Communing with the Spirits

Honoring the Ancestors and Clearing Ancestral Trauma in Michigan

The Huron River from Delhi Bridge by Deb Nystrom

The Huron River from Delhi Bridge. Photo by Deb Nystrom on flickr.

By the time I met Diana down by the river, I was feeling a bit frazzled. Since arriving in Michigan on the day of the Cancer New Moon, I’d mostly wanted to sleep.

Mars and Mercury were both “out of bounds” in Cancer¹ that week. I was feeling exceptionally inarticulate. Diana had been dealing with some intense family stuff. While we had managed to put together a rudimentary outline for the ancestors workshop and ritual in Ann Arbor that evening, we both felt like we needed some extra help from the spirits.

We had agreed to meet at a park by the Huron River to ground ourselves and set our intentions for the workshop. I followed the Google Maps directions Diana had texted me to Island Park and parked at the first picnic shelter, as instructed. I crossed a footbridge to the island and found Diana waiting with drum in hand. Continue reading