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Ancestral Grimoire: Connect with the Wisdom of the Ancestors through Tarot, Oracles, and Magic
“Hendrickson takes readers on a magical journey where they learn how to construct a personal Book of Shadows filled with ancestral wisdom.” —Theresa Reed, author of Twist Your Fate
Most of us know our immediate family and maybe even a generation or two beyond, but few of us are attuned to those who lived earlier. Many of us have forgotten how to keep our own stories alive. This is where the ancestors come in and where this book begins.
Ancestral Grimoire is a guide to reconnecting with your ancestors. It will show you how to access their unique wisdom—their magic!—and create your own personal ancestral grimoire, a spell book or Book of Shadows, unique to you and your heritage. Through divination, intuition, and sometimes a little luck, you will learn the magic of each ancestor and how you can use their gifts to make your life richer and more fulfilling.
As you go through this book, you’ll save your ancestral work in a journal or loose-leaf binder that will become the place to store the stories, spells, rituals, and everyday life, lore, and legend of twelve of your ancestors. At the end of a year, you will hold a personal Book of Shadows with every bit of ancestral knowledge within its pages unique to you. No two will ever be alike. In an age when family storytelling has been lost, you will have created a legacy—and a life—that the ancestors could only dream of.
Most of us know our immediate family and maybe even a generation or two beyond, but few of us are attuned to those who lived earlier. Many of us have forgotten how to keep our own stories alive. This is where the ancestors come in and where this book begins.
Ancestral Grimoire is a guide to reconnecting with your ancestors. It will show you how to access their unique wisdom—their magic!—and create your own personal ancestral grimoire, a spell book or Book of Shadows, unique to you and your heritage. Through divination, intuition, and sometimes a little luck, you will learn the magic of each ancestor and how you can use their gifts to make your life richer and more fulfilling.
As you go through this book, you’ll save your ancestral work in a journal or loose-leaf binder that will become the place to store the stories, spells, rituals, and everyday life, lore, and legend of twelve of your ancestors. At the end of a year, you will hold a personal Book of Shadows with every bit of ancestral knowledge within its pages unique to you. No two will ever be alike. In an age when family storytelling has been lost, you will have created a legacy—and a life—that the ancestors could only dream of.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2022
75 people are currently reading
2304 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Hendrickson
57 books68 followersNancy Hendrickson is a non-fiction author who writes about diverse industries for books, magazines and the web. Nancy has recently turned her writing talents to fiction, and is currently working on a cozy mystery as well as an historical time-travel novel. Nancy lives in San Diego, California and is available to give talks on all facets of non-fiction writing.
When not writing, you can find Nancy somewhere in the frontier west - delving into the people and events of a bygone era, all while listening to the tales spun by the resident ghosts. Nancy is the one with the Canon DSLR, the little Canon Elph and the digital recorder!
Catch up with Nancy at http://nancyhendrickson.com
When not writing, you can find Nancy somewhere in the frontier west - delving into the people and events of a bygone era, all while listening to the tales spun by the resident ghosts. Nancy is the one with the Canon DSLR, the little Canon Elph and the digital recorder!
Catch up with Nancy at http://nancyhendrickson.com
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 25, 2023
I really like this book! Although, it was not what I thought it would be. I expected a book about Honoring your ancestors through different types of ritual. Really, this book guides you in connecting to Ancestral guides through divination practices, and then into deepening your own divination practices with the guidance of Ancestors that you connect with.
It is divided into 12 months, and with each month you will focus on learning or developing a certain divination skill. You start by asking an Ancestor who used that skill to come forward and share their knowledge with you. I enjoyed the format and information so much that after reading through By borrowed library copy, I purchased a copy of my own so that I can take time to actually go through the practices shared in the book!
It is divided into 12 months, and with each month you will focus on learning or developing a certain divination skill. You start by asking an Ancestor who used that skill to come forward and share their knowledge with you. I enjoyed the format and information so much that after reading through By borrowed library copy, I purchased a copy of my own so that I can take time to actually go through the practices shared in the book!
