This is the text of my presentation at the Virtual Symposium of Pagan Thought and Practice, "Coming out of the Dark" Held online July 17th, 2021
A reflection on deepening my Ancestral practices during the pandemic. Collaboration and healing with my spiritual tribe. Connecting with the other than human ancestors and the reflection in my garden.
Krystal Rains is an artist, herbalist, healer, traditional witchcraft and shamanic practitioner. She is focused on Healing Ancestral Legacy Trauma, using Q’ero Shamanism, Reiki and other modalities she has learned on her path.
Good Afternoon, I am Krystal Rains. Edit: I am on the unceded land of the village Siutcanga, of the Fernando Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, I would like to honor those people past, present and emerging. Former incorrect acknowledgement I would like to acknowledge the Tovangar, the land of the Tongva people who are the traditional caretakers of the land I reside on here in Encino California, I acknowledge their presence; past, present and future before sharing with you today. I encourage you to look for the indigenous traditional caretakers of the land you reside on, and acknowledge their presence in your workings and sharing as a form of connection with the spirits of the land you live on.
It was pointed out that there is a typo in my presentation title, Deeping, so I had to look it up and see if it had meaning, I think it does: adj. 1. extending or situated relatively far down from a surface: a deep pool. 2. extending or situated relatively far inwards, backwards, or sideways: a deep border of trees. It is also in the name of several villages in England, home of some of my ancestors as well as a wonderful description of my presentation.
I have been working with Ancestral Trauma Healing for about 9 years. Inspired by an Ancestor workshop with Orion Foxwood and my Q’ero shamanic healing training. Starting with my own family traumas, then reaching out to work with friends, eventually being recommended and working with clients. In working with others, I hope to jump start a personal practice, so that my friends and clients have tools to help themselves rather than creating any dependency on my work. It is my understanding that the levels of inter-generational trauma we currently have, requires many more doing the work, not less. I generally see someone once or twice and then might not for a year or more, when they hit some trauma or blockage that needs assistance to get past and back on their own road of healing. My practices are from a wide variety of threads, woven together into a beautiful tapestry of healing. For those who have not taken a class with me, I define ancestors as those of genetic lineage, adoption, marriage, and close spiritual and emotional ties. In this presentation, you will follow my threads as I formed new opportunities for healing and connection with a wider variety of ancestors that I had been working with prior to the pandemic. In 2018, in a reading about my work, I was urged to start speaking and doing workshops publicly. During the pandemic, I was forced like many, to go within, without access to the in-person spiritual community I am part of. During this time, I have had specific opportunities to grow in these practices, and much like cleaning up my yard, has enabled my garden to not just grow, but thrive beyond my limited expectations, my healing work has expanded exponentially.
As I got my speaking presentations ready in 2018, I came across Daniel Foor’s work, including his then newly published book, “Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing”. I also noticed that none of the trained practitioners on his website were in the Los Angeles area, and recognized this lack of public access to Ancestral Healing work in our community. I started following him on social media, despite not having a desire to take courses at that time. When I saw a post in the spring of 2020 saying, “Bring out your Dead. Ancestral Medicine for Poxy Times.” I was amused but scrolled past. The messages continued, as they do on social media platforms, and I was really pushed to click through. I found that this was the course I was supposed to take, at the time I was supposed to take it. In the first class, it is a simple drop in practice I learned to use, that has become a cornerstone to a new level of working with spiritual partners and my clients. This practice was overwhelming for me the first time in the course, as it was the first opportunity my legions of “well and healed” ancestors, from years of healing work, were allowed to step forward and I learned ways to ask for their assistance in a variety of situations. When I refer to legions, I am well aware that a Roman legion is 100 across and 500 back and I am using the plural intentionally. I also learned about connecting with our “other than human” ancestors, since we are made of the same “star stuff” that make up the animals, plants, and biome of our planet. This course started and continued, during the time of George Floyd’s murder and the subsequent actions around the globe and that became a thread in the tapestry of that 11 week series which connected over 1800 people in 32 countries. When I signed up for the course, I purchased his book and I highly recommend it as a resource for connecting and healing ancestral lineages.
