I’m a witch following Norse, Korean and more paths, so already know that it’s important in Norse and Korean customs to honor ancestors and homeland(commonly called as one’s ‘roots’).
But the thing is that I’m not in a comfortable relationship with my ‘roots’- that’s one very complex matter with tons of political/social/domestic violence so I won’t tell it here 
So I don’t feel like honoring them, really, but other witches who walk similar paths say that one should do it because they raised one to grow up, so I’m really uncomfortable.
Is it necessary for a witch to honor their roots? Or if one finds it unnecessary, it’s OK to not do it?
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Have you heard it said…
Nothing is forbidden everything is permissible?
Hand in hand with that is nothing is required.
If you don’t want to get in touch with your roots you do not have to.
I’m sure you’ve also heard do what thou wilt be the whole of the law right?
Well to paraphrase the meanings of those quotes: It’s totally up to you what you do there are no requirements to touch your roots or to do anything else you don’t want to. You decide. No one has the right to todecide for you or tell you you have to do what you don’t want to.
So if you don’t want to don’t it’s that simple.
So just do you follow your instincts. If they
say you have to touch your roots just know it’s up to you you don’t have to do what someone else says. just do you. Just be true to yourself your feelings your gut instincts and don’t do what you don’t want to and do do what you do want to do.
Does that help you?
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Absolutely. Thank you very much! May wisdom always light your path.
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You be alright, I was kickout of a Magick group wen they told me to do a ancestor altar,I was like not,mean family bad people etc and they won’t be nice for sure ,you can add deities spirts to you altar,.tru some religion s always order to honor our ancestors.but why honor a dad who run away never pay child support? Or a mean mother tat hates you or uncle etc the list goes on.
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You do you. I do not have an ancestor altar because I am such a Heinz 57 that I’d need a separate house to do them real praise. I feel I do not belong to any of my “roots” I am me and that is good enough. I have Romani Heritage, Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Norwegian yet was born near London in the UK. I do not feel English (having been born in Eng), nor any of the above. The only part of my heritage that tugs at me is my Nan’s Romani line. Her parents were Gitano and fled to Eire to save their lives during the Spanish Purge. And the part that tugs is my need to see the world, learn and live connected to nature (oh and I guess never really settle down my husband and I are on house number 11 now).
So I do me, it makes me happy. I am still a witch, not connecting or worshiping my roots does not take away from that.
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I think people get a bit too caught up in this kind of thing.
And they tend to get real caught up in the physical angle of it (physical genetic history, and heritage).
Myself, I kind of find the whole thing a bit of a bother to an extent. Ironically, my understanding is that I do need to do something with/for my ancestors.
But the funny thing is, if you look at things like ATR, it’s apparent that if you’re really doing the work you’re basically doing something for your ancestral lines regardless.
As you heal yourself, you heal your familial, spiritual history.
Throw reincarnation into the mix, and you may have ancestors that are relevant from other lifetimes.
In some traditions/practices, by engaging in them you “inherit” so to speak the lineage and “ancestry” of the people that worked that current/practice.
You even see this in Taoist practices.
The sects have their own lineages of masters that become “accessible” after initiation or sufficient engagement.
They’re kind of like “overseers” for lack of a better word when you get “adopted” into the practice.
You could even say this applies to Christianity and the patriarchs of the church. (In the case of catholicism this includes the menagerie of “saints”). A spiritual lineage, a spiritual ancestry.
Don’t overthink it.
Work with what calls to you. If nothing else, working on yourself is the most direct way to pave the path forward and to heal and change whatever the path has been before you incarnated onto this plane to play your part.
Blessed are the dead
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It is not necessary to work with your ancestral roots. Paganism and “Wicca” (goddess worship) often lead to confusion. You can find peace and solace in Satan, and I recommend you work directly with him.
Reading your post and I just thought:
- Be the roots your future generations will be proud of -
Or just simply you do you, external influences shouldn’t compromise your practices, be your own god when doubts come around your mind.
I don’t think heritage and family is a must to do whatever you want to do in this magick world.
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