“It’s not even Thursday!”
Cousin, I set a goal for myself this month, so that means you’re getting two blog posts this week! Sorry, not sorry, but thank you for supporting me like always!
Today’s post will be short, so I promise not to bombard you with 1000 more words from me this week. My inspiration for today’s post comes from a conversation and concept I’ve been thinking about for 6 months or so now.
Ancestral veneration, or the practice of honoring one’s ancestors, is something considered taboo or witchcraft in America, even more so in the Black community. Christianity has taught us to worship only God and not to make false idols, but in that same breath, our country’s relics serve as constant reminders of the ancestors of our oppressors.
But in our indigenous spiritual practices, ancestral veneration was the norm, and this is heavily evident in the modern-day practices of Hoodoo. Subconsciously, we honor those who came before us in our habits and mannerisms. Through ritual and routine, with food and celebration, we carry on the traditions of those who paved the way for us. As popularly said on Twitter, we are our ancestors’ wildest dreams manifested.
Ever since I was a little girl, I had an interesting relationship with my ancestry. I was raised in a mixed-generational household, so the traditional family titles weren’t always applicable to me. My Mema (paternal grandmother) was more my mother than my mom was and my aunties were as much my sisters as my dad’s in many ways that mattered. The generational bondage of teenage pregnancy meant I got to live to meet both my maternal and paternal great-grandmothers, the latter still living to this day. When my Granny passed, it forced me to give more thought to my ancestry and the women that I am a byproduct of.
That brings me to today’s topic: I Am the Ancestor.
Now, I say this not to discredit the mighty women who have come before me. After all, I have admitted that my entire existence would not be possible without theirs. The women who came before me color my life in more ways than I could probably imagine, and I’m so thankful to share the same bloodline as them.
However, I do intend to take a completely different approach to my life’s decisions and my lifestyle, keeping my heritage in mind.
Yes, my children are my heirs to my empire, but what should be of their children? Or my children’s grandchildren? Will Ma Mary and my Granny still need to dwell in the ether to support their journey through this human existence, or will I have risen to take the spiritual throne as the charge of the family dynasty?
How about healing the trauma and spiritual bondage found in my lineage to free my descendants from repeating karmic cycles? Yeah, it’s that real. Many of the demons we face are not our own; they are generational bindings found and brought against our family lines to hinder us from elevation. For example, I see similarities in the choices of my mom, myself, and my eldest daughter, even though we were raised in different environments with differing family dynamics.
As seen in the study of epigenetics, our ancestry plays a more significant role in our lives than just height, weight, and eye color. In the Bible, there are several mentions of the blessings intentionally placed on a bloodline. An early example is in Exodus 3:15 when God names himself the God of Abraham, a title highlighting the divine covenant placed on Abraham’s perpetual descendants.
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’
“This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.
But have you ever stopped to think about what you will be passing on to your future generations? I know what I inherited, and I know I want to up the inheritance for my lineage.
I want them to feel the honor and privilege to come from my flesh and blood, that someone came before them and pioneered a way of prosperity for our family line. That was one of God’s messages shared with me this month: deal with your history to heal your bloodline.
There’s something in my DNA that I’m meant to reclaim in this lifetime. The power of femininity, intuition, and rest to drive abundance and love in your life and the lives of those around you.
In honor of the last day of Black History Month, I pledge to continue on a legacy of Living Life Lavish to give my heirs and their descendants in continuity!
I have chosen you to be a part of my family, so now you too are a part of this legacy.
With infinite love,
Cousin Lex
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