A Magic Carpet Ride
Fair warning, this post will likely be one of those long and meaningless ones but it is something I wanted to talk about.
I do a fair bit of "journey work" as part of my practice. I prefer to call it journey work as opposed to "shamanic" practice because I believe shamanic has a very specific meaning (ie travelling to the other worlds to obtain knowledge and/or power to us for the betterment of healing of an individual or community, usually a community that rejects the shaman themselves). Ian Corrigan recently placed a post on his blog about a magical rite he did at a recent festival in which he and the other attendees attempted to contact beings associated with Brighid for help and assistance. In this post he refers to the "threshold" state he was attempting to achieve with the attendees. Not actual journeying but right on the brink where spirit contact is easier. I liked the name he had for this state so I am promptly stealing it.
Anywho, I see journey work in three (maybe 4) distinct states
The Threshold
I utilize this threshold state when I ask several beings I have contacted in the past to make connections with me here in my plane of existence. I actually began this long before I even considered myself a Pagan. At a time in my mid twenties I was very interested in Spiritualism. I read a few books and (as sometimes happens) figured I was well past ready to start contacting spirits on my own. I know that there are maybe a few out there cringing at such boldness. I have heard many a story (and a couple of them I even believe the people telling them to me believed) about nasty or unwelcome energies being picked up when someone attempts such things without any experience but, as is my style, I jumped in head first anyways.
I tend not to use the charms that Ian does in this kind of work. Ian is much more an experienced and dedicated learned magic kind of fellow then I am. I tend to do things much more organically. For me the threshold is approached via what I call my inner grove this is exactly what it sounds like. A clearing within a grove of trees. For me this grove is located within my psyche, I do not travel to get there. I have used it not only to contact spiritual friends and allies but also to connect with archetypal states within myself. It is a safe space. The only beings and energies allowed within this place are those I invite (and are willing). In this space I can either work with the beings there or I can ask them to come with me to the conscious world.
I enter the Threshold State by entering a slight trance, usually via the Bones, Blood, and Breath mediation and then forming the picture of my mind of the Grove. Side note here, before becoming a pagan the space I would go to was not a grove at all but a mesa with tall grasses growing on it and a bright blue sky. No idea why. At some point later while doing some archetypal work I felt like I needed something more secure and the grove is what my mind created and I have used since. Once I have the grove in my mind, which are all tall and dark wooded trees with green leaves. The hint of blue sky through the canopy above, I place myself there. I look down and see my feet on the moist forest floor and feel the weight of my body on my feet until I can fully feel myself in the grove. Sometimes there are beings there when I arrive but most often the space is empty until I invit theme in.
The beings I have met there are archetypal beings like my own inner child, warrior, elder etc. As well as spiritual beings. My interaction with the archetypes here is open and fulfilling however often I find my interaction with the spiritual beings is limited in my inner grove. This is my space, I claim it and own it, this is very important to me and I exert a great deal of control over it. Often beings I meet there need to either accompany me back to the real world or I must see them in deeper journeying to have more meaningful interaction (which I will get to soon). But the grove is a wonderful and safe place in which to contact beings for the first time. It is in the Grove that I first contacted the Tribe of Men Who Love Men and the Elder Wise both of which require me to go on a deeper journey to interact with in a more detailed way (whether they can and just don't want to or can't move to real time and space is something they have never really answered for me). However there are three spirits which I have met in the Grove which do consent to visit me in normal space.
The first is a young, what looks like to me, First Nations gentlemen. He is maybe somewhere between 16 and 19 years old in appearance. Amazingly beautiful. His features are very much in line with First Nations folk, dark caramel skin, raven haired, prominent nose and dark eyes, except his hair has a bit of a curl to it. He says he has always been with me. His job is to allow me to freedom of my body to get past the self consciousness and self dislike that has always plagued me. I won't go into any great detail but, I will be honest here and please don't judge me, we have sex. His interaction with my is almost purely on a physical level. The only clothes I have seen him wear is a long fronted loin cloth.
