Our ancestors also compel us
to learn our history, especially important for the magi. Just a brief survey of
your ancestral culture is most likely to unearth a rich magical tradition. We
have been led to believe that our current societies had been swiftly converted
to monolithic faiths, instantly erasing eons of animist and pagan traditions.
Nothing can be further from the truth. Vestiges of the old ways live on
everywhere if you know where to look for them. From Catholic grandmothers
burying statues of saints in the yard, to Baptist hoodoo practitioners driving
away evil spirits with salt, to the seer stone used by Joseph Smith in the
founding of the Church of Later Day Saints, the magick of our ancestors
continues.
If you dig a little
deeper, you find that many of our traditions come from much older, pagan roots.
Many Catholic saints were once pagan gods or folk heroes. Our holidays correspond
with celebrations of our pagan ancestors. All of them believed in magick. Your
ancestors will teach you this.