There are several recurring questions every practicing European Polytheist comes across sooner or later.

One of them concerns the ancestral worship in our faith.

First things first, ancestral worship is one of the main pillars of European Paganism.

Our ancestors are a cumulative deity in every regional pantheon. There are major ancestral worship festivals in the most archaic traditions of Eastern Europe – e.g. Belarusian Paganism has two major feasts: Dziady – when the dead visit descendants’ homes for supper, and Radaunitsa when you visit the graves to feast with the dead. And then there are ancestral worship elements and rites in every other high festival, like Kaliady.

On an even deeper level, we worship our ancestors because we are them. We are reborn within our bloodline and our forebears get reborn in us.

All of our growth implies discovery of treasures we have already accumulated in our blood over generations.

With that said, here’s the question we come across sooner or later:

How can you worship ancestors that were wrong?

I’m talking about all types of wrong here.

• wrong in relationships,
• abusive towards you,
• wrong in some of their advice,
• wrong in their political views,
• on the wrong side of history, and so on.

The answer is relatively simple and it comes from the mindset shift.

When worshipping your ancestors you are worshipping thousands and thousands of generations of winners.

Given different circumstances, their choices and actions could’ve been different. Imagine some of them in today’s world, and you will understand they would’ve acted differently.

In the long run, it’s the force that matters, not the direction it’s applied in. Be driven like they were, but about things you consider right.

Your ancestors were right in the most important thing: they won and contributed to your existence.

Another thing, time straightens things out.

Everyone great in the human history has been wrong in some things – but we remember them for their drive and achievements without judging them if enough time has passed.

It’s the drive that matters, not the direction.