September 4, 2022
Grimoire: "a magician's manual for invoking demons and the spirits of the dead" (from Merriam-Webster). Hendrickson's path with "Ancestral Grimoire" is nicely summed up in this quote from her introduction: "We are born magicians, who have forgotten our magic." It is a natural follow-up to her previous work, "Ancestral Tarot".
She reminds us that we all have ancestors that could work with the weather, dream the future, and use herbs for healing. They spoke to nature spirits, trees, animals, and the sea. Magic, and being magical, was an everyday part of their lives. The intent of this book is to show us how to use tarot, runes, pendulums, and other forms of divination to connect with our ancestors across the centuries. In doing this work, we chart our own magical future. In our personal Grimoire, we will be chronicling our own ancestral communications, divination experiences, magical traditions, and wisdom.
One very important note that Hendrickson has included in her introduction is that if the reader uses other magical tools than are mentioned in this book, they will add power to the work being done. Whatever you use - astrology, runes, numerology, angels - don't be afraid to add it to this ancestral work.
At the beginning of the book, the reader is told that they will need a deck to work with - that is a given. Then they are asked to answer two questions: (1) On this very first day of working with Ancestral Grimoire, I believe my most potent form of magic is ... (2) Why are you here?
The book is laid out in two parts: Part I is Tools For Divination, and Part II is Building Your Ancestral Grimoire. Part I talks about the tools that the reader will need, as well as the importance of how you set up your Grimoire (months, seasons, or sabbats). To create their Book of Shadows, it is suggested that the reader find a blank notebook that appeals to them. That they gather pens and colored pencils, glue, and at least one Tarot deck, one or two oracle decks, a pendulum, index cards, and something to cast.
The second chapter in Part I gives a very nice explanation of which cards represent our ancestors in the Tarot. This would be the people cards (court cards). The ranks and elements are discussed, as well as the shadow side of the court cards. (For example, The Queen of Pentacles upright represents a physical nurturer, while reversed, she represents smothering.) Commentary is included for each of the sixteen court cards, including their shadow side.
The third chapter in Part I deals with seasons, months, and sabbats. This chapter will give the reader a clue as to how they want to arrange their Grimoire. The names of each are given, as well as the dates they are celebrated.
Chapter Four talks about the Land of Tarot and entering each card through the magic of visualization.
Chapter Five features a very nice listing of Tarot decks under the heading of North America, South America, Africa, and Europe. This makes it easier, IMHO, to connect with the land that your ancestors came from and to connect with them. There are also suggestions on how to make a pendulum board. There is also a short commentary on using oracle cards, casting, and using sigils. Then there is the "sidewalk oracle" - messages received when you are out and about in the 'hood. Runes, Rune decks, the Lenormand, and energy work are also mentioned.
Part II talks about working through a solar year with our ancestors. Essentially, the reader is taken through a complete year of work with their ancestors. This is definitely a personal growth period for the reader, as they are connecting across space and time with ancestors that they have never heard of.
In the first chapter of Part II, Hendrickson talks about visiting twelve realms in four areas of magic. The four areas of magick are Family, Personal, Elemental, and Celestial. Each of these areas has three months associated with it (for example, Family Magic covers (1) January - Inherited Magic, (2) November - Ancestral Magic, and (3) December - Magical You.
Each month is listed with the type of magick (January is Family Magic - Inherited Magic), tools (January's tools are tarot, the pendulum, and sidewalk oracles), how to find out who your ancestor is, and practicing seeing signs. It is suggested that a daily card be drawn asking for messages that help the reader use their inherited magic.
Each month the focus is different, the tools are different, and the questions that the reader asks themselves are different. (I loved that Tarot spreads were also included.) The focus is on connecting without ancestors and better understanding the magic that they are gifting us with.
At the end of the twelve months is a chapter on our ancestors asking us a question. Essentially, the reader is putting to work the wisdom they have gained about themselves over the past twelve months.
