Filtering Ancestral Energies: A Guide to Discernment, Alignment, Healing & Growth

Author: Terry Malatji

Understanding Ancestral Energies

Reconnecting with our ancestors is a sacred and powerful journey that opens the doors to healing, wisdom and spiritual alignment. However, not all ancestral energies are the same. Just like the living who carry different intentions, experiences, and levels of awareness, so do those who have crossed over. 

Some ancestors carry with them wisdom and have intentionally chose to serve as family spirit guides, while others may still carry pain, trauma or unresolved struggles.

Being an ancestor does not automatically turn an ancestor into a wise, healer  with new abilities that were not present in life. 

An ancestor who was wise, kind and spiritually awakened will continue to guide with love. However, an ancestor who struggled with pain, unresolved emotions, or limiting beliefs may still carry those energies.

Many descendants  make the mistake of assuming that all ancestors can provide wisdom or blessings, even when they themselves were not spiritually elevated. This is why filtering ancestral energies is essential.

This guide offers a grounded, soul and energy-aligned approach to filtering ancestral energies to ensure that we connect with those who bring light, clarity and value into our lives. It’s an invitation to step into your spiritual sovereignty, to commune intentionally and to awaken the legacy that lives within your bloodline.

Through this process, you will learn not only how to protect your energy but also how to identify and activate the ancestral wisdom that is meant to walk and with you without taking away you ability to create the life you desire and live a fulfilling life. Your relationship with your ancestor must not take away your ability to live a balanced life.

It is important to remember: not walking with your ancestors does not mean you will not succeed in life and the opposite is also true.

If you know that you are a conscious creator in your own right and apply divine principles and tools of creation, you will manifest the life you desire.

When ancestral guides are elevated and aligned they bring a beautiful layer of spiritual intelligence into your journey. They co-create with you, offering wisdom, protection, and clarity. Their presence doesn’t replace your power, it amplifies it.

Ancestors are not the beginning of your power. You are. They are partners in your journey. They are not owners of your path.

Understand and recognise High vs Low Vibrational Ancestors

It is  important to recognize the difference between ancestors who can serve as your spirit guides or guardian angels and those who still need healing and therefore not ready. Knowing the signs will help you to filter and select the ancestors that you must walk with without compromising your wellbeing.

Signs of High-Vibrational Ancestral Presence

When an ancestor is spiritually elevated, they carry the energy of guidance, protection and empowerment. They help without making demands and their presence feels light, warm and supportive. Some of the signs include:

• Clarity and Peace – Their messages bring understanding and not confusion or fear.
• Unconditional Support – They guide without making threats or placing conditions on their blessings.
• Synchronicities & Divine Guidance – Their presence is often confirmed through meaningful signs, dreams, or intuitive nudges that align with your growth.
• Energetic Upliftment – You feel lighter, stronger and more spiritually grounded after their presence or communication.
• Encouragement to Heal & Grow – They guide you toward personal development, emotional healing, purpose and wisdom rather than drama or revenge.
• Free will and respect – They respect you and your free will.

Think of your mother or grandmother when they were still physically present and the loving and balanced relationship that you had with them. Why should this beautiful energy change, now that they have transitioned into the spiritual realm? Why should you now desire to have additional relationships with other ancestors who will bring nothing but negative energy into your life? Choose carefully.

Signs of a Low-vibrational or Manipulative, Unresolved Ancestral Spirit

Some ancestors remain attached to earthly struggles and may still operate from pain, fear or control. Their energy often feels heavy, demanding or guilt-inducing. The signs include:

• Conditional Blessings & Threats – Saying they will unblock blessings only if a certain ritual is performed. True spiritual blessings don’t come with ultimatums.
• Guilt & Manipulation – Using emotional pressure to get attention (e.g., “You are suffering because you don’t honor me”). Elevated ancestors never impose fear.
• Demanding Excessive Rituals or Offerings – While rituals can be powerful, if an ancestor constantly asks for elaborate offerings without spiritual growth in return, discernment is needed. Beware of ancestors who always want to spend time with you at the expense of you living a balanced life. You are not meant to live their lives here on energy.
• Encouraging Division or Conflict – Pushing family members against each other or reviving past resentments rather than promoting unity and healing.
• Creating Fear or Confusion – High-vibrational ancestors bring clarity.  Low-vibrational ancestors may leave you feeling drained, uncertain or even fearful after interactions. Their presence may trigger anxiety, guilt or unresolved grief.
• Control energy – They demand control rather than guide with love.
• Heavy & negative energy – Their messages feel heavier, confusing and fear-driven. They encourage cycles of pain, anger or stagnation.

How to Respond to a Manipulative or Unresolved Spirit

1. Acknowledge without obeying – Recognize their presence, but don’t automatically fulfil their demands.
2. Set boundaries – Speak firmly and tell them that : “I honor you, but I do not operate in fear or control. I only accept guidance that serves my highest good.”
3. Elevate & release – Some ancestors need help moving on. Offer prayers, light a candle, or ask higher-vibrational ancestors to assist them in finding peace.
4. Trust your intuition – If their energy feels off, you have the right to disengage. Not all spirits are meant to walk with you.
5. Strengthen your connection with higher ancestors & Modimo – Call upon the elevated ones for guidance and protection when navigating ancestral interactions. Read this article:  to learn more about Modimo from Africans’ perspective.

