How do you keep your ancestors close to your heart?

When I was back in Wisconsin for the month of October recovering from surgery, I was in my grandmother’s kitchen, chatting with her and my mom.


Out of nowhere, I had a vision of a piece of jewelry that had belonged to my paternal grandmother, who had died many years ago.


I could remember Grandma Em wearing a gold Egyptian pendant, and I knew instantly I needed to find it. I stopped mid-sentence and turned to Mom and asked her if she knew where it was.


“Yes — I have it at home.”


I boldly asked her, “Could I have it?”

She blinked, surprised. “Yes.”

Well, that was easy! The next day, mom found the pendant and I put it on a simple gold chain to wear close to my heart.


I can’t tell you why spirit moved me to do this — but I knew it was important. And I am reminded of my connection to my grandmother, Emilene Shambeau (“Em” for short) often, as I wear this necklace nearly every day... even in the arctic!

​The thing is: Everything is only as sacred as you make it.


And for me, pendants and trinkets that link me to my ancestors are powerful reminders of lineage that I keep close to me on a daily basis.

Below: Grandma Em (on the right) wearing her Egyptian pendant and my best friend Lisa’s grandma (“Gogo”).

Other trinkets that mean so much to me:

• My wedding ring was hand-made to look like a combination of my mom’s ring and Grandma Em’s ring.

 

• I wear an astrological bangle on my left wrist at all times, made from copper, silver and gold in the tradition of kriya yoga — made this specific way that’s been passed down for generations in India.

 

• I usually have a red thread tied to my left wrist. These threads are a reminder of commitments I’ve made during seasonal shifts like the solstices and equinoxes, or during times of intense study of yoga.

 

• I’m often wearing a gold pendant on a shorter chain that features a yellow sapphire + Ganesha to honor new beginnings, obstacles, teachers, and more.

Sure, all these are just THINGS. But to me, they’re also tools that keep me present with the vibrations I’m trying to create in my life. And all this hits close to home for this weekend's Full Moon in Leo.


If you actually looked up in the sky, you’d see her sitting in Magha Nakshatra in the sign of Leo. “Pitris” is the diety associated with Magha — which represents the fore-fathers of humanity in my yogic lineage.

One of my teachers, Komilla Sutton, says, “[Magha] always has a power greater than itself to guide it at difficult times of life when the going gets tough. It needs to ask for inner advice, for only then will the Pitris oblige.”


This is precisely why I adorn myself with reminders of where I come from. When I feel lost, confused or at a cross roads, I always find solace when I turn inward, and ask for a sign. ASKING is like setting an intention.


To me, the answer isn’t some ghost from the past dropping in and showing me the way... it comes through me, tapping into my inner-knowing... and waiting to hear the whisper of my heart.
​

And all those trinkets and tokens I hold close can be both immaterial and sacred in this process. They are reminders that take me IN. When I can quiet the external noise, my next step always comes clear — and I know you, too, have the same ability!

​Happy Full Moon, everyone.
Sending love,
Mollie