In the previous post, I briefly discussed how a shamanic journey can be used for the purpose of a shamanic healing.
This post will explore the shamanic journey as its own practice and address how shamans know which of the three spirit realms to travel to for a journey as well as how shamans gather information while in the spirit world through the five claires.
The claires are the ways that shamans obtain information from the spirit world. They are clairvoyance (seeing), clairaudience (hearing), clairsentience (feeling – both bodily and emotionally), claircognizance (knowing), and clairolfaction (smelling & tasting.) Many shamans will have one or two primary ways of receiving information but will still intuitively use all five to obtain information on their journeys.
Before a journey can begin, a shaman needs to know which of the three realms of the spirit world to journey to. This is determined by intent, as the reason for the journey plays a large role in which realm is the best place to start. Sometimes shamans travel between the three realms during a journey, as beings and information can be anywhere in the spirit world, but having a clear reason for the journey makes it easy to know which of the three realms it is best to travel to first during a journey.
Journeys to the Lower World are the most common in shamanic healing and are typically used for things like power animal retrieval or ancestral healing. Middle World journeys are typically used to interact with the energy of beings in the physical world. A journey to the Middle World could be used for things like a remote healing, helping a discarnate spirit cross to the spirit world, or to communicate with a being such as a tree. The Upper World is a place of destiny and future, so a journey there might be used for divination or a destiny retrieval. Upper World journeys are also used to meet spirit guides and ascended masters.
Before a journey begins, shamans create sacred space through the method or practice followed in their personal spiritual belief system. Shamans then call on the four directions and their spirit helpers before concentrating on their intention for the journey and grounding themselves. Some Shamans may use drumming or percussion to begin the journey, but not all.
After starting, shamans may imagine themselves in a place in nature or a place of sacred energy. After restating their intention, shamans will look for a way to get to the desired realm of the spirit world. They may visualize a rabbit hole to the Lower World, climbing a mountain or tree to the Upper World, or simply walking out their front door to the Middle World. Once they have arrived in their desired world, shamans will call on their power animals and spirit guides to join them in the spirit world and state their intention to their guides. Shamans then ask their guides to take them where they need to go to receive information pertinent to their intention. Then shamans experience the journey, being open to information as it comes, in any form. Once the journey feels complete or the callback sound plays (if percussion is in use), shamans will wrap up what they’re doing, thank their guides for assisting them, and tell them they will see them again. Then shamans will return to their body the same way they came into the spirit world (i.e. up through the rabbit role or down the mountain.)
Once they have returned to their body, they typically settle in by wiggling their fingers and toes before opening their eyes. Sometimes they may make notes in a journal while the journey is still fresh. Then shamans sit with the journey and look for ways to interpret the information they received and what everything they experienced might mean. If any information is particularly puzzling, shamans may journey again for clarification or re-enter the same journey. Once they feel the journeying experience is fully complete, shamans thank their spirit guides and close the directions.
Shamanic journeying is a highly complex and nuanced process, but hopefully this blog was able to give you a decent understanding of how a journey is performed and how shamans obtain the knowledge and information that they use in healing sessions and beyond.
Interested in booking a shamanic healing? Head over to our bookings page to find a time that works for you!
Last week’s post addressed the broader topic of shamanism and provided a basic definition of what it is. Having gained an understanding of shamanism, you can now learn about shamanic healing. This is the umbrella term for many different techniques that shamans make use of to return their clients to a state of balance.
Shamanic healings may be necessary when an individual has an imbalance of energy, which can, or may already have, triggered unhealthy patterns, actions, or decisions. This imbalance is caused by something called the original wound, which is often created as the result of a traumatic event or incident that has happened in this life, a previous life, or to one of the individual’s ancestors.
Shamanic healings are conducted jointly between a shaman (or shamans), Spirit, and spirit guides. Similarly to a shamanic journey, shamans travel to the spirit world during a shamanic healing. The two are distinct from each other in that a shamanic healing occurs when the shaman enters the spirit world while carrying a healing intent for their client. The shaman then asks Spirit to reveal the original wound, and the healing can begin.
Since shamanic healings seek to restore an energetic balance, most techniques either remove intrusive energies, or return energies that have been lost.