Breaking the Cycle of Spiritual Manipulation

• Recognize the Pattern – Just like in unhealthy earthly relationships, giving into spiritual manipulation reinforces the behavior. The more you comply out of fear, the more the cycle continues.
• Ancestral healing is a two-way street – Elevating a low-vibration ancestor does not mean obeying their every demand. It means helping them heal while also protecting your own spiritual sovereignty.
• You are not powerless – Just because an ancestor is older, it does not mean that they hold power over you. You are a creator in your own right and your spiritual journey is yours to direct.
• Invoke higher guidance – If an ancestor is causing distress, use your sovereign power to create and invoke positive energy. If you wish you can also call upon elevated ancestors and Modimo (The universal energy) to co-create with you for protection and clarity. A higher perspective always dissolves lower vibrational control.

Ancestral Reflections: You Attract What You Align With

Just as we attract certain people and experiences in life based on our energy, the same applies to our ancestral connections. The energy of an ancestor that comes forward is often a reflection of something within you that needs awareness, healing and strengthening.

• Manipulative Ancestors & Personal Boundaries – A manipulative ancestor may approach you because they sense that you lack strong boundaries or are easily influenced. This is an opportunity to stand in your power and learn to say no even in the spiritual realm.
• Fear-Based Ancestors & Inner Fears – If you find yourself engaging with fearful or anxious ancestors, ask yourself: Am I holding fear about my own spiritual path? Their presence may be urging you to release fear and step into trust.
• Wounded Ancestors & Personal Healing – An ancestor who comes through with pain, anger or unresolved trauma may be mirroring wounds within you or your lineage. Their presence is not to burden you but to highlight what needs healing in the family bloodline.
• Wise, Elevated Ancestors & Spiritual Readiness – On the flip side, when we elevate our own frequency, we start connecting with high-vibrational ancestors who guide, uplift and protect us.

The Lesson: Your Energy is a Spiritual Filter

You are not a passive recipient of ancestral energies. Your energy acts as a filter, determining which spirits engage with you and how they do so. Strengthening your own energy through self-awareness, intention and inner work ensures that your ancestral connections are empowering and not draining.

Beware of Desperation: The Energy That Opens Spiritual Loopholes

When we are in a state of lack, desperation, or fear, we unknowingly send out a signal that we are vulnerable and willing to accept anything that appears as “help” even if it comes with strings attached. 

Some ancestors, especially those who carried manipulative, opportunistic, or wounded energies in life may use this as an opening to say:

• “I took your money, and I’m the only one who can give it back—so you must do X, Y, Z.”
• “Your blessings are blocked, but if you follow my instructions, I will release them.”
• “No one else in the family listens to me, but I know you will, so you must perform this ritual for me.”

This is not the voice of a highly elevated ancestor but one still operating from earthly patterns of control, fear or unhealed wounds.

How to Protect Yourself from Desperation-Driven Manipulation

• Check your energy before engaging. Ask yourself: Am I approaching my ancestors from a place of fear, desperation or emotional instability? If yes, take time to ground yourself before seeking guidance.
• Stay firm in your sovereignty. You have free will. Ancestral guidance should feel empowering. It should not be like a spiritual debt that you have to pay off.
• Be mindful of spiritual transactions. If an ancestor demands something in exchange for help, question their intentions. Elevated ancestors give freely, with love.
• Redirect the energy. Instead of asking, “Why is my money blocked?”, shift to, “What lesson do I need to learn about abundance?” This invites higher wisdom instead of fear-based control.

The Power of Intention in Ancestral Connection

When approaching ancestors, intention is key. Because there are many spirits, both within our lineage and beyond. Our intentions act as a spiritual filter, allowing us to connect with the right energies and receive guidance that aligns with our needs. Without clear intention, one may encounter confusion, distractions, or even energies that do not serve their highest good.

Setting an intention helps to focus the energy, create a sacred space for connection, and ensure that the communication is meaningful. Before engaging with ancestors, take a moment to be clear on your purpose. Some common intentions include:

• Seeking clarity on family gifts – Understanding spiritual abilities and talents passed down through generations.
• Asking questions about family matters – Gaining insight into unresolved issues, generational patterns, or ancestral blessings.
• Uplifting a spiritual gift – Strengthening an inherited ability such as healing, intuition or divination.
• Seeking protection and blessings – Calling upon ancestral guidance for support in life’s journey.
• Honouring and expressing gratitude – Simply acknowledging the presence and contributions of ancestors.

By setting a clear intention, you invite the right energies and strengthen your spiritual connection with those who are meant to guide you.

Activating Ancestral Gifts and Legacy

Beyond setting an intention for connection, one of the most powerful ways to filter ancestral energies is by focusing on the value they bring. Ancestors, like the living, have different traits, skills and wisdom. By consciously activating the positive gifts of our lineage, we ensure that our interactions are rooted in purpose and growth rather than passive engagement.

