Blessed Samhain! Shamanic Healing with Ancestors

We are the living, breathing, answered prayers of our ancestors.

Their histories inform our cells.

Their life stories are etched in our bones.

Their hopes and dreams for their children come alive in our actions.

Here in the Northern hemisphere, we are entering the Samhain portal—one of the High Holy days of the year in the Gaian/Solar calendar.

Samhain is the third and final harvest festival. It marks laying the fields to rest for the winter.

It is the portal of the Tomb, the thinning of the veil, and the celebration of ancestors and lineage.

Not only the ancestors of our bloodlines, but also the ancestors of our spiritual lineages and all the teachers who came before, who carried the torch of knowledge through the ages.

And also the ancestors who walked the land before us — those ancient people whose footsteps are still remembered by the Earth.

And our non-human ancestors — the stones, the mountains, the fossilized forests. The dinosaurs, woolly mammoths and all the ancient creatures whose bones hum with the magic of time and timelessness.

This is a wonderful time to make offerings to those who walked this Earth before us.

To celebrate their songs, their lives and the stories told around the fire.

To acknowledge their pains and hurts and suffering.

To honor their efforts on our behalf.

As the living, breathing, manifestation of those who came before, let us learn from their lives, receive their blessings and grow from their challenges.

Let us receive the teachings and wisdom from our ancestors who are whole and healed.

Let us offer generosity, forgiveness and compassion to our ancestors who may be in the realm of suffering souls.

But always, let us celebrate the legacy of family that lives in our hearts. The legacy of our blood family, our spiritual family and our Gaian family.

Let us celebrate those we love that have made their crossing to other realms, and ourselves as their living legacy of love.

Blessed Samhain!

Are you ready to work with sacred healing and Shamanic practice, for yourself and your lineages?

If you know that you are here on Earth to develop a deep, functional allyship with Gaia and Earth-based spiritual practice —

If you want to refine, cultivate and ground your intuition in a safe and healthy way so you can confidently communicate with and invoke ancestors and spiritual forces for healing and guidance —

If you are ready to collaborate with ancient and powerful spirit guides and Shamanic allies —

If you are ready to answer your Shamanic calling —

Join me in this powerful course:

The Foundations of Shamanism

11 week online course, November 17 - February 2, 2026

This course is live, on Zoom, and all modules will be recorded.

Classes are on Monday evenings, 5-6:30pm PT (every Monday except December 22).

Through this course, you will:

• Practice Shamanic journeys to connect with spirit allies and learn how to integrate their medicine into your life and spiritual practice.

• Anchor your healing, ceremonial or spiritual work into the powerful foundation of your local Earth grid and energetic ecosystem, for the purpose of grounding, protection and amplification.

• Learn how to clear, ground and protect your energy so you can confidently and safely navigating the unseen realms.

• Make offerings and prayers to connect with spirit guides and Shamanic allies, and build your connection with these guides.

• Learn how to communicate with the spirit realm so that you may receive their messages, signs and teachings.

• Master basic concepts of ecology so that your Earth-based spiritual practice is informed by a practical understanding of your local ecosystem.

• Take steps to heal and reclaim your own indigeneity as you connect to Gaia in a new way.

>>>Check out all the details and register here.

Honoring the Ancestors

Hello, friends! Here in the northern hemisphere, we are entering the portal of Samhain. (This holy day is commonly acknowledged on November 1, solar Samhain falls around November 7, and lunar Samhain varies with the lunar cycle. Pick your favorite). Samhain (pronounced SOW-in, or SOW-ain), one of the four cross-quarter holy days, marks a time of year when the veil between this world and the spirit realm is thin.

During this season, we honor the third and final harvest, release and Death on Gaia. The solar cycle of the year ends, and we prepare for the next.  This is the portal of the Tomb: returning to the Void, surrender and rest.

This holy day is a powerful time to celebrate our ancestors--those ones who came before us, both known and beyond our knowing, who carried the torch of life through the ages, and whose flame lives on in us today.

At this time, we may request blessings and support from our healed ancestors.

We may offer blessings and healing to our ancestors who are wounded or suffering.

We may make offerings and prayers for ourselves to become good ancestors and take our seat of power to be in healthy service to all of our descendants (children, ideas, projects and legacy).

If you are called to do so, you can make a dedicated ancestor altar for the season for the purpose of prayers, offerings and healing work. Here are some tips on how to do that:

Michelle’s ancestor altar

How to Make an Ancestor Altar

There are many ways to make your ancestor altar. Some cultures and traditions have specific directions and practices, and if you observe these practices, go for it. If not, you can still honor your ancestors in an appropriate and respectful way.

Here are some items you may wish to include on your ancestor altar:

• Photos of your ancestors

• Personal belongings or heirlooms from your ancestors

• Items in the color red, to honor the bloodlines

• Offerings of food and drink (especially any known favorites of your ancestors,). You may wish to offer a small bite of your meal to the altar daily.

• Candles, flowers, incense and other nourishing/energizing sacred offerings

• In many traditions, offerings of tobacco, alcohol and sugar are considered particularly nourishing and energizing to the spirits. Please use your best discernment of what feels healthy and appropriate, especially if you are aware of a history of addiction within your lineage.

I invite you to bring your authentic, sovereign prayer to connecting with your ancestors. If you want some inspiration, here is an ancestor song:

We are remembering all of our ancestors
We are remembering all of our ancestors
Deep are the roots of the tree
Long is our memory
Great is our family
Of love alive in me
Of love alive in me

I'll be posting more ancestor songs on Instagram over the next couple of weeks. If you want to tune in, follow me there for more.

Blessed Samhain!

Michelle Hawk