Given that several people on here are heriditary witches and that some of us have recent ancestors who weren't witches but had qualities that would make them seem like witches, I was wondering how many people here have been inspired by their ancestors and recent family on their pagan path? What qualities of theirs do you aspire to?

My great-grandmother in Ireland was both midwife and laid out the dead. She made her own clothes, made the families shoes and also those for others of the village. She was a fabulous healer of their animals and humans and an all round good woman. People were always round her hearth for tea, talk, comfort and help. She has greatly inspired me in many ways and yet I never knew her, she died some 50 years ago, yet was so influential in my mothers upbringing that she talks about her daily. My great-grandfather was cheeky, wise and crafty. He had the ability to weave a enthralling tale, brew the best poteen and was also a blacksmith too.

They both have beautiful and fabulous traits that I would love to be like, they have inspired me more than anything on my understanding of life and along my path

So how about you? Do you have anyone from your family passed on that you aspire to?

I'm afraid not apart from my dad my entire family are Christian, the only way they could have inspired me is to look for another spiritual path that wasn't Christianity. My Dad is pretty much an atheist and when I asked him about family members to see where my interest came from he couldn't think of anyone who could have inspired me.

Lovely story though WW nice to know you had some lovely family members

My family on both sides have really inspired me.... my mothers side are all romany gypsys and have done tea leaf readings/card reading etc my great great auntie's on her side were burnt for being witches,
on my fathers side there are strong links with witchcraft etc all through the generations my grandmother used to be the local 'medium' (although they didnt call her that, thats what she was) and passed this on to my father who passed it on to me... on her side there are rumours that some of the family were hung for being witches as well!!
my dad always used to do tarot reading for all the neighbourhood as I was growing up so I seen it as a natural thing to study and learn...they also taught me if I have something to offer in my spare time to never take cash for it...so I guess they have inspired me to be skint as well hehe (JK )

I've had influences from both sides of my family too.

My mother has always been down on the Christian establishment, and despite being very skeptical at times, she has told me stories of faeries, psycic dreams and ghosts. Only three years ago she woke me up in the middle of the night screaming, on several occasions. It was only after we'd moved out of our house that she told me it wasn't because of bad dreams (which is what she told me at the time) but was really because she woke to see spirits sitting in her room!!!

My dad's side of the family was fairly Christian, yet they had some VERY pagan beliefs. My great aunt was the village witch, who healed, made predictions, did things like that. I know that at least one of my aunts and an uncle would 'curse' people by making spell jars containg their own urine! (not too proud of that one )

So when you think about it...it's no suprise I'm a little witch! haha

My mother has been an inspiration to me all my life, even when I was a sulky teenager and didn't realise how brilliant she is. Our family is very small and close knit - we pretty much cut off the rest of my mother's family after a huge disagreement surrounding the death of my maternal grandad, and my father's family now consists of a couple of cousins in Canada and his mother who is a witch in the worst sense of the word.

I don't know who my immediate ancestors were, other than half remembered snatches of conversation. My great aunt and my gran (paternal) worked in munitions factories during WW2, and my nan was involved with the RAF somehow. My grandad (maternal) was a minor war hero in WW2, and won a bravery medal for lobbing a grenade down a German half trak.

That's all I know.

Despite the fact that my mother forced me to go to xian church and became a raving alcoholic in her later years, she inspired me a great deal when I was younger. She taught me so much - never wish evil on those who harm you, it will come to them anyway; always burn flowers that have given you pleasure, give them back to the earth; talk to plants; use ordinary cards for telling, they are what your grandma used; how to read the ash from joss sticks; never be surprised if you find little people in your house or garden and be polite to them at all times.

My grandma died when I was nine but I remember her so well. She had had numerous strokes and couldn't speak properly. In the later years I was the only one who could understand her and we would have private conversations for hours, her, self and her corgi, sharing sweeties and I am sure she was passing on lots of knowledge. When I am really down it is grandma who comes through to me.

I've never heard of this
I'm intrigued!


We (my family) have been researching our family for years, but I don't seem to have any ancestry influence my beliefs.
That said, I swear my mum was psychic in some way, like myself.

All my family are lapsed CofE, and there are no pagan influences in there that I can identify.

However for as long as I can remember my Dad has taken me out in the country for long walks, to watch the birds and look at the scenery. This more than anything else is what led me to paganism, a love of nature that he instilled in me from a very young age.

I often wonder about Dad. He gets dragged to church once a year by my mother, but whenever he can, he packs the car grabs the dog and buggers off to Mid wales- which seems to be his equivalent of a spiritual experience.

My ma always used circular pottery joss stick holders that a potter friend of hers used to make for her. The ash would fall in coils or flakes onto the lip around it and she would read them like tealeaves by shape etc. She would put an intention on the joss stick before she lit it and then read the results by the way the ash fell.

Her greatest success was when as a spotty, miserable git teenager I was bemoaning my lack of boyfriend and she did the joss - announcing that my new boyfriend was on his way and his name started with N. Two days later a guy called Nigel asked me out. Not sure if this method is a well known one or just one of the many bits of witchery that she made up herself.

Oh wow, there's some great stories there and some lovely ones too. Has anyone got any more to share?

I'd not heard of joss stick ash divination but it seems like a good idea, fire ashes are used so why not that kind of ash?

I lived with my mum until 15 then my godmother, they are both psychic so when the three of us were together things would happen. Unfortunately my mum is almost afraid of her abilities, she doesn't like to discuss and certainley wouldn't do anything to help them grow. She has had visions on occassion and when younger saw ghosts etc.

When staying with me at my godmothers she was praying for me - I listened to Marilyn Manson, I was a goth and starting on my path and she felt I needed to be saved. She said as she was praying she felt negative energies coming down from my bedroom, my godmother then got a priest in to bless the house. There were negative energies in the house but were mainly in the front room where she was staying and also I owned a second hand mirror and until I got rid of it there was always a negative atmosphere.

So maybe my mother indirectly influenced me, I am afraid I do not remember my childhood so do not have lovely stories of inspiration.

Edited to add

I just remembered my Dad used to be a morris dancer, when I was lickle I had his hobby horse and hat. Told you terrible memory