Shamanic Practitioner Training Complete

April 30, 2026April 29, 20264 Comments

I’m very happy to announce that my shamanic practitioner training is complete. Fourteen years ago, when I first started attending shamanic workshops, I never dreamed that I might be standing in the shoes of the magical person who played the drum and carried out healings, but here I am.

My training began in May 2024 with an organisation called the Sacred Trust. In the first residential I undertook an initiatory shamanic burial ritual in which we dug our own graves in the Devon hillside and spent a night in them. It sounds formidable but, for me at least, it was enjoyable, as I like digging and relished the thought of a night in the earth with my Gods and spirits, particularly as my patron God, Vindos / Gwyn ap Nudd had asked me to marry Him in death. I had far worse struggles with the change of routine and diet.

In the second residential, we covered Harner shamanic counselling (1). During this process, a shamanic practitioner guides a newcomer client through six shamanic journeys to solve a life issue with help from the spirits. The client wears headphones to listen to a recorded drumbeat and speaks their journeys out loud into a microphone. The practitioner and client then listen to the recording and the practitioner guides the client in their interpretation.

We (a group of 22) took it in turns to play the roles of practitioner and client and were assessed as we went along. Whilst I recognised the ingenuity and value of this method, as an autistic person who struggles with wearing headphones and virtual drumbeats and with being in loud crowded spaces (imagine all those other people speaking out their journeys loud!) I found it incredibly claustrophobic and this was reflected in my shamanic journeys. I returned home questioning whether a recorded drumbeat on headphones rather than a live drum, combined with the pressure of speaking a journey out loud, were the best way to introduce a newcomer to shamanism.

Before I had the chance to deliver the Harner shamanic counselling to volunteer clients, I decided to leave the Sacred Trust for ethical reasons (2). My mentor and supervisor, shamanic practitioner and embodied relational therapist, Jayne Johnson, supported me through the process. Afterwards, she offered to take me on as a shamanic apprentice. Working one-to-one suited me far better as it allowed my learning to be more flexible and spirit-led.

With Jayne, I decided, instead of delivering the Harner shamanic counselling, for my first client offering, to provide a six week introduction to shamanism inspired by the model but with a live drum and no need to speak into a mic. In the first session, I outlined the history and theory of shamanism. In the following sessions, clients undertook journeys to the Lower World to meet animal spirit guides, to the Upper World to meet a spirit teacher, to the Middle World to meet their local land spirits, then finally, underwent a basic shamanic healing at the hands of their helping spirits. I guided eight complete newcomers through the process. Discovering shamanism and meeting their spirit guides was a great gift to them and it was a pleasure and honour for me to hold the space, provide guidance and witness their progress.

Around this time and afterwards, I experimented with running shamanic journey circles, first at a local Spiritualist Church, then at a couple of local venues. Although I succeeded in running the circles, due to my autism, I found it difficult managing the needs and energies of a group (particularly co-ordinating the drumming, which really hurt my head!). After numbers fell and events were called off due to extreme weather, I realised the spirits were telling me running groups was not meant to be part of my vocation.

Stepping up into shamanic healing, which I truly felt was my soul’s calling, one of my first offerings was power animal retrieval. I learnt this at an introductory workshop with the Sacred Trust. Journeying for or with a client into the Otherworld to retrieve their power animal was a beautiful and exuberant process in which I almost felt like a celebrant as I helped reveal and seal sacred partnerships that will hopefully last for life.

I was then called to offer soul retrieval. This was a big initiation for me. I was aware of how sensitive the process of bringing back lost soul parts who have fled or been driven away due to trauma can be. I also felt it was a part of my soul’s purpose, being a devotee of Gwyn, the Gatherer of Souls. And there were times it was intense and scary and times I was unsure whether I ‘got it right’, but, largely the journeys and soul parts made sense to the client. Again, it was a great honour to play a role in helping the lost parts to return, to blow them into the client, to witness their becoming more whole.

An important related technique I mastered was soul exchange. This involves holding space for a client and another person to exchange soul parts they have picked up from one another in a relationship and cutting unhealthy cords. I experienced this to be a simple yet profound process.

Next, I moved onto extraction. This involves removing intrusions into a client’s energy field which cause sicknesses. Previous work with my own energy system led me to seeing this was just one form of shamanic energy healing (which also involves shifting and transforming blocked and congealed energies). Thus, I offered it under that title. As I’m usually a little awkward around other people, I wasn’t sure how working closely on their energy field would feel, but once I was in shamanic trance I was fine. I found shamanic energy healing really intuitive – my hands and body knew what to do and my spirit helpers were always beside me with their help and advice. My hounds, who I’d seen more as hunters, proved to be great healers. This fit with Nodens / Nudd (Gwyn’s father) being associated with healing hounds. Having more experience, I tied in other techniques, such as power and soul retrieval with shamanic energy healings where needed. My clients reported improvements with illnesses and ailments and having more energy.

All was going well until a great interruption. Following a week of meditation, I realised being a nun, Sister Patience, and running the Monastery of Annwn were no longer my calling. I was catapulted back into being Lorna Smithers, with all her shit, which Sister Patience thought she had transcended.

I ended up writing like mad to get to the root of it and found out what I had been trying to escape was an eating disorder which began with childhood bullying. I was carrying a great deal of shame from binge eating and drinking, which had led to restrictive dieting and excessive exercising to control my weight. I’d thought, with my monastic routine, I was ‘better’. But, although my exercise and food habits were healthier, I still had issues with restriction and body image. I identified this as my ‘core wound’ and am still working with it today. I see this as essential inner work that has come out of the apprenticeship.

Throughout my training, I have explored ancestor work, building my family tree and journeying to family ancestors with my mum and offering healing where fit.

My training in psychopomping built upon my existing experience of witnessing Gwyn guiding the souls of the dead and being guided to help in rare situations. As my apprenticeship has progressed my psychopomp work has increased and I have helped stuck souls in a variety of situations to pass. I am now offering psychopomping for free as a service to Gwyn and the dead.

Towards the end of the apprenticeship I also trained in depossession. I learnt enough to be able to handle situations where this difficult technique is needed, but will not be offering it as a service until I have more experience.

My shamanic training has been challenging, healing, and transformative. Following the tumult with the Sacred Trust it felt safe and right and like a homecoming to be training with Jayne – for which I’m deeply grateful to her and my spirits. Working one-to-one with Jayne meant I could work at my own pace and cover the techniques in the order I was inspired to. It meant I could take time off client work to work through my personal crisis. I also had far more in depth tuition than I would have got from the Sacred Trust. Jayne is incredibly knowledgeable not only about shamanism and psychotherapy. With her, I have learnt a lot about counselling skills and how the psychological material of clients might appear in their journeys. We have also done a good deal of work with my soul parts and their needs and conflicts.

Thus, I’m also very happy to say, that following my shamanic apprenticeship, I will be continuing with more advanced training with Jayne. I’m hoping to explore the intersection of shamanism and psychotherapy and working with soul parts more deeply and to progress further with ancestral healing and psychopomping.

Another avenue that I am considering is putting my experience of an eating disorder and my special interests in nutrition and exercise to use by investigating ways of combining them with shamanic work to provide a holistic approach to healing for others who have issues with food and body image.

This is the beautiful personalised certificate that Jayne awarded to me.

I’d like to give a huge thank you to all my volunteer clients and to those who have paid student rates for offering your time, energy and money so we can come together to do this much needed and sacred work.

