About the Book
• Shares traditional veneration rites and practices to connect with your ancestors, including limpia rites, trance journeys, energy work, and sacred gardening
• Explores ancestral altar-making practices, sacred tools for altars, and how to invite your ancestors to take an active role in intervening on your behalf
• Describes the deification process of esteemed ancestors and how this opens access to special powers for those sharing that ancestor’s lineage
Exploring the diverse and dynamic ancestral veneration rites of the ancient Mesoamericans as well as those practiced in contemporary curanderismo, Erika Buenaflor shows how we can draw from these traditions to reconnect with our ancestors, deepen our healing journeys, and shape our lives. She explains how ancestors contain sacred energy that can continue in their direct physical heirs, be reborn in the landscape at sacred sites, or manifest in other beings that inhabit the same lands. She describes the deification process for esteemed ancestors and how this opens access to special powers for those sharing that ancestor’s lineage.
Buenaflor examines the ancient sacred offerings and ceremonies used to ensure ancestral aid, guidance, and intervention as well as the ancestors’ well-being and comfort in the afterlife. Bringing the knowledge into the present day, she shares numerous veneration rites and healing practices to strengthen your bonds with your ancestors, including limpia rites, ritual craft-making, trance journeys, shamanic breathwork, energy work with past and present lives, sacred gardening, and ancestral altar-making. She introduces you to Nepantla spirituality, the path of reclaiming sacred liminal space, and shows how you can heal your ancestral lineage and reclaim your esteemed ancestors, those who anchor you with a feeling of belonging to something greater, divine, and beautiful.
Whether you are able to create a long and detailed family tree or have no knowledge of your grandparents or even parents, this book offers many ways to connect with your spiritual forebearers, heal your lineage, and receive spiritual aid as you reclaim your ancestors and welcome them into your life.
Table of Contents:
Foreword
The Great Weaving
By Luis J. Rodríguez (Mixcóatl Itztlacuiloh)
Introduction
Ancient Mesoamerican and Curanderismo Ancestral Veneration
Chapter 1
Locating the Ancestors You Wish to Venerate
Chapter 2
Invocations That Welcome Ancestors into Our Lives
Chapter 3
Colorful Ceremonies Honoring Our Ancestors
Chapter 4
Rebirth, Renewal, and Continuation of Our Ancestors
Chapter 5
Working with Deified Ancestral Sacred Energies for Healing Purposes
Epilogue
Healing Grief from the Death of a Loved One and Facilitating Their Graceful Transition
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author :
Erika Buenaflor, M.A., J.D., has a master’s degree in religious studies with a focus on Mesoamerican shamanism from the University of California, Riverside. A practicing curandera for more than 20 years, descended from a long line of grandmother curanderas, she has studied with curanderx in Mexico, Peru, and Los Angeles and gives presentations on curanderismo in many settings. The author of several books, including Cleansing Rites of Curanderismo, she lives in Tujunga, California.
Review :
“Once again Erika Buenaflor brings us a useful, powerful, and gamechanging modern look at ancient wisdom. This book not only helps us cultivate a walkable bridge between ourselves and our ancestors, it provides much-needed rituals around the important transitions of death, dying, and grief. Every practitioner interested in ancestral work, regardless of their cultural background, needs a copy of this book.”
“The wisdom of the ancestors vibrates from the pages of Erika’s book and infuses the reader with warmth, comfort, and the feeling of coming home to ourselves. Brimming with fascinating history, heartfelt stories, and accessible exercises, Erika seamlessly weaves a pathway for us to reconnect and reclaim the strength and power of those who came before. Erika is a knowledgeable and trusted maestra and offers us a tender and steady hand to help lead us to the full and joyous lives we are meant to live. This book is a rare gift, Erika is a gift, and we are all better for it.”
“Ancestral veneration rites are an ancient form of healing, blessing, spiritual interaction, and renewal. Erika not only offers spiritual guidance and wisdom but also shows ancient techniques and methods for the revival of these rites. Erika’s experiences, deep knowledge, and love for our ancestors and future generations to come shines through every page.”
“This book nourished my spirit like a healing broth of bones and herbs. I immediately felt the urge to strengthen my own practice with the rites and rituals brought to life within its pages.”
“Erika’s well-wrought teachings, rituals, and instructions, much of which were taught to her by elders and curanderx, but also from extensive study, are antidotes to the various physical, mental, emotional, cultural, and spiritual ailments we’ve endured for over five hundred years.”
