Most Evangelicals believe that anything outside the walls of a church—especially practices from other traditions—was spiritually dangerous. I was taught that burning herbs, honoring ancestors, or even meditating with crystals was “opening a door to darkness.”

But the deeper I went into deconstruction, the more I realized something didn’t add up. Why were so many embodied, intuitive, and ancestral traditions labeled “evil,” even though they’ve been practiced across cultures for centuries—and sometimes even appear in the Bible itself?

True flourishing requires us to release shame, not just the personal shame we carry in our bodies, but also the collective shame placed on our people for being who they are. For generations, traditional medicine, spiritual practices, cultural dress, and even the way our ancestors moved or celebrated were labeled sinful, primitive, or shameful by white colonial Christianity. Many of us were taught to distrust anything that wasn’t sanctioned by church leaders or Western norms. But these ancestral ways are not threats. They are simply threads of wisdom that once kept our communities whole.

Reclaiming our traditional stories through ancestral healing is rooted in reconnection, not heresy.
It’s restoration.

It’s how we figure out how to flourish again.

If you’re unraveling a faith that told you there’s only one right way to be spiritual, this post is for you. Let’s talk about reclaiming the wisdom that white patriarchal Christianity tried to strip away.

Christianity Isn’t the Only Way God Speaks

Let’s begin with a truth that might feel radical: God doesn’t only show up in Christian spaces.

Many of us were taught that Christianity holds the exclusive rights to sacred wisdom. But the Divine has always spoken in many languages, symbols, and cultures. God shows up in the desert prayers of our ancestors, in the chants passed down through generations, and in the ancient medicines that kept our people alive long before colonization brought Christian missionaries.

Multi-tradition spirituality honors that truth. It recognizes that spiritual wisdom exists in many places—sometimes outside the religious structures that tried to erase it.

What Is Religious Syncretism?

Religious syncretism is the blending of different religious and cultural traditions into a single spiritual practice. It’s been happening for thousands of years. Think of how early Christians adopted winter solstice celebrations into what we now call Christmas, or how saints in Catholicism were used to mask African deities during colonization.

The point isn’t whether syncretism is right or wrong. The point is: It’s already happening, whether we name it or not.

And often, what colonizers labeled “syncretism” was just the survival of sacred traditions. When faced with conversion or death, people hid their practices beneath the surface of the dominant religion. But those practices never stopped being powerful or sacred.

How Patriarchal Christianity Demonized Traditional Wisdom

Over the centuries, Christian leaders, mostly white men in power, strategically labeled Indigenous, ancestral, and embodied wisdom as sinful or demonic. Why?

Because it threatened their control.

When people trust their bodies, their dreams, their ancestors, and their land, they become less reliant on authoritarian structures. So Christian theocracies used fear to sever people from their own wisdom. Practices like herbal healing, intuitive knowing, honoring ancestors, and even women’s leadership in spiritual roles were labeled dangerous—often under vague accusations of “witchcraft.”

This pattern mirrors what we’ve seen in:

• The persecution of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities as “abominations”

• The burning of “witches” (usually midwives, herbalists, and outspoken women)

• The forced erasure of African spiritual systems during chattel slavery

• The colonial suppression of Indigenous ceremonies and languages

These weren’t legitimate theological arguments. They were power plays designed to consolidate control and erase spiritual autonomy.

Ancestral Healing Practices Aren’t Un-Christian

Let’s be clear: honoring your ancestors isn’t in conflict with Christian spirituality. In fact, the Bible is full of stories that center on lineage and ancestral memory:

• The genealogy of Jesus traces back generations, honoring lineage as sacred.

• Joseph, Daniel, and others received Divine direction through dreams.

• The use of anointing oils and prayer rituals mirrors modern energy or herbal practices.

• Tomb visiting, ritual mourning, and honoring the dead were common and accepted.

Many early Christians lived in ways that aligned with the rhythms of the earth and the wisdom of their people. It wasn’t until the rise of church institutional power that these traditions were pushed aside or punished.

Reclaiming ancestral wisdom isn’t heresy, it’s remembering what was always true.

What Happens When You Cut Yourself Off from Ancestral Wisdom?

The cost is high. When we’re told to fear our own history, bodies, and traditions, we:

• Disconnect from the roots that anchor us

• Inherit shame instead of belonging

• Stay stuck in cycles of spiritual codependency

• Rely on external approval rather than inner wisdom

• Silence our intuition and cut off a powerful form of divine communication

But when we begin to reengage these practices, we find something surprising. Peace. Strength. A sense of coming home to ourselves.

Navigating Multi-Tradition Wisdom with Integrity

If you’re exploring practices from traditions beyond your own upbringing, do so with respect. Here are a few tips for getting started:

• Start with your own lineage. What did your ancestors believe? What herbs, prayers, or rituals did they use? Even if that knowledge was erased or buried, you can begin reconnecting through research, conversation, and spiritual curiosity.

• Notice what feels alive in your body. When you try a new practice (chanting, burning herbs, praying to the Divine Feminine), does something soften or awaken in you? That’s wisdom too.

• Use discernment, not fear. You’re allowed to try something, reflect on how it felt, and decide if it’s a good fit. You don’t owe anyone else an explanation.

• Honor the source. If you’re learning from traditions outside your ancestry (like Yoruba, Buddhism, or Indigenous teachings), credit your teachers. Seek permission when needed. Be a respectful guest, not a tourist.

• Let the process progress slowly. Deconstruction isn’t a race. Healing takes time. Try one new practice and see how it sits with you.

You Don’t Need Permission to Reclaim What Was Yours

Your sacred connection may have been buried by shame, church teachings, or fear, but ancestral healing will help you tap back into it. You are allowed to light candles, speak to your ancestors, dance barefoot, pray with herbs, or meditate on your breath. You’re allowed to hold both Mary Magdalene and Oshun. To speak the name of Jesus and still find wisdom in the tarot. To walk with reverence, not rigidity.

Ancestral healing isn’t about rejecting your religion. It’s about recognizing you don’t have to be caged by someone else’s definition of holiness.

Keep Exploring

If this post stirred something in you, there are so many ways to go deeper. You don’t have to have all the answers—just a willingness to remember what your lineage may have forgotten.

• Learn what ancestral healing really is and how it can help you break generational cycles in this blog post.
• Explore how to be a good ancestor for the next generation while honoring those who came before, by exploring ancestral healing.
• Not sure where to start? This guide can help you explore who your ancestors are, even if your family history feels unclear.
• Preorder my book Embracing the Old Witch in the Woods: Liberating Women’s Wisdom from Christian Patriarchy to reclaim intuition, creativity, and sacred wisdom once labeled dangerous.

Begin your own exploration of ancestral healing by learninig how they may have lived, played, and worshipped. Even if you don’t know exactly where you come from, you can start with the regions your family is tied to and learn about the local spiritual traditions, foodways, and healing practices. Let curiosity, not perfection, be your guide.

Remember, it may be hard, but you’re not starting from scratch. You’re picking up a thread that’s been waiting for you to remember. Your ancestors are sacred, and so is your connection to them.

Happy Travels! Enjoy the journey back to your roots.