The second being who will come to me in normal space is a woman. She appears to be about my age, mid thirties, and of northern European decent, except her hair is dark brown, almost black. Her eyes are green and penetrating. She dresses in a long dress the type you would imagine a woman wearing, when women only wore dresses, to do work outside. It is utilitarian and unadorned but clean and well kept. She is my guardian and also claims to have been with my my entire life. Spiritualists (which is what I was pursuing when I met her) would refer to her as a Guardian Spirit or Guardian Angel. A member of the dead whose job is to look after a person from birth until death. I don't see her often but occasionally I will catch a glimpse of her. Usually when she is either strongly supportive or dismissive of something in my life. She likes it when I make my bed (and no, I am not kidding) and will sometime touch my face even when I haven't called her or sing to me in times I feel down.
The third being is someone who has become very, very important in my spiritual life. He looks like an older white dude but says he is neither American or European. He dresses ... well he dresses like one of the old time revivalist druids. A long white robe and stupid head dress (that looks Egyptian) and has a long pet snake around his neck. His job is as my guide and he is full of tough love. He loves to poke and prod me often telling me how, when I attempt something without success, how silly I am being and that people have done this for thousands of years . He LOVES to make fun of modern pagans but also seems to have a soft place in his heart for those who are really trying as well. He calls himself Oberon though he admits that is not really his name, which he will not tell me. The other two spirits I mentioned above do have names, btw, but I have promised not to reveal them. He not only will come to me in normal space (only when called however) but often accompanies into deeper journey work as well. Though he will not enter the higher plane nor will he enter Helheim (where I visited one time) because he says he doesn't like Hella though I have no idea why, I think they would get along wonderfully.
The Underworld
It is in the Underworld where I have had the most success in my journeying. This is a deeper journey work I mentioned above and requires me to enter into a deep trance to achieve. I learned the technique I use most often from a gentlemen named Hyperion who has a pagan system he calls The Unnamed Path in the end I decided that his path was not right for me but I did learn a great deal from him. I enter the Underworld by first going to, what I refer to as, the Crossroads. Which for me are not roads at all. I use music, most often double drumming but any repetitive music will work, to block out the sounds of the world. I prefer to lie down for this kind of work usually on the floor as opposed to my bed (so I don't fall asleep). I will listen to the drumming and loose my mind to it. Allow my body to fully relax. I then begin counting, slowly, from 13 to 1. At each number I will myself to relax deeper. I imagine the floor below be is soft and that I sink into it (though always supported by it). By the number 1 I have achieved a deep trance and form the crossroads in my mind. My crossroads consist of a majestic cliff, grass covered, on the precipice is a great tree. The grass and tree will not aways look the same to me. Sometimes the grass is long and blowing, sometimes short and soft. The tree leaves may be green, red, or golden. The sky may be blue, gray, orange and purple of sunset, or red of sunrise. Once I find myself fully at the crossroads I can approach the tree. Interestingly I never arrive right before the tree but always have to walk towards it, sometimes very far indeed.
To the right of the tree, as I am facing it, is a path that leads down the cliff face. From the path one can see that the cliff is very tall indeed and below is a wide beach of white-brown sand and the ocean. It strikes me that this space is where the three worlds meet, the land, sea and sky, in majestic beauty. The path will take me to a cave which is directly below the tree. Inside the cave there is always a fire burning but it is never smoky. Pretty often I meet Oberon here, who is patiently waiting for me. Whether he is always there for whomever journeys to this area or just knows when I coming I do not know. In the cave walls one can see the roots of the tree above coming through the dirt and stone and water glistening down the walls. There are always a myriad of tunnels that begin in this cave. They are tall and wide, big enough to ride a horse through (though I never have) and they are natural. There are no tool marks or smooth polished walls but the floor of the tunnels is clear and easy to traverse. Sometimes there will be only a couple tunnels and sometimes many more. I usually take the tunnel immediately to the right of the cave entrance. It is this tunnel that leads to the beach below. The beach seems to be a gathering space for the Tribes of the dead. Here is where I meet with the Tribe of Men Who Love Men and the Elder Wise. Other tunnels will lead to more well known underworld destinations. Of which I have only visited a couple, Helheim as I mentioned above, where Hella promptly told me to get out because I wasn't hers but where I had some great encounters along the way and, what I can only call, the Summerlands where I spoke with some distant relatives of my own. When I visit the beach sometimes Oberon will accompany me and sometimes not but when I go adventuring to other places he will most often come with me. Though not to Helheim. Sometimes he will guide me, saying I should go this way or that, usually to places I don't recognize but which have an amazing beauty. Usually it is at these times he wants to teach me a lesson or just speak one on one. Sometimes I will go to the beach but none of the tribes are there, often Oberon will come then or another singular of the dead. Once I was all by myself the entire time. There are islands out in the ocean beyond, I can see them in the distance if I am on the beach at sunset and the sun is behind them, but I have not yet deduced a method for getting there and Oberon says I cannot go until I do. I once saw a boat on the beach but was unable to get it into the water. I do not like swimming in the waters, they make me very forgetful and both times I have tried I feel asleep during my journey and entered the lands of dreams. Dreams I know where important but that I cannot remember at all. It is frustrating because, walking, I can cover immense distances at a time in my journey but swimming it just seems not to be the case.
