Ancestor Letter-Writing 

The Temple's Scorpio Ministry offers this workshop on writing letters to the departed.

The Scorpio Ministry is committed to serving the community in support of grief, bereavement, and ancestral connections. One way to facilitate connection and possibly help the grieving process is through writing a letter to someone who has died.

Writing letters to the dead is an activity many have worked with. High school English composition teachers give it as a writing assignment, websites have cropped up offering a place to publish them, and books are written about them. Sometimes they are written to famous people. Other times we write them to those we loved who have died or even to those with whom we have a troubled relationship.

At Samhain each year, the Temple of Witchcraft collects the names of those who have died in the prior year and holds them on the ancestor altar at the Samhain ritual as well as on the Temple Ancestor altar until the next Samhain. The names are then reverently and ritually burned to release them and the ashes are placed in running water. In addition, we wanted to also offer to hold letters to ancestors this year.

The letter can be written to anyone who has died that you wish to connect to, not just those who passed in the last year. We would hold them on the Temple Ancestor altar until Samhain this year and then on the Samhain ancestor altar during our public ritual on October 25, 2014. The Scorpio ministry would then burn them in sacred circle to release them.

Perhaps you already know who you wish to write to and what you want to say. Maybe you are not sure but feel drawn to this project. We wanted to offer this class to assist in your letter writing. Recall that an ancestor does not have to be someone you have a blood relationship with. It can be anyone who has died that you wish to communicate with.

Lead minister of Scorpio, Elsa Elliott, is offering this class to provide guidance, meditation, ritual space, and community to help you write your letter to the dead.

Join her at the Temple on October 16 from 7 to 9:30 pm to work together on your letters. There will be a fee of $15 for the class. Please bring a picture or memento of the person you wish to write a letter to, your favorite pen, a journal and favorite stationary. There will be stationary available but if you want a particular stationary, please bring it.

Please send an email to scorpio@templeofwitchcraft.org to inquire with questions. Please note that this class is not required in order to write and send us a letter for the Samhain altar! Feel free to do so on your own, if you are so moved, and to mail the letter to us at: Temple of Witchcraft, Attn: Ancestor Letters, 49 North Policy St., Salem, NH 03079. Please note on the outside of the envelope whether you wish the letter opened and read by the Scorpio lead minister before being placed on the altar (PLEASE OPEN) or left sealed (DO NOT OPEN).