I’d like to thank Jayne for being a superb teacher and for supporting me through all the ups and downs that have come my way (there have been a lot!). Also, Jason and Nicola Smalley at the Way of the Buzzard with whom I have been learning and practicing shamanism for many years and whose journey circles and coaching calls have been an invaluable source of support.

Finally, I’d like to say my biggest thank you to Vindos / Gwyn and my helping spirits. I couldn’t have done this without you. A shamanic practitioner is nothing without their Gods and spirits.

Vindos, my patron,
my inspiration, my beloved and my truth,
tonight I dedicate my services as a shamanic practitioner
to Your sanctuary and to You.

(1) https://www.shamanism.org/workshops/harner-shamanic-counseling/
(2) See Nicholas Breeze-Wood’s article ‘Stung By the Tale – The Exposure and Death of British Bee Shamanism’ in Sacred Hoop, 126, 2024.

Exploring Depossession

April 17, 2026Leave a comment

Introduction

Depossession is an advanced shamanic technique for removing a possessing spirit from the body of a client. It is often mistakenly confused with exorcism, which involves forcibly driving a spirit from a person’s body, causing great torment to both parties. In Core Shamanism, the practice is known as compassionate depossession and involves engaging with the spirit more kindly and negotiating their departure from a client’s body. (1)

In order to understand depossession, we firstly need to grasp the differences between voluntary and involuntary possession. In shamanic traditions, voluntary possession is a customary practice and is viewed as healthy. It is common for practitioners across traditional cultures and in Core Shamanism to call in and be possessed by animal spirits, ancestors, and deities.

During voluntary possession, a spirit is invited into our body and can partake in the sensory experiences we enjoy such as eating, drinking and dancing and can use our voice to deliver messages. In the Brythonic tradition, spirit-workers known as awenyddion ‘people inspired’ were said to be possessed by spirits who provided inspiration for their prophecies. (2)

A similar concept is merging. Herein, we become one with a spirit and act together as a pair for the purposes of providing guidance and healing. Another related concept is shapeshifting. This involves shifting into the form of a spirit being so that we resemble them and take on their qualities but without merging with them or being possessed by them.

Involuntary possession is a form of possession that occurs without our consent. It can be temporary, for example, at a ceremony that involves voluntary possession by one or more spirit workers, somebody in the audience might have no intention of being possessed, but if they do not set appropriate boundaries or if their energy field is gappy, a spirit or deity might take advantage and come into their body, then leave, or need to be persuaded to leave by a practitioner with more experience.

Involuntary possession can be more long-lasting and can happen without a person knowing it. These are the cases most often encountered by shamanic practitioners who offer depossession. This kind of possession usually happens to people who have considerable gaps in their energy field due to soul loss. This can occur at or around times of crisis or trauma or in their aftermath.

The possessing spirits are most often souls of the deceased who are lost and confused and may not know they are dead. They are drawn to the comfort and safety of another person’s body, take up residence there, then begin to influence them through their needs, desires, and memories.

For example, when possessed, a person might experience the desire for food and drink that they have never liked before, the urge to take up a new hobby, or more dangerously, experience strange obsessions or compulsions or be driven to engage in addictive behaviours. They might also find that they are troubled by memories and dreams that are not their own.

Such possessions are not very common. They’re most likely to happen if a person has been unlucky enough to be at the place of a death, such as an accident, a natural disaster, or in hospital where someone near them has died. It’s also possible to be possessed by a wandering spirit if one’s energy field is gappy.

Other spirits that might possess people are land spirits, such as those whose habitats have been damaged, who may be lost or angry. Also, entities from other realms, but it’s unlikely to be possessed by such beings unless you have been engaging with them in a ritual context.

The Depossession Process

Before entering the depossession process, it is firstly important to be aware that what might, at first, present as possession might be something else. It could be an intrusion, an introject, or a thought form that requires extraction. It could also be a rejected or shadow part of the client’s soul or a symptom arising from inner conflict or trauma. It is essential to determine that a possession is indeed a possession before attempting to remove it. If a soul part belonging to the client is removed, its gifts and energy might be lost, or it might simply return and show up in an even more troublesome way.

The practitioner should also screen for schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder and any past history of psychosis, hallucinations, or mental breakdowns that might be causing the symptoms or might be reactivated. Things get really tricky here as such persons are those who are likely to be more vulnerable to a spirit entering. In such cases, it would take the know-how of somebody who is both an experienced shamanic practitioner and psychotherapist to discern the difference. It’s worth noting that in Western culture, broadly, a possession would be perceived as a mental illness, whereas in shamanic cultures many mental illnesses might be seen as possessions.

It might be obvious to the practitioner whether a possession is present during the consultation process. If not, the practitioner might undertake a shamanic journey and consult with their guides beforehand. If it still remains unclear, it is possible to discern the nature of the problem during the process, but there is a higher risk of trauma to both the client and the spirit.

During a depossession, the practitioner firstly helps the client to feel safe and comfortable. They might lead a grounding meditation. They then honour the spirits of place, call in the spirit helpers and put in place protection. To help the client get into a shamanic state they might drum, rattle or sing.

When ready, the client is asked to identify a symptom in their body which they feel is related to the possession. This could be something like a tightness in the chest, a heaviness in a limb, or a tingle in a foot. Once it has been identified, the client is asked to ‘step aside’ and speak from the standpoint of the symptom. If the symptom presents as a lost soul, the practitioner can then begin to ask them questions – what is their name? How old are they? What is their background? How long have they been there? It is important to be aware that they are likely to be traumatised and confused and might not have their faculties or memories intact. They might not realise that they are dead or are possessing another person. It’s thus important to be patient and to help them to reach these realisations gradually and gently.

Once the identity of the lost soul and their possessing nature is established, the next step is to encourage them to move on. This can be done by describing a more pleasant place in the spirit world in accordance with their religious beliefs, or those of their family, if they have them, or by providing a more general description of the Otherworld if they do not. It is often helpful to call upon their ancestors and / or their spirit guides so they have somebody familiar to travel to the spirit realms with.

Before they leave, the practitioner should check whether they need healing, and, if so, carry out any healing needed with the help of their guides.

The lost soul can then be moved on. They might be happy to go with their ancestors or spirit guides. If not, the practitioner may need to psychopomp them, with the help of their spirit helpers.

With a possessing land spirit, they and their land might need healing for them to return. If their land is too damaged, they might need psychopomping. If the spirit is from another realm, they should be encouraged to go back there. If the spirit is difficult, a practitioner from the tradition from which the spirit originated might need to be called in to remove them.

The practitioner should then check for any other underlying possessions. Once the process is complete, they should heal and close the energy field. Because removing a possession leaves a gap in the person’s energy field, a further session involving soul retrieval or power retrieval should be considered. In the meantime, the gap should be filled with energy in an appropriate form (light, mist, colours) so the client is not vulnerable to a further spirit possession before the followup work is done.

The client should be given some time and space to process what has happened, perhaps with some gentle drumming, rattling or singing. They might want to talk things through with the practitioner afterwards. They should be advised to take good care of themselves, to drink plenty of water and eat nourishing foods and informed of measures to prevent a future possession.

Personal Experience

As part of my shamanic training, I went through the depossession process in the role of client with my mentor. I didn’t feel that I was possessed, but I had experienced a voice in my head that told me I was ‘worthless’ and I was not sure of its nature or identity or whether it was coming from within or from without.

When I looked within to find a symptom, I noticed the rapidity of my heartbeat and was drawn to place a finger on my pulse at my carotid artery. At this point, I was working on a novel, which was possessing me, and was losing sleep and finding it difficult to focus on anything else. It came to my mind that ‘the finger on the pulse’ was trying to hold back a ‘green energy’ that I identified as the inspiration for the novel, which was running out of control.

