A Service for Spirits: Spoiler Alert! I Liked It!
Sweet! Ancestor worship is back! Seriously, I have always had an interest in cultures and religions that instead of fearing death and the specter of those who have died, revere those loved ones who have passed on. Unfortunately, most of the Western world is scared of those ideas and suspicious of those who embrace ancestor worship. That’s where Matthew Ikonen comes in with his book “A Service for Spirits: Book One of Three Worlds Shamanism”.
This book is an exploration of a single ceremony, but don’t let that underwhelm you, if Ikonen had gone further it would have been too much information at once. In my incredibly undereducated opinion, this ceremony is an excellent blend of the pageantry of Haitian Voodoo tempered with more familiar feel good touches of modern Wicca….with a splash of pop culture thrown in just to make you smile.
In the incredibly entertaining introduction Ikonen let’s the reader in on a little bit of his past, that of course informs the piece you’re about to read. He also reminds us that although ancestor worship is frowned upon by modern Christianity, that in Mexico and Latin America Catholicism and ancestor worship mingle peacefully. In other words, there are good Christians, just south of the border, who honor their ancestors along with the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Better still, Ikonen brings into focus the mystical traditions to be found in Christianity, summing it up with what may be my favorite line of all time, “I’ve often been asked who the most powerful magicians are in the world, and my response has always been ‘Latino Grandmothers. Don’t piss them off; if she starts lighting candles and praying the rosary you better watch your ass!’”
You can find a free PDF of “A Service for Spirits” on the author’s website www.matthewikonen.com. With that you get the ceremony, which is an excellent read and I’m sure would be a great resource for those looking to explore ancestor worship. I encourage those who find the ceremony appealing to pay for the $7.00 version. Not only do you get the ceremony, but you also get, in my opinion, the best part, which is Ikonen breaking down the ceremony. In the second part of the $7.00 version he explains the symbolism of the ceremony, offers tips, and clearly details all the components involved. Anything worth doing, is worth doing right. If you decide to explore the ceremony or wish to incorporate parts of it into your practice, don’t mess around, get the complete text.
This book is an exploration of a single ceremony, but don’t let that underwhelm you, if Ikonen had gone further it would have been too much information at once. In my incredibly undereducated opinion, this ceremony is an excellent blend of the pageantry of Haitian Voodoo tempered with more familiar feel good touches of modern Wicca….with a splash of pop culture thrown in just to make you smile.
In the incredibly entertaining introduction Ikonen let’s the reader in on a little bit of his past, that of course informs the piece you’re about to read. He also reminds us that although ancestor worship is frowned upon by modern Christianity, that in Mexico and Latin America Catholicism and ancestor worship mingle peacefully. In other words, there are good Christians, just south of the border, who honor their ancestors along with the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Better still, Ikonen brings into focus the mystical traditions to be found in Christianity, summing it up with what may be my favorite line of all time, “I’ve often been asked who the most powerful magicians are in the world, and my response has always been ‘Latino Grandmothers. Don’t piss them off; if she starts lighting candles and praying the rosary you better watch your ass!’”
You can find a free PDF of “A Service for Spirits” on the author’s website www.matthewikonen.com. With that you get the ceremony, which is an excellent read and I’m sure would be a great resource for those looking to explore ancestor worship. I encourage those who find the ceremony appealing to pay for the $7.00 version. Not only do you get the ceremony, but you also get, in my opinion, the best part, which is Ikonen breaking down the ceremony. In the second part of the $7.00 version he explains the symbolism of the ceremony, offers tips, and clearly details all the components involved. Anything worth doing, is worth doing right. If you decide to explore the ceremony or wish to incorporate parts of it into your practice, don’t mess around, get the complete text.
