Journey 166/167 - Protection for a learning Shamaness/My Cold

3/15/05: A Journey to help find protection for a Native-descendant Friend as she begins and goes through the process of learning to Journey. I Smudged the room with both Sage and Sweet Grass and lit the Sacred Candle, representing the center of Self and also of the spirit World..the same thing. I then Rattled in Sacred Space. I put on my Shaman’s Mirror for protection. I then sat and prepared myself by breathing slowly and deeply, with a good pause in-between each Breath, while saying the purpose of my Journey over and over again, awaiting the arrival of the Scene and Guide who would take me. It, as usual, was not long in coming. I found myself sitting in a field filled with yellow and white flowers, with some purple Loosestrife. Off to my right was a large stand of Trees, with the late afternoon Sun beyond them. From that direction came Owl, my Upper World Guide. His Spirit Name is Eagle Claw, for when in human form he wears a large Claw dangling from his neck. Owl was huge, immense, which told me I was fairly small. I suddenly realized I was a Chipmunk! Owl landed beside me and asked me if I was ready to go. I was, and he gingerly took me in his Claws and lifted us up off the ground. As we went higher and higher, the Day quickly turned to night (there are no restrictions on Time and Space while Journeying). The Stars were brilliant above us. As we went high, I noticed a Fire burning far below in a clearing. We headed for it. The fact we did not go through a Tunnel indicates this was a Middle World Journey..a trip to the here and now of this Reality. Had we gone to the Upper (place of Knowledge, Enlightment and Heritage Souls) or Lower World (place of Power Animals, empowerment and past-life Souls), we would have gone through a Tunnel. When we landed, I found 5 Mi’kmaq Tribe sitting around a Fire. Owl dropped me off on a Stone Person surrounding the Fire that was not occupied by a Tribe Member. I caught the attention of an elderly Native Woman with gray Hair, who upon seeing how I was dropped off said, “there is something unusual about Owl dropping his prey off at our Fire, instead of eating him. Come here, little one..” I looked at her eyes and they were shining a bright gold. The top of her Aura was connected in a thin vortex of Light all the way up into the Sky, so I knew she had a profound connection to the Great Spirit and Ancestors. I knew she was an Elder, a Shamaness. She took me up in her hand and spoke further to me. “You are a Shaman Spirit, aren’t you. Why have you come here?” I explained my purpose via thought: to find a Helper to protect my dear friend, a relative of hers, as she begins her Journey into her Heritage. She then took me away from the others and the fire into her Wigwam. There, we sat down together next to a smaller Fire. She lit Smudge and then began to Drum. Soon, a Spirit appeared on the opposite side of the dwelling. She was young, a Native Maiden. I asked if she had come to be Anne Marie’s Protector. She answered yes. I asked her name. She said “Ashes of the Swamp”. I asked why she was called that, and she replied that she was the Spirit of the past Vegetation which protected the new Seedlings from harm by lying dead on the Ground until the Seedlings were strong enough to grow into their new Life. I knew this was the ideal Spirit for my Friend, for she is like such a Seedling..ready to burst into the Light of the Truth. I asked her how she might return with me, and she asked to be placed in my Shaman’s Mirror, then transferred to a Stone Person of my choice. This Stone would stay with my Friend until she had successfully navigated the Spirit World and had her own Protectors. Suddenly, the two of us were standing on the surface of my Mirror. Utawa, the Blue Shaman and spirit of my Mirror, was there. Ashes knelt to him and told him it was an honor to meet him. Obviously Utawa is well–known in Spirit Circles. Utawa then pointed to me and said, “my young Shaman grandson is obviously doing very well, seeking help for his friend.” Ashes then came over to me and literally caked me in Ashes..very fine and soft. Within this cocoon, I suddenly felt very young and vibrant and at peace. It was a very nice Gift. She then pulled those Ashes back, and sank slowly into the Mirror. I saw her Energy then spread across the entire surface. At this point, I was back in the Wigwam. The old woman Grandmother picked me, the Chipmunk, back up and carefully carried me over to the Fire. She sat me back on the Stone I had been placed on originally. All five Tribe Members then tool turns spitting into the Fire. With each Spit, the Fire grew stronger. It was so bright at the end that is called Owl back out of the nearby Trees. He came and picked me up. I thanked the Members and Grandmother and we left. Owl brought me back to the Meadow, and from there I returned to my room. During the Call Back Drumming (a series of spaced double taps followed be a long stretch of very rapid drumming), I regained my awareness of this Reality. I transferred Ashes from my Mirror to an Obsidian Bracelet using heat from my Candle. My Friend should wear this Bracelet while Journeying.

Note: The fact the spitting caused the Fire to grow shows the Fire was made of Spirit Energy to begin with. The growth signifies the growth my Friend will experience in her Spirit Life. No doubt she will someday meet this Shamaness relative who called in the Helper Ashes to guide her. I was made a Chipmunk so that my appearance from the talons of an Owl would immediately cause her to recognize my status as a visiting Shaman Spirit.

A second Journey this same day was of a more personal note. My wife and I are going this weekend for our annual ski vacation, and I have come down with a sore throat and runny nose..I really do not want to be sick for this vacation, as it promises to be so splendid. So I took this Journey to try and convince the Spirit of the Cold to leave me and seek Life expression elsewhere. As Sacred Space was already opened up, I began the Drumming and concentrated on my goal. I soon found myself standing in my back yard. Owl was walking toward me, and he led me into the Woods. The Woods could only be seen via the Auras of the Trees, Stones, etc, not their typical appearance in this reality. I looked down to my right and standing right beside me, about 2 feet tall, was a small, brown blob of Light. This was the Aura of the Disease that was now within my Earth Robe. It walked in unison with me, and yet was slightly apart. We continued on together as I searched for a new home for this Life Force. Soon, ahead of us, the Aura of a very large Tree appeared to open up, allowing us to see the contents within. Inside was a large Tree Spirit, offering the Illness a place to stay. But the Brown Blob was very afraid of this prospective home, and clung even tighter to my leg. We moved on. We came to a magnificent flowered Field, and once again the Illness did not want to leave me. But then, off in the distance, was a large, snow-capped Mountain. When the Blob saw this, it appeared to say, “Yes!”, and it zoomed off away from me. It raced well up the side of the mountain before fading from sight. I then looked down and saw a hole in my Aura where the Blob had been attached. I took my Shamanic Mirror and using sweeping strokes restored the wholeness of that area. I walked back out of the Forest with Owl, but took one last look at the Mountain. I saw it rippled by Rainbow Light, and knew the Disease Spirit had been transmuted in Joy. I thanked Owl and awaited the gradual bettering in my condition.

3/18 follow-on. Although I expected and still had cold symptoms the day after this Journey (after all, it takes the Robe a little while to cleanse itself of the remnant of illness), by today I am completely well. We are packing for the vacation, and I am no longer sick. I am deeply grateful to the Cold Spirit for allowing itself to be transmuted into a new Life.