Raised in the Soviet Union, witch Natasha Helvin reveals not only how you are continually and powerfully influenced by your ancestors, but also how you can open the door to your ancestral connections in order to know who you truly are and change the course of your destiny.
She examines ancestor worship in southeastern Europe and western Russia and the way it shaped their indigenous magical and spiritual practices. She explains how energy flows in a familial context and how strengths and dysfunctions are passed from one generation to the next for centuries, becoming embedded in your body and mind as specific patterns that affect your life.
Looking at both Slavic Pagan and Eastern Orthodox traditions concerning the dead, the author examines ancient Slavic burial and funeral customs, many of which are still practiced today in remote regions of Ukraine and Russia. She reveals how these burial rites became incorporated into rural witchcraft practices, and she explains traditional Slavic ideas on death and the afterlife, the soul, the spiritual power of colors, and magical objects. At the end, Helvin also looks at the parallels between Vodou and the folk magic of the Slavic tradition.