My next opportunity for deep and sustainable growth was in an online course called “Heal Thyself” by Brig Feltus, focused on healers racialized as white. I wanted to take this course for over a year, it was a Covid discount rate and a stimulus payment, that made it possible. Balancing deep social justice work with historical injustice information, with practices to build our own internal resilience to stay in our physical bodies when faced with the vast historical record of trauma to communities of color in our own country and around the world. It was an intense and deeply healing 6-weeks. Beyond taking the course, course alumni continue to be supported in a followup organization, with access to information, resources and our esteemed teachers in the course as we encounter situations and are able to respond with greater awareness of ourselves and others. The opportunity to support future courses and students is a practice that continues the healing and growth in these deep practices and is a form of reciprocity for the work the facilitator and teachers put into the course. Because of the continued oppression of social justice workers and specifically Black Women on social media platforms, the Heal Thyself course and network is now on a private service and is no longer dependent on the Facebook platform. I encourage you to take a look at the website: The Intersection for the Benefit of Mankind’s Remember Institute and learn more about their courses and how it has impacted the lives of the graduates in the virtual “Open House”.
My own local community, The Green Man store in North Hollywood, also created an online community off of Facebook, specifically for our Pagan/Witch/Spiritual community. Finding ways to bring both classes and Sabbat workings to the community online to keep us engaged, learning and connected. It has been a boon for many who have had reasons to move from the area and others who have heard about the store from distant areas. You can find it by clicking the “join community” button on their website and answering a couple questions to filter out bots and trolls. There are many subjects and community threads to connect with.
When the pandemic shutdown began, I was more fortunate than most to have a backyard to retreat to. For many years, with spurts and starts, I had been trying to create space while still letting the spirit of the yard remain untamed. Some health issues over the last few years, had stalled much of the work, and most the yard was still out of control. The opportunity to have a helper for 2 hours a week, has been the key to building my garden refuge and it has allowed me the resources to transform the backyard into a delightful space of healing and growth. It was mutually beneficial to someone who lives in an apartment to have weekly connection with the garden. Years ago, I had thought to make a corner of the yard a potting area, but it had just become a pile of mismatched stuff that I had found for free. Cleaning it out, and utilizing all the free bits I found there, I realized it would make a perfect “secret garden” for me. That became the first of many yard/garden projects throughout 2020 and into 2021. It is an ongoing lesson in listening to the garden, rather than imposing my will of what I thought would be the best use of the space. Often my first ideas, were limited and not practical, when I take a step back and let nature lead, the outcome is far more than I could imagine at the beginning. They also reminded me, when I am unaware or forget things they need.
As the clean up continued, it was painfully clear that some of the work would be beyond my capabilities, even with my helper and we found a reputable local arborist. Hiring professional tree trimmers to remove some trees that were unmanageable and growing into the power lines, a couple that had died and to trim our glorious 70 year old Western Sycamore in a healthy manner. The scheduled appointment gave us approximately 5 weeks to prepare for the trimmers and we culled and trimmed back some of the California native plants in the front yard for the first time in the 10 years since I had planted them. The result of our combined efforts with the professionals has been fantastic. It has provided a new level of responsible care to the benign neglect of my native plant garden and I have begun to extend into the backyard as well. It has opened up space to plant and more sunlight to nourish their growth. At one point in the spring, I felt that I had cleaned up enough, to hire a gardening consultant. She urged me to plant as much in the ground as I could, and bring in more mulch to heal and nourish the soil. A key component in climate change is topsoil loss, creating the dust bowls of the past and the arid conditions around the globe. Much of my yard has been lasagna mulched, with cardboard over the soil, covered with free mulch from the city, which creates a nourishing biome to support soil rebuilding and root health. I have also used straw to protect the plants and soil from the intense heat waves and lots of umbrellas around the yard. Currently I have baskets of cherry tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, Japanese eggplants and more herbs than I could list in this presentation. Cultivating these connections has resulted in a bountiful on-going harvest that I share with friends and neighbors, which create more connections in my daily life.