My mentor and I asserted that these two symptoms were not a spirit possession but represented an imbalance between the inspired and restrictive parts of myself. In this situation, the green energy had got out of control and was depriving me of my ability to be present in my body and to sleep. We worked out that when the finger shuts down my inspiration, I feel low and this is when the voice that tells me I am ‘worthless’ comes in. Thus, what might have been a possession was a symptom resulting from inner conflict.

Role Play

We also engaged in a role play. I acted as practitioner and my mentor took the role of a client who was presenting with a possession. She had been in a car crash in which several people had died and was struggling with tightness in her chest. Doctors had asserted it had no physical cause. She described a suffocating feeling, as if something was there, and experiencing unusual cravings for salty crisps and for fizzy drinks. It was my intuition that one of the spirits who had died in the accident had moved into her body, so I decided to go ahead with the depossession process.

When I asked the client to speak from the symptom it quickly became clear that there was a spirit present, that it was a lost soul, and that it was scared and confused and had no idea who it was or where it was. It didn’t want to look around and say what it could see because it was too scary. When I asked it questions, it didn’t want to recall its identity or who its relatives were due to fear. It admitted to its desire for salty crisps and fizzy drinks.

The dialogue went round in circles for a while until I asked whether it had any favourite animals and it said it liked buzzards and I managed to engage Buzzard as its spirit animal. Buzzard then flew, like a drone, over the scene of the car crash and relayed the memory to the soul. She recalled that she was a mother and that her husband and children had died in the accident. That was the memory she had been trying to block out. She then remembered having fled and taken up residence in the client’s body. She wanted to know if she was still a mum and I told her that she was but it would be best for her and her husband and children if she moved on to a safer and more comfortable place in the spirit world. Buzzard then took her.

After she left, the client said she felt a sadness in the gap the spirit had left. The client’s power animal, giraffe, removed the sadness. I then healed and sealed the client’s energy field and suggested she return for a power or soul retrieval.

The process, although a role play, was more difficult and intense than I had predicted. There is little literature on depossession and in the one book I had read, Shamanic Depossession: A Compassionate Healing Practice, by Peter Salome, in the example given there were no difficulties in finding out the name, age and background of the soul (3). Of course, I should have expected that the soul might be too traumatised and confused to speak and remember coherently, but I didn’t take this into consideration beforehand. I felt that it was more by luck than judgement that I managed to engage with the lost soul through her power animal and convince her to leave.

This highlighted the risky nature of depossession. If I hadn’t succeeded in finding out the soul’s identity with the help of her power animal and persuaded her to leave, I could have been faced with a situation in which the spirit was agitated and the client was aware it was there, leaving both in crisis.

This made it clear that depossessions where there is clearly a possessing present should only be carried out by an experienced practitioner who has good psychotherapeutic knowledge and knows how to deal with trauma and crisis.

Case Study

I did one case study with a volunteer client (4) who was curious about going through the process and did not believe that she was possessed.

When asked to find a symptom she found a numbness in her feet and hands that she asserted belonged to her then dark tunnels in her body that belonged to her too. We asked her guides to run along the tunnels and check for entities and, when they didn’t find any, sent my guides to check too.

Once it was asserted that there wasn’t a possession present, the client’s guides made it clear they wanted to go out of the tunnels on a shamanic journey. We travelled through the client’s head through a window to a stone circle where the client was gifted a golden light and golden raindrops fell on her. My hounds licked up some of the raindrops. When we returned to the Middle World, my hounds licked the raindrops into the client’s feet and they spread through her body and the dark and empty tunnels were filled with gold.

Together, we interpreted this to be a healing for power loss signalled by the empty tunnels that might have made the client susceptible to a possession. Also, a remedy for the numbness in her feet and hands. She was advised to continue to call in the golden energy in her evening meditations.

Conclusion

My introductory experiences with depossession have equipped me with the knowledge and protocols to identify a possession if it comes up in my practice (most likely during extraction if the symptom turns out to be an entity rather than an intrusion) and, if it is within my capacity, to remove it, and if not to know when to refer a client to a more experienced practitioner.

Due to the risky nature of depossession and my lack of experience, I will not be offering it as service to clients for the foreseeable future. I feel, for the purposes, of my shamanic apprenticeship, my training in depossession is complete. Whether I will be led to take this area of shamanic practice any further as I progress in my client work is in the hands of the spirits.

Footnotes

(1) It’s worthy of note here that in some traditional shamanic cultures, shamans do battle with and drive malevolent spirits from a person’s body.
(2) ‘Giraldus Cambrensis and the Awenyddion’, Awen ac Awenydd, https://awenydd.weebly.com/giraldus-cambrensis-and-the-awenyddion.html
(3) “Hello. My name is Peter.” I said. “Would you mind telling me your name?” “Sandro.” “Good to meet you, Sandro. How old you are, Sandro?” “I’m twenty-seven.” “Sandro, can you tell me the last thing you remember doing?” “Me? I was a soldier.” “Where were you a soldier?” “Lots of places.” “Can you name one place for me?” “It was at Gallipoli.” “What were you doing there?” “I was just standing there in a trench, smoking a cigarette during a break, between mortar bombings.” “And after that…?” “I don’t know.” “So you’re not there, at Gallipoli, anymore…?” “I guess not…”Salome, P. Shamanic Depossession: A Compassionate Healing Practice, (Peter Salome, 2014), p68 – 69
(4) I share this account with her permission.

Psychopomping – From Witnessing to Doing the Work

April 10, 20268 Comments

Introduction

The term ‘psychopomp’ derives from the Greek psyche ‘soul’ and pompos ‘guide’. A psychopomp is a ‘guide of souls’. In shamanic traditions, a variety of deities and spirits, along with human practitioners, act as psychopomps.

Psychopomping is a core shamanic practice and involves helping the dead, typically those stuck in the Middle World or between the worlds, to cross to a suitable place in the spirit world in accordance with their beliefs.

The dead can become stuck for a number of reasons. One of the main causes is sudden or traumatic death. When a person dies traumatically, such as in an accident or a natural disaster, in war, or by murder or suicide, the shock can deprive them of their faculties and their ability to pass cognisantly. This can also be the case with those who are heavily medicated at the time of death. Sometimes, these souls do not realise they are dead. They can remain stuck at the place and time of their death until they recover their faculties or a psychopomp from the spirit or the human world helps them to pass over. Sometimes, they wander in confusion through the Middle World, or end up between the worlds (a place where lost souls are commonly found, referred to in core shamanism as the interworld, in the Christian tradition as Purgatory and in Buddhism as Bardo).

Souls can also become ‘bound’ in the Middle World for personal reasons. They might not want to leave a loved one or a loved one might not be able to release their hold on them. Those with unpaid debts, a desire for vengeance, or unassuaged guilt may refuse to leave until their affairs have been put into place. Those with addictions may find it difficult to leave the objects of their addiction.

It’s important to remember that not all souls who die traumatically need psychopomping. Some pass naturally or with the help of their spirit guides. Also, just because a soul is in the Middle World or between the worlds, doesn’t necessarily mean they need help. Like us, the souls of the dead can move at will between the worlds. It is common for family ancestors to visit and to look out for their descendants and to guide them home at death. Some ancestors choose to stay around as guides and protectors.

