Stones, Spirits, and Shamanic Journeys
September 28, 2005
by Jeffrey Pierce
I have a handful of rituals that I use to start my day nearly every morning. When I shave, I cup five handfuls of water to wet my beard, energizing the water with Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit in turn before using that energy to both revitalize myself and cleanse the energy that collected from the previous day. Just before I begin my day, I stand in the middle of my home and project the energy of joy until it completely fills and surrounds my dwelling. In between these two rituals, I recharge my energy by doing a quick meditation with three stones, connecting with each one in turn.
Standing in my bedroom, facing east, I begin with the grapefruit-sized piece of blue calcite, holding it in my cupped hands until I feel it's energy begin to seep up my arms. I'll pull its energy into me until it has completely filled my body. The pale blue, almost white energy slowly fills my body from front to back as if I'm being gently submerged into a pool of water a degree or two below room temperature. Filled with the energy of the stone, I simultaneously bow and lifting the stone toward my forehead, saying softly, "Thank you for your gift. May you be blessed as you bless myself, my family, and my friends and family with whom I create my world. Blessed be." I then replace the stone in its accustomed place before moving first to a large piece of kyanite and then a large piece of quartz crystal, allowing the energy of each stone to fill me in turn.
When I first began working with the three stones, I would connect with each one of them in turn each morning and then, each evening, I would spend some time meditating for a longer period of time with just one of the stones. The first night I worked with the calcite, the second the kyanite, and third night, the quartz crystal. I timed the process so that, once I had meditated with all three stones, I placed them in my windowsill to bask in the rays of the sun and the light of the full moon for the following three days. After completing that pattern, I'm comfortable working with the stones for a full lunar cycle before allowing them to sit in the windowsill during the full moon, unused, for a three day period each month.
To be perfectly honest, where the stones that I work with are concerned, I don't consider the standard properties that you would find listed in books and Web sites. If you happened to have read the last article, you'll remember that I allow the stones to call to me, so I already harbor a strong connection with the stones that I end up working with on my path. By experiencing a stone's energy on a regular basis and coming to understand its characteristics and how they interact with my own energy, I discover the stone's properties on my own, focusing on the stone as an individual, rather than the general properties for that particular type of stone.
The meditative and energy workings with the stones become pretty simple when you work with them in this manner. Since you already have an established connection with the stone, you simple rely on that connection to begin your work. The key to your work is going to be based on how easily you connect with the stone and the approach you use to interact with its energy. If your gifted with the ability to see the stone's energy, your best approach would be to visualize the energy coming from the stone and flowing into you. If you feel the energy (as I do), you would first connect with the sensation of that energy and then pull it within you in much the same way that you pull in air when you take a deep breath. You can actually time the "pull" with your breathing and visualize the stone's energy surging into you with each breath if that method is easier for you. Once your body is completely filled with the stone's energy, thank it for its gift and return the stone to where you normally keep it.
There's a technique called shamanic journeying where you shift your consciousness from an awareness of the physical realm to an awareness of another state of being. Typically this is used to explore the subtle realms (places that are generally referred to as the etheric plane, the spirit world, or the Dreamtime), but there isn't a limit as to where you can journey or the realms that you can reach when you shift your awareness. (If you're awareness is actually leaving your body and projecting itself into the physical world, you're experiencing a phenomena known as astral projection, something I am tremendously unskilled at doing in a waking state). The key characteristics to journeying are that you don't leave your body (although you may lose awareness of your body and your physical surroundings while in a shamanic state) and you are exploring a level of existence that is not the physical plane.
If you are capable of pulling a stone's energy within you, you already possess all of the necessary potential to journey into that energy. When you connected with the stone's energy to begin the process, at some point you shifted your awareness from yourself to the stone - or to put it simply, you focused on the stone and its energy as you held it in your hands. All you need to do is shift that process slightly and focus on the stone's energy that you've pulled within you. The key, and this is the pivotal part, is that once you have your focus shifted to where you've connected with the stone's energy with you, you need to relax and clear your mind, much as if you were meditating, without allowing your focus to move from that spot within you that's saturated with the stone's energy. It's tricky and typically requires a little bit of practice to develop the necessary skill level, so don't be disappointed if you are only able to complete one portion of the process at first or are unable to hold that balance of directed focus and open mind for very long when you first begin.
When you've achieved this level of work with the stone, simply hold the stone quietly as you journey into its energy. It doesn't really matter if you're sitting or standing (I use both positions), although I personally have a difficult time journeying into a stone when I'm laying down. (I find that the energy of the earth has a grounding effect on me when I