Ancestral healing is a part of many cultures for millennia because people reminisce about their beloved departed ones and realize the cyclical nature of time and us being fragmented pieces of the divine participating in the divine play through their parting from the state of consciousness. In the Vedic culture, Pitri tarpanam (satiating the ancestors) is of utmost importance because when we satiate the souls of our ancestors we accelerate their spiritual growth and their ability to move on from Pitri Loka (the realm of ancestors), be reborn and bless us with their spiritual power. It is said that when the Pitris are not satiated and the after-death rituals are not carried out properly, they become Pretas (wandering spirits) who live off consuming our waste products such as urine, feces, sweat, etc. which slowly impedes their spiritual progress, dissolves their physical form and all that's left is them reaching out to hold on to our essence. This is beautifully illustrated in the famous Netflix television show 'The Haunting of The Bly Manor' where the soul of a mother (the actress Kate Seigel and the director Mike Flanagan both having Rahu in Cancer) who was killed by her sister and wronged by her family was stuck in an eternal loop of time where she would go back to the room of her child to look at her and love her but over time she wouldn't find her child so she would pick up with her the bodies and souls of anybody she could to fulfill her emotional void until another kind soul satiates her through giving up her physical body as a permanent residence for the Preta (played by the actress with the Venus in the opposite, Capricorn Rashi in Dhanishta nakshatra also known to be very sacrificial). The show also has a lot of other 4th and 5th house themes about children, ancestral curses, and love displaying the duty we have towards the deceased souls to earn their blessings and remove any obstacles in our path.
Ganesha (Ketu) writing the Mahabharat, the 4th house is also ancestral memory.
The 4th house represents our lineage, our ancestry, and unconditional love which is why the afflictions to the 4th house affect the 5th house of progeny, intelligence, sexual enjoyment, and creativity. When the lineage is spiritually malnourished, so are we. The Mahabharata is an epic poem narrated by Ved Vyas and the wisdom flowing through it is about ancestral karma and how it affects the lives of the progeny of Pandavas and Kauravas. The 10th house is the throne of the chart and to attain it one must have a strong 4th house which we can see in the Mahabharata that the war that took place between the cousins was due to them being pitted against each other since they were children because they wanted rightful ownership to the kingdom. The Pandavas won the war due to them being children of Devatas but it was the Kauravas who went to heaven due to the merit obtained by their ancestor Kuru. In the tarpanam ritual, sesame seeds (ruled by the Sun representing vitality and satiation for a long time due to it being a sattwic force) are a common offering to the ancestors due to their sticky nature being a metaphor for actions of those who come before us sticking to us however when washed away by water (ruled by the Moon representing the movement and nourishment for these souls), we gain the blessings of our ancestors. The 4th house is the Moksha (liberation) and Bandhu (binding) house which shows how true bliss is found within it however due to its binding nature, the effects of it are seen in the 10th house which is an Artha (economic), Upachaya (increasing) house that relates to our behaviors in the public realm, our reputation and the deeds we do. The 10th house is a reflection of the values we are taught at home, the belief we have within ourselves. Second to the 4th house is the 5th house which talks about inherited intelligence, genes, and how the love we have gotten can be transferred to other people in our lives which is why the Sun also rules the 5th house in Kaal Purush kundli and exalts in the 10th house which relates to the very simplistic principle of if we don't love ourselves, it becomes hard to perform our duties and display our love towards our society and people. Ancestral healing is not just beneficial for a singular soul but the collective; for when we begin healing our ancestral pain and suffering, we learn how our samskaras (psychological, ancestral imprints) can change our values and good values can help us care for our environment and the people around us.
There are various ways through which we can connect to and venerate our ancestors; some people do it through ritual seances, some through building altars, through yagnas, and some through doing simple practices such as offering rice and seeds to crows. If you don't know where to begin and how to do an ancestral practice you can pick one of the following days: Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday for the specific ancestor you want to connect to, sit facing the corresponding direction in a quiet place with a ghee lamp, water and untoasted sesame seeds (black sesame if you identify as male and white sesame if you identify as a female) and draw three lines with the sesame seeds and water as an offering and meditate over them by sending your ancestors' love, healing, and nourishment. After the ritual is over you can flush the water and seeds in the bathroom or scatter them as fodder for birds. Do this consistently at least once a week, each day dedicated to a specific ancestor and you will find yourself connecting to that particular ancestor and will also feel that they would be energizing you with whatever their 'superpower' was (if your ancestor had a strong Sun, this practice would be healing for your Sun and give you good health and reputation, if your ancestor was known for their beauty and friendliness which is Venus, you will find yourself having an increment in those qualities within yourself, etc.) When we heal our ancestry we heal our Kendra sthans (1st, 7th, 4th, and 10th), Ketu, and our Sun making us magnetic and keeping us in an empowered state at all times. Do not be afraid of beginning doing ancestral work at any point of time in your life but do maintain consistency because the best results will be found through the effort you put into your lineage’s spiritual well-being.
'They will lose their doubts, and the torrents of their cravings will be cut off: free from all misery they will manage to cross the ocean of becoming' - Maitreyavyakarana (The prophecy of Maitreya)
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