My double drumming track changes speed towards the end, I think with three minutes left to go. It is usually this clue or, more often, my totem spirit, the Blue Jay will fly to me and rest on my shoulder or hands that tells me I am supposed to go. I will retreat my path back to the crossroads and turn away from the tree and return to my body. I always am sure to say farewell and thank the beings I have interacted with. Oberon always clasps my shoulder and says be well, be well, be well as I leave which is a motto I have taken up in my life.
The Upperworld
The upperworld is where I have the least experience in journeying. I have, for some reason, just not felt the compulsion to visit this area much. I achieve the upperworld through the crossroads, getting there in the same method I mentioned above. On my tree is a large knot, almost as if it had lost a branch at some point or, more likely, the branch is just not visible to me. To gain the upperworld I climb into the knot. That is the only way I can explain it though it is not so large as I could literally climb into it. Oberon is never at the crossroads and I have never encountered him in the upperworlds so the few times I have been there I have had to figure things out myself. Once I enter the knot I am surrounded by immensely bright light, when my eyes have adjusted I find myself on the landing pad (I call it) which is a floor of polished marble which appears to be perched at the very tops of the branches of the tree, though I cannot see it from below I can see the leaves and branches all around the floor and there is nothing straight above but sky. from the landing pad there are many paths the lead away into forest, glad, and mountain. They are not natural unlike the tunnels below, obviously created by someone or something, but are beautifully maintained with packed reddish-brown dirt. Like the tunnels below, however, sometimes there are only a couple paths sometimes many. I know that the path that is directly in front of me which leads through a field of wildflowers into the a forest is where I can encounter the higher forms of animal spirit. While this notion is probably not at all Indo-European it is my experience. I have spoken with the Bear spirit there (who was very wise, but drones on quite a bit) and the porcupine (who was skittish and more nervous then me, which made me more nervous -- what happens if you get quilled by the higher spirit of the porcupine while visiting the upper world? I do no wish to know). I tried to visit Asgard but could not cross a river in my path and I did once climb Olympus all the way to the amazing temple at the summit, which ain't easy folks, only to find it beautiful, so bright it hurt my eyes, and completely empty. I guess they were off doing more exciting things. Personally I think this area is just not meant to be traversed by mortals unless they are specifically called by the residents there. But it is beautiful. almost everywhere one goes you will encounter temples and shrines and fortresses. Most I cannot identify and none of which have I seen the Gods and Goddesses. Save twice. The first time I visited the Upperworld I encountered the Morrigan who promptly told me I wasn't ready and sent me back down the Crossroads. The second time was also the Morrigan whom I purposefully went to see and called to as I walked the path on which I had encountered her the first time. She appeared and I explained how my oath to her no longer felt right for me and she told me that I was never really hers and that I was released from that oath and then was gone.
The Back Roads
Some people who do this kind of work will explore what Hyperion calls the back roads that is instead of journeying above or below when one achieves their crossroads they will turn around and explore the midworld. This is my maybe 4 distinct state I mention above. While I have certainly been able to explore this area I just haven't felt much value in it. It looks, to me, much like the natural world and the encounters with animal spirts I have met there is much the same as I have encountered in normal space. For me if I want to explore this kind of space I would rather do so in the walking world. I suppose there is some value in mapping out the back roads for the midworld but it is just not of interest to me.
So there you have it. My journey work condensed into a way too long of an entry. I would love to hear about your experience with this kind of work.
