There are many Ancestor stories moving through the ether into our consciousness right now. I believe we are healing a collective shadow from the past. And I feel it requires us sometimes to re-write history. A good friend of mine told me recently that 'history books were only written by the victors'. The part that we can play is to listen to the voices of the past, of our Ancestors ... listen very carefully.
Someone who listened so beautifully and for such a long time, is first time Australian novelist, Hannah Kent. Her novel, Burial Rites, about the murderess, Agnes Magnusdottir, the last woman executed in Iceland has created an international bidding war. I only discovered this story in the last few days when I chanced upon Australian Story's interview with Hannah for the piece No More Than a Ghost. I was absolutely enthralled by the story of Hannah's quest to uncover the truth, the deeper story of the real woman. Hannah began to receive information about Agnes' life through her intuition and dreaming and later had these facts confirmed. The personal and emotional link between the women is astounding.
The whole story is incredibly moving and you can still watch it online here: No More Than a Ghost. And there is a wonderful interview with Hannah in The Guardian here.
I wonder at the many hundreds of stories that are awaiting a truthful retelling, especially in Australia. For us to create healing we must first acknowledge the truth. What stories are you hearing in the whispers of the wind? Are the Ancestors speaking to you? Are there outcast stories from your own past that you have 're-written' or edited? Let yourself be still and quiet... trust your feelings even when you feel what you are doing is crazy. You might be one who is called to speak for the past and tell the stories of those who were not 'the victors'. It's time for us to know our own whole story and to embrace the outcast spirits, the abandoned ancestors of the past.
I believe that Shame was created by man. It is such a harmful and useless emotion. If we created the spell of Shame with our own words and thinking, I believe we can break this binding spell with the power of love. Not a superficial or judging kind of love but Real Love - a love that encompasses the whole story and leaves no voice in the darkness.