Vindos / Gwyn ap Nudd – An Ancient British Psychopomp

My patron God, Vindos / Gwyn ap Nudd, ‘White son of Mist’, is an ancient British deity who rules Annwn ‘Very Deep, the Otherworld, and its people, the spirits of Annwn or fairies. It’s my personal belief that He also rules the dead. He is depicted gathering the souls of the dead back to His realm. As Pen Annwn, ‘the Head of the Otherworld’, He is the keeper of the Cauldron of Rebirth.

It’s my intuition that prehistoric burial monuments with stonework made from chalk and limestone, with deeply defined white-marked boundaries, were associated with Vindos and were marked this way to guide Him to the dead.

In a medieval Welsh poem called ‘The Conversation of Gwyn ap Nudd and Gwyddno Garanhir’, Gwyn is depicted as a psychopomp, as a ‘Bull of Battle’. He appears to guide Gwyddno, a dead warrior-king, to Annwn. At the end of their dialogue, He recites the names of a number of famous warriors whose souls he has gathered from the battlefield.

In later folklore, Gwyn appears with the Cwn Annwn, ‘Hounds of the Otherworld’, as a leader of the Wild Hunt – a chase for human souls. In one instance, He is depicted with a black face and horns on His head hunting down a ‘sinner’. The hunt rides yearly, on Nos Galan Gaeaf, and through the winter, gathering up any souls of the dead who have not passed over.

He and His people, the spirits of Annwn, or ‘fairies’, are often seen to guide and even to ‘take’ the souls of those who die suddenly or traumatically.

Witnessing with Gwyn

Since I met Gwyn, I have been working with the dead in a number of ways. I have long been journeying to learn the stories of forgotten ancestors in my local area and to share them in poetry and prose. This has included witnessing their deaths, for example, a cotton worker who died of pneumonia.

I have journeyed with Gwyn, physically and in spirit, to witness scenes where He has served as a psychopomp. One example is a visit to the site of the tragic Battle of Arfderydd, where Gwyn gathered the soul of Gwenddolau and Myrddin Wyllt became mad due to battle trauma. I spent time in meditation there, journeyed into the scene, and wrote about it.

Gwyn has shown me how He has been there for the souls of the battle dead from ancient times and still supports soldiers who die in war whatever their beliefs.

He’s also revealed to me how He’s there for people who are considering suicide and supports them, whatever decision they make. I met Gwyn when I was experiencing suicidal ideation. A number of others who have become devoted to Him have told me they met Him during dark times.

It’s my personal belief that Vindos, whose name means ‘White’ or ‘Clear Light’, is the white light that is seen at the end of the tunnel in reports of Near Death Experiences and that’s how He appears to those who don’t know His name.

Psychopomp Work

Most of my experiences of psychopomping have happened spontaneously. My first experience was many years ago, in my locality, where I came across a Roman soldier who had left a battalion, who according local legend still march along the old Roman road. He was fed up and wanted to go home. With my guides, I took Him through the Middle World back to Italy, to one of the rivers near Naples that is associated with the Roman land of the dead. A Roman guide appeared and took him across the river and he vanished.

A few years ago, during a meditation, I came across three Victorian boys wandering through the forests of the Otherworld. They told me they were afraid they wouldn’t be allowed into Heaven and had wandered into the forest and were lost. I asked them if they would like to go on to another life and they agreed. So I led them to Gwyn’s cauldron to be reborn.

During my shamanic counselling training with the Sacred Trust, I had a difficult experience, which led to an unexpected psychopomping journey. I was acting as client, with a drumbeat on headphones, speaking my journey out loud, in a hall packed with people, like sardines, doing the same. I’m autistic and hate wearing headphones, virtual drumbeats, and crowded spaces. It was incredibly claustrophobic. Failing to get to the Lower World, I got stuck in a mine, where I found a dead canary. I was told to put it into my heart. I was then led to a holding place between the worlds where there were hundreds of dead canaries. I released them all. My heart cracked open and molten gold poured from my heart with the canaries down the tunnels. It flowed from the mine through all the mines in industrial Britain. This was accompanied by a sense of release and healing. I kept the canary in my heart for a few weeks and finally returned it to a magical place on the other side of the Canary Islands where canaries sung like stars on trees.

Shortly after leaving the Sacred Trust training due to ethical issues, I asked for a healing for something that happened during the initiation rite. Afterwards, I found myself transported to a cellar under a pub in York. There was a man who I intuited was also autistic and had his hands over his ears. He was dressed in clothing that looked like medieval sack cloth. He explained he couldn’t stand the unfamiliar noise of the city up above. I offered to take him to a place where there was no more noise. He agreed. Following the guidance of my spirits, I took him to a pool in the Otherworld, where he was mesmerised by watching the beautiful dragonflies. This calmed him. I left him there for a few days. Only then was he ready to recall his painful memories of how he died. He had got drunk (a way of shutting out the world) whilst working in the cellar and had an accident with the barrels. I was then guided to take him to Gwyn’s cauldron to be reborn.

Several months ago, during my morning meditation, Gwyn guided me to help an ex-soldier who had initially passed to the Otherworld but had been lured back by a bottle of beer left outside the Royal British Legion club in my locality. He told me that he and his wife, who had also passed, had visited the Niagara Falls in the Middle World before going to the spirit world and that he needed to tell his grandma about it. I asked my guides to find his grandma, who was in the Lower World, in a little house looking over a cliff. He told her his story, then his wife appeared, and they stepped over the cliff into the mist.

When it came to covering psychopomping towards the end of my shamanic apprenticeship, I told Gwyn I was open to further opportunities. One arose in the context of some ancestral healing. The ancestral journey involved releasing a part of the soul of my great grandfather, Harry Shell Allen, which was trapped at the site of his death in the London County Asylum so the energy could be returned to him in his present incarnation in Spain.

On our visit to the asylum, I noticed a young woman who was mopping and seemed stuck with two grey looking spectral figures beside her. Afterwards, I consulted Gwyn, who suggested I could try to help her. I received the name Jane Locksley. When I looked up the Locksley family in London, I saw that they were from Nottinghamshire, but there were records of them passing through to do business and that there was a Locksley Street. I received the gnosis that the two figures were Jane’s parents and they left her at the asylum, due to a mental health condition, on their way to get a ship. They felt unable to leave the Middle World because of their guilt at abandoning Jane.

When I journeyed to help Jane, I discovered that she was deaf, but could communicate telepathically. She heard people’s thoughts in her head. That was why people thought she was mad. She enjoyed mopping as it helped shut the thoughts out. The swish and slop of the mop and the water calmed her. She also enjoyed spending time in the garden. When the voices got very loud she got distressed and had to be medicated. The last thing she recalled was being heavily medicated and confusion before being drawn back to mopping.

She was aware that the garden was gone and it was scary outside. I explained to her gently that she was dead and told her that were far better gardens in the spirit world. She asked me if I meant the Garden of Eden, which was somewhere her parents told her she would never go if she didn’t behave. I said I could help her get there if she wished. She was unsure. I suggested she might want to say farewell to her parents, to which she agreed. My guides brought them and I also called to Saint Michael as a psychopomp, who was familiar and could take them all to Heaven. In the end, Jane said she didn’t want to go with her parents to Heaven.

I took Jane, with my guides, from the asylum across the Middle World to find an entrance to the Otherworld and she said she wanted to go to Nottinghamshire. She pointed out Sherwood Forest and told me she had always loved the legends of Robin Hood, Robin of Locksley, who was associated with her family. She particularly loved Maid Marian. Marian and her maids appeared in the forest and she danced with them into the Otherworld.

