Here's a little something I wrote in honor of the Ancestors:
Step into the light
Wearing your ancestors
Like a cloak
Like a crown
Bearing their power
Into the future
Generations of love
Stand behind you
Upholding you
Hear their voices
Urging you on
Feel their wisdom
Guiding your thoughts
Their hands
Holding yours
Never fear
You are not alone
Ancestor reverence and caring for the Beloved Dead was a major aspect of Minoan religion. The people of Neolithic and Bronze Age Crete had large communal feasts on the plazas in front of their family and community tombs. They made offerings to the dead and to Underworld deities. They lovingly prepared the remains of the deceased for first and then secondary burial. They took care of their dead.
Having an ancestor reverence practice in the modern world connects us with the time before the Christian church outlawed such activities in the regions where they had influence. It connects us with the hundreds and thousands of generations who cared for their Beloved Dead, and it connects us with the dead themselves - on whose shoulders we stand.
In the name of the bee,
And of the butterfly,
And of the breeze, amen.