This can be done through:

• Researching family traits and skills – Learning what abilities, professions or spiritual gifts were prominent in the bloodline.
• Requesting direct revelation – Asking ancestors to reveal their strengths, contributions and how they can assist in your journey.
• Honouring and continuing ancestral wisdom – Actively using their knowledge in your daily life, whether in business, healing, leadership or spirituality.
• Clearly stating your needs – When calling upon ancestors, specify the kind of guidance or support you seek, reinforcing that only those with aligned wisdom should step forward.

This principle is deeply reflected in how successful families build legacies. Just as wealth and knowledge are passed down in business dynasties, spiritual and creative wisdom also require intentional cultivation. By reviving and integrating ancestral gifts, we create a living legacy, a restored spiritual and material foundation for future generations. I also mention the concept of family grounds in my book Principles & Tools of Creation. 

Shape Your Spiritual Identity Through Affirmations

One of the most empowering ways to filter ancestral energies and all energies is to consciously create a new spiritual identity using affirmations. The identity you carry in the spirit realm shapes how you are seen, how you are approached and what you attract.

When you wake up every day declaring who you are with clarity, you set the frequency for your interactions, both physical and spiritual. This becomes a filter, a shield, and a magnet.

Why This Works:

• The spirit world responds to energy, not titles.
• If you walk in desperation, confusion, or fear, energies will respond to that.
• But when you declare: “I am aligned with divine wisdom” “I am protected by elevated ancestors,” or “Only high vibrational energies may walk with me”you create boundaries and invitations at the same time.

Examples of Identity-Shaping Affirmations:

• I am protected by light and aligned with divine wisdom.
• Only ancestors who walk in truth, love and clarity may commune with me.
• I am the continuation of my family’s highest potential.
• I walk in the frequency of abundance, peace and power.
• I am not available for manipulation.
• I am a sovereign co-creator.

These affirmations train your subconscious, guide your emotions, and send signals into the universe about how energy should engage with you.

The Ultimate Truth: Becoming Who You Really Are

Alongside shaping your spiritual identity, it is important to root yourself in what I call “The Ultimate Truth.” These are the unshakable attributes of your divine essence. They are love, peace, joy, kindness, empathy, compassion, abundance, balance, equality, tolerance, positive energy, light, healing and freedom.

When you embody The Ultimate Truth, you don’t just protect your energy, you raise your frequency to such a degree that low-vibrational ancestral energies and external forces cannot reach you.

Speaking these truths daily becomes a spiritual armor:

• I am love.
• I am peace.
• I am joy.
• I am kindness and understanding.
• I walk in divine truth and clarity.
• I radiate light, and only light aligns with me.

This is how you shift the atmosphere, influence what comes toward you, and teach the universe and your ancestors how to engage with you.

Greet in Truth: Filtering with the Ultimate Truth

One of the most powerful ways to filter ancestral energies is to greet and invite only those who align with your divine essence – your Ultimate Truth.

Instead of a general call, greet intentionally:

“Thobela Badimo ba Lerato (those of love), ba moya wa Khutšo (peace), ba tsebo le kwelo-bohloko (wisdom and empathy), ba lesedi (light).”

This is not just a greeting, it is a frequency gate. Those who do not carry these vibrations will not respond or resonate with your call. You are not only inviting, you are also protecting and aligning.

 Sacred Tools for Energy Filtering

Different spiritual tools help filter and strengthen your connection to ancestral wisdom:

• Water – Used for clarity, purification, and as a medium to receive messages.
• Herbs (Imphepho, Sage, Mugwort, etc.) – Burned to cleanse energy and remove negativity.
• Crystals (Black Tourmaline, Amethyst, Clear Quartz) – For protection, intuition and energetic alignment.
• Salt (Coarse Sea Salt or Epsom Salt) – Used for energetic protection and cleansing.

The Role of Your Own Energy & Alignment

Your state of mind and energy determine the type of spiritual connection you attract. Maintaining a high vibration through meditation, self-care, and gratitude helps align you with higher ancestral guidance. If you feel emotionally or mentally imbalanced, take time to ground yourself before seeking messages.

Honouring Without Carrying Burdens

While honoring all ancestors is important, you are not meant to carry their pain. Ancestral healing is about breaking cycles and not repeating them. Offer prayers and rituals to help elevate unhealed ancestors, but do not take on their struggles as your own. You are here to heal forward and not be bound to the past.

A Return to Sovereignty and Sacred Connection

You are not a passive receiver of ancestral energy. You are a co-creator of the relationship. As you reconnect with your lineage, may you walk with discernment, compassion and clarity. Let your spirit be guided not by fear or desperation, but by love, truth and alignment with the divine force of Modimo.

The first and most important step to take before embarking on any relationship with your ancestors is to do the inner work – awaken and elevate your highest Self, Discover your Self, Develop your Self and Heal you Self.

When you walk in your truth, you shift the entire frequency of your family line. You become the bridge between past, present and future, a vessel of restoration and revival. May you remember who you are. May you know that you are never alone.

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