~ Jamie
I do a fair bit of "journey work" as part of my practice. I prefer to call it journey work as opposed to "shamanic" practice because I believe shamanic has a very specific meaning (ie travelling to the other worlds to obtain knowledge and/or power to us for the betterment of healing of an individual or community, usually a community that rejects the shaman themselves). Ian Corrigan recently placed a post on his blog about a magical rite he did at a recent festival in which he and the other attendees attempted to contact beings associated with Brighid for help and assistance. In this post he refers to the "threshold" state he was attempting to achieve with the attendees. Not actual journeying but right on the brink where spirit contact is easier. I liked the name he had for this state so I am promptly stealing it.
Anywho, I see journey work in three (maybe 4) distinct states
The Threshold
I utilize this threshold state when I ask several beings I have contacted in the past to make connections with me here in my plane of existence. I actually began this long before I even considered myself a Pagan. At a time in my mid twenties I was very interested in Spiritualism. I read a few books and (as sometimes happens) figured I was well past ready to start contacting spirits on my own. I know that there are maybe a few out there cringing at such boldness. I have heard many a story (and a couple of them I even believe the people telling them to me believed) about nasty or unwelcome energies being picked up when someone attempts such things without any experience but, as is my style, I jumped in head first anyways.
I tend not to use the charms that Ian does in this kind of work. Ian is much more an experienced and dedicated learned magic kind of fellow then I am. I tend to do things much more organically. For me the threshold is approached via what I call my inner grove this is exactly what it sounds like. A clearing within a grove of trees. For me this grove is located within my psyche, I do not travel to get there. I have used it not only to contact spiritual friends and allies but also to connect with archetypal states within myself. It is a safe space. The only beings and energies allowed within this place are those I invite (and are willing). In this space I can either work with the beings there or I can ask them to come with me to the conscious world.
I enter the Threshold State by entering a slight trance, usually via the Bones, Blood, and Breath mediation and then forming the picture of my mind of the Grove. Side note here, before becoming a pagan the space I would go to was not a grove at all but a mesa with tall grasses growing on it and a bright blue sky. No idea why. At some point later while doing some archetypal work I felt like I needed something more secure and the grove is what my mind created and I have used since. Once I have the grove in my mind, which are all tall and dark wooded trees with green leaves. The hint of blue sky through the canopy above, I place myself there. I look down and see my feet on the moist forest floor and feel the weight of my body on my feet until I can fully feel myself in the grove. Sometimes there are beings there when I arrive but most often the space is empty until I invit theme in.
The beings I have met there are archetypal beings like my own inner child, warrior, elder etc. As well as spiritual beings. My interaction with the archetypes here is open and fulfilling however often I find my interaction with the spiritual beings is limited in my inner grove. This is my space, I claim it and own it, this is very important to me and I exert a great deal of control over it. Often beings I meet there need to either accompany me back to the real world or I must see them in deeper journeying to have more meaningful interaction (which I will get to soon). But the grove is a wonderful and safe place in which to contact beings for the first time. It is in the Grove that I first contacted the Tribe of Men Who Love Men and the Elder Wise both of which require me to go on a deeper journey to interact with in a more detailed way (whether they can and just don't want to or can't move to real time and space is something they have never really answered for me). However there are three spirits which I have met in the Grove which do consent to visit me in normal space.
The first is a young, what looks like to me, First Nations gentlemen. He is maybe somewhere between 16 and 19 years old in appearance. Amazingly beautiful. His features are very much in line with First Nations folk, dark caramel skin, raven haired, prominent nose and dark eyes, except his hair has a bit of a curl to it. He says he has always been with me. His job is to allow me to freedom of my body to get past the self consciousness and self dislike that has always plagued me. I won't go into any great detail but, I will be honest here and please don't judge me, we have sex. His interaction with my is almost purely on a physical level. The only clothes I have seen him wear is a long fronted loin cloth.
