18 Nov Ancestor Shrine
Samhain (an ancient Celtic feast of the dead to mark the end of harvest and beginning of winter on 31st October to 1stNovember) is celebrated in different traditions around the world, in different guises. Traditionally at this time of year, ‘the veil’ is a little thinner between the land of the living and those who have gone before.
This is my shrine with three generations of family on display. Gold plastic skull and plastic stag beetle are here to remind me of the cycle of death and new life. Dead bodies (in their natural state) compost back into the earth, nourish the soil and support new growth.
I am now on friendly terms with the forbears who adorn the walls of our home. I greet them in the morning, thank those who support and guide me. This has not always been the case. We have been coming to know each other gradually over the years. As a youngster, I was mystified by the dead Victorians who my father was so attached to. They were the grandparents whose lives he listened to.
Inheriting trinkets, letters and images of people I had never met, used to feel like a burden. It felt important to deal with this legacy with respect. I began to examine what I had, to fossick through papers kept and handed down. I started to piece together the facts, if not the stories of three, four, five times great grand parents through compulsive detective work on Ancestry. The more I get to know them, the more I feel able to draw on the strength of my lines, although it can mean questing back to ‘my last happy ancestor’.
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