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In this meditation we meet our newborn selves, wrap them up in our love and introduce them to the whole lineage - human and more than human; receive support, gifts and blessings from the Grandmothers of the Four Directions. A beautiful, soul-full, powerful way to do your inner child work ensuring the embodied sensation of being held and safe. Becoming your own loving adult is the best way to restore relationships and become more harmonised in your life.
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Recently I've been reflecting on the symbolic between alchemy and family constellations. I have studied alchemy as part of my psychotherapy training for four years, but only it begins to settle as an embodied knowing.
Family constellations (and systemic ritual, as well as talking therapy) are very alchemical. Alchemy has been adopted by Carl Jung to symbolise our inner process of transformation. Just like medieval alchemists, we need a vessel for this work, inside it we put our 'prima materia' - the base metal we want to turn into gold, then we apply a series of operations to purify and transform the metal, with each step taking it closer and closer to the ideal state we want. In a constellation our vessel is the circle - the people who gather with an intention to serve each other and the wider ancestral field; our base metal is the issue or a heart's desire that is presented by the issue holder. Once we set the constellation up with representatives we begin the alchemical cycle. Alchemical cycle has four stages - Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas and Rubedo. We start at the bottom, at Nigredo, at the darkest, or in our case of a constellation we start with observing what the representatives feel and what entanglements unfold. We see the real issue the way it presents itself in the container of a circle. To reach the stage of Albedo, where the clouds begin to part and we are seeing a bit of the sun, or clarity, we have to go through a purification process. Calcinatio and solutio are the operations that purify the constellation with fire - anger, and water - tears; those are stages of acknowledging what is, of grieving, of expressing the feelings that were never allowed to be expressed. We dissolve stagnant energy that was passed down the generations, and honour the fate of those who came before. With a bit more clarity we move towards Citrinitas - a place of an 'aha' of an enlightenment where we are able to resolve the entanglements that were illuminated by the constellation. We are able to apply the operations of separatio and conjuctio - the separation and the coming together; letting go of what is not ours and returning it to the ancestors, discerning what is ours and what is a loyalty or entanglement; or bringing back and re-joining the excluded members of the family system, or excluded parts of self. In a process of sublimatio we transform the imbalance by acknowledging what is, recognising unhelpful patterns and offering an alternative more truthful way to see what is. And with coagulatio we are bringing the insights down to the depth of our being, integrating them and grounding them into our bodies. After Citrinitas, where we touched the truth of the family system, unfolded the pattern and shifted the energy to a point of relaxation, where the whole family system is able to breathe out more freely; we take the constellation into Rubedo, bringing the issue holder into the constellation and allowing them to feel the results, to participate in the final resolution image that the constellation offered, to integrate and imprint the new feeling into the body. The alchemical cycle maps the whole constellation process and is also present in every intervention within the constellation, just as it does for our life in general in mini and macro cycles. I am fascinated by how the ancient wisdom is passed down the generations and finds new meaning later on, how it is made relevant and healing by the descendants at the same time offering gratitude to the ancestors. The healing happening in the present flows both directions - to the past and to the future. Always. I run monthly guided meditations live and then upload them to Youtube. They incorporate my years of experience of this work, the principles behind family constellations and systemic ritual and are an easy free way to get in touch with your ancestors and explore all that they are able to offer, as well as offer healing to the whole lineage.
Here is the link I have been facilitating monthly family constellations circles for ten years now. To say I learned a lot is an understatement. As the work unfolded it influenced my whole existence and worldview and at the same time as I grew it grew and changed with me.
In ten years the popularity of family constellations increased considerably around the world. Media contributions like the Netflix series and celebrities' endorsements attracted waves of people who heard nothing of it before. But I still find myself regularly explaining what this modality is and does to newcomers and complete beginners which is exciting. I love introducing people to the magick of family constellations. Among other many insights I learned the following three things about this work: - There is no one way of how the family constellation is going to impact you and those around you (the impact is systemic, so it will ripple out to the whole family and beyond). You might be able to see immediate results, or it might seem that nothing changed until you realise you forgot you had an issue in the first place. The work can be subtle or like a lightning in the blue sky. So when I am asked 'how can this help with my situation' I actually have no answer. I know it will help but I can not predict how. In general the intention is to get to a place of being free to change, strong enough to acknowledge, and brave enough to let go. - Family constellations are not only about family systems. In my work I use the principles and techniques of family constellations to expand into other layers beyond systems, or maybe they are systems beyond the obvious ones. As my awareness of reality grows (and it might be completely different for you, I am not asking to share my beliefs), the options of constellations expands too. So over time more and more past lifetimes entanglement show up in the work. Similar entanglements we hold in this lifetime with our ancestors, also existed in other lifetimes, and untangling them we not only free up our energy today but also tap into the healing frequency for the whole humanity and the Earth that carries it. These are massive collective layers of energy that the planet is wrapped up into, and we gently approach them one story at a time, freeing up energy that allows healing to happen on many levels. - The practice of family constellations if done regularly contributes to the wholeness of your self-development. I noticed over time that participants who show up regularly to the circle to represent, not only formed some strong friendship bonds with like-minded individuals, but also developed their ability to feel feelings, notice and trust their body sensations, increase their intuition and trust in it, and a general sense of connectedness to life. It is similar to going to a gym, where with time you notice your body getting stronger and stronger, doing family constellations over time develops your feeling and intuition awareness muscle to the extent that it becomes second nature using it. All three of these insights make me super happy - they keep the work alive and interesting, we grow with it and through it and we become better people, better future ancestors and contribute to the global healing energies that support humanity and the Earth. It helps us to live the flow of love fully and freely. If you're interested to experience it, check out this page. Happy flowing! How do you connect the land of your ancestors with the land you are in now?
