The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

If you honor your ancestors (whether it be simply your blood ancestors or people you are connected to by path, career, etc), how do you do it? What things are they included in and why? What things are offered to them? I'm trying to get a feel for what others might do for them. Personally the only thing I do right now is when I do my herb cuttings I offer some of the best ones to them.

 
One of the main ways I try to honor my ancestors is by trying to become the best human I can be, and not squandering the gifts I've been given in life. That's more of a long-term life goal than daily ritual structure, though.

My affinity for cooking I seem to have inherited from my paternal grandmother, who died long before I was born. When I'm making something special I'll light a candle on the stove as a sort of "hearth" and invite her to be present in my work, watch over me, and help me put love and intention into the food I make. I usually offer some cool water and a portion of whatever I've made as thanks.

I have a sort of makeshift Day of the Dead holiday I observe (no known Mexican ancestry but a LOT of Catholics, so I feel like they wouldn't mind using this holiday as a day to focus on them) wherein I'll cook a favorite meal, usually something like beans and rice with cornbread, make a plate up for the ancestors and share a candlelit dinner with my honored dead.
A note: with this type of offering I'll revert it by eating it myself. One year I actively asked the ancestors, if they wished, to partake of the food through me, and ended up drinking a lot more beer than I'll usually consume and not feeling it at all, being I suppose I'd say lightly ridden by the spirits.

My ancestors tend to appreciate liquid offerings like water or (edible) oil, but especially alcohol. I'm not sure why exactly, but giving spirits to the spirits just seems to click for me. I've mainly used beer and vodka so far. Mainly I tend to stick to edible offerings, though I don't necessarily feel like I can't offer other things. I may branch out in the future.

So, that's the basics of how my ancestor veneration goes, I hope that helped some? I've gotten to this point by trial and error, basically, and just reaching out to the ancestors in calm quiet moments and asking what they'd like, and trying things.

If you honor your ancestors (whether it be simply your blood ancestors or people you are connected to by path, career, etc), how do you do it? What things are they included in and why? What things are offered to them? I'm trying to get a feel for what others might do for them. Personally the only thing I do right now is when I do my herb cuttings I offer some of the best ones to them.

For me genealogy is a key componet to honoring and recognizing my ancestry.  It's the process of discovering who they were, where they came from, where their earthly garments were dropped and where they were laid to rest.  Discovering their lives, loves, losses, victories and all the many things that made up thier lives.

It's gathering the stories that are told around the holidays, births and birthdays, marriages, passing those stories down and introducing a new generation to our history.  Yet its also a jigsaw puzzle as you try to piece the parts together yet know your missing pieces or discovering some item you never knew existed to begin with which just might change everything you though you knew.  It's finding the good in the family but also the many skeletons that reside in the closet and having to make the determination of what you say or speak upon and what is kept hidden or reserved.

For me it also involves things such as inviting the shades of my ancestors to my ceremonies and ritual gatherings.  Speaking to their shades as I not only ask questions of them or how to find info on them but also telling them of their descendents.  Making offerings to them via transmutation via flame.  Not done so much any more but occasionally setting out death meals that are placed to recall passed ancestors or other important people to the family.

While some trace just their direct bloodline and take great pleasure in doing so I found that for me it's more enjoyable to trace my families name's and the many lines that have joined to create my many cousins, relatives and non-relatives that share a common name though we've never been proven to be from the same line of origin.

Yet I am also a child of the gods / goddesses who have choosen me.  As such I honor them via offerings, libations, seeking more and more about them.

If you honor your ancestors (whether it be simply your blood ancestors or people you are connected to by path, career, etc), how do you do it? What things are they included in and why? What things are offered to them? I'm trying to get a feel for what others might do for them. Personally the only thing I do right now is when I do my herb cuttings I offer some of the best ones to them.

I haven't done this yet, but Samhain is coming up here in Australia, so I'll be doing it then.
I keep getting this feeling that my late Grandfather wants beer and sweet things ... I feel torn, because the feeling is strong, but then again, those are the things that killed him >.<

If you honor your ancestors (whether it be simply your blood ancestors or people you are connected to by path, career, etc), how do you do it? What things are they included in and why? What things are offered to them? I'm trying to get a feel for what others might do for them. Personally the only thing I do right now is when I do my herb cuttings I offer some of the best ones to them.

I tied knots in a some ropes and hung them above my altar. I put clips in the knots and have pictures of as many relatives as I can. I have also started researching as far back as I can. I have incense I burn for them and have done offerings to them.

If you honor your ancestors (whether it be simply your blood ancestors or people you are connected to by path, career, etc), how do you do it? What things are they included in and why? What things are offered to them? I'm trying to get a feel for what others might do for them. Personally the only thing I do right now is when I do my herb cuttings I offer some of the best ones to them.

I have a shrine on my wall for them. I have my family crest above a family tree of my fathers side of the family (I'm still working on getting my mothers side), and a charm of wooden skulls that I hang on the altar and sometime bring with me when I go out.

As for offerings, incense seems to be good, and my ancestors seem to like the earthier types. I find that food (sweets and breads are what they really seem to like) and alcohol get the job done.