Shamanic Journeying

A time to Journey

Hello my fellow travellers, let me start by wishing you all peace and health as the wheel starts turning again for the beginning of the new year.

 

As with most people at this time, I was thinking about new years resolutions, what they are about and what they achieve, for some it is the obligatory diet, this usually comes about from feasting to much over Yule, for others it’s a new start wanting to look for a new job etc.  I wanted this year for it to be a little different for me, I thought of diets, and let’s be honest they last about a week, two if you are really good, then you see that piece of cake or those chocolate Hobnobs (other biscuits are available) then it all fades into insignificance until January the first 2024.  I looked at it as a way for me to take my journey further, something I know I am happy to continue.

 

My resolutions are……………., no, let’s stop there for a minute, I will not be calling them resolutions, this makes it sound way too formal, I looked up the word resolution and the meaning I got was ‘a promise to yourself to do or to not do something’ I liked this so much better, I know it is the same thing but I personally hate breaking a promise so for me to call it by this would hold more meaning for me.

I promised myself the following for the year ahead

1. I will build on my creative side; I have always wanted to dabble with painting so I am going to give it a go
2. Work through the remaining bits of my Druid grade
3. Work more on my Shamanic Journeying, this is where this blog comes in.

I have been getting more and more involved in the Shamanic side of my Druid path as I moved on from my Ovate grade, it has been an interesting ride, so to speak.  I have always meditated right through from my Buddhist practice into my Druid path which I found helpful for both the times when I need to sit quietly contemplating my journey, stilling my mind, and the times when I needed to work through something more involved.  I stepped into my Druid grade, and this has been a real eye opener in as much as it is very Shamanic based, which in all honesty appealed to me so much.  I started looking more into Shamanic Journeying and practices, came across a few really interesting books, one in particular I really enjoyed reading was by Danu Forest called, “The Druid Shaman: Exploring the Celtic Otherworld”  This opened up many areas for me as it takes you through finding what you need in a journey of this type, it helps you find your spirit guides, or at least leads to a place where you can meet with them.  I would definitely recommend this book if it is something you want to get involved in.

 

The next thing was getting in the right state of mind, unlike quiet meditation, Shamanic Journeys require altering the state of your mind and this is done mainly with a continuous drum beat set at the right level so many beats per minute to get you to an almost trance like state.  Drumming and journeying are not easily achieved on your own so I enlisted the help of a good friend of mine, YouTube.  I did a search and found several really good guided shamanic journey videos, my favourite being by “The Honest Guys” its definitely worth a listen.

Well Monday I decided to start the year with a Shamanic Journey, I went to my quiet place where I knew I wouldn’t be disturbed, lit some incense turned off the lights put on the drumming and started.  I was journeying for about an hour and had the most amazing experience I have had in a long time, very visual and very real.  I went into this with a question I wanted help / guidance with as is recommended.  I wanted help with an area of my Druid grade, I have to write a ceremony similar to the Wolf Ceremony referencing the Deer.  I had this in my mind as I let the drum beat take me over, the vision I had I will share with you, I have put it on the Facebook page but also wanted to talk about it on here.

 

The Journey 

My journey started as always, I am in an ancient forest, the sunlight rippling through the branches of the trees, before me stands a mighty tree, as tall as the sky as wide as a person is tall, I walk around the tree, and it has an opening in its trunk.  I step inside the opening and see spiral steps leading me down into the Earth, the tree is a doorway to the lower realm.  I continue down the stairs until I reach another doorway, this again is formed from the trunk of a tree, I step into another forest, this one more ancient than the one I have just come from.  I usually at this point wander around and make contact with my Spirit Guide, most recently this has been a large bear, but on this occasion it was different.  I wandered around and found myself in front of yet another big tree, this was a mighty oak.  To the foot of a tree, held within its roots, were the bones and skull of a Stag/Deer, the bones were of the whitest white.  I looked at the skull and was immediately drawn inside it, once inside I was confronted by a kaleidoscope of colours and patterns, the more I looked the more the patterns changed, I felt the skull moving away from me as as it moved further it turned into a large, beautiful eye, I could see the pupil dilating getting bigger and bigger eventually turning into the brightest sun I have ever seen.  My gaze was fixed on this bright light and in the centre, I saw silhouetted a large, dark Oak tree, I looked at the Oak and a Stag emerged as if being born from its trunk, for a moment the tree and the Stag were as one.  As quick as it came the vision ended but I felt the most incredible warmth throughout my whole being.

The drums then called me back and my journey ended.

 

I received a message from a fellow Druid on another site that said that this journey was very reminiscent of the story of the Holly and Oak King, I guess in some respects yes, but I had no Holly that I could see, looking at it I suppose you could relate it to the rebirth of the Oak King bringing the light of the new year as the wheel continues to turn.  I made notes about this and have been relating it to the question I had in my mind when I started this journey.  I think to some extent it provided me with a basis on which to start my Deer Ceremony, once I have written this, I will share it with you all, it also forms part of my Druid Grade assessment so I will also be conducting this ceremony at some point in the near future.

 

I know this was a bit of a strange one for the start of the year, but I wanted to share it as it forms part of my Druid path which is what this blog in essence is all about. 

 

I know I say it often, but I really do appreciate your company as I travel on my way, I hope you are all still enjoying being on this journey with me.  We each have our own paths and walk them as we choose, this way works for me, and I hope you all find something in these blogs that help you.  I am not a teacher and don’t profess to be, I am but a simple soul walking the tracks of my ancestors trying to find myself and my purpose, stopping and sharing a bite and a libation with friends I meet on the way, sharing stories and musings that I hope are found interesting and awakening my inner self to the ways of the old, for without these being rekindled they will soon become lost, and all that was done before will just be myth that eventually gets forgotten. 

 

We are the people that keep the old ways alive and I long for the time when we all meet in a mass gathering and thank our ancestors for all they have done for us to make us who we are.  Each ceremony I take part in, whether it be solo, in a group or as part of something bigger I thank my ancestors and remember them as one day I hope to be remembered.

 

Let us all just take five minutes a day to sit in silence and think about who we are before this modern world swallows our souls in technology, my long-suffering other half and myself have now decided that at least once a week we will just sit together for about half an hour, without phones or TV and just share the joys of silent meditation to ground ourselves and keep our spirits alive.

 

Well as always, I have rattled on so long.  I usually finish with a poem or a story but today I thought I would finish with a small, guided meditation, in line with the spirit of this blog, that you could try when you have a spare few minutes.