Reflections on Psychopomping

When I started reading about psychopomping, I came across a number of stories about people who had been called to it as a vocation from a young age. They had long seen the dead. They had long been called to help them (1). I heard stories of people so bothered by the dead they needed to create waiting rooms. I realised this wasn’t me. I only started seeing the dead in my late teens. I wasn’t called to help them any more than living humans I saw about.

I read about others who are called to war zones and scenes of accidents and natural disasters to help the dead pass, or to check places where people die in confusion, like hospitals and mental hospitals, and realised this wasn’t me either.

This confused me, because I am devoted to a God of the dead who is a psychopomp. When I asked Gwyn about whether I should be more open to the dead or should seek out more opportunities to help them, He told me that I should maintain my boundaries and wait until told for psychopomp work.

My experience of psychopomping to date has been limited but varied. I have worked with persons from across time periods of a variety of different backgrounds and ages. A common theme has been working with people who, like me, find noise overwhelming and have experienced addiction to alcohol. I wonder if this is because we carry similar energetic vibrations. I noticed that the souls who I was guided to help did not hold strong Christian beliefs and were amenable to a shamanic conception of the Otherworld.

A learning that occurred that I hadn’t heard about before was that if a soul is stuck at a site of trauma, it might not be the whole soul, but a part of the soul. Of course, I’d come across this when doing soul retrieval. It highlighted the complexity of this work and the need for discernment and listening to my guides, as the processes of releasing a stuck soul part and crossing a soul, in its wholeness, to the Otherworld are a little different.

Another point to note is that I had heard from many sources of psychopomps taking souls ‘to the light’. This felt familiar in that there are places in the Upper World that are incredibly bright and beautiful and are associated with intense emotions and ecstatic states. In the writings of Iolo Morganwg the Upper World is known as Gwynfyd. For me it’s the state of being in the arms of Gwyn. So I can see why people would want to go there. However, I came across a cautionary tale in a book by a death midwife (2), wherein she suggested a dying man go to the light and he recoiled because it was incredibly painful for him because he associated the light with migraines. This shows that we should always check in about where a soul wants to go.

Psychopomping as an Offering

My experience to date of pyschopomping has been one of a slow education under the guidance of Gwyn. As I have progressed with psychopomping, I have steadily grown in confidence in my abilities to communicate with the dead in a clear and compassionate manner and assist them in crossing to the spirit world. I was unsure about whether I would be called further to do psychopomp work in spite of receiving good feedback on my progress so far from my mentor.

Then, to my surprise, earlier this week, Gwyn requested that I begin offering psychopomping as a free service for Him and any souls who might be in need of help. If you have any concerns about the passage of friends or family or persons in your locality, please get in touch. I can’t promise to be able to help everybody, but I will take on cases that I feel are within my ability as guided by Gwyn and my spirits.

(1) See for example, Soul Rescuers, by Natalia and Terry O’Sullivan.
(2) The Art of Death Midwifery by Joellyn St Pierre.

Last Chance for Student Rate Shamanic Offerings

April 7, 2026Leave a comment

On May Eve, the night before my patron God, Vindos (Gwyn ap Nudd), ‘dies’ as Winter’s King, I will reach the end of my shamanic apprenticeship. Therefore, this is the last chance to enjoy the benefits of my student rate shamanic offerings for only £15 an hour. What better time to be exploring your spiritual growth and potential than now as the sap rises and the flowers blossom?

Shamanic Guidance

*If you’re struggling to make time for your spiritual practice this is a great way to carve out an hour to connect with your spirit guides and seek advice and support from the spirit realm.
*Are you feeling stuck on your spiritual path? Together with our guides I can help you find a way forward.
*Are you facing a difficult life issue? A divinatory journey or a tarot reading can provide fresh insights.

More offerings and info HERE.

Shamanic Healing

*Feeling lost or disconnected? Consider a power retrieval or a power animal retrieval to restore lost power.
*Do you feel like a part of you is missing or you’re not fully here? Soul loss can occur as result of trauma and soul retrieval and soul exchange can restore absent soul parts and help you feel more grounded and whole.
*Do you have an ailment or an illness that won’t shift or an energetic imbalance? Shamanic energy healing can help.

More offerings and info HERE.

Shamanic guidance sessions are one hour and shamanic healings around two. I can provide in-person, online and distance options.

If any of these offers take your fancy please get in touch for a free informal chat on Zoom. Also, if you know somebody else who may benefit from these offerings please pass on the details.

The Benefits of Soul Exchange

March 13, 2026March 11, 2026Leave a comment

Soul exchange is a shamanic healing for soul loss and might be seen as a form of soul retrieval. In this instance, the focus is on a loss of soul to another person who we have been in a relationship with. It’s based on the notion that as we move in and out of relationships with other persons we can pick up parts of each other. Persons can include family, friends, lovers and pets, and groups and organisations. This is a natural process. Soul exchange is needed if we become overly attached to, bound up with, or intertwined with another person and the attachments feel unhealthy. It’s a little like giving somebody’s possessions back at the end of a marriage.

A soul exchange, as I have been taught it, takes place in a neutral location in the Otherworld. Both parties have the opportunity to return soul parts that do not belong to them. In terms of what we mean by ‘soul parts’ in this context, I like Nicholas Breeze Wood’s definition ‘packages of personal energy’ (1). The soul parts appear as objects and are metaphorical.

The practitioner journeys the client to the location and the spirit of the person with whom the soul exchange is to take place is invited to attend. It is important to note that soul exchange is the only shamanic healing that does not require permission from the person in physical reality. This is firstly because the spirit of the person has free choice whether to join in and secondly because you are giving something back that belongs to them and are not taking anything of theirs. This makes possible the process with persons who may be reluctant in this world but are willing in spirit.

Once the spirit of the other person is present, the process has been explained to them, and they have agreed, the soul exchange can begin. The client takes the first turn, giving back any soul parts that do not belong to them. They do this by reaching into themselves and bringing forth the parts in the form of objects. These are given, one by one, to their power animal, who takes them to the power animal of the other person, who hands them over.

Another point to note is the importance of the exchange taking place between the power animals. This is to maintain distance and prevent re-entanglement or re-traumatisation if the relationship was traumatic. Direct speech and eye contact between the client and the other person should be avoided.

The recipient then has the choice of whether or not to take the soul parts. Any parts not taken are transformed or disposed of by the power animals or left in the Otherworld for the spirits of place to deal with as they see fit.

Once the client has unburdened themselves of all the soul parts that do not belong to them, the other person is invited to give back any soul parts they might have taken in the same way.

Once the soul exchange is done, it is also helpful to check for any unhealthy energy cords between the client and the other person and to ask the power animals to cut, dissolve, or transform them in some way.

Once the process has been completed, the spirit of the other person and the spirits are thanked and the practitioner and the client journey back to this world.

Afterwards, the client has a chance to speak to the practitioner about their experience. They may or may not want to discuss the significance of the objects. If they do, the practitioner will guide them to make their own interpretation rather than interpreting the objects for them. The client will be encouraged to journal their experience and to meditate on, journey on, or create art around the objects if they are inspired to do so.

As always, after a shamanic healing, the client should take it easy for the rest of the day and eat nourishing food and drink plenty of water. They should keep an eye out for any effects and shifts in their energy levels and in the sense of their relationship with the other person and others around them. It’s also good to look out for nature signs, dreams and other coincidences.

***

My first formal experience of soul exchange was under the guidance of my mentor. (I had tried it alone informally but hadn’t got it right). We decided to work with a family member with whom I have a difficult relationship, to check in whether either of us was holding on to soul parts that don’t belong to us.