Energy removal techniques include ancestral healing, compassionate depossession, curse unraveling, illumination, extraction, cord removal, and house clearings. These techniques all involve the removal of heavy, negative, and/or intrusive energies (and sometimes suffering beings like a discarnate spirit) from a person’s body or energy field. Energy return techniques include soul retrieval, destiny retrieval, and power animal retrieval. Each of these techniques unites individuals with an energy that can restore wholeness and spiritual vitality as well as aid in guiding them towards their true purpose.
Shamanic healing has several benefits including helping with the release of physical and emotional trauma as well as other painful experiences. It is also helpful in clearing and/or shifting heavy energy, allowing for restoration of joy and vitality. Shamanic healings also help form and strengthen connections with spirit guides and our own inner knowledge and spirituality.
Thank you for reading! I hope you were able to begin to understand the benefits of shamanic healing, some of the techniques shamans use to work with energy, and situations in which they might be applicable. There’s a lot more to each technique than can be covered in one post, so keep an eye out for future posts that will dive deeper into each!
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If you’re interested in booking a shamanic healing session, you can schedule an appointment online.
Have you ever had questions about Shamanism? Shamanism is a concept that is sometimes misunderstood, and I often get questions about it as a shamanic healer. This blog post will act as an introduction to the basics of shamanism, which will help you become more familiar with the core tenets of shamanism so you can better understand the specific shamanic healing techniques that future blog posts will discuss.
Shamanism is an ancient spiritual practice that allows for a deeper connection with our own spirituality and the spiritual world around us. Shamanism was practiced around the world and predates organized religion. There are several concepts, beliefs, and ideas that are central to the practice of shamanism. These beliefs include:
1. The Spirit World
The belief in a spirit world is a belief central to all of shamanism. The spirit world as a whole is composed of three smaller segments: the lower, middle, and upper worlds. The lower world is the realm of mother earth, power animals, and ancestors. The middle world is the spirit realm of the physical world we inhabit. It is the home of nature and animal spirits. The upper world is the realm of higher consciousness and divinity where ascended masters and other divine beings reside.
2. The Spirit & Universal Energy
Shamans believe in the concept of animism, which is the belief that all things, living and non-living, have a spirit. These beings also share a universal energy. This energy flows through all and allows for communication and interaction between beings in both the physical and spirit worlds.
3. Communication & Journeying
Beings such as power animals, spirit guides, and nature spirits reside in the spirit world, and shamans will often communicate with them and may ask for their assistance or advice in healing sessions. A shamanic journey is one of the ways shamans communicate with beings in the spirit world. Journeys occur when shamans enter a trance-like state in which they travel to one of the spirit world’s three levels.
Hopefully this post has helped in giving you a basic understanding of some of shamanism’s central concepts and beliefs. Future posts will further explore specific shamanic healing techniques as well as other shamanic topics, so stay tuned for more shaman knowledge!
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We hope you found this article helpful! If You’re interested in booking a shamanic healing session, you can schedule an appointment online.
When I do shamanic healing with a client for the very first time, I like to start with power animal retrieval. Why do I start there? Everyone needs an ally when they first start to navigate working with Spirit. Power animals are usually very eager to help and love connecting with “their humans.”
The first kind are the ones that have been with you since birth. Ones that are part of your personality and make up the core values of who you are. The others are situational. They show up and offer their wisdom when you are in a situation where you are feeling stuck or is causing you stress.
How do you know the difference between the two?
Do you have a gazillion chatchkis of a particular animal? Every time you go on vacation, you find a souvenir to bring home that is of the same animal? Is your Christmas tree covered with ornaments with that same animal? For me, it’s penguins. Before I ever knew what a power animal was, I had (and still have) a healthy collection of penguin paraphernalia. At my wedding I had a penguin wedding cake topper, threw beanie baby penguins instead of my wedding bouquet and even had mechanical penguins dancing on the dance floor. Yeah, you could say that Penguin is a power animal of mine!
The situational ones, present themselves, when there is a situation you are in and you start to notice them. Say every night for a week straight, you hear an owl hooting outside your window – where you never heard them before. For the past 3 mornings, a crow seems to fly above your car on the way to work? Or in my case, I walked out my front door one morning and was greeted by a dead baby skunk in my walkway. Spirit was definitely trying to tell me something.
Why are they important?
When first starting to work with Spirit, it is helpful to have a guide with you. Your power animal can be that guide. If you have never meditated or “connected with Spirit” before you might feel more comfortable taking a guide with you. They will be by your side offering guidance and support and helping you listen to messages from Spirit.
If you’re interested, you can schedule a shamanic journey online.
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Kara@lighthousehealing.com