From Elder to Ancestor: Nature Kinship for All Seasons of Life
S. Kelley Harrell
(Author)
Description
A practical guide to becoming a good Ancestor - Explains the importance of creating a direct personal connection with Nature and how it is key to becoming an elder who will go on to become a wise Ancestor - Presents exercises and rituals to awaken and deepen your animistic connection to the world and help you intentionally craft yourself as a fit elder - Explores deep spiritual work with the Sacred Self, including shadow work and trauma honoring, as well as practices to help you heal your family line For millennia people connected with the Ancestors as part of their regular spiritual practice, seeking wisdom and inspired vitality from those who came before. Each member of a community grew up guided by sage elders, naturally walking the path into fit elderhood themselves and, upon their good deaths, becoming wise, capable Ancestors to whom their descendants could turn. Revealing how to restore the path from fit elder to wise Ancestor, S. Kelley Harrell explores the spiritual, cultural, and ancestral aspects of aging well. She explains the importance of creating a direct personal connection with Nature and of respecting the spirits who surround us, including asking their permission before engaging them in ritual or healing work. Exploring the concept of animism and how it is key to moving from elder to Ancestor, the author shares exercises for awakening and deepening your animistic connection to the world around you as well as rituals for embodiment and grounding. The author also examines the most powerful obstacles to dying well, exploring deep spiritual work with Sacred Self, including shadow work, the initiatory rite of heartbreak, and how to honor past traumas and dysfunctional patterns. She looks at forging a supportive connection with our Sacred Parents--the first Ancestors--as well as specific practices to help you heal your family line. She shows how recognizing that you are Nature--a part of the sacred order--allows you to begin rewilding and to honor your own sacredness. Showing that initiation into elderhood is the work of our lives, this book explains how, through personal introspection and engagement with the living world around us, we can cultivate our unique way to elder well.
Product Details
Price
$18.99
$17.66
Publisher
Destiny Books
Publish Date
June 04, 2024
Pages
192
Dimensions
5.6 X 8.6 X 0.7 inches | 0.55 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9781644116623
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About the Author
S. Kelley Harrell is an animist, deathwalker, and death doula. Through her Nature-based soul-tending practice, Soul Intent Arts, she helps others ethically build thriving spiritual paths through runework, animism, ancestral tending, and deathwork. The author of several books, including Runic Book of Days, she lives in North Carolina
Reviews
"Harrell has given us the most important book in the entire landscape of ancestral healing--the one that clarifies what is ours to do. She continues with a path through the beauty and complexity, heartbreak and joy of our time to offer how we can do what is ours to do, do it now, and do it in a way that restores our relationships with self and life around us. This is not just one more responsibility in our overly full, possibly exhausting lives. It is about how we live each day."-- "Christina Pratt, shamanic healer, teacher, author, and founder of the Last Mask Center for Shamanic"
"Western culture is death-phobic and age-phobic. We have jettisoned the ancient concept of eldering, leaving older individuals to feel "past it." Unfortunately, little effort is made for our communities to tap into the Well of Wisdom (Mímisbrunnr in Norse cosmology) that elders draw upon. I only wish this important book had been available decades ago! It offers a roadmap for restoring ancient pathways in the human psyche. Bless the collective by living well and dying well, becoming a well elder and well Ancestor."-- "Imelda Almqvist, teacher of Sacred Art & Seiðr, and author of Sacred Art and North Sea Water in"
"I have followed S. Kelley Harrell's work since her early beginnings as a shaman, healer, and author. In From Elder to Ancestor, Harrell's innovative style of pedagogy, goodwill toward diverse communities, and visionary directives are clear, prescient, and ready to inspire and motivate all who partake. If you seek a greater understanding of matters of the spirit and your role, you must read this book."-- "Priestess Stephanie Rose Bird, Black naturalist, spiritual healer, and author of Motherland Herbal"
"From Elder to Ancestor offers essential guidance for those of us living in the fallout of settler colonialism, the abandonment of ritual, and the violent disruption of our relationship to our bodies, the land, and our more-than-human allies. Harrell compassionately guides us in exploring the wounds this forced separation has left in us and with great care and wisdom illuminates pathways through those wounds back into deep, joyful relationship and true community. She provides a clear blueprint for becoming an elder and Ancestor our descendants would be proud of through inspiring reflection questions and practical exercises and teaches us to become someone capable of being a bridge to a future worthy of the next generations who are coming. This book is a much needed antidote to the poison of divisiveness and disconnection that characterizes so much of the times we are in."-- "Langston Kahn, shamanic practitioner and author of Deep Liberation"
"From Elder to Ancestor is a breakthrough and the first book I have encountered that skillfully describes animism--our interdependence with nature and the spirit world--as inseparable from our journey to becoming true elders and Ancestors. Harrell takes an in-depth look at colonialism as 'the broken path' and, with integrity and compassion, offers wisdom on healing trauma, claiming the Sacred Self, 'eldering well, ' cosmology, lore, reciprocity with nature, and ancient practices on the land. Thank you, S. Kelley Harrell, for a brilliant book that captures the essence of our vital reconnection to Earth, soul, and the perennial cycles of life."-- "Pegi Eyers, author of Ancient Spirit Rising"
"From Elder to Ancestor offers the path to be remembered back into a "real person"--one who is aware of being irrevocably woven into the fabric of all that is. In being consciously connected again and aware of your internal speed bumps, you will be able to find your own way to implement positive, creative action in the world in harmony with all the rest of our Naturekin."-- "Evelyn C. Rysdyk, teacher of shamanic spirituality and author of The Norse Shaman, Shamanic Creativi"
"This book is a fascinating deep dive into a worldview that embraces wholeness and the sacredness of the world, encouraging each of us to find our place within both our present and future community. It frames elderhood not as a title but as an action--a role that we can fill through compassion and right action."-- "Morgan Daimler, author of Fairycraft and Travelling the Fairy Path"
"A must-read for anyone who cares about themselves, others, the world, the present, and the future. This book draws you into the very real and often neglected conversation about how we are, and have always been, Nature and bound to each other as such. Separation is an illusion and a tool of oppressors, and by encouraging a deep and thoughtful journey, Harrell helps us begin to break free from limited thinking. This conversation is important and vital. From the Rite of Heartbreak to revaluing reciprocity and community, Harrell has us step back into where we should have always been: a part of creating a future and being a good Ancestor."-- "Irisanya Moon, author of Gaia and The Norns"
"Western culture is death-phobic and age-phobic. We have jettisoned the ancient concept of eldering, leaving older individuals to feel "past it." Unfortunately, little effort is made for our communities to tap into the Well of Wisdom (Mímisbrunnr in Norse cosmology) that elders draw upon. I only wish this important book had been available decades ago! It offers a roadmap for restoring ancient pathways in the human psyche. Bless the collective by living well and dying well, becoming a well elder and well Ancestor."-- "Imelda Almqvist, teacher of Sacred Art & Seiðr, and author of Sacred Art and North Sea Water in"
"I have followed S. Kelley Harrell's work since her early beginnings as a shaman, healer, and author. In From Elder to Ancestor, Harrell's innovative style of pedagogy, goodwill toward diverse communities, and visionary directives are clear, prescient, and ready to inspire and motivate all who partake. If you seek a greater understanding of matters of the spirit and your role, you must read this book."-- "Priestess Stephanie Rose Bird, Black naturalist, spiritual healer, and author of Motherland Herbal"
"From Elder to Ancestor offers essential guidance for those of us living in the fallout of settler colonialism, the abandonment of ritual, and the violent disruption of our relationship to our bodies, the land, and our more-than-human allies. Harrell compassionately guides us in exploring the wounds this forced separation has left in us and with great care and wisdom illuminates pathways through those wounds back into deep, joyful relationship and true community. She provides a clear blueprint for becoming an elder and Ancestor our descendants would be proud of through inspiring reflection questions and practical exercises and teaches us to become someone capable of being a bridge to a future worthy of the next generations who are coming. This book is a much needed antidote to the poison of divisiveness and disconnection that characterizes so much of the times we are in."-- "Langston Kahn, shamanic practitioner and author of Deep Liberation"
"From Elder to Ancestor is a breakthrough and the first book I have encountered that skillfully describes animism--our interdependence with nature and the spirit world--as inseparable from our journey to becoming true elders and Ancestors. Harrell takes an in-depth look at colonialism as 'the broken path' and, with integrity and compassion, offers wisdom on healing trauma, claiming the Sacred Self, 'eldering well, ' cosmology, lore, reciprocity with nature, and ancient practices on the land. Thank you, S. Kelley Harrell, for a brilliant book that captures the essence of our vital reconnection to Earth, soul, and the perennial cycles of life."-- "Pegi Eyers, author of Ancient Spirit Rising"
"From Elder to Ancestor offers the path to be remembered back into a "real person"--one who is aware of being irrevocably woven into the fabric of all that is. In being consciously connected again and aware of your internal speed bumps, you will be able to find your own way to implement positive, creative action in the world in harmony with all the rest of our Naturekin."-- "Evelyn C. Rysdyk, teacher of shamanic spirituality and author of The Norse Shaman, Shamanic Creativi"
"This book is a fascinating deep dive into a worldview that embraces wholeness and the sacredness of the world, encouraging each of us to find our place within both our present and future community. It frames elderhood not as a title but as an action--a role that we can fill through compassion and right action."-- "Morgan Daimler, author of Fairycraft and Travelling the Fairy Path"
"A must-read for anyone who cares about themselves, others, the world, the present, and the future. This book draws you into the very real and often neglected conversation about how we are, and have always been, Nature and bound to each other as such. Separation is an illusion and a tool of oppressors, and by encouraging a deep and thoughtful journey, Harrell helps us begin to break free from limited thinking. This conversation is important and vital. From the Rite of Heartbreak to revaluing reciprocity and community, Harrell has us step back into where we should have always been: a part of creating a future and being a good Ancestor."-- "Irisanya Moon, author of Gaia and The Norns"
