Tips for Beginning Work with Ancestors

Good day all!

Today Apollo made it clear in an oracle reading I should start working with my Ancestors. One problem, I don’t them! My mom is adopted. On my dad’s I know my grandparents, my grandmother’s mother and aunt. I’ve done DNA testing and know that I am Irish, Scottish and touch of Welsh and Portuguese.

I plan to create an altar for my ancestors in my altar space. I am working on getting pictures of my paternal grandmother, her mom and her aunt (the only one’s I know who have passed). I plan to have a candle for my ancestors also in this space.

My question to you is, how do I proceed? Do I just see if these three wonderful ladies are hanging around and willing to work with me? How do I connect with other ancestors?

I welcome any advice on this topic or working with ancestors in general.

Blessed Be!

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Oh, this is a tough one when you don’t know your relative ancestors. Let me see if I can dig up some resources for you. Ancestor work isn’t something that I’ve done a lot of but it’s on my list :laughing:

This article might be a good place to start. I know it’s about honoring ancestors when you’re adopted but it has some good information for when you don’t really know where to start.

Honoring Ancestors when You’re Adopted - Patti Wigington

It sounds like what you’re already doing is a good place to start, in my opinion.

Then you can check out this article, too. A friend of mine wrote it up because people kept asking him about it. It’s one I have bookmarked for when I need it, too.

https://arcanum17.com/2021/06/ancestor-work-for-beginners-the-white-table/

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I have this audio book, but also on paperback. I really recommend.

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Thanks @MeganB and @pedros10!! I’m check out those articles and that book.

I did some digging on my ancestry.com page and it looks like my paternal grandmother actually did a bunch of work on her tree before she passed away! My dad has access now so I’m going to be linking it to mine and going through that.

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I was going to suggest a family tree site. When records show up it’s so interesting to see what they did & any hints you may find from the records or stories too!

I’m working on my tree with MyHeritage.com & Ancestry.com I work with 1 program for a while then upload it to the other to merge duplicates & work on the hints from that site that deal with other family trees & comparing information. (I’m a nerd :nerd_face:)

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I’ll have to check out MyHeritage.com. I’m trying to build mine out plus my husband’s. He’s adopted so his tree is literally just me and him. He’s done ancestry’s DNA test and we are trying to contact relatives but he’s got 1000s of first cousins or closer matches on his dad’s side and hardly anything on his mom’s side. My dad’s tree is coming along well but my mom’s adopted so I’m in the same situation as my husband but with less matches.

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My heritage connects to a lot of worldwide trees & a lot of the historical records from the North America. I wish you well! I hope it helps!

You can upload your DNA results to Gedcom too. You will get matches on there from your sequences with DNA. Gedcom.com

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Thanks! I’ll check that out also.

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No problem. I have been working on the same types of things for a while. My friend does a lot of genealogy research so I get tips from her. Her tree has 25000 people in it between her & her husband’s families.

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As MeganB recommended, I’d check out the “Honoring Ancestors when You’re Adopted” piece by Patti Wigington. I haven’t read it myself, but I’m assuming it is a great resource! I’m currently reading a book by her, Badass Ancestors: Finding Your Power with Ancestral Guides for Book Club VIII that I haven’t finished quite yet, but I’m hoping to do so in the next few days so I can post my review! Badass Ancestors is AMAZING so far, and provides a TON of information on working with your ancestors for various situations, including if you (or by logical extension, your parents) are adopted or have “problem anestors.” What I love about the book is that as compact as it is, there’s a massive amount of information in it, and where she doesn’t go into too much detail, she provides excellent prompts and suggestions/recommendations for exploring that particular topic further.

I’ll try to remember to tag you in the review when I post it so that you can see if my input on it provides any insight into whether or not you may be interested in it :slight_smile:

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Those are all great suggestions. I also recommend you read these forum topics for inspiration on working with your ancestors, Jessica!

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Thank you, @Francisco! I’ll be sure to read those posts. Especially the altar ones as I’m in the process of setting mine up.

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You’re welcome! It sounds like your grandmother left you a gift there. I hope you’re able to find answers to what you’re looking for :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Thank you for asking the question! I’ve also made note of the resources suggested so I can start to research this as well. Or at least I hope to this year! Good luck in your journey!

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