The second being who will come to me in normal space is a woman. She appears to be about my age, mid thirties, and of northern European decent, except her hair is dark brown, almost black. Her eyes are green and penetrating. She dresses in a long dress the type you would imagine a woman wearing, when women only wore dresses, to do work outside. It is utilitarian and unadorned but clean and well kept. She is my guardian and also claims to have been with my my entire life. Spiritualists (which is what I was pursuing when I met her) would refer to her as a Guardian Spirit or Guardian Angel. A member of the dead whose job is to look after a person from birth until death. I don't see her often but occasionally I will catch a glimpse of her. Usually when she is either strongly supportive or dismissive of something in my life. She likes it when I make my bed (and no, I am not kidding) and will sometime touch my face even when I haven't called her or sing to me in times I feel down.
The third being is someone who has become very, very important in my spiritual life. He looks like an older white dude but says he is neither American or European. He dresses ... well he dresses like one of the old time revivalist druids. A long white robe and stupid head dress (that looks Egyptian) and has a long pet snake around his neck. His job is as my guide and he is full of tough love. He loves to poke and prod me often telling me how, when I attempt something without success, how silly I am being and that people have done this for thousands of years . He LOVES to make fun of modern pagans but also seems to have a soft place in his heart for those who are really trying as well. He calls himself Oberon though he admits that is not really his name, which he will not tell me. The other two spirits I mentioned above do have names, btw, but I have promised not to reveal them. He not only will come to me in normal space (only when called however) but often accompanies into deeper journey work as well. Though he will not enter the higher plane nor will he enter Helheim (where I visited one time) because he says he doesn't like Hella though I have no idea why, I think they would get along wonderfully.
The Underworld
It is in the Underworld where I have had the most success in my journeying. This is a deeper journey work I mentioned above and requires me to enter into a deep trance to achieve. I learned the technique I use most often from a gentlemen named Hyperion who has a pagan system he calls The Unnamed Path in the end I decided that his path was not right for me but I did learn a great deal from him. I enter the Underworld by first going to, what I refer to as, the Crossroads. Which for me are not roads at all. I use music, most often double drumming but any repetitive music will work, to block out the sounds of the world. I prefer to lie down for this kind of work usually on the floor as opposed to my bed (so I don't fall asleep). I will listen to the drumming and loose my mind to it. Allow my body to fully relax. I then begin counting, slowly, from 13 to 1. At each number I will myself to relax deeper. I imagine the floor below be is soft and that I sink into it (though always supported by it). By the number 1 I have achieved a deep trance and form the crossroads in my mind. My crossroads consist of a majestic cliff, grass covered, on the precipice is a great tree. The grass and tree will not aways look the same to me. Sometimes the grass is long and blowing, sometimes short and soft. The tree leaves may be green, red, or golden. The sky may be blue, gray, orange and purple of sunset, or red of sunrise. Once I find myself fully at the crossroads I can approach the tree. Interestingly I never arrive right before the tree but always have to walk towards it, sometimes very far indeed.
To the right of the tree, as I am facing it, is a path that leads down the cliff face. From the path one can see that the cliff is very tall indeed and below is a wide beach of white-brown sand and the ocean. It strikes me that this space is where the three worlds meet, the land, sea and sky, in majestic beauty. The path will take me to a cave which is directly below the tree. Inside the cave there is always a fire burning but it is never smoky. Pretty often I meet Oberon here, who is patiently waiting for me. Whether he is always there for whomever journeys to this area or just knows when I coming I do not know. In the cave walls one can see the roots of the tree above coming through the dirt and stone and water glistening down the walls. There are always a myriad of tunnels that begin in this cave. They are tall and wide, big enough to ride a horse through (though I never have) and they are natural. There are no tool marks or smooth polished walls but the floor of the tunnels is clear and easy to traverse. Sometimes there will be only a couple tunnels and sometimes many more. I usually take the tunnel immediately to the right of the cave entrance. It is this tunnel that leads to the beach below. The beach seems to be a gathering space for the Tribes of the dead. Here is where I meet with the Tribe of Men Who Love Men and the Elder Wise. Other tunnels will lead to more well known underworld destinations. Of which I have only visited a couple, Helheim as I mentioned above, where Hella promptly told me to get out because I wasn't hers but where I had some great encounters along the way and, what I can only call, the Summerlands where I spoke with some distant relatives of my own. When I visit the beach sometimes Oberon will accompany me and sometimes not but when I go adventuring to other places he will most often come with me. Though not to Helheim. Sometimes he will guide me, saying I should go this way or that, usually to places I don't recognize but which have an amazing beauty. Usually it is at these times he wants to teach me a lesson or just speak one on one. Sometimes I will go to the beach but none of the tribes are there, often Oberon will come then or another singular of the dead. Once I was all by myself the entire time. There are islands out in the ocean beyond, I can see them in the distance if I am on the beach at sunset and the sun is behind them, but I have not yet deduced a method for getting there and Oberon says I cannot go until I do. I once saw a boat on the beach but was unable to get it into the water. I do not like swimming in the waters, they make me very forgetful and both times I have tried I feel asleep during my journey and entered the lands of dreams. Dreams I know where important but that I cannot remember at all. It is frustrating because, walking, I can cover immense distances at a time in my journey but swimming it just seems not to be the case.
