Don't worry - there is no way of doing a rite correctly . . . they just make it up ;-)

• Make sure you read the rulebook on Speak with Ancestor again and again - highlight the relevent points and make sure you hit them (time, spellcards, format of THE question *Hint-hint*)

• Make it appropriate to the Ancestor you are speaking to (background/source material/research results linked to the speak with Ancestor should be available beforehand for the ref to read

• Speak clearly - Ancestors often have "Voices in their head"

• Relax, enjoy yourself and make sure that everyone else involved in the rite has fun too (sorry - can't tell you HOW to be entertaining)

That is all OOC advice - for IC advice, have a chat with the Incantors. (and one last tip - don't EXPECT to get Harmed in the face - try expecting something else) ;-)

I like to think of SWAs as little rituals to your ancestor - involve people, make them entertaining, use props if you like, make sure the people IC and OOC understand exactly what you want and most importantly - don't ask for anything that your ancestor won't know/ will find abhorrent.

Just like rituals, it's handy to have a bit of padding to fall back on in case you need time to think about the next bit or to fill in a bit of time (although if you do a good but slightly too short SWA you're not going to ruin everything!) Information about your ancestor, telling him/ her what you've done on your own to find the answers before resorting to a SWA and any information that you've already found are all good bits to fill in that time.

If you need help IC, the incantors are good at this sort of thing :)