The chapter that follows has the reader asking themselves the same questions they were to answer before they began their journey: (1) Today, I know that my most potent form of magic is ... (2) Why was I really here?
There is a resource appendix at the end of the book, as well as charts on the Minor Arcana and Major Arcana Correspondences (element and astrological sign).
This book is for those that are willing to put in the work. It is written in a conversational tone and presents a ton of information in small, digestible bites. Anyone doing this work will learn about themselves and expand who and what they are through working with the monthly exercises, divination techniques, and rituals. Each Grimoire/Book of Shadows is personal to the individual writing it - it represents their ancestors and the magic that their ancestors are sharing with them.
She reminds us that we all have ancestors that could work with the weather, dream the future, and use herbs for healing. They spoke to nature spirits, trees, animals, and the sea. Magic, and being magical, was an everyday part of their lives. The intent of this book is to show us how to use tarot, runes, pendulums, and other forms of divination to connect with our ancestors across the centuries. In doing this work, we chart our own magical future. In our personal Grimoire, we will be chronicling our own ancestral communications, divination experiences, magical traditions, and wisdom.
One very important note that Hendrickson has included in her introduction is that if the reader uses other magical tools than are mentioned in this book, they will add power to the work being done. Whatever you use - astrology, runes, numerology, angels - don't be afraid to add it to this ancestral work.
At the beginning of the book, the reader is told that they will need a deck to work with - that is a given. Then they are asked to answer two questions: (1) On this very first day of working with Ancestral Grimoire, I believe my most potent form of magic is ... (2) Why are you here?
The book is laid out in two parts: Part I is Tools For Divination, and Part II is Building Your Ancestral Grimoire. Part I talks about the tools that the reader will need, as well as the importance of how you set up your Grimoire (months, seasons, or sabbats). To create their Book of Shadows, it is suggested that the reader find a blank notebook that appeals to them. That they gather pens and colored pencils, glue, and at least one Tarot deck, one or two oracle decks, a pendulum, index cards, and something to cast.
The second chapter in Part I gives a very nice explanation of which cards represent our ancestors in the Tarot. This would be the people cards (court cards). The ranks and elements are discussed, as well as the shadow side of the court cards. (For example, The Queen of Pentacles upright represents a physical nurturer, while reversed, she represents smothering.) Commentary is included for each of the sixteen court cards, including their shadow side.
The third chapter in Part I deals with seasons, months, and sabbats. This chapter will give the reader a clue as to how they want to arrange their Grimoire. The names of each are given, as well as the dates they are celebrated.
Chapter Four talks about the Land of Tarot and entering each card through the magic of visualization.
Chapter Five features a very nice listing of Tarot decks under the heading of North America, South America, Africa, and Europe. This makes it easier, IMHO, to connect with the land that your ancestors came from and to connect with them. There are also suggestions on how to make a pendulum board. There is also a short commentary on using oracle cards, casting, and using sigils. Then there is the "sidewalk oracle" - messages received when you are out and about in the 'hood. Runes, Rune decks, the Lenormand, and energy work are also mentioned.
Part II talks about working through a solar year with our ancestors. Essentially, the reader is taken through a complete year of work with their ancestors. This is definitely a personal growth period for the reader, as they are connecting across space and time with ancestors that they have never heard of.
In the first chapter of Part II, Hendrickson talks about visiting twelve realms in four areas of magic. The four areas of magick are Family, Personal, Elemental, and Celestial. Each of these areas has three months associated with it (for example, Family Magic covers (1) January - Inherited Magic, (2) November - Ancestral Magic, and (3) December - Magical You.
Each month is listed with the type of magick (January is Family Magic - Inherited Magic), tools (January's tools are tarot, the pendulum, and sidewalk oracles), how to find out who your ancestor is, and practicing seeing signs. It is suggested that a daily card be drawn asking for messages that help the reader use their inherited magic.
Each month the focus is different, the tools are different, and the questions that the reader asks themselves are different. (I loved that Tarot spreads were also included.) The focus is on connecting without ancestors and better understanding the magic that they are gifting us with.
