Secrets of the Ancestors Oracle

Mind Body & Soul Card Deck Review: Secrets of the Ancestors Oracle - Connecting to Your Family Lineage, Exploring Modern Ancestral Veneration, and Revealing Divine Guidance Cards by Abiola Abrams. Boxed set of 45 cards and guidebook. Published by Hay House. Launch March 2024 

“You are made with the legacy of love. You are stardust. You are a library. You are a sacred heir to the queendom of the Divine.” From the inside box cover: Whether or not you know your ancestors - they know you. Spirit was our first ancestor. 

We have been given a blessed assignment by our ancestors to evolve our consciousness, awaken our life purpose and clarify our truths, and this Oracle helps us to do this by connecting to spirit guardians, guides and ascended masters who reveal this assignment and assist us with its undertaking. These ancestors can intercede with the Divine on our behalf to help us along this spiritual path. Our ancestors have prayed for us to connect with them and wish to show us our sacred inheritance and help us to deepen our wisdom. Our ancestors might not be blood relatives. They can be community or cultural ancestors, and can also be animals and plants that are linked to the land and which help with our healing and empowerment. One day, we will be an ancestral spirit and can start today with this responsibility. 

In the guidebook, we find guidance on how to dedicate, cleanse, bless, and prepare for a reading, make an invocation, shuffle and select. We can venerate ancestors with a praise poem, tell their stories and build an ancestral altar. Several spreads are recommended, such as The Sankofa, one card; Ancestral Wisdom of 3 cards; Generational Wealth of 5 cards; the Cornrow of 9 cards; and the Family Karma Tree of 15 cards; or use the Talking Drum and Council of Elders from Abiola Abrams’ African Goddess Rising Oracle. There is details about the 5 Elements of the Community Circle, which are the 5 suits of the deck, and these are divided into Earth, Air, Fire and Water plus an additional suit. Reversed cards show shadow aspects. There is an intentional connection to Tarot cards, and though no knowledge is necessary to use this Oracle deck, those who read Tarot will recognise the five cards of each of the four elemental suits added to the 22 Major Arcana cards and the three special, Mother God, Father God and the Unknown card. 

I have chosen a card at random as a sample reading. Number 16, The Deviant. Chaos & Destruction. Upheaval. Your life is on fire right now. It is about to burn down, but the great news is that the Sun will rise tomorrow. How are you going to handle this now? That is the magical question. The worst thing you can do is resist the drastic shifts that are coming your way. It is all crashing. But that’s okay. Don’t get numb or avoid it. Feel your feelings. Your trauma responses of fight, flight, freeze, or people pleasing, will be in full effect. Know that this moment will pass and things will get better. Ancestral Memory: .The deviant is depicted as Ogo-Yurugu, the Dogon, god of chaos and disorder, who rode the Milky Way in an ark to Earth. Ogo, the twin brother of the goddess Yasigi, also appears as a jackal and a vindictive raping and murdering rival. Ancestral Medicine: We all have monsters, abusers, and enslavers in our bloodlines. Yes, you are not your past and you are not your family. Gift yourself with a trauma-healing therapist, coach, or practice. Shadow Aspect (Reversed): You have been delaying the inevitable. Dancing around chaos doesn’t work. You can’t sidestep the madness. Tarot correspondence: The Tower. Declaration “I am ready.”

And Number 17 The Star. Spiritual Rebirth. Hello, Season of Renewal! There is sunshine after the storm. You have been through it and like who came before, you are more than a survivor - you are a thriver.  Being vulnerable can feel emotionally difficult, but allow your vulnerability to be your strength and superpower. Come, as you are, step into the limelight be seen, be heard, be a movement. You are the start of your own show called life. You are blessed. This is a lush, beautiful, fertile season of transformation for you. You are nourishing the earth and the earth is nourishing you. Trust your inner guidance, as you are perfectly, divinely aligned. New ideas are flowing through you, allow yourself to receive it. Ancestral Memory: The Star card was inspired by the Chibados the third gender of the Ndongo and Matambo people. various different places. These trans-feminine people were revered as deeply intuitive with powerful magic. Ancestral Medicine: All things are possible, my child. You are in the flow. You have been chosen to dream bigger and expand your bloodline. Be generous and loving. Share the wealth. Shadow Aspect (reversed) Ugh! Things seem hopeless, but don’t lose faith. Hold on. You are overwhelmed. Hold on. It feels like you are being tested. Hold on. You feel uninspired and disconnected. Hold on. It will get better. You will get better. Self-care at this moment is necessary for healing, not an indulgence. Take care of you. Tarot Correspondence: The Star. Declaration: I am unapologetically me. 

The card backs are mirror backs so you don’t know if the card is laid face down is upright or reversed. The card quality is excellent. The faces show the artwork, a number, title and subtitle. 

The author is Abiola Abrams. She is an intuitive self-worth coach, award winning author, retreat leader, and transformational speaker. She has founded the Mawu’s Goddess Mystery School and the Spiritpreneur Academy. She has free YouTube meditations, podcasts, such as the Goddess Temple, and courses, such as Write Your Own Book, and African Goddess Initiation, and The Ancestral Cohort. Abiola is very experienced and knowledgeable and her dynamic approach to her life and work is admirable. 

The artist is Destiney Powell who has a BA in fine arts and is from Nashville, USA. Her inspiration is taken from the African diaspora. Her artwork is mostly figurative and portraiture though she is versatile and these images are well produced and interesting. They cover all ages and sizes of people. I liked the illustrations very much. 

I read one card each day. I’m impressed! The illustrations are also first class! 

Review by Wendy Stokes https://wendystokes.co.uk