The process was not straightforward because one of the person’s ancestors turned up and it turned out that an additional soul exchange needed to take place between the two of them before the one with me could be carried out.

Since the soul exchanges, the family member has had more energy and there have been less arguments between us, although our relationship hasn’t improved. I think that’s because 44 years of ingrained habits are difficult to unstick.

The soul exchanges overseen by my mentor gave me a good grounding for working with clients. I began by working with volunteer clients then moved on to charging a student rate. I have so far conducted soul exchanges for clients with a variety of persons, including family, friends, partners and an organisation.

When I first started out with soul exchange, I saw it as an accessory process to soul retrieval that was not quite on a par with the core shamanic techniques in the Harner school of shamanism. Having worked with it myself and with clients, I’ve come to realise that it is just as useful and just as powerful.

One of the things I like most about soul exchange, as an autistic person, is that it has a structure that is easy to follow. Because it takes place in a set location and follows a set procedure, it isn’t quite as unpredictable as soul retrieval, which can take you anywhere in the spirit world and anything can happen.

However, this doesn’t mean that things can’t get intense. The soul parts and the process of release can bring up strong emotions, as can cutting the cords, and the final parting (if it is made) between the persons involved. In these instances, I have intuited, with the help of my guides, when to speak and when to allow the client space, providing patient and compassionate support. I have also learnt to trust in the wisdom of my own spirit helpers and those of the client and the other person, who know what to do when we do not. On several occasions they have displayed ways of disposing of or transforming objects and removing cords beyond the thinking of me or a client.

From my own experience and client work, I have learnt how different interactions can feel between persons in the real world and in spirit. In the latter, there is a sense of lightness, as another client noticed, a generosity, in contrast to when the two sides are weighed down by material concerns and dissensions.

Afterwards, benefits have been felt in terms of unburdening, letting go and release. Memories have felt less intense. There has been a sense of distancing and separation. Energy has returned, with an ability to move on.

It has been a pleasure and an honour to hold space for this sacred process. My training in soul exchange is now complete and I am looking forward to continuing to offer this healing as an important component of my shamanic practice.

Footnotes

(1) Nicholas Breeze Wood, ‘Soul Loss and Retrieval’, Sacred Hoop 131, p50

They Called Me Pig

March 11, 2026March 11, 2026Leave a comment

They Called Me Pig is a poetry collection charting the development of an eating disorder that began with childhood bullying and how I have begun to heal by building a healthier relationship with food, exercise and my body. I have written it as part of the inner work of my shamanic apprenticeship, as a way of processing trauma and transforming it into art. I’m hoping it’s a topic everybody can relate to on some level as we all have a body and need to eat and exercise to live. You might also have relatives or friends with an eating disorder who might benefit from reading it.

Free PDF HERE.

It is downloadable for free but if you enjoy it please consider reciprocating by passing on the link to a friend or by telling somebody about my writing and shamanic work.

If you’re interested in working with me on using shamanic work combined with art as a method of healing, transformation and self-expression, I offer sessions at £15 an hour. Please get in touch lornasmithers81@gmail.com

Shamanic Energy Healing (including Extraction)

December 10, 2025March 11, 2026Leave a comment

Shamanic energy healing is a form of energy healing in which a practitioner works with their spirit helpers and traditional shamanic tools such as a drum and rattle to heal ailments which have a basis in a client’s energy body.

The notion that we have not only a physical body but an energy body and that they are both expressions of energy is common across indigenous and Eastern cultures. It was lost in the West due to the hegemony of our rational scientific worldview yet is now coming to be accepted in modern science. Einstein states E=mc² – energy and matter are basically the same thing.

There are many models of the energy body which share a common core. Firstly, energy runs in channels through the energy body (in India these are referred to as nadis and in China as meridians). Secondly, there a number of energy centres within the body with the main ones located along the spine. From the Indian yogic system is derived the modern seven chakra ‘wheel’ model you may be familiar with (root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, brow, crown). As it is the best known this is the one most practitioners use. Thirdly, the body is surrounded and interpenetrated by an energetic field known as the aura.

A shamanic energy healing session typically begins with a scan of the client’s energy field and chakras to assess the overall flow and to locate any problems. Blocked or congealed energies are moved and / or transformed. Energetic imbalances are corrected. This might be done by the use of the hands or bodily movements (on an energetic level not touching the client), with a drum or rattle, the voice, or with a natural object such as a feather.

In some cases an extraction is required. Extraction involves removing intrusions. An intrusion is negative energy that does not belong to a client and intrudes into their energy field, often when they are feeling low. Intrusions can appear as objects such as arrows or stones or can take the form of beings, most commonly as insects or serpents. They are extracted from the energy field into an object such as a stone, crystal or feather then returned to the elements in some way (for example I put my crystals in salt water to neutralise the negative energy and hang my feathers on a tree). Because the extraction leaves a gap it is usually necessary to bring positive energy in. This can be resonant energy from the client’s energy field or might be brought from elsewhere by the practitioner or the spirit helpers. It might take the form of light, a colour, or an object such as a crystal.

The practitioner may also be guided to work with one or more of the chakras. Each chakra relates to a different system within the body. For example, the heart chakra to the circulatory system and the sacral to the reproductive system. The chakras can reveal what is happening in the related system.

I’ve found that it’s possible to journey, with or without the client, into a chakra in order to gain a vision of the ailment within the body or to trace its origin in history or ancestry or on a symbolic level within one of the Otherworlds. Healing work can be done within a chakra. Cleansing and energising the chakra once the work has been done also has a positive effect. The session might be finished with healing drumming or a rattle cleansing.

The energy system can be shaken up by the process and symptoms can get a little worse before they get better, but this only something to worry about if the aggravation is excessive or lasts for more than a few days.

In preparation for energy work with clients I spent a good couple of years beforehand getting to know and working with my own energy body. This was through yogic techniques such as meditation and breathwork focusing on the pancha kosha ‘five envelopes’ energy body and seven chakra model. I chose the yogic system because my personal spiritual path, Brythonic polytheism, shares its roots with yoga with both being Indo-European traditions. On advice of my mentor I also did journeywork with my chakras, exploring the inner landscapes and how they relate to my physical body and building a map of personal associations including their guardian spirit animals.

I offered the sessions in person, online, and, for the first time, provided a distance healing option. This consisted of an online interview followed by a remote healing session with an audio recording and an email summary.

I worked with eight clients in total. Most clients came to me with more than one problem. The most common were musculoskeletal. I also dealt with digestive ailments, eye and throat problems, womens’ issues and cancer.

I’ve learnt a good deal from these shamanic energy healing sessions. Each client and each ailment has led to a deeper knowledge of physical anatomy and how it is linked to the energy body and to energetic disturbances.

On several occasions I was prompted to mime the work I was doing on an energetic level on the physical level without touching the client (ie. stirring, swaying, massaging) and this felt very natural and intuitive. Having done some physical work and put in physical effort made me feel as if I’d worked more towards the effect and brought about more of an energetic shift.

Another point of learning was that I was guided to merge not only with my own spirit helpers but those of clients. This was most often with power animals but on a couple of occasions it was with angels (with whom I wouldn’t usually work in my day-to-day practice). This gave me a strong sense of their power and energy and how it might augment a healing. On a couple of occasions I had the opportunity to work with others who have relationships with Gwyn ap Nudd (my patron God) and working with His guidance and channelling His energy was a powerful experience for both myself and the clients.

I had the opportunity to work with one client who was far more clairsentient than clairvoyant (which is my main channel). I really had to listen to my body and in combination with what the client was feeling in order to build a rapport and tune in to what spirit was saying to both of us. It helped me develop my own clairsentience and ability to work with someone through this channel.