Working with California native plants was originally inspired by the Western Sycamore in the front yard, and has been a great impetus to learn and heal the traumatized relationship with this land. Among the many native plants in my space, I have Cleveland and White Sage, Native Mugwort and a rare Nevin’s Barberry. A great way to learn what plants will do best in your California space is to check out the California Native Plant society’s landscaping website: Calscape.org where you can put your address in and it will share the plants appropriate for your location. It also provides details about the plant, the care and proper placement and where you can source them. If you are out of California, I encourage you to seek out your local native plant organizations or books to learn more. As I cleaned up the backyard, I have added new natives; Yerba Santa, Lemonade Berry, Coyote brush and more.
As I cleaned up the garden and made space for new plants and trees, we planted edibles that included a sacred White Guava. My gardening has often been an opportunity to cultivate a relationship with the plants as taught by my herbal teacher, Julie James, Green Wisdom Herbal Studies, but my new relationship with Guava leaf has been inspired by connection with a local Filipino Medicine woman named Lyn Pacificar, who introduced me to it at a spiritual event in Simi Valley in 2019 called "Goddess Spirit Rising”. Their cultural use of Guava is powerful healing in a variety of ways and I am deeply appreciative of having her in my garden. She is growing into a powerful force in the backyard.
I mentioned earlier, my new skill at slowing down to listen to the plants and soil. I noticed an oak growing in one of the pots that was a failed attempt at propagation. Obviously one of our local squirrels had helped with the planting. I should not have been surprised, when our local Pacific Circle Revival Summer Solstice group camp out relocated to a restoration project that had formerly been a grove of oaks. I thought perhaps I was to bring it to the new location, but that particular tree belongs in the yard. It is however, intrinsically connected to our work in June 2021 as we planted germinated acorns in our PCR opening ceremony to grow and be planted in the Down to Earth EcoShire south of Hemet, CA. In a workshop after the opening ceremony, my mediation with the Genus Loci, was a repetitive, “plant us plant us, why haven’t you planted us” from the acorns that remained after the ritual. It was a sacred duty to plant the remaining acorns where we had taken soil under the oaks for planting before they dried out and died. In preparation for the ritual, I read a newly published book, The Nature of Oaks The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees by etymologist Douglas W. Tallamy, which documents the seasonal cycles and species connections in the cycle of the year with the oaks on his property in Pennsylvania. Of all species of plant or tree, none sustain as many life forms as an Oak tree. The loss of these trees around the globe is devastating and planting a single, or as is recommended, three within 6 feet of each other, is to create an entire world ecology.
This presentation is also connected to my recent presentation at PCR 2021, Ancestral Healing; Connecting with the Other than Human. In this workshop I shared some of the information you have heard, we did the drop in practice mentioned before and I will offer in a moment, to connect with the 5 native plants that I brought and we then planted them in the hillside butterfly garden at the Down to Earth EcoShire site.
Now I would like to share the short, drop in practice I mentioned learning from Daniel Foor, with you now. If you want to participate, please do, if not, you can take note of the steps and do it on your own time. Before we begin, I would ask you to think of a trusted spirit to call on, it can be anything; deity, angel, spirit guide, ancestor…whoever/whatever is trusted in your life. Next think of something other than human, be it tree, plant, mineral or the biome of the soil itself, I would not suggest an animal in this position of connection, but it might work for you. I also recommend not over thinking it, just go with the one you first thought of. You can use others in future opportunities as I have done. This is a very open ended practice that can be utilized in a variety of cosmologies.
”Relax and find a comfortable position as you would for a meditation.
