Ash Wednesday reminds Christians that everything returns to dust. To me, this day also speaks of the ancestors, and it reminds me to pay respect.

To set up an ancestor altar, find a likely spot in your home and place an altar cloth there if desired. Add photographs, tchotchke, and other items that remind you of your dearly departed. Depending on your magical traditions, you may also wish to add items related to a deity or path. I like to include representations of the four elements. Consider adding candles or a small string of white or colored lights.

Work with the altar on your ancestors’ birthdays or other dates of importance. (I always include Samhain.) Leave offerings of food or drink, lighting the candles as you do so. Offer a small prayer:

To the Shining Ones, always with me,
may I be worthy, may we never truly
part. What is remembered never dies.