Invite nature elements to help you. Everything is connected, and we all walk one Earth, breathe the same air and have the same rain that journeys from land to land. All rivers and oceans are connected. When you stand on the Earth where you are, breathe into it and imagine your breath traveling all the way to the land of your ancestors, let them know where you are on the Earth, introduce them to the ancestors of this land you in now, invite them to join you here. Bring some milk to your river neighbour and invite her to take it to the river ancestor of the land of your origin. Imagine your roots growing deep into Earth and meeting the roots of your ancestors somewhere deep in her belly, nourishing each other, sharing wisdom and learning. The same you could do to connect with ancestors of the land you are going to. Why do it? When we feel connected to our ancestors, recent or from hundreds of years ago, we feel part of something bigger, more ancient, wiser and stronger. We feel more supported and stable. We know that somewhere in the depth of our lineage all possible resources exist for us, most experiences are present and processed and the wisdom is available. We also feel continuity of existence, permission to be fully present in the foreign land, embodied memory of historical movements of our ancestors. #ritual #modernancestralpractice #wellbeing #healing #ancestors #systemicritual #familyconstellations #love #wholeheartedliving #belonging #homecoming #medicinewheel #nature #elements #river #earth #connectedness #becomingagoodancestor #systemicritual #shamanicpractitioner #spirituality In my work, I often see how the truth of our right place settles the whole system. For example, one believes that they are the eldest in the family, and then discovers there were other siblings before them, who did not survive. Setting up and naming the right order, brings ease and sense of calm to everyone before and after. The sense of 'something is missing' dissolves and more energy is available.
I would like to share with you a ritual to explore your own place in your system. Ritual: When you set up your siblings, include everyone you know, born and unborn. If you do not know for sure, for example in case of adoption, or being conceived with a help of a donor, set up a collective representation - one representative for all siblings who were born and one representative for all unborn siblings. For your ancestors you use collective representation as we just don't know most of the time. Begin by setting up representatives for yourself and your family tree. Start with only two or three generations for this ritual. So You, your parents, your grandparents and great grandparents. Stand as yourself with the family system being behind you. Notice how it feels. Then slowly turn around to look at your family. Notice what changes in your body as you feel them looking at you. Use simple sentences to acknowledge what is - thank you for my life; you are my parents, grandparents, great grandparents; I am your descendant; I am your grandchild etc Using your intuition and body's felt sense place two more representatives next to each person in your family - one for born siblings and one for unborn siblings. In your intention you include into these representations all known and unknown siblings. Sometimes you might get a sense of it not being right at all, follow it and withdraw that representative. For example, you set up all born siblings for your grandmother and you feel this is just not right. So don't set it up. Then you set up the unborn siblings and it feels right in your body. Trust that sense even if you do not have any information about it. On some level this is also a deeply archetypal energy work, so it will touch on some layers that we don't know about. When you set up representatives for all siblings for each of those present in your ritual, go back to your own representative, tune in. See what is changing for you as you now look at this family system that tripled in size. Acknowledge all siblings with a simple sentence - I see you, you have a place. Now, set up representatives for all your siblings in the right order. Facing your family system declare to them - I am your descendant. I am one of [say the number]. I am [say your order number - second, third etc]. We are all your descendants. We all belong. Notice what it feels like in your body to take your place in your system and allow others to have their places. Breathe. You could add sentences to acknowledge all your siblings, born and unborn and to tell them the right order and that you will always be their older/younger sister/brother. And that you all are children of this family. When you feel enough, close the ritual with gratitude and release all representatives. - from my recent newsletter. Sign up to receive weekly rituals and insights https://www.asconstellations.co.uk/subscribe.html As we are at the end of October, this special time of the year celebrated in various cultures, I invite you to pause, take a deep breath, imagine behind you generations and generations of your ancestors. Whether you knew them or not, the fact that you are here means they were there. Hundreds of them. All of them experienced this threshold between seasons for many centuries. Allow yourself to lean back slightly into their wisdom and receive the knowing about this season and what its most precious gift is. Ask yourself - how can this time be more meaningful for me, my soul, for my family and those I love? See what comes as a subtle knowing within you. Maybe it is about the lost dreams of your ancestors that you still carry in your bones? Collectively we dream our dreams and some of those that don’t happen flow further to the future, with the hope of manifesting one day. In our world today, with all that is happening, how many dreams become lost? How many will be passed to future generations as lost dreams? Today, imagine turning to your ancestors and acknowledge their dreams. Honour those that came true and those that didn’t and release any that you might be dreaming on their behalf. 'My dear ancestors, I honour your dreams. I respect your fate. Any dreams I carry on your behalf, today, I return to you, with gratitude.' Breathe in and out. Continue with your day, maybe in a slightly different state.  In my work I come across the lack of connection with the inner child a lot. This is a part of ourselves that holds the pain of childhood and often gets entangled with the ancestral problems either to survive or out of love. Developing a relationship with our inner child allows us to know when what we feel belongs to the present or to the past; to recognise familiar dynamics as those that were helpful and even life saving in childhood but are limiting us now. In this meditation I guide you to meet your inner kid and let them know you are now an adult and will take care of them. Let me know how it goes. |
AuthorI am fascinated by the Systemic Family Constellations work and everything shamanic. I study it, practice it, research it. Here, I am sharing what I learn and hope it can be of use to somebody interested in healing their families, communities and lives. In 2019 I published some of my poetry inspired by systemic work in this journal. It is available as PDF, Kindle or printed at the link above.
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