In most instances, I found that an ailment could be healed by pure energy work but, in others, that it was necessary to address the root cause, which in a couple of cases was power loss or soul loss, necessitating power or soul retrieval. In another couple of cases ailments were ancestral and communications with ancestors and addressing ancestral patterns and trauma was needed. My existing training stood me in good stead for bringing in other techniques.

An important point to note is that the shamanic energy healing was quite often a supplement to existing treatment from doctors and physiotherapists. It was encouraging that my findings and healings resonated with advice from the traditional medical professions and that they sat well side by side.

I found that whether I did sessions in person, online, or remotely did not affect the efficacy of the healing or the emotional intensity. I wondered whether the remote healings would feel more distant, but as soon as I with the client in spirit, it felt no different to being with a client in person.

Over the course of the sessions I have grown in confidence and feel that I now have the ability to work with my guides on any problem a client presents with recourse to my mentor and / or the medical professions where needed. I’m looking forward to exploring shamanic energy healing further in the future.

I am now offering shamanic energy healing at a student rate of £30 a session contact lornasmithers81@gmail.com

Soul Loss and Soul Retrieval

August 22, 2025March 11, 2026Leave a comment

Soul retrieval is a central practice within core shamanism. It was (re)introduced to the West by Michael Harner in the 1970s following his study and practice with indigenous shamans around the world.

From a shamanic perspective, one of the main causes of illness is soul loss. This occurs in moments of trauma wherein the pain is so great a part of the soul departs from the body in order to preserve the intregrity of the whole. Soul loss can occur as a result of major trauma such as accidents, near-death experiences, war-time experiences, abuse and neglect. It can also be brought about by ongoing traumas such as bullying and being trapped in a controlling relationship. What constitutes trauma for one person might be different for the next. We can also, consciously or unconsciously, send soul parts away in order to fit in with family, friends, or the demands of society. These are often child parts, sensitive parts, or wild parts that do not cohere with social norms.

Within a shamanic context the soul parts can depart to various places. They can remain stuck at the site of the trauma here in the Middle World or take flight to a favourite place where they feel safe. They can also go to the Upper World or the Lower World. It is common to find they are looked after by guides or ancestors or protected by guardians.

The technique for bringing these missing soul parts back is called soul retrieval. It is possible for spontaneous soul retrieval to happen – for soul parts to come back on their own – and for a person to be able to find or call back their own soul parts. However, most often, because a person has sent their soul parts away and they no longer trust them or believe being with them is safe, it takes the skill of a shamanic practitioner to bring them back.

In a soul retrieval the practitioner journeys into the spirit realm with their guides to find the lost soul part. Negotiations with the protectors and with the soul part itself are usually needed to persuade it to come back. Soul parts will rarely return if the client is in the same conditions as when they left – for example trapped in abusive relationship or in an intolerable job. The soul parts frequently ask that the client make life changes to accomodate them (if they have not already done so) and might also ask that they make room for their needs – such as time for play or for spirituality or creativity. They might also ask for ritual acts such as the client eat their favourite food on a particular day, wear their favourite clothes, or do a favourite activity. Once the negotiations have been completed the soul parts sometimes need healing. After this, the practitioner returns and blows the soul part into the client’s body (usually a chakra) then rattles around to seal them in. The journey is then discussed with the client and they are advised on integration.

The main symptom of soul loss is feeling like you are not all here or a part of you is missing. Other symptoms include lost or fragmented memories and recurring dreams. Often, talking therapies fail to work because they are not addressing the parts that are missing. This fits with what, today, we call PTSD. In fact, the concepts of soul retrieval and soul loss fit very well with contemporary findings in neuroscience which demonstrates that trauma causes certain parts of our brain to go offline (causing parts of ourselves to disappear). Also, with psychotherapy, particularly Internal Family Systems, wherein protector parts are negotiated with and exiled parts integrated back into the whole. Following soul retrieval it is common for a person to feel more grounded and whole, for memories to return, and recurring dreams to ease.

Like most people I’ve experienced a fair amount of trauma. I’m autistic and was bullied throughout school and have also been bullied in the workplace. As a result I was often disassociated and retreated into fantasy to escape. I also depended on alcohol to self-medicate my anxiety for most of my life. Having a soul retrieval with my mentor and retrieving a soul part from one of my past lives have helped me to be happier and more present in the world.

My patron God, Gwyn ap Nudd, gathers the souls of the dead in the Brythonic tradition. He played a role in my soul retrieval, guiding my mentor to one of my lost soul parts and bringing it back to me. This experience was very emotional. Afterwards I realised that gathering lost soul parts was also His role. From thereon I knew soul retrieval was to be an important part of my work.

For my training towards becoming a shamanic practitioner I completed ten case studies. Soul retrieval proved popular because so many people relate to the concept of soul loss and recognise they are suffering from it. Finding and returning lost soul parts has been challenging but beautiful and inspiriting work and a fulfilment of service to both my clients and my God.

At first I was anxious about doing this healing for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there was the fear that I’d be completely useless at it and unable to find the soul parts. This was assuaged a little when one of my crow guides joked that I’d find it easier finding the soul parts than the people they belonged to.

Secondly, I was nervous about interacting with other people on such a deep level as an autistic person with social anxiety who has little experience of interpersonal relationships. Would I be able to show adequate care and kindness towards my clients and the lost and wounded parts of their souls? To make the shift from being an anxious and defensive person who has survived in a neurotypical world by masking to being more open-hearted I had to put a lot of trust in Gwyn and my guides and the people I was working with. Following my prayers I was able to drop down from the chatter in my head to working on a more intuitive and heart-centred level. This enabled me to interact with clients empathetically face-to-face and during the journeys. Not only that, on many occasions, I shared their emotions – both joy and sorrow, and even ended up hugging a couple of people afterwards (I never hug!).

During the healings I recovered soul parts from various places. Some remained at the site of trauma in the Middle World often within urban landscapes. Others had chosen to remain in or had fled to familiar places Middle World such as family homes, woodlands and beaches. A couple had escaped to fairytale landscapes in the Upper World. Some had gone to or were stuck in the Lower World – being submerged in underwater places or trapped in underground tunnels were common themes. Some of the soul parts had otherworldly guardians. Others had been looked after by ancestors, animal spirits, or favourite pets who had passed over.

The soul parts varied in age and appearance. Many were child parts. I was surprised to find a foetal part. I’d come across very young and baby parts but had been unaware that parts could leave whilst in the womb. I was equally surprised by the appearance of an elderly part. I hadn’t realised we contained or could lose parts older than our current age but this made sense within the context of the soul containing all our possibilities within it. Whilst most appeared as human some at first appeared as objects or essences.

In order to return, some of the soul parts simply wanted loving and nurturing. Others asked the clients to make room for emotions such as fear and joy. In some instances specific rituals were given which helped with the integration.

I didn’t have any problems journeying and so far have not returned without any soul parts. Contrarily, after discussing the healings with my mentor, in a couple of cases I feel I might have been overtrying, pushing too hard to find the soul parts, rather than letting the journeys unfold at a slower pace and allowing for distractions that might provide other revelations about a client’s problems.

Another thing I noticed was my reactions to the feedback (provided a month later). I was really attached to my clients providing positive comments and assuring me that all the classical effects of a soul retrieval had been felt. In a couple of instances life stresses had got in the way or clients had felt less certain about whether the soul parts had returned making me feel I’d failed.