Take a few deep breathes to let go of the day and any distractions around you.
Call in the trusted spirit. When you have, ask the trusted spirit to clear you.
When that is done, ask the trusted spirit to clear the space around you.
When that is done, you will reach for and find a connection with the “other than human” that you picked earlier. Breathe in and out and settle.
Now we will travel to the world fire, the universal energy that provides the spark of life throughout the universe. For some this is a bonfire, for some it is a beam or star of light. Whatever you picture, join us their with our trusted spirits. As we gather around the fire, I want you to note the limnal space where the light and dark meet, around the edges around the circle behind us all. As you notice that space, call in your ancestors to be with us in that area. As they gather around, and settle in…we are going to ask them to help us with discernment, without judgment. We will ask the well and healed ancestors to take a small step forward toward us, and then we will ask those not so well and healed to take a small step backwards. This is not a judgment, but an opportunity to see who you have as a resource, and who needs more help. There is an opportunity here for communication with the well and healed ancestors, they might offer a gift or say something to you. YOU DO NOT have to accept anything, but can if you chose to do so.
When you have done, we will thank the ancestors and trusted spirits and then return to your space. Wiggle your fingers and toes and give us a thumbs up to continue when you are ready.”
This short practice has truly transformed my world. I go through the connecting, to the other than human and can often fall asleep when I am restless at night. I did the clearing when I was recently in the ER and that was a bit of a chuckle, as my spirits were not about to touch what was outside my room and cleared a ‘bubble’ around me. It has been powerful in my work with clients for Ancestral Healing, I go visit my well and healed ancestors and ask them to intercede with my clients’ ancestors.
When I come into the work, I find the bags already packed and read to move out. I did this practice before starting my presentation today, to settle, ground, engage my spiritual allies and deliver a clear and effective talk with you.
When we could not gather for the Samhain work for the dead in 2020, I created my own working with my ancestors on the astral to help where I could. My personal Witchcraft practice is on a compass with and Airts, or North Winds tradition taught by Griffin Ced at The Green Man. On the astral, I created a compass with 3 ancestors at each of the 8 directions on the compass, two at the center, and three walking the shadows around the compass. During the 5-6 weeks I had that running, I would periodically go and shift out the ancestors in the various positions and thank them for their assistance. I think I shifted them 4-or 5 times. Working as an astral version of the Wild Hunt and specifically for all the unmourned dead during the pandemic.
In one of my conversations at the astral fire with my ancestors, I was focused on the branch that helped travel to and settle the Oregon territory and then founding the state. There is some specifically heinous racial injustice in that forming, specifically the exclusion in the state constitution of Blacks living in the state. There were approx two dozen living in the state at that time, those who didn’t not leave on their own, were literally run out of town or killed. Our lineage now has Black members in their descendants. I let them know that I didn’t know all that they did, or how to fix it, but to use their influence to clean up our messes up there. I can’t tell exactly what that might have done, but I figured it didn’t hurt to lend my energy where I thought it might make change from a distance. It is my understanding that many of our Ancestors would love to heal and help, but they have no free will on their own. By connecting with them and making specific requests, they can get things done, by virtue of our free will to do so.
The many ways this year has shifted for me, are hard to quantify. I have lost things that seemed important, but they have been filled with these deep connections. I am currently working with a childhood trauma around music lessons and have gone from being unable to hold my finger on a chord when I strummed to being able to play a couple short children’s songs in a few months, this might seem small, but it was a vast chasm to traverse for me. Some of my spiritual clearing practices have been done effectively by the previous shared practice, so it has become unnecessary to use methods I had been using. I have heeded the request of spirit, to help heal old wounds and entanglements where I can. This world-wide ‘pause button’ has truly been a reset and upgrade in my life and practices.
I will be sharing this presentation and the links to a variety of the things mentioned on my blog within the next couple of days for your reference. Thank you for listening and thank you to Jeffrey for selecting me as a participant this year.
