Ancestors- a Reflection on the Mighty Ones
by Jack Crowley
Cedar Light Grove (ADF)
With Druids of the ADF variety, and perhaps Druids of all kinds, everything
is done in trines or threes. You have the sky, the land, and the sea. You
have the well, the tree, and the fire. You have the Shining Ones, the Noble
Ones, and the Mighty Ones. The Shining Ones are Deity. They are the Gods and
Goddesses that fill that Other world. The Noble Ones are the Nature Spirits
who inhabit this world. Finally, the Mighty Ones are our Ancestors who inhabit
that World Between. As part of the ADF Dedicant's program, this essay will
reflect on what the Ancestors mean to me in my journey.
I see the Ancestors as involving any one of three things: first, those people
who we've known over the years, grandparents, parents, and other members of
family who have died. It may involve those who we aren't even related to but
who have had a personal impact on our lives. Friends who have touched us in
this life and then passed on. Next, Ancestors can mean those people who we
have never met but who came before us and have affected who we are today.
Once again they could be physically related to us. They could be our great,
great grandparents. They could just spiritually be related to us. For example,
those early Pagan leaders who blazed a trail before us, who began the Neo-Pagan
movement are in many respects our spiritual ancestors. Also, people who fought
against hate and prejudice, Dr. King or Gandhi, could be considered spiritual
ancestors. Those who have suffered in the burning times, who were persecuted
just because they were different may also be included.
Finally, one's ethnic heritage should also be part of the honoring of Ancestors.
Everyone should be proud of who they are. Whether they are Welsh, Norwegian,
German, African, Asian, Martian, or a hybrid, they should take pride in their
ethnicity. The flip side of this ethnic pride should be to respect and honor
those of a different heritage. Sin and evil are not popular concepts in the
Neo-Pagan world. Yet, we must admit there is evil out there, forces and ideas
that make humanity less that what it could be. In my opinion, racism is one
of the greatest missteps of humanity, and it saddens me greatly that some
Pagan groups have taken ethnic pride as an excuse for racism. There is no
excuse for this. Deity mourns and She burns with anger and disappointment
with those who turn pride into chauvanism, and honor into hate. There is no
place for racism (or sexism or homophobia) in the Pagan community, and we
need to be absolutely intolerant of it.
Honoring our ancestors may have been the first form of religion. Anyone who
has deeply loved another person, and then lost them, knows how natural this
connection is. You feel like that person is still with you. You feel their
presense. You talk to them, and sometimes you feel you hear them answer back.
I've known Christians and other very committed monotheists who talk to their
Ancestors. You see altars built on the side of the road that honor those killed
in car accidents. If you've ever been to the Vietnam Memorial, it is so moving
to see wives and parents trying to connect with those they have lost through
the medium of the memorial. In fact, honoring our Ancestors might be virtually
a biological instinct. We may be hard-wired to connect with those who have
passed on.
So when Druids meet, they honor the Earth Mother, they welcome Deity, and
they welcome the Nature Spirits. But they also call out to those who have
come before them, to join in the ritual, to partake of the spiritual communion
between worlds. Sometimes the veil is very thin, as at Samhain or Beltaine,
when you can almost seem them in the circle watching, and participating in
the rite. But even when we can't feel them, we know they are there. They watch
us and guide us as best they can. And they know we too will join them, some
sooner than others, across that Rainbow Bridge, in the land of Apples and
Eternal Summer.