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My entire life has been devoted to ecstatic witchcraft, necromancy (as in working with spirits not zombies), spirit flight, serial lucid dreaming, dark spiritual ecology, folklore, herbalism, trance, channeling, divination, shamanism, ethnobotany, animism, mythology, etc… and during that life time I have had the pleasure of encountering many different spiritual paths and getting to learn about them from gifted elders. More importantly I have gotten to learn first hand from various beings such as what we label fae, Jötunn, troll, jinn, elementals, plant spirits, tree spirits, ghosts, demons, gods, Fomorian, oneirie, etc… Those experiences taught me a lot but often had me wonder about my true ancestry.
I think when we feel called to a path in any system of magic or religion it is normal to wonder if perhaps our ancestors or a past life is why it speaks to us. I know I often wondered why Norse, Slavic, Celtic, mythology and spirits called to me. Most especially Slavic since no one had ever introduced me to it or spoken of it in my family. In truth I was raised with Irish, Italian, Nanticoke, Appalachian, and Polish folkloric practices mainly and some catholic beliefs from my father’s side. I know for certain that the Nanticoke traditions came from a male Native American who was adopted by my great-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. He shared his culture and stories with them and it was passed on.
I eventually learned that my ancient Polish ancestors were most likely where my Slavic calling came from. However, in theory my Italian ancestry should have been more prominent. I’ve finally gotten a proper DNA test done and now know for certain what my ancestry is and I learned some surprising things. For example I have no active Italian DNA, my father I was raised with and his Italian family are not blood related to me. I was aware it was possible as it wasn’t a secret I existed before their marriage but it was believed he was more likely my father based on the date of my conception, however he isn’t, not by blood at least. I also learned that my biological sperm donor is where I get most of my Polish, Slovenian, Ukrainian, Norwegian, Swedish, and Ashkenazi Jewish DNA. So it would be likely that many of my ancestors practiced some variation of Slavic native faith and Asatru/seidr.
My ancestry revealed that I am mainly a mix of English, Welsh, Irish, Scottish, Belgian, Austrian, German, Polish, Slovenian, Norwegian, Swedish, Ukrainian, Hungarian, and Ashkenazi Jewish. This was rather surprising for me but it did explain the bulk of the type of spirits and gods (Indwellers) I’ve encountered. I have of course had encounters outside of my genetic ancestors' ancient cosmologies such as; Egyptian, Sumerian, Mayan, Aztec, Panamanian, Greek, Italian, French, Haitian, etc… though I have often thought our locations also play a large role in what beings interact with us as well as the environment/ecology/habitat of the area we are in and even the seasons. Please understand that I am not saying one must have a genetic connection to something to have a right to practice it. It’s more I was wondering how much does our ancestry influence us in our practice without us even realizing.
For those of you who have had your DNA ancestry tested, did it help you understand your spiritual practice better or align with your practice? Did you find that your spiritual practice would or wouldn’t have been practiced by your ancestors? Did it help you understand why what type of spirits or beings interact with you? Did it help you understand why certain spirits or beings like or dislike you? Do you feel knowing your true ancestry has elevated or enhanced your practice in some way? Did learning the truth have negative or positive effects on your practice? Do you feel being raised in a culture is more significant rather than a genetic connection to it?
I think when we feel called to a path in any system of magic or religion it is normal to wonder if perhaps our ancestors or a past life is why it speaks to us. I know I often wondered why Norse, Slavic, Celtic, mythology and spirits called to me. Most especially Slavic since no one had ever introduced me to it or spoken of it in my family. In truth I was raised with Irish, Italian, Nanticoke, Appalachian, and Polish folkloric practices mainly and some catholic beliefs from my father’s side. I know for certain that the Nanticoke traditions came from a male Native American who was adopted by my great-great-grandmother on my mother’s side. He shared his culture and stories with them and it was passed on.
I eventually learned that my ancient Polish ancestors were most likely where my Slavic calling came from. However, in theory my Italian ancestry should have been more prominent. I’ve finally gotten a proper DNA test done and now know for certain what my ancestry is and I learned some surprising things. For example I have no active Italian DNA, my father I was raised with and his Italian family are not blood related to me. I was aware it was possible as it wasn’t a secret I existed before their marriage but it was believed he was more likely my father based on the date of my conception, however he isn’t, not by blood at least. I also learned that my biological sperm donor is where I get most of my Polish, Slovenian, Ukrainian, Norwegian, Swedish, and Ashkenazi Jewish DNA. So it would be likely that many of my ancestors practiced some variation of Slavic native faith and Asatru/seidr.
My ancestry revealed that I am mainly a mix of English, Welsh, Irish, Scottish, Belgian, Austrian, German, Polish, Slovenian, Norwegian, Swedish, Ukrainian, Hungarian, and Ashkenazi Jewish. This was rather surprising for me but it did explain the bulk of the type of spirits and gods (Indwellers) I’ve encountered. I have of course had encounters outside of my genetic ancestors' ancient cosmologies such as; Egyptian, Sumerian, Mayan, Aztec, Panamanian, Greek, Italian, French, Haitian, etc… though I have often thought our locations also play a large role in what beings interact with us as well as the environment/ecology/habitat of the area we are in and even the seasons. Please understand that I am not saying one must have a genetic connection to something to have a right to practice it. It’s more I was wondering how much does our ancestry influence us in our practice without us even realizing.
For those of you who have had your DNA ancestry tested, did it help you understand your spiritual practice better or align with your practice? Did you find that your spiritual practice would or wouldn’t have been practiced by your ancestors? Did it help you understand why what type of spirits or beings interact with you? Did it help you understand why certain spirits or beings like or dislike you? Do you feel knowing your true ancestry has elevated or enhanced your practice in some way? Did learning the truth have negative or positive effects on your practice? Do you feel being raised in a culture is more significant rather than a genetic connection to it?