My double drumming track changes speed towards the end, I think with three minutes left to go. It is usually this clue or, more often, my totem spirit, the Blue Jay will fly to me and rest on my shoulder or hands that tells me I am supposed to go. I will retreat my path back to the crossroads and turn away from the tree and return to my body. I always am sure to say farewell and thank the beings I have interacted with. Oberon always clasps my shoulder and says be well, be well, be well as I leave which is a motto I have taken up in my life.
The Upperworld
The upperworld is where I have the least experience in journeying. I have, for some reason, just not felt the compulsion to visit this area much. I achieve the upperworld through the crossroads, getting there in the same method I mentioned above. On my tree is a large knot, almost as if it had lost a branch at some point or, more likely, the branch is just not visible to me. To gain the upperworld I climb into the knot. That is the only way I can explain it though it is not so large as I could literally climb into it. Oberon is never at the crossroads and I have never encountered him in the upperworlds so the few times I have been there I have had to figure things out myself. Once I enter the knot I am surrounded by immensely bright light, when my eyes have adjusted I find myself on the landing pad (I call it) which is a floor of polished marble which appears to be perched at the very tops of the branches of the tree, though I cannot see it from below I can see the leaves and branches all around the floor and there is nothing straight above but sky. from the landing pad there are many paths the lead away into forest, glad, and mountain. They are not natural unlike the tunnels below, obviously created by someone or something, but are beautifully maintained with packed reddish-brown dirt. Like the tunnels below, however, sometimes there are only a couple paths sometimes many. I know that the path that is directly in front of me which leads through a field of wildflowers into the a forest is where I can encounter the higher forms of animal spirit. While this notion is probably not at all Indo-European it is my experience. I have spoken with the Bear spirit there (who was very wise, but drones on quite a bit) and the porcupine (who was skittish and more nervous then me, which made me more nervous -- what happens if you get quilled by the higher spirit of the porcupine while visiting the upper world? I do no wish to know). I tried to visit Asgard but could not cross a river in my path and I did once climb Olympus all the way to the amazing temple at the summit, which ain't easy folks, only to find it beautiful, so bright it hurt my eyes, and completely empty. I guess they were off doing more exciting things. Personally I think this area is just not meant to be traversed by mortals unless they are specifically called by the residents there. But it is beautiful. almost everywhere one goes you will encounter temples and shrines and fortresses. Most I cannot identify and none of which have I seen the Gods and Goddesses. Save twice. The first time I visited the Upperworld I encountered the Morrigan who promptly told me I wasn't ready and sent me back down the Crossroads. The second time was also the Morrigan whom I purposefully went to see and called to as I walked the path on which I had encountered her the first time. She appeared and I explained how my oath to her no longer felt right for me and she told me that I was never really hers and that I was released from that oath and then was gone.
The Back Roads
Some people who do this kind of work will explore what Hyperion calls the back roads that is instead of journeying above or below when one achieves their crossroads they will turn around and explore the midworld. This is my maybe 4 distinct state I mention above. While I have certainly been able to explore this area I just haven't felt much value in it. It looks, to me, much like the natural world and the encounters with animal spirts I have met there is much the same as I have encountered in normal space. For me if I want to explore this kind of space I would rather do so in the walking world. I suppose there is some value in mapping out the back roads for the midworld but it is just not of interest to me.
So there you have it. My journey work condensed into a way too long of an entry. I would love to hear about your experience with this kind of work.
~ Jamie