When I spoke to my mentor about this she reminded me that spirit does not follow the Western model of cause and effect. Shamanic healing isn’t linear. When we’re working with spirit / energy / the web of life, if we change or unpick something in one place it will alter something elsewhere in space and time but it might not be the thing we expect. Also, it is common for clients to have ups and downs and for the healing work to bring up issues that need to arise and to be integrated and processed. These issues of having certain expectations and being attached to results are something I need to work with.

Overall I felt the soul retrievals were a success. On all occasions my clients had powerful and moving experiences and experieced the return of soul parts. In my feedbacks it was repeated that they felt safe and comfortable working with me, that they were listened to, that I was calm and… patient. I still have alot to learn but my foundational training in soul retrieval is complete and I’m looking forward to further developing my skills with this practice.

I am now offering soul retrieval at a student rate of £30 for a 2 hour session (1/2 hour online interview and 1 1/2 hour healing online or in-person for local people).

Power Animals and Power Animal Retrieval

July 10, 2025March 11, 2026Leave a comment

The term ‘power animal’ was introduced to the West by Michael Harner as one of the central concepts within core shamanism. It is borrowed from the native North American peoples and is interchangeable with ‘guardian spirit’.

A power animal helps us to connect with the natural world and the spirit world. According to Harner its presence provides us with energy and good health, whereas when we lack a guardian spirit, we are no longer power-filled and this leaves us open to the intrusive energies that cause illness.

Harner notes ‘the individual characters represent entire species or larger classes of animals… the entire genus or species… a person usually possesses not just the power of a bear, or of an eagle, but the power of Bear or of Eagle.’

Power animals or guardians spirits can be found across cultures. It’s a concept I relate to deeply because I connect so strongly with Horse. When I was little I used to run round the playground playing horses (until I got it bullied out of me). I managed to persuade my parents to let me go horseriding and spent all my time outside school helping out at a local riding school in exchange for free rides and later in life worked with horses.

When I was eighteen I got a tattoo of a white winged unicorn on my back and, later, when I discovered shamanism, she appeared as my guardian spirit. It didn’t take me long to work out that my power animal was Horse.

Since our ‘meeting’ (I believe she’s always been there) she has brought an abundance of joy and energy into my life whether out walking or at the gym or when she carries me between the world in my shamanic journeywork.

I’ve had relationships with other power animals and have a regular ‘team’. It’s common to have one or more power animals who stay for life and others who appear to guide us through certain life lessons then depart once they are done. For example, a one-legged raven guided me on my explorations of the Old North then disappeared and I haven’t seen him since.

Different power animals bring different powers and qualities into our lives. We can call on their power and shapeshift into them – a practice seen in the Brythonic culture wherein warriors invoked their energy as bulls of battle, wolves of war and ravening ravens when they fought on the battlefield and in the Anglo-Saxon and Norse cultures where we find the Berserkers ‘Bear Shirts.’

Such relationships are reciprocal with the human benefiting from the animal’s power and the animal benefiting from being able to express its power in the world.

The absence of a power animal results in power loss, which can cause ill health. The shamanic healing for this is a power animal retrieval. This is a practice that Harner borrowed from the native North American peoples. Herein a shamanic practitioner journeys to the Lower World to bring back a power animal for the client. Harner tells us, ‘the secret to recognizing the power animal is a simple one: it will appear to you at least four times in different aspects or at different angles.’ For example, one might see Stag at a distance, shapeshift into Stag, see Stag on a cave wall, then ride on Stag. Once the identity of the power animal is established, the practitioner gathers the power animal into their arms and returns to blow them into the body of the client (Harner notes the Jívaro blow the animal into the chest and then into the fontanelle but I have been guided to blow them into one of the chakras) and then rattles around the client to seal them in.

I first learnt power animal retrieval at The Shaman’s Pathway workshop with the Sacred Trust and have progressed towards using it to heal clients in my one-to-one shamanic training. Including the person I worked with in the introductory workshop I have so far completed six power animal retrievals. I have found these healings to be a source of power and wonder for both the client and myself as I have helped (re)unite them with their guardian spirits.

I have used the traditional way of journeying for a client then reporting back and other methods taught to me by my mentor which provide more scope for agency and participation for the client. These are speaking out loud as I journey so the client is more immersed, taking them with me on the journey so they can look around and interact, and holding space for them to journey.

Each journey was unique and ranged from one client being courted by every animal in the forest to another to whom only one animal appeared. In some instances the client’s power animal turned out to be the one who had consistently shown itself as the most powerful presence in their lives, whereas others were less frequent guides or a complete surprise.

I was astounded by the immense power and intelligence of other people’s guardians. Each was unique and it was a privilege to meet and interact in such a close way and to play a role in helping clients to establish and deepen their relationships with them. When I was sealing agreements between the client and their animal I felt a sense of being a bridge between the worlds and, somewhat laughably, like a celebrant, as they made their ‘vows’.

This work was a step up from the guidance journeys as there was more responsibility in finding a power animal who would bring energy and health to the client and might be a friend and source of guidance and wisdom for life. I feel I met the demands, ensuring that I was fully present for each person, listening to their needs, and paying full attention during the journeys.

One of the things I was slightly uncertain about was Harner’s method of recognising the power animal from four angles. In an introductory workshop to core shamanism I got an animal who showed themselves in four different ways (Panther) but who didn’t turn out to be my power animal (Horse).

I was also unsure about this method of recognition because there is no evidence that it was ever used in British or other Western European traditions. However, I went with it for the journeys and found when doing power animal retrievals for clients it was integral for identifying the power animal from all the other animals and could think of no better method.

The greatest challenges I faced were self-doubt and the desire of my ego to get things ‘right’ by providing a journey that matched those of shamanic authors. Being aware of these tendencies I made sure I trusted and stayed with what was shown by my guides, the spirit world, and the spirits we met.

The effects of the healings for the clients have varied from experiencing more power and joy in their lives and new or deeper connections with their power animals, to ailments easing and being able to come of some medications. It has been a beautiful and edifying experience for clients, their guardians and myself.

I’m very happy to announce that I have now completed my power animal retrieval training and am offering this healing at a student rate of £30 HERE.

The Gift of Shamanism

April 16, 2025March 11, 20261 Comment

The gift of shamanism lies in each and every one of us. It’s a gift from the Gods, from the spirits, from the spirit world. Over the past six months I have been gifting my time and energy to help others access this magical gift.

As part of my training towards becoming a shamanic practitioner I offered a course of six one-to-one weekly ‘Introduction to Shamanism’ sessions to newcomers covering journeying safely in the Lower World, Upper World and Middle World and meeting animal spirit guides and spirit teachers. I also covered the basics of shamanic healing.

It’s been a gift for me to watch others grow from having little to no knowledge of shamanism and doubts about their ability to journey to making their first connections with their guides and beginning to explore the spirit world.

I have witnessed eight people begin to find their ways around the worlds and build relationships with their guides in ways that have been fun, loving and spine-tinglingly powerful. The process has been moving and surprising as I’ve come to see the spirit world in new ways through other people’s eyes and observed their tenacity and the ingenuity of the answers from their helpers.

Each six-week long journey has had its own magic and been healing in its own right. Each person has met guides in each the worlds and has the confidence and ability to journey alone and to access basic healing from the spirits.

Shamanism is our birth right and it has been near-lost to the British Isles since the coming of Christianity and its denegration of our native Gods and spirits as devils and more recently the hegemony of the reductivist worldview wherein spirits are not seen to exist, which has led to industrialism and capitalism.

It cheers me greatly that so many people in my local area from different walks of life are interested in shamanism and are claiming this innate gift back.