At the end of the twelve months is a chapter on our ancestors asking us a question. Essentially, the reader is putting to work the wisdom they have gained about themselves over the past twelve months.
The chapter that follows has the reader asking themselves the same questions they were to answer before they began their journey: (1) Today, I know that my most potent form of magic is ... (2) Why was I really here?
There is a resource appendix at the end of the book, as well as charts on the Minor Arcana and Major Arcana Correspondences (element and astrological sign).
This book is for those that are willing to put in the work. It is written in a conversational tone and presents a ton of information in small, digestible bites. Anyone doing this work will learn about themselves and expand who and what they are through working with the monthly exercises, divination techniques, and rituals. Each Grimoire/Book of Shadows is personal to the individual writing it - it represents their ancestors and the magic that their ancestors are sharing with them.
December 26, 2023
I really like this book! I have read Nancy’s previous book, Ancestral Tarot. Really you don’t have to read that book before you read this one but it’s a good leaded in for this book.
This book guides you in connecting to your ancestors each month through divination practices, and then into deepening your own divination practices with the guidance of ancestors that you connect with.
It is divided into 12 months, and with each month you will focus on learning or developing a certain divination skill. You start by asking an ancestor to bring forward their knowledge, magic, skill to share with you. Originally I borrowed this book from the library and read through it and knew I wanted this book in my collection so I purchased it.
'"We are born magicians, who have forgotten our magic." Nancy Hendrickson
This book allows us to tap in to ours ancestors that have talked to the trees, used herbs for healing and listen to their dreams. Nancy stresses the importance of having a grimoire so you can chronicling our own ancestral communications, divination experiences, magical traditions, and wisdom. The book is laid out in two parts: Part I is Tools For Divination, and Part II is Building Your Ancestral Grimoire.
Part one talks about the tools that the reader will need, as well as the importance of how you set up your Grimoire (months, seasons, or Sabbaths). In part one gives an explanation of which cards represent our ancestors in the Tarot (court cards). Also it deals with seasons, months, and Sabbaths. There is also visualization called land of tarot that can be used to help chose the ancestor of the month. There are also suggestions on how to make a pendulum board and how to using oracle cards, Lenormand cards, runes, charms, and using sigils.
Part two is a complete year of work with the ancestors. There is four main theme family magic, personal magic, elemental magic and celestial magic.
Family Magic – inherited magic, ancestral magic, magical you
Personal magic – manifestation magic, healing magic, past live magic
Elemental magic – land magic, weather magic, omen magic
Celestial magic – moon magic, solstice magic, sky magic
This is where you learn how to find out who your ancestor is, and practicing seeing signs. It is suggested that a daily card be drawn asking for messages that help the reader use their month’s magic. Each month the focus is different, the tools are different, and the questions that the reader asks themselves are different. At the end of the twelve months is a chapter on our ancestors asking you a question. Essentially, the reader is putting to work the wisdom they have gained about themselves over the past twelve months. There is a serval appendix at the end of the book that are really good. You can start the book whenever you want. I did start in January
This book guides you in connecting to your ancestors each month through divination practices, and then into deepening your own divination practices with the guidance of ancestors that you connect with.
It is divided into 12 months, and with each month you will focus on learning or developing a certain divination skill. You start by asking an ancestor to bring forward their knowledge, magic, skill to share with you. Originally I borrowed this book from the library and read through it and knew I wanted this book in my collection so I purchased it.
'"We are born magicians, who have forgotten our magic." Nancy Hendrickson
This book allows us to tap in to ours ancestors that have talked to the trees, used herbs for healing and listen to their dreams. Nancy stresses the importance of having a grimoire so you can chronicling our own ancestral communications, divination experiences, magical traditions, and wisdom. The book is laid out in two parts: Part I is Tools For Divination, and Part II is Building Your Ancestral Grimoire.
Part one talks about the tools that the reader will need, as well as the importance of how you set up your Grimoire (months, seasons, or Sabbaths). In part one gives an explanation of which cards represent our ancestors in the Tarot (court cards). Also it deals with seasons, months, and Sabbaths. There is also visualization called land of tarot that can be used to help chose the ancestor of the month. There are also suggestions on how to make a pendulum board and how to using oracle cards, Lenormand cards, runes, charms, and using sigils.
Part two is a complete year of work with the ancestors. There is four main theme family magic, personal magic, elemental magic and celestial magic.
Family Magic – inherited magic, ancestral magic, magical you
Personal magic – manifestation magic, healing magic, past live magic
Elemental magic – land magic, weather magic, omen magic
Celestial magic – moon magic, solstice magic, sky magic
This is where you learn how to find out who your ancestor is, and practicing seeing signs. It is suggested that a daily card be drawn asking for messages that help the reader use their month’s magic. Each month the focus is different, the tools are different, and the questions that the reader asks themselves are different. At the end of the twelve months is a chapter on our ancestors asking you a question. Essentially, the reader is putting to work the wisdom they have gained about themselves over the past twelve months. There is a serval appendix at the end of the book that are really good. You can start the book whenever you want. I did start in January
January 15, 2024
I loved this book. If you aren’t comfortable with tarot it really gave you a different way of using / looking at the tarot cards. Each chapter was filled with such great information. I will continue to use this going forward. I really didn’t have a good understanding of my ancestors and really felt like this book really helped. It also made me feel as if the information I received was in point.
March 30, 2023
What a fantastic concept for a book. Nancy gives some really interesting suggestions and tools for exploring own magical heritage with the guidance and support of your ancestors. This book sparked so many ideas for me! Now that I've read it cover to cover, I'm looking forward to returning to the beginning and starting my year of magical work with my ancestors.
September 30, 2024
More of a record of how the author completed their own journey, rather than a useful guide to complete your own. Honestly, I completely disregarded about 90% of this book since it came across as absolute nonsense that didn’t apply to my needs or life, but there were a smattering of activities that I took note of for inspiration.
January 4, 2023
Really good book I am looking forward to working with over the coming year. I will warn you though following the practices in this book are potentially expensive as there is a long list of things you will need to use! My full review is found here https://youtu.be/YMu6lzLoRaA
December 8, 2025
So good! I had never thought about using divination to work with ancestors. Each month has a new exercise and method and I thoroughly enjoyed each. I will be using this again and I see myself referring back to it for years, if not longer. Great addition to anyone's practices and explorations.
October 6, 2023
Very helpful way to connect with the ancestors. I loved my year long journey with this book.
Read
December 3, 2024Cool concept, but this book is a year-long project with tarot designed to introduce you to magical relatives. I like the concept, but this will have to wait for another time.
February 18, 2023
This was great in concept, but in execution it fell way flat of the mark; because there's so little here of actual worth smattered between loads of absolute nonsense, it winds up being a giant waste of money and paper rather than anything legitimately useful in any capacity. And you don't even have to do the actual "exercises" to see it- you just have to actually read a little ahead in the book at all.
It's strong(ish) at the start, mind you- save for the absolutely buckwild excuse for a definition of "magic" they start right out the gate with- saying:
I'm not entirely sure where on Earth they learned what magic was, but I have a bone to pick with whatever teacher taught them that, frankly.
That aside, however ... Again, really strong concept in theory: Use Tarot, Oracle, "and Magic" to channel your Ancestors, and then build a Grimoire (or Witchcraft practice) around what they reveal to you ... In reality, however, she has you using what feels almost literally like every superfluous divinatory method that exists under the sun (including methods like Bird Augury, and more) to "divine" the most bare bones and almost childish information "about your ancestors" possible- then "build" it into what can barely be considered anything at all, actually; most of it just winds up being worthless nonsense for anyone who takes their Ancestors seriously (or at least seeks to).
Take January, for instance; the very first exercise in the year that the book starts with. It essentially goes like this: Jump through these 20 billion poorly explained hoops (because the exercises appear way too early in the book, before literally anything is actually explained appropriately to the reader at all) in order to determine the sex, gender, and "era" of your Ancestor's origins ... Then do a bunch of completely random non-tarot divination (like Oracle and Pendulum- then it randomly switches to Bird Augury of all things) to figure out which of these 5 incredibly limited things Hendrickson has determined they can teach you about magic ("Don't make it difficult" she tells you, however, while explaining said Bird Augury!) ... But wait! Before you're done you're going to make a card for your own "divination deck" (I guess) to symbolize your Ancestral magic that you just learned! THEN, once all that's done ... She wants you to do daily Tarot draws and see how you can use it's symbols in your magic you "just learned" from your Ancestor- like sticks; if you drew Wands, you should figure out how to use sticks in your magic. That's all. Just ... Sticks!
While there's some genuinely good advice in incredibly minute doses (such as "if you want to know what your magic is, just ASK YOUR ANCESTORS"; A+! I genuinely actually love this advice!) --- and while some questions in here, in places, are legitimately useful (like an actual section in January where you're legitimately questioning your ancestor directly, by asking them things like "Why have I inherited this magic?" and "In what way can I incorporate this magic into my established practice?") ... Overall, the book's so overly simplistic, it becomes outright childish and comical.
After a point, it's almost a joke, and it's near impossible to take any of the "exercises" seriously.
It's strong(ish) at the start, mind you- save for the absolutely buckwild excuse for a definition of "magic" they start right out the gate with- saying:
"Although it may not seem like “real” magic, it is. Imagine you’re walking on a brisk fall afternoon. As you go, your mind is chewing over a work problem that feels unsolvable. You’re hoping the walk will clear your mind (intent). As you walk, you feel drawn to reach down and pick up a red leaf (energy). Looking carefully at the veins running through the leaf, you have a flash of insight (intent + energy) on how to solve the problem (magic).
I'm not entirely sure where on Earth they learned what magic was, but I have a bone to pick with whatever teacher taught them that, frankly.
That aside, however ... Again, really strong concept in theory: Use Tarot, Oracle, "and Magic" to channel your Ancestors, and then build a Grimoire (or Witchcraft practice) around what they reveal to you ... In reality, however, she has you using what feels almost literally like every superfluous divinatory method that exists under the sun (including methods like Bird Augury, and more) to "divine" the most bare bones and almost childish information "about your ancestors" possible- then "build" it into what can barely be considered anything at all, actually; most of it just winds up being worthless nonsense for anyone who takes their Ancestors seriously (or at least seeks to).
Take January, for instance; the very first exercise in the year that the book starts with. It essentially goes like this: Jump through these 20 billion poorly explained hoops (because the exercises appear way too early in the book, before literally anything is actually explained appropriately to the reader at all) in order to determine the sex, gender, and "era" of your Ancestor's origins ... Then do a bunch of completely random non-tarot divination (like Oracle and Pendulum- then it randomly switches to Bird Augury of all things) to figure out which of these 5 incredibly limited things Hendrickson has determined they can teach you about magic ("Don't make it difficult" she tells you, however, while explaining said Bird Augury!) ... But wait! Before you're done you're going to make a card for your own "divination deck" (I guess) to symbolize your Ancestral magic that you just learned! THEN, once all that's done ... She wants you to do daily Tarot draws and see how you can use it's symbols in your magic you "just learned" from your Ancestor- like sticks; if you drew Wands, you should figure out how to use sticks in your magic. That's all. Just ... Sticks!
While there's some genuinely good advice in incredibly minute doses (such as "if you want to know what your magic is, just ASK YOUR ANCESTORS"; A+! I genuinely actually love this advice!) --- and while some questions in here, in places, are legitimately useful (like an actual section in January where you're legitimately questioning your ancestor directly, by asking them things like "Why have I inherited this magic?" and "In what way can I incorporate this magic into my established practice?") ... Overall, the book's so overly simplistic, it becomes outright childish and comical.
After a point, it's almost a joke, and it's near impossible to take any of the "exercises" seriously.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews