The Transgender Rite of Ancestor Elevation
Wednesday, November 19-Thursday, November 20
worldwide
http://trans-rite.tumblr.com/post/101971128694/the-trans-rite-of-ancestor-elevation-an-introduction

“This is a ritual to honor the transgender dead.

Ancestor elevation, in the words of polytheist scholar and ancestor worker Galina Krasskova, ‘is a sacred practice that is done to help the soul of a dead family member who was troubled or angry or depressed in life, perhaps doing harmful things to themselves or others, perhaps never able to live a happy life due to their own inner demons… In doing an elevation for a particular ancestor, we are engaging in ancestral healing, in cleansing a tiny bit of mess, blockage, pain, strain, hurt from that particular line.’

We have adapted her suggested ancestor elevation ritual format to elevate our transgender ancestors, those who came with us and before us, those who survived struggles and violence and hardships, as well as those who didn’t survive them. There is incredible pain and rage in the ranks of the transgender dead – we the living can understand it all too well. We seek to help relieve the suffering that persists after death, and to offer back to those who gave so much so that we could simply exist today. We elevate our ancestors out of the miasma that clings to them. We hope to bring them healing and peace.

The format of the ritual is as follows: for nine consecutive days, beginning on November 12 and concluding on the Transgender Day of Remembrance, participants will set out a candle and a glass of clean drinking water on an ancestor altar, and then read a series of prayers offered to the dead. That, plus the physical raising of the altar itself to counterpoint the spiritual raising of our ancestors, is the basic framework within which we will be working.

Thank you for joining us in honoring our beloved transgender dead.”