 Contact: camphermon.com Socials: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086193320933⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/camphermonpodcast/⁠⁠ Mixed and Mastered by Mike Stibs Outro by 0BLIT3R4T0R⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/artist/0zAyO50ILQOQ0nj9IR23mF?si=8RgHqqAkS_2UMtUmcXNrKA⁠⁠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/camphermon/support

Join this channel to get access to perks:  ⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ7kxHfySUevcdt-AJImyHg/join⁠ Support Midgard Musings By Clicking Here: ⁠https://linktr.ee/MidgardMusings You can find a PDF online that mentions the two sources I cited during this episode: "Familial Religion in Pre-Christian Scandinavia? Ancestor-Worship, Mother-Priestesses, and Offerings for the Elves" You can also find some great examples of rituals (both short informal, and long formal ones) here: https://thelongship.net/ritual-examples/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/midgardmusings/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/midgardmusings/support

#ancestors #ancestorworship #paganism Types of ancestors in Paganism, Witchcraft and Folk Magic practices. Pagan traditions and rituals. CONNECT & SUPPORT

In this episode we talk about ancestor worship and discuss the import and significance of this practice. After spending some time articulating what is meant by both 'ancestor' and 'worship,' Bethany and Jp spend the remainder of the episode addressing Aaron's skepticism around the value of this quasi-religious practice, including: What is the value of ancestor worship? Why 'worship' and not 'respect'? Does ancestor worship not run the risk of reduplicating hierarchies of power and oppression? Should we not be striving to move beyond kin-exclusive fidelity?  To learn more about the show, including how to become a Patreon subscriber, find us at philosophyafterhours.com.

Joining me for this episode is Stephanie Rose Bird, author of “The Healing Power of African American Spirituality: A Celebration of Ancestor Worship, Herbs and Hoodoo, Ritual and Conjure.” Stephanie Rose Bird is the author of 5 published books including “Sticks, Stones, Roots and Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo and Conjuring with Herbs,” and “A Healing Grove: African Tree Remedies and Rituals for Body and Spirit.” Her writing has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies including "Natural Home and Garden," "Herb Quarterly," "Sage Woman," and "Llewellyn Herbal Almanac.” https://www.stephanierosebird.comStephanie graduated with honors from Temple University, Tyler School of Art and received an MFA from the University of California San Diego, where she studied Visual Arts. Bird won a Senior Fulbright Scholar Award and through that award she did field work in anthropology and art in Australia with various groups of Australian Aboriginal people.She has studied Gullah culture in South Carolina as well. As an artist she has exhibited nationally in museums, universities and galleries. She has been a member of the College Arts Association, Fulbright Foundation, Chicago Artist's Coalition, Woman Made Gallery Advisory Board, American Botanical Council's Herb Research Society, American Folklore Society, Society for Shamanic Practitioners, and the International Center for Traditional Childbearing (Black Midwives and Healers).PLEASE HELP THE CHANNEL GROW • SUBSCRIBE, like, comment, and click the Notification Bell so you don't miss a show. Thank you! https://www.youtube.com/mysticlounge LINK TREE: https://linktr.ee/CoffeeandUFOsHALF LIGHT documentary: https://youtu.be/ib7r2M_ntBkPlease consider supporting the channel by becoming a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/mysticloungeHumanitarian Aid for Ukraine: https://www.npr.org/2022/02/25/1082992947/ukraine-support-help Check out other fantastic Un-X shows at https://www.unxnetwork.com/shows

- Your Daily Portion Sabbath School Lesson with L. David Harris- Please sign up for the Your Daily Portion Community here: https://yourdailyportion.com

Covid leh resistant hoih nang bang cih ding // Health talk.Kawikawi + nang din zang ning // Chin Gospel Songs.

End-Time Deceptions — Review of Lesson #11 of the 4th Quarter of 2022 -The Sabbath School Lesson study guide can be found here:https://ssnet.org/lessons/22d/less11m.htmlThe title of this quarter's theme is: On Death, Dying, and the Future HopeIn this quarter, we will take a look at death and dying – effects of sin – but through the lens of the Blessed Hope of Eternal Life in Christ.During many of our podcasts, you will hear us make reference to “The Key Principles of Effective Bible Study,”  a document which outlines core concepts shown in the scriptures that will help you better understand many Biblical themes and doctrines.  We have done a whole podcast series on these principles which  can be found here.Lastly, we recommend that you check out https://TrueWisdom.buzzsprout.com for additional Bible Study podcasts, covering many different Bible topics, and done in a slightly different format from the podcasts on this channel.We pray that all of these resources will be very helpful to you in your Bible Studies.If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: BibleQuestions@ASBzone.comRelated Podcasts:Bring Me Up SamuelTo Be or Not to Be a Parable (at TrueWisdom)Support the show

Featuring the magical Alabun'mi A.M. Jones, founder of BrownGirlTarot; Lady H and Lady D talk and learn about African Spiritualities. If you'd like to bless our speaker, here are their cashapp tags: $AlabunmiAMJ and $BrownGirlTarot Mentioned: Working The Roots: Over 400 Years of Traditional African American Healing Mules and Men Stephanie Rose Bird: 365 Days of Hoodoo: Daily Rootwork, Mojo & Conjuration The Healing Power of African-American Spirituality: A Celebration of Ancestor Worship, Herbs and Hoodoo, Ritual and Conjure African American Magick: A Modern Grimoire for the Natural Home Mojo Workin': The Old African American Hoodoo System The Conjure Woman and Other Conjure Tales Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales Hoodoo Society Familysearch.org Recommended: Blood Like Magic Conjuring Moments in African American Literature: Women, Spirit Work, and Other Such Hoodoo (2012) Darring, Asi'a, Hairston, Erin-Lee, and Jones, Alabun'mi A.M. “I am rooted: African Spiritualities 101.” Watch With You Podcast. November 20, 2022. Podcast, MP3 audio, 01:35:02. https://anchor.fm/watchwithyou/episodes/I-Am-Rooted-African-Spiritualities-101-e1qtod6 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/watchwithyou/message

Ancestor worship, or ancestor reverence, has great influence on Chinese, African, Japanese, and Native American belief systems. Ancestor worship was found in the 7th century BC in Jericho and also in Greek and Roman Cultures. https://www.compellingtruth.org/ancestor-worship.htmlultures. https://www.openbible.info/topics/ancestral_worship Check out my audio podcast called Fight to the Finish by clicking this link https://anchor.fm/fighttothefinish-1979 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/fighttothefinish-1979/support

Ancestor worship is huge in Slavic folk magic practices. We see the ancestors show up again and again in the old ways and beliefs. The power and presence of the ancestors can't be overstated. But do we need a connection to our ancestors? Why would we want to cultivate that relationship? And when we do decide to bring our ancestors into our spiritual practice, how do we do that? In this episode of Baba Yaga's Magic, we'll be discussing all of that. I'll show you the specific ways that Slavic people connect to their ancestors and how you can create some ancestral magic of your own.

Co-hosts Tess Whitehurst & Natasha Levinger are happy to welcome Stephanie Bird, artist, and author of "The Healing Power of African-American Spirituality: A Celebration of Ancestor Worship, Herbs and Hoodoo, Ritual and Conjure."  In this interview they talk about how she defines African-American spirituality, the need for Black spirituality in the light of traumas visited on African-Americans like the murder of George Floyd, the deep impact death has had on her family, rituals for honoring the dead, the role of animism in spirituality and magic, dance as a means for connecting to one individuality and community, tree whispering, the power of blood, and more! In the usual weekly segments, Tess & Natasha also talk about learning to have disagreements with friends, how emotional issues show up in unexpected places, boulders coming at us this week, multiple layers of working on the "same" issue, listening to your intuition, and more! Plus... Go check out all the bounty Tess's blog has to offer, including posts from exciting guests like J. Allen Cross! Sign up for Natasha's newsletter!  You'll get free audio guided meditations, plus regular energy and self-help messages from Natasha & her guides Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts!  Thanks to those who already have! It really helps spread the word about Magic Monday. You can sign up for the Magic Monday newsletter if you want a little extra magic (and Tess & Natasha) in your inbox once a month.  Natasha has a page on Insight Timer.  You can listen to a free chakra clearing meditation, with more meditations coming soon.  Check out the Magic Monday Podcast Listeners facebook page for an active community of fellow travelers on the magic path. Goddess Provisions boxes are a great way to treat yourself.  If you choose to buy one, use this link to support the show!

WELCOME TO SEASON THREE!!!We are so excited to be back and to have our listeners back, we're all doing what we do best.This first episode of Season 3 brings back themes of Halloween.Seth dives in with a new Netflix Limited Series show - Midnight Mass. *SPOILERS!* He doomed Erica again and got her to watch the horror even as she waits to pick her children up from school. Erica then mercilessly hooks Christine on episode one while she visits! Mwahaha!The trio then turns to the subject of the dead, specifically our ancestors. Is the veil during the Halloween season and Samhain *actually* thinner? Can we really interact with our dead loved ones? Hmmm. Come ponder some thoughts with us.

Our family lineages can be powerful sources of support and healing if we uncover how to skillfully work with them. Even if you've never thought of your ancestors much before or if you feel they were duds (or worse!) discussed in this compelling episode are the myriad of psychological & spiritual benefits of doing so. Whether we know our family lineages or not, our ancestors are connected to us by energetic threads, and science has unequivocally proven their stories live in the marrow of our bones in the form of our DNA. Unpacked are safe & interesting ways you can create more revelation, guidance and connection in your life through accessing your family bloodlines. Plus when we learn to energetically and psychologically untangle ourselves from the baggage handed down osmotically to us from our families then we can focus on what is truly ours this lifetime to work on and create a genuinely original life.  SHOW NOTES: A Chinese proverb says to forget one's ancestors is to be a brooke without a source, a tree without a root. For some of us the idea of our ancestors is romantic & for others, our ancestors bring up complicated feelings intertwined with our family's very unique set of idiosyncratic tendencies, foibles and traumas.  Some of our ancestors' stories and lives may be interwoven into the fabric of colonialism, ecological degradation, racism, classism, sexisim, homophobia, oppression in various forms and other uncomfortable narratives. Yet the reality is we are all branches of a certain tree whose roots burrough so deeply down into the earth, you have ancestors who for certain who were also healers, teachers, songstresses, herbalists, artists, creators, seekers, inventors & visionaries.  So whether you are aware and enamored of your more recent ancestors or this thought about your “deep ancestors” (the one's whose names & stories you are unaware) ignites a spark in you to illuminate the fact that you are a direct descendent of brilliant earth wise geniuses who knew how to pay attention to the sky & its patterning, to be with the water and its nourishment, to work with fire and its alchemical ways, to work with the gusts & messages of the winds and to live in collaboration with the earth. They had to have in order to survive and preserve the genealogical line that you stand upon. These Beings most of whom slipped through history's fingers before everything was being recorded like today, delighted in the miracle of life, were humbled by the pulsing necessity of death, knew the beauty of wisdom and aging, honored the preciousness of their tribe and heard the hallowed call of spirit in their mundane tasks which opened up pathways of reverence within their minds and magic in their lives. When we take time to follow our branches through the trunk of our families to our roots, those roots then plug us into the ground of Being and bring us back into connection. Our lives in this  modern age full of hyper speed and detachment from the natural world has led to such a profound craving for so many, to such a deep soul depravity that many folks have turned to distracted activities and/or addictions which disconnect us even further from our own humanity and take us further away from our own souls. For those of us longing to find connection, revelations, healing guidance and even magic, connecting to our known or unknown ancestors is a powerful way to do this. Our lineages of family are connected to us by energetic threads and when we heal the baggage that either lives in our DNA, we release the baggage that was passed down to us and free the beings in our family who live on after us.  Offered are a variety of practical and accessible ways you can begin or to continue your relationship with your ancestors. Discussed is the anthropological concept of “Ancestor Worship.” Discussed is the psychological concept “Johari's Window.” Ancestry.com Africanancestry.com Discussed are Autosomal, Mitochondrial & Y-DNA tests. Our bodies in some sense are ancestral shrines. If we don't get to the root of our ancestral stories we can play them out. The ancestors were very much aligned with the wisdom of the earth and so can give us clues as to how to align with living in this way.  Connecting to an Ancestor Meditation is offered. (*Can be played over & over again) May we be their servants and carry their love & their hard won lessons into our lives and into this world.  ✨HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!: The doors for the Modern Mystic Membership are now open! Monthly Mystic Members get access to a library of well over 100 yoga, meditation & breathwork classes as well as short “Mystic Hack” videos which have a myriad of topics ranging from: how to ground, protect and grow your energy; to astrology & tarot card videos; to developing one's psychic abilities and more! Get a sample of some FREE videos and find the Membership area here: modernmystic.love ✨Give it a 5 star, 1 line review on iTunes (takes literally 2 min either from an iPhone or via the iTunes store on all other devices). 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In this episode, we travel (virtually) around the world to learn about a ton of different traditions similar to Halloween. If you're interested in ancestor worship, beer, fire, spirits, costumes, or anything else kind-of-a-little associated with Halloween, this episode is for you!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/sistersandspiritsparanormal)

By some lights, this episode is what Blood on Gold Mountain is all about. The Massacre.  This episode has been very difficult in every way. How do you make something good or beautiful out of a mass murder? How do you take the experience of being a perpetual foreigner, persecuted and exploited, mocked and belittled, and turn it into something redemptive?  This episode has taught me the answer: You don't. You just do what you have to do. This episode is about love, and loss. It's about the people who have everything torn away by the casual cruelty of others, the people who step outside their own front door and find themselves at the end of a noose. Certainly, it's about the victims of the 1871 massacre, but the fate of these characters is not unique. It's about everyone who has suffered in the same or similar situations, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Who knows which of us will join that company? This episode is an ode to those who do, and to those they leave behind. It is an act of grieving, and of validation, through which we acknowledge that though their fate is hideous, these people are fundamentally no different from you or I. It is also an act of sacrifice. I have chosen to put a significant amount of life energy, which we can call Qi, and spirit, which we can call Shen into this story. It has also cost me in fundamental essence, Jing, which I would have preferred to keep, and which cannot be recovered once lost. We must give of ourselves to those who came before us, because we are one with them. They and We belong to each other. Our bond goes far beyond the scope of mere genetic kinship. We and They are different cells in the same creature, different nodes in a vast, four-or-more-dimensional network of interconnected consciousness. Our ways, which we take for granted, they established and invented. Our hopes and dreams would not be possible without their hopes and dreams, which were sometimes fulfilled, and sometimes perished with them in dust and despair. When Isaac Newton said he stood on the shoulders of giants, he was referring to a concrete (if technically metaphysical) reality, which is the underpinning principle of what the Gwailo call Ancestor Worship. I love these characters. They are strangely real in their fictionalized incarnation, and I hope that those of you who have stuck with this story to the end feel the same way. They are historical figures, resurrected from the traces they left behind, but they are also people I know and love; spirits that used me as a stepping stone on their way to their new homes in this story. Some of them used some of you as stepping stones before they reached me. The story is told, and will be told again and again. The energy, which has been pressurized under the weight of broadly enforced oblivion for 150 years has been released, at least in part. This is how we balance the scales that abide in our justice-loving hearts despite the injustice of reality. This is how we reckon the cost of human evil. By giving of ourselves, whatever it takes. With love. Thank you all for being a part of this process. I hope it has done something for you, whatever that something may be. We have all given a long-awaited gift to these spirits, and they will not forget us. In our time of need, in our darkest hour, they will be there to help us, to hold us, and to guide us either back to safety, or onward to the other side. They will be there for you. I have been with them, spoken to them, given to them what I had to give. You have given them your attention, your sympathy, and, hopefully, your love. They are with you now, waiting in the darkness, and they will be there for you when you call. I promise. Micah Huang If you have questions, thoughts, your own family stories, or historical context to share, please send us a message at @bloodongoldmountain on http://www.facebook.com/bloodongoldmountain (Facebook) or http://www.instagram.com/bloodongoldmountain (Instagram). ...

S/o to this week's #kickasskoreans @ChristinePaik of @girlingolddress and @christiesoper & #TinaFiresheets of @panasianvoices

This week the Sisters discuss Veneration of the Dead - aka Ancestor Worship. Most notably two VERY interesting cultures and how they honor their dead loved ones. Feed them or eat them? Which would you prefer? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Witchcraft. Eastern Religion. Ancestor Worship. Feminist Power. Women in Military. These were the themes surfacing in Disney's-Milan 2020. Was it any surprise Disney offered support for Communist China's concentration camps, while abominating the pro-life cause in Georgia- Will children decipher the problem with the eastern Chi Force vs. a biblical metaphysic---Which is worse - Disney's support of abortion or whatever this modern pied piper is doing to the souls of children---This program includes----1. The World View in 5 Minutes with Adam McManus -Edmonton Pastor in Jail for 7th Day, Massacre of Christian Church Attendees in Ethiopia, Biden Endorses Equality Act---2. Generations with Kevin Swanson

------------------Support the channel------------ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedissenter PayPal: paypal.me/thedissenter PayPal Subscription 1 Dollar: https://tinyurl.com/yb3acuuy PayPal Subscription 3 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ybn6bg9l PayPal Subscription 5 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ycmr9gpz PayPal Subscription 10 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y9r3fc9m PayPal Subscription 20 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y95uvkao ------------------Follow me on--------------------- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedissenteryt/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDissenterYT This show is sponsored by Enlites, Learning & Development done differently. Check the website here: http://enlites.com/ Dr. Lyle Steadman is Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University. Dr. Steadman focuses on religion and kinship, especially their interrelationship, and the influence of natural selection on human social and cultural behavior. He has done extensive research among the Hewa, a society in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. A short period of fieldwork was also conducted in an Indian village in Baja California, Mexico. In this episode, we talk about kinship and religion. We first discuss the Hewa, and then get into aspects of human sociality, and go through topics like kin selection, group selection, kinship systems, tradition, ancestor worship, religion, and shamanism. -- Follow Dr. Steadman's work: Faculty page: https://bit.ly/3m29Kc3 ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/3nT664K Supernatural and Natural Selection: https://amzn.to/33ftphc -- A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: KARIN LIETZCKE, ANN BLANCHETTE, PER HELGE LARSEN, LAU GUERREIRO, JERRY MULLER, HANS FREDRIK SUNDE, BERNARDO SEIXAS, HERBERT GINTIS, RUTGER VOS, RICARDO VLADIMIRO, BO WINEGARD, CRAIG HEALY, OLAF ALEX, PHILIP KURIAN, JONATHAN VISSER, ANJAN KATTA, JAKOB KLINKBY, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, JOHN CONNORS, PAULINA BARREN, FILIP FORS CONNOLLY, DAN DEMETRIOU, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ARTHUR KOH, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, MAX BEILBY, COLIN HOLBROOK, SUSAN PINKER, THOMAS TRUMBLE, PABLO SANTURBANO, SIMON COLUMBUS, PHIL KAVANAGH, JORGE ESPINHA, CORY CLARK, MARK BLYTH, ROBERTO INGUANZO, MIKKEL STORMYR, ERIC NEURMANN, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, BERNARD HUGUENEY, ALEXANDER DANNBAUER, OMARI HICKSON, PHYLICIA STEVENS, FERGAL CUSSEN, YEVHEN BODRENKO, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, DON ROSS, JOÃO ALVES DA SILVA, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, OZLEM BULUT, NATHAN NGUYEN, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, J.W., JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, IDAN SOLON, ROMAIN ROCH, DMITRY GRIGORYEV, TOM ROTH, DIEGO LONDOÑO CORREA, YANICK PUNTER, ADANER USMANI, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, MIRAN B, NICOLE BARBARO, AND ADAM HUNT! A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, IAN GILLIGAN, SERGIU CODREANU, LUIS CAYETANO, TOM VANEGDOM, CURTIS DIXON, BENEDIKT MUELLER, VEGA GIDEY, AND NIRUBAN BALACHANDRAN! AND TO MY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, MICHAL RUSIECKI, ROSEY, JAMES PRATT, AND MATTHEW LAVENDER!

We needed a matriarch to help guide us at the beginning of our African-Ancestored journey to our traditional African religions. Queen Auset, military veteran, mother, mentor, tarot slinger, spiritual guide, & matriarch; helps us bridge the divide between where we are, where we've been, how we got here, and where we should be going. With a deep understanding from both a spiritual and familial tie to Africa, Queen Auset steers us towards embracing the love of all religions because they teach love. She also gives us a more in depth look at Santeria, Vodun, Voodoo, African Traditional Religion, and more. Asett & Rash feel the holy spirit, both break down crying during the podcast. Solutions, pathways, and advice for all of us to get in touch with our ancestors, ourselves, and our deeper spirituality.Queen Auset's Youtube Page - Oya's Girlhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlnPrqlsfnjen7rS6dmqbQ

Join us as we talk about a few personal stories and correct a few misconceptions of ancestor worship.

Follow Sassy Esoterics:Instagram:@sassyesotericsFacebook:Sassy EsotericsMessage us on either social media platform. We would love to hear from you!Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Ways to Connect With Sarah:Instagram: @21stCenturyPriestessLearn How to Work with Sarah in her 1-on-1 - Mind-Soul Coach programSchedule a Discovery Call with Sarah Work with Alainna Garlick:Instagram:@peace.lilithFacebook:Peace Lilith - Transition DoulaPeaceLilith.com NOTE:  Oops! At the end of the episode, Sarah says that Mars Retrograde ends on American election day, but it's actually MERCURY Retrograde. Still, as Alainna says, "Thank the good Dark Goddess!" 

Our guest today is Samantha Moyo. Sam is vibrating harpstring of a human. In 2013 she founded MorningGloryville - an early morning sober rave. The concept went off like a bass bomb. City workers, professionals and folk of all stripes were kicking off their day with a dance to DJs like Fat Boy Slim.Joyful, non-rational, transformative experiences are fundamental to being human, are a fundamental part of Lifefulness and she is an expert in them.Her work was recognised in the ‘How We Gather’ report from Harvard Divinity School as an important way millennials were finding community in a post-religious world. Today Sam is a culture change and innovation consultant for major brands, and a spreader of wisdom and joy.In this conversation you'll get a glimpse into a fascinating pan-religious upbringing in Zimbabwe before we dive into the MorningGloryville story. Fans of the show will know that there’s adult language and this episode has got more than most. There’s an unusual story at the end which certainly acknowledges the existence of sex. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Pico was a journalist in New York when a 20-hour layover at Narita airport in Japan made him question everything. He decided to begin again as a monk at a Zen temple in Kyoto. But things didn't go entirely to plan

Pico was a journalist in New York when a 20-hour layover at Narita airport in Japan made him question everything. He decided to begin again as a monk at a Zen temple in Kyoto. But things didn't go entirely to plan

Join us as Herbie Newell leads us through 3 John as well as prayers for Taiwan. Pray for the nation of Taiwan to be protected from the spreading Coronavirus, that they would have political freedom to make the decisions necessary to protect their people.   Pray for our partners in Taiwan, Cathwel, that the Lord would sustain the work that they are doing in Taiwan with Birth mothers and vulnerable children and that all would remain healthy and safe.  For the Gospel to go forth in Taiwan. Pray for the grip of Buddhism and Ancestor Worship to loosen and the God of the gospel to triumph.  For growth and awareness of this special needs program as we continue to advocate for children. Pray for a family to come forward for a sibling group of 4 who may be split up soon.  That God would protect children while they wait and place Christian caregivers and foster families in their lives. That Cathwel and Taiwan would be more open minded to expat adoption, out of birth order adoption, and larger family adoption. Praise the Lord for the hearts of the workers at Cathwel as they truly desire what is best for the children in their care.   Praise the Lord for growing openness to out of ordinary PAP situations Praise God for two families who will be traveling soon to adopt their children: Wright (older boy) and Buckley (older girl)!   Subscribe on iTunes | StitcherEmail: info@lifelinechild.orgFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/lifelinechildTwitter: @lifelinechildInstagram: lifelinechild 

0208 Antique Alive : Ancestor Worship

Honoring Ancestors w/ Gogo Thule, born in West Africa raised in the U.S. Her journey- to become an initiated priestess, spiritual healing working with ancestors & altar building. GODDESS MANIFESTATION ONLINE PROGRAM: ****Now enrolling: https://intheflowofmagic.com/group-coaching-webinar/ Historically ancestor worship was common worldwide from Asia, Africa and South America. Calling on ancestors for help was common and+ Read More The post Ep 75: ANCESTOR WORSHIP: African Shamanic Healing appeared first on In The Flow of Magic.

Join us as Herbie Newell leads us through Acts 25:1-27 and prayers for Taiwan. Pray for our partners in Taiwan, Cathwel, that the Lord would sustain the work that they are doing in Taiwan with Birth mothers and vulnerable children.  Pray that the Lord would draw unbelieving workers at Cathwel to Himself, especially Grace.  Pray for growth in the partnership between Lifeline and Cathwel For the Gospel to go forth in Taiwan. Pray for the grip of Buddhism and Ancestor Worship to loosen and the God of the gospel to triumph.  For growth and awareness of this special needs program as we continue to advocate for children. Pray for a family to come forward for a sibling group of 4 who may be split up soon.  That God would protect children while they wait and place Christian caregivers and foster families in their lives. That Cathwel and Taiwan would be more open minded to expat adoption, out of birth order adoption, and larger family adoption. Praise the Lord for the hearts of the workers at Cathwel as they truly desire what is best for the children in their care.   Praise the Lord for possible opportunities to more deeply invest in Taiwan Praise God for two recent matches for the Wright and Buckley families!  Subscribe on iTunes | StitcherEmail: info@lifelinechild.orgFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/lifelinechildTwitter: @lifelinechildInstagram: lifelinechild

A huge dose of lore around the practice of Ancestor Worship in Morrowind. Plus, news, gameplay and the Mod Spotlight returns! ESOTR 217: Ancestor Worship and The AnticipationsSubscribe to ‘Elder [...] Source

Join us as Herbie Newell leads us through Acts 6:8-7:16 and prayers for Taiwan. Pray for our partners in Taiwan, Cathwel, that the Lord would sustain the work that they are doing in Taiwan with Birth mothers and vulnerable children. Pray that the Lord would draw unbelieving workers at Cathwel to Himself, especially Grace. Pray for growth in the partnership between Lifeline and Cathwel For the Gospel to go forth in Taiwan. Pray for the grip of Buddhism and Ancestor Worship to loosen and the God of the gospel to triumph. For growth and awareness of this special program as we continue to advocate for children. Waiting child: Morgan- 8 years old (female) Pray for children who have been waiting for a long time: children with severe special needs, older children, and sibling groups. Pray for God to call and equip families to care specifically for these hard to place children. That God would protect waiting children while they wait. That new doors would open to see more families bringing children home from Taiwan. Praise the Lord for the hearts of the workers at Cathwel (the agency in Taiwan) as they truly desire what is best for the children in their care. Praise the Lord for possible opportunities to more deeply invest in Taiwan Praise God for the 3 families who are currently answering the call to adopt children from Taiwan lifelinechild.org/adventSubscribe on iTunes | StitcherEmail: info@lifelinechild.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lifelinechild Twitter: @lifelinechild Instagram: lifelinechild

Kaddish! Ancestor worship with Rabbi Asher Meza of TorahJudaism.com

Ritual is big in Japan, but faith isn’t. It’s the only country where you can be born Shinto, marry Christian and die Buddhist, but up to 80 per cent of Japanese people say they’re not religious. What gives? James Carleton and guest host Kumi Taguchi from Compass explore the rich spirituality of one of the most avowedly secular countries in the world.

Join us as Herbie Newell and Blake Wilson lead us through Luke 20 and prayers for Taiwan. For the Gospel to go forth in Taiwan. Pray for the grip of Buddhism and Ancestor Worship to loosen and the God of the gospel to triumph. For growth and awareness of this special program as we continue to advocate for children. Waiting child: 8 year old female Pray for children who have been waiting for a long time: children with severe special needs, older children, and sibling groups. Pray for God to call and equip families to care specifically for these hard to place children. That God would protect waiting children while they wait. That new doors would open to see more families bringing children home from Taiwan. Waiting child: Sibling set of Four – pray for hope and healing as they have experienced a lot in their little lives. Praise the Lord for the hearts of the workers at Cathwel (the agency in Taiwan) as they truly desire what is best for the children in their care. Praise the Lord for the upcoming Taiwan Family Reunion this September Praise God he answered our prayer from last fall- we prayed for Jesse who is currently being pursued by a family in our program! Subscribe on iTunes | StitcherEmail: info@lifelinechild.org Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lifelinechild Twitter: @lifelinechild Instagram: lifelinechild

This is our review of Marvel's Black Panther. What is the true nature of T'Challa? How does he really get his powers? Who  are the spiritual forces behind the fictional futuristic city Wakanda? We answer these questions and more.

Please join Tchipakkan and her guest AVee Baron on the New Normal 8 pm Wednesday, October 4, 2017, 8-9 p.m. edt. We'll be talking about Ancestors. Most cultures have some version of ancestor veneration, where the spirits of their beloved dead aid them in their lives. Even modern folk sometimes feel in touch with our relatives. Mediums and Spiritualists assure us that they watch over us and tweak reality to help us as they can. As with most forms of mind-to-mind (soul-to-soul) contact, frequent interaction makes it easier to communicate. Rituals, offerings, keeping an altar all help, and this time of year (approaching Samhain/Halloween) is one where many feel closest to their ancestors. This year at the Changing Times-Changing Worlds conference, my guest AVee Baron will be running an Ancestor Ritual (as well as teaching Cartomancy).  AVee is a pagan who has practiced new age, Buddhism, Wicca and Witchcraft. She's a Reverend in the Correllian Tradition, speaks and teache on many subjects, and owns Witchy Spellz N Wares occult online shop in Connecticut. She also has several other pages and web sites for different purposes.

This week you’ll get to hear the presentation that Alvilldr has given at Trothmoot, the Mystic South Conference, and the Conference of Heathen Women. This presentation utilized voice recordings of women she interviewed for her book. For some of the recordings, however, voice actors were used due to some of the original recordings being of […]

In this episode, we are joined by one of my first guides on my path of plant spirit healing, Garifuna elder Arzu Mountain Spirit. Arzu is a traditional healer, writer, life coach, and international presenter on the subject of Garifuna spirituality, healing methods, and medicinal plants. In addition to maintaining her healing practice in Belize, she is also the founder of the Wagiya Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Garifuna healing ways and spiritual traditions. In this episode we will explore: • Garifuna History, Culture, and Spirituality • Empath Survival Tips • Things we wanted to ask elders about sexuality when we were growing up but where too embarrassed to ask To learn more about working with Arzu, visit www.arzumountainspirit.com Musical enhancement for this episode: "Baba" + " Gaganbadiba" by Andy Palacio

The family is at the heart of Confucian philosophy. Narrated by Aidan Turner.

If we're to live well together we must first learn to live well with the dead, says Timothy Secret. At traditional Chinese funerals money, and sometimes paper effigies of goods like washing machines and aeroplanes are burned so that the dead might be adequately equipped in the afterlife. To the Western onlooker this can feel strange but Timothy Secret believes we have something to learn. For Confucius, the Chinese teacher and thinker, respect for and obedience to your parents is one of the most important rules to follow in life and Frances Wood, an expert in Chinese history and society explains why this applies even after their death: observing proper mourning rituals and then honouring your ancestors through twice yearly grave tending. Darian Leader, a psychoanalyst, sets out how Western attitudes towards mourning and the dead have become disrupted veering between the two extremes of determined "closure" and "moving on" on the one hand and excessive obsession with the dead on the other. Producer: Natalie Steed.

Pagans Tonight Radio Network presents 9 pm CST-The Tree of Life Show: Ancestor worship

Pagans Tonight Radio Network presents: 8PM- Ask a Witch-Ancestor Worship Do you include your Ancestors in your rituals? Listen in this Monday as we talk with our guest, the lovely Traci Logan Wood, about Ancestor Worship.  Pagans Tonight is the world's leading nightly pagan show bringing you news, information, interviews, entertainment and ideas from across the globe! Guests and regular listeners are encouraged to call in and share ideas and experiences at 1-347-308-8222. 

The Ghost Cults (958.1) 87:0.1 THE ghost cult evolved as an offset to the hazards of bad luck; its primitive religious observances were the outgrowth of anxiety about bad luck and of the inordinate fear of the dead. None of these early religions had much to do with the recognition of Deity or with reverence for the superhuman; their rites were mostly negative, designed to avoid, expel, or coerce ghosts. The ghost cult was nothing more nor less than insurance against disaster; it had nothing to do with investment for higher and future returns. (958.2) 87:0.2 Man has had a long and bitter struggle with the ghost cult. Nothing in human history is designed to excite more pity than this picture of man’s abject slavery to ghost-spirit fear. With the birth of this very fear mankind started on the upgrade of religious evolution. Human imagination cast off from the shores of self and will not again find anchor until it arrives at the concept of a true Deity, a real God. 1. Ghost Fear (958.3) 87:1.1 Death was feared because death meant the liberation of another ghost from its physical body. The ancients did their best to prevent death, to avoid the trouble of having to contend with a new ghost. They were always anxious to induce the ghost to leave the scene of death, to embark on the journey to deadland. The ghost was feared most of all during the supposed transition period between its emergence at the time of death and its later departure for the ghost homeland, a vague and primitive concept of pseudo heaven. (958.4) 87:1.2 Though the savage credited ghosts with supernatural powers, he hardly conceived of them as having supernatural intelligence. Many tricks and stratagems were practiced in an effort to hoodwink and deceive the ghosts; civilized man still pins much faith on the hope that an outward manifestation of piety will in some manner deceive even an omniscient Deity. (958.5) 87:1.3 The primitives feared sickness because they observed it was often a harbinger of death. If the tribal medicine man failed to cure an afflicted individual, the sick man was usually removed from the family hut, being taken to a smaller one or left in the open air to die alone. A house in which death had occurred was usually destroyed; if not, it was always avoided, and this fear prevented early man from building substantial dwellings. It also militated against the establishment of permanent villages and cities. (958.6) 87:1.4 The savages sat up all night and talked when a member of the clan died; they feared they too would die if they fell asleep in the vicinity of a corpse. Contagion from the corpse substantiated the fear of the dead, and all peoples, at one time or another, have employed elaborate purification ceremonies designed to cleanse an individual after contact with the dead. The ancients believed that light must be provided for a corpse; a dead body was never permitted to remain in the dark. In the twentieth century, candles are still burned in death chambers, and men still sit up with the dead. So-called civilized man has hardly yet completely eliminated the fear of dead bodies from his philosophy of life. (959.1) 87:1.5 But despite all this fear, men still sought to trick the ghost. If the death hut was not destroyed, the corpse was removed through a hole in the wall, never by way of the door. These measures were taken to confuse the ghost, to prevent its tarrying, and to insure against its return. Mourners also returned from a funeral by a different road, lest the ghost follow. Backtracking and scores of other tactics were practiced to insure that the ghost would not return from the grave. The sexes often exchanged clothes in order to deceive the ghost. Mourning costumes were designed to disguise survivors; later on, to show respect for the dead and thus appease the ghosts. 2. Ghost Placation (959.2) 87:2.1 In religion the negative program of ghost placation long preceded the positive program of spirit coercion and supplication. The first acts of human worship were phenomena of defense, not reverence. Modern man deems it wise to insure against fire; so the savage thought it the better part of wisdom to provide insurance against ghost bad luck. The effort to secure this protection constituted the techniques and rituals of the ghost cult. (959.3) 87:2.2 It was once thought that the great desire of a ghost was to be quickly “laid” so that it might proceed undisturbed to deadland. Any error of commission or omission in the acts of the living in the ritual of laying the ghost was sure to delay its progress to ghostland. This was believed to be displeasing to the ghost, and an angered ghost was supposed to be a source of calamity, misfortune, and unhappiness. (959.4) 87:2.3 The funeral service originated in man’s effort to induce the ghost soul to depart for its future home, and the funeral sermon was originally designed to instruct the new ghost how to get there. It was the custom to provide food and clothes for the ghost’s journey, these articles being placed in or near the grave. The savage believed that it required from three days to a year to “lay the ghost” — to get it away from the vicinity of the grave. The Eskimos still believe that the soul stays with the body three days. (959.5) 87:2.4 Silence or mourning was observed after a death so that the ghost would not be attracted back home. Self-torture — wounds — was a common form of mourning. Many advanced teachers tried to stop this, but they failed. Fasting and other forms of self-denial were thought to be pleasing to the ghosts, who took pleasure in the discomfort of the living during the transition period of lurking about before their actual departure for deadland. (959.6) 87:2.5 Long and frequent periods of mourning inactivity were one of the great obstacles to civilization’s advancement. Weeks and even months of each year were literally wasted in this nonproductive and useless mourning. The fact that professional mourners were hired for funeral occasions indicates that mourning was a ritual, not an evidence of sorrow. Moderns may mourn the dead out of respect and because of bereavement, but the ancients did this because of fear. (959.7) 87:2.6 The names of the dead were never spoken. In fact, they were often banished from the language. These names became taboo, and in this way the languages were constantly impoverished. This eventually produced a multiplication of symbolic speech and figurative expression, such as “the name or day one never mentions.” (960.1) 87:2.7 The ancients were so anxious to get rid of a ghost that they offered it everything which might have been desired during life. Ghosts wanted wives and servants; a well-to-do savage expected that at least one slave wife would be buried alive at his death. It later became the custom for a widow to commit suicide on her husband’s grave. When a child died, the mother, aunt, or grandmother was often strangled in order that an adult ghost might accompany and care for the child ghost. And those who thus gave up their lives usually did so willingly; indeed, had they lived in violation of custom, their fear of ghost wrath would have denuded life of such few pleasures as the primitives enjoyed. (960.2) 87:2.8 It was customary to dispatch a large number of subjects to accompany a dead chief; slaves were killed when their master died that they might serve him in ghostland. The Borneans still provide a courier companion; a slave is speared to death to make the ghost journey with his deceased master. Ghosts of murdered persons were believed to be delighted to have the ghosts of their murderers as slaves; this notion motivated men to head hunting. (960.3) 87:2.9 Ghosts supposedly enjoyed the smell of food; food offerings at funeral feasts were once universal. The primitive method of saying grace was, before eating, to throw a bit of food into the fire for the purpose of appeasing the spirits, while mumbling a magic formula. (960.4) 87:2.10 The dead were supposed to use the ghosts of the tools and weapons that were theirs in life. To break an article was to “kill it,” thus releasing its ghost to pass on for service in ghostland. Property sacrifices were also made by burning or burying. Ancient funeral wastes were enormous. Later races made paper models and substituted drawings for real objects and persons in these death sacrifices. It was a great advance in civilization when the inheritance of kin replaced the burning and burying of property. The Iroquois Indians made many reforms in funeral waste. And this conservation of property enabled them to become the most powerful of the northern red men. Modern man is not supposed to fear ghosts, but custom is strong, and much terrestrial wealth is still consumed on funeral rituals and death ceremonies. 3. Ancestor Worship (960.5) 87:3.1 The advancing ghost cult made ancestor worship inevitable since it became the connecting link between common ghosts and the higher spirits, the evolving gods. The early gods were simply glorified departed humans. (960.6) 87:3.2 Ancestor worship was originally more of a fear than a worship, but such beliefs did definitely contribute to the further spread of ghost fear and worship. Devotees of the early ancestor-ghost cults even feared to yawn lest a malignant ghost enter their bodies at such a time. (960.7) 87:3.3 The custom of adopting children was to make sure that someone would provide offerings after death for the peace and progress of the soul. The savage lived in fear of the ghosts of his fellows and spent his spare time planning for the safe conduct of his own ghost after death.* (960.8) 87:3.4 Most tribes instituted an all-souls’ feast at least once a year. The Romans had twelve ghost feasts and accompanying ceremonies each year. Half the days of the year were dedicated to some sort of ceremony associated with these ancient cults. One Roman emperor tried to reform these practices by reducing the number of feast days to 135 a year. (961.1) 87:3.5 The ghost cult was in continuous evolution. As ghosts were envisioned as passing from the incomplete to the higher phase of existence, so did the cult eventually progress to the worship of spirits, and even gods. But regardless of varying beliefs in more advanced spirits, all tribes and races once believed in ghosts. 4. Good and Bad Spirit Ghosts (961.2) 87:4.1 Ghost fear was the fountainhead of all world religion; and for ages many tribes clung to the old belief in one class of ghosts. They taught that man had good luck when the ghost was pleased, bad luck when he was angered. (961.3) 87:4.2 As the cult of ghost fear expanded, there came about the recognition of higher types of spirits, spirits not definitely identifiable with any individual human. They were graduate or glorified ghosts who had progressed beyond the domain of ghostland to the higher realms of spiritland. (961.4) 87:4.3 The notion of two kinds of spirit ghosts made slow but sure progress throughout the world. This new dual spiritism did not have to spread from tribe to tribe; it sprang up independently all over the world. In influencing the expanding evolutionary mind, the power of an idea lies not in its reality or reasonableness but rather in its vividness and the universality of its ready and simple application. (961.5) 87:4.4 Still later the imagination of man envisioned the concept of both good and bad supernatural agencies; some ghosts never evolved to the level of good spirits. The early monospiritism of ghost fear was gradually evolving into a dual spiritism, a new concept of the invisible control of earthly affairs. At last good luck and bad luck were pictured as having their respective controllers. And of the two classes, the group that brought bad luck were believed to be the more active and numerous. (961.6) 87:4.5 When the doctrine of good and bad spirits finally matured, it became the most widespread and persistent of all religious beliefs. This dualism represented a great religio-philosophic advance because it enabled man to account for both good luck and bad luck while at the same time believing in supermortal beings who were to some extent consistent in their behavior. The spirits could be counted on to be either good or bad; they were not thought of as being completely temperamental as the early ghosts of the monospiritism of most primitive religions had been conceived to be. Man was at last able to conceive of supermortal forces that were consistent in behavior, and this was one of the most momentous discoveries of truth in the entire history of the evolution of religion and in the expansion of human philosophy. (961.7) 87:4.6 Evolutionary religion has, however, paid a terrible price for the concept of dual spiritism. Man’s early philosophy was able to reconcile spirit constancy with the vicissitudes of temporal fortune only by postulating two kinds of spirits, one good and the other bad. And while this belief did enable man to reconcile the variables of chance with a concept of unchanging supermortal forces, this doctrine has ever since made it difficult for religionists to conceive of cosmic unity. The gods of evolutionary religion have generally been opposed by the forces of darkness. (962.1) 87:4.7 The tragedy of all this lies in the fact that, when these ideas were taking root in the primitive mind of man, there really were no bad or disharmonious spirits in all the world. Such an unfortunate situation did not develop until after the Caligastic rebellion and only persisted until Pentecost. The concept of good and evil as cosmic co-ordinates is, even in the twentieth century, very much alive in human philosophy; most of the world’s religions still carry this cultural birthmark of the long-gone days of the emerging ghost cults. 5. The Advancing Ghost Cult (962.2) 87:5.1 Primitive man viewed the spirits and ghosts as having almost unlimited rights but no duties; the spirits were thought to regard man as having manifold duties but no rights. The spirits were believed to look down upon man as constantly failing in the discharge of his spiritual duties. It was the general belief of mankind that ghosts levied a continuous tribute of service as the price of noninterference in human affairs, and the least mischance was laid to ghost activities. Early humans were so afraid they might overlook some honor due the gods that, after they had sacrificed to all known spirits, they did another turn to the “unknown gods,” just to be thoroughly safe. (962.3) 87:5.2 And now the simple ghost cult is followed by the practices of the more advanced and relatively complex spirit-ghost cult, the service and worship of the higher spirits as they evolved in man’s primitive imagination. Religious ceremonial must keep pace with spirit evolution and progress. The expanded cult was but the art of self-maintenance practiced in relation to belief in supernatural beings, self-adjustment to spirit environment. Industrial and military organizations were adjustments to natural and social environments. And as marriage arose to meet the demands of bisexuality, so did religious organization evolve in response to the belief in higher spirit forces and spiritual beings. Religion represents man’s adjustment to his illusions of the mystery of chance. Spirit fear and subsequent worship were adopted as insurance against misfortune, as prosperity policies. (962.4) 87:5.3 The savage visualizes the good spirits as going about their business, requiring little from human beings. It is the bad ghosts and spirits who must be kept in good humor. Accordingly, primitive peoples paid more attention to their malevolent ghosts than to their benign spirits. (962.5) 87:5.4 Human prosperity was supposed to be especially provocative of the envy of evil spirits, and their method of retaliation was to strike back through a human agency and by the technique of the evil eye. That phase of the cult which had to do with spirit avoidance was much concerned with the machinations of the evil eye. The fear of it became almost world-wide. Pretty women were veiled to protect them from the evil eye; subsequently many women who desired to be considered beautiful adopted this practice. Because of this fear of bad spirits, children were seldom allowed out after dark, and the early prayers always included the petition, “deliver us from the evil eye.” (962.6) 87:5.5 The Koran contains a whole chapter devoted to the evil eye and magic spells, and the Jews fully believed in them. The whole phallic cult grew up as a defense against the evil eye. The organs of reproduction were thought to be the only fetish which could render it powerless. The evil eye gave origin to the first superstitions respecting prenatal marking of children, maternal impressions, and the cult was at one time well-nigh universal.* (963.1) 87:5.6 Envy is a deep-seated human trait; therefore did primitive man ascribe it to his early gods. And since man had once practiced deception upon the ghosts, he soon began to deceive the spirits. Said he, “If the spirits are jealous of our beauty and prosperity, we will disfigure ourselves and speak lightly of our success.” Early humility was not, therefore, debasement of ego but rather an attempt to foil and deceive the envious spirits. (963.2) 87:5.7 The method adopted to prevent the spirits from becoming jealous of human prosperity was to heap vituperation upon some lucky or much loved thing or person. The custom of depreciating complimentary remarks regarding oneself or family had its origin in this way, and it eventually evolved into civilized modesty, restraint, and courtesy. In keeping with the same motive, it became the fashion to look ugly. Beauty aroused the envy of spirits; it betokened sinful human pride. The savage sought for an ugly name. This feature of the cult was a great handicap to the advancement of art, and it long kept the world somber and ugly. (963.3) 87:5.8 Under the spirit cult, life was at best a gamble, the result of spirit control. One’s future was not the result of effort, industry, or talent except as they might be utilized to influence the spirits. The ceremonies of spirit propitiation constituted a heavy burden, rendering life tedious and virtually unendurable. From age to age and from generation to generation, race after race has sought to improve this superghost doctrine, but no generation has ever yet dared to wholly reject it. (963.4) 87:5.9 The intention and will of the spirits were studied by means of omens, oracles, and signs. And these spirit messages were interpreted by divination, soothsaying, magic, ordeals, and astrology. The whole cult was a scheme designed to placate, satisfy, and buy off the spirits through this disguised bribery. (963.5) 87:5.10 And thus there grew up a new and expanded world philosophy consisting in: (963.6) 87:5.11 1. Duty — those things which must be done to keep the spirits favorably disposed, at least neutral. (963.7) 87:5.12 2. Right — the correct conduct and ceremonies designed to win the spirits actively to one’s interests. (963.8) 87:5.13 3. Truth — the correct understanding of, and attitude toward, spirits, and hence toward life and death. (963.9) 87:5.14 It was not merely out of curiosity that the ancients sought to know the future; they wanted to dodge ill luck. Divination was simply an attempt to avoid trouble. During these times, dreams were regarded as prophetic, while everything out of the ordinary was considered an omen. And even today the civilized races are cursed with the belief in signs, tokens, and other superstitious remnants of the advancing ghost cult of old. Slow, very slow, is man to abandon those methods whereby he so gradually and painfully ascended the evolutionary scale of life. 6. Coercion and Exorcism (963.10) 87:6.1 When men believed in ghosts only, religious ritual was more personal, less organized, but the recognition of higher spirits necessitated the employment of “higher spiritual methods” in dealing with them. This attempt to improve upon, and to elaborate, the technique of spirit propitiation led directly to the creation of defenses against the spirits. Man felt helpless indeed before the uncontrollable forces operating in terrestrial life, and his feeling of inferiority drove him to attempt to find some compensating adjustment, some technique for evening the odds in the one-sided struggle of man versus the cosmos. (964.1) 87:6.2 In the early days of the cult, man’s efforts to influence ghost action were confined to propitiation, attempts by bribery to buy off ill luck. As the evolution of the ghost cult progressed to the concept of good as well as bad spirits, these ceremonies turned toward attempts of a more positive nature, efforts to win good luck. Man’s religion no longer was completely negativistic, nor did he stop with the effort to win good luck; he shortly began to devise schemes whereby he could compel spirit co-operation. No longer does the religionist stand defenseless before the unceasing demands of the spirit phantasms of his own devising; the savage is beginning to invent weapons wherewith he may coerce spirit action and compel spirit assistance. (964.2) 87:6.3 Man’s first efforts at defense were directed against the ghosts. As the ages passed, the living began to devise methods of resisting the dead. Many techniques were developed for frightening ghosts and driving them away, among which may be cited the following: (964.3) 87:6.4 1. Cutting off the head and tying up the body in the grave. (964.4) 87:6.5 2. Stoning the death house. (964.5) 87:6.6 3. Castration or breaking the legs of the corpse. (964.6) 87:6.7 4. Burying under stones, one origin of the modern tombstone. (964.7) 87:6.8 5. Cremation, a later-day invention to prevent ghost trouble. (964.8) 87:6.9 6. Casting the body into the sea. (964.9) 87:6.10 7. Exposure of the body to be eaten by wild animals. (964.10) 87:6.11 Ghosts were supposed to be disturbed and frightened by noise; shouting, bells, and drums drove them away from the living; and these ancient methods are still in vogue at “wakes” for the dead. Foul-smelling concoctions were utilized to banish unwelcome spirits. Hideous images of the spirits were constructed so that they would flee in haste when they beheld themselves. It was believed that dogs could detect the approach of ghosts, and that they gave warning by howling; that cocks would crow when they were near. The use of a cock as a weather vane is in perpetuation of this superstition. (964.11) 87:6.12 Water was regarded as the best protection against ghosts. Holy water was superior to all other forms, water in which the priests had washed their feet. Both fire and water were believed to constitute impassable barriers to ghosts. The Romans carried water three times around the corpse; in the twentieth century the body is sprinkled with holy water, and hand washing at the cemetery is still a Jewish ritual. Baptism was a feature of the later water ritual; primitive bathing was a religious ceremony. Only in recent times has bathing become a sanitary practice. (964.12) 87:6.13 But man did not stop with ghost coercion; through religious ritual and other practices he was soon attempting to compel spirit action. Exorcism was the employment of one spirit to control or banish another, and these tactics were also utilized for frightening ghosts and spirits. The dual-spiritism concept of good and bad forces offered man ample opportunity to attempt to pit one agency against another, for, if a powerful man could vanquish a weaker one, then certainly a strong spirit could dominate an inferior ghost. Primitive cursing was a coercive practice designed to overawe minor spirits. Later this custom expanded into the pronouncing of curses upon enemies. (965.1) 87:6.14 It was long believed that by reverting to the usages of the more ancient mores the spirits and demigods could be forced into desirable action. Modern man is guilty of the same procedure. You address one another in common, everyday language, but when you engage in prayer, you resort to the older style of another generation, the so-called solemn style. (965.2) 87:6.15 This doctrine also explains many religious-ritual reversions of a sex nature, such as temple prostitution. These reversions to primitive customs were considered sure guards against many calamities. And with these simple-minded peoples all such performances were entirely free from what modern man would term promiscuity. (965.3) 87:6.16 Next came the practice of ritual vows, soon to be followed by religious pledges and sacred oaths. Most of these oaths were accompanied by self-torture and self-mutilation; later on, by fasting and prayer. Self-denial was subsequently looked upon as being a sure coercive; this was especially true in the matter of sex suppression. And so primitive man early developed a decided austerity in his religious practices, a belief in the efficacy of self-torture and self-denial as rituals capable of coercing the unwilling spirits to react favorably toward all such suffering and deprivation. (965.4) 87:6.17 Modern man no longer attempts openly to coerce the spirits, though he still evinces a disposition to bargain with Deity. And he still swears, knocks on wood, crosses his fingers, and follows expectoration with some trite phrase; once it was a magical formula. 7. Nature of Cultism (965.5) 87:7.1 The cult type of social organization persisted because it provided a symbolism for the preservation and stimulation of moral sentiments and religious loyalties. The cult grew out of the traditions of “old families” and was perpetuated as an established institution; all families have a cult of some sort. Every inspiring ideal grasps for some perpetuating symbolism — seeks some technique for cultural manifestation which will insure survival and augment realization — and the cult achieves this end by fostering and gratifying emotion. (965.6) 87:7.2 From the dawn of civilization every appealing movement in social culture or religious advancement has developed a ritual, a symbolic ceremonial. The more this ritual has been an unconscious growth, the stronger it has gripped its devotees. The cult preserved sentiment and satisfied emotion, but it has always been the greatest obstacle to social reconstruction and spiritual progress. (965.7) 87:7.3 Notwithstanding that the cult has always retarded social progress, it is regrettable that so many modern believers in moral standards and spiritual ideals have no adequate symbolism — no cult of mutual support — nothing to belong to. But a religious cult cannot be manufactured; it must grow. And those of no two groups will be identical unless their rituals are arbitrarily standardized by authority. (965.8) 87:7.4 The early Christian cult was the most effective, appealing, and enduring of any ritual ever conceived or devised, but much of its value has been destroyed in a scientific age by the destruction of so many of its original underlying tenets. The Christian cult has been devitalized by the loss of many fundamental ideas. (965.9) 87:7.5 In the past, truth has grown rapidly and expanded freely when the cult has been elastic, the symbolism expansile. Abundant truth and an adjustable cult have favored rapidity of social progression. A meaningless cult vitiates religion when it attempts to supplant philosophy and to enslave reason; a genuine cult grows. (966.1) 87:7.6 Regardless of the drawbacks and handicaps, every new revelation of truth has given rise to a new cult, and even the restatement of the religion of Jesus must develop a new and appropriate symbolism. Modern man must find some adequate symbolism for his new and expanding ideas, ideals, and loyalties. This enhanced symbol must arise out of religious living, spiritual experience. And this higher symbolism of a higher civilization must be predicated on the concept of the Fatherhood of God and be pregnant with the mighty ideal of the brotherhood of man. (966.2) 87:7.7 The old cults were too egocentric; the new must be the outgrowth of applied love. The new cult must, like the old, foster sentiment, satisfy emotion, and promote loyalty; but it must do more: It must facilitate spiritual progress, enhance cosmic meanings, augment moral values, encourage social development, and stimulate a high type of personal religious living. The new cult must provide supreme goals of living which are both temporal and eternal — social and spiritual. (966.3) 87:7.8 No cult can endure and contribute to the progress of social civilization and individual spiritual attainment unless it is based on the biologic, sociologic, and religious significance of the home. A surviving cult must symbolize that which is permanent in the presence of unceasing change; it must glorify that which unifies the stream of ever-changing social metamorphosis. It must recognize true meanings, exalt beautiful relations, and glorify the good values of real nobility. (966.4) 87:7.9 But the great difficulty of finding a new and satisfying symbolism is because modern men, as a group, adhere to the scientific attitude, eschew superstition, and abhor ignorance, while as individuals they all crave mystery and venerate the unknown. No cult can survive unless it embodies some masterful mystery and conceals some worthful unattainable. Again, the new symbolism must not only be significant for the group but also meaningful to the individual. The forms of any serviceable symbolism must be those which the individual can carry out on his own initiative, and which he can also enjoy with his fellows. If the new cult could only be dynamic instead of static, it might really contribute something worth while to the progress of mankind, both temporal and spiritual. (966.5) 87:7.10 But a cult — a symbolism of rituals, slogans, or goals — will not function if it is too complex. And there must be the demand for devotion, the response of loyalty. Every effective religion unerringly develops a worthy symbolism, and its devotees would do well to prevent the crystallization of such a ritual into cramping, deforming, and stifling stereotyped ceremonials which can only handicap and retard all social, moral, and spiritual progress. No cult can survive if it retards moral growth and fails to foster spiritual progress. The cult is the skeletal structure around which grows the living and dynamic body of personal spiritual experience — true religion. (966.6) 87:7.11 [Presented by a Brilliant Evening Star of Nebadon.]

What does the Bible say about ancestor worship? What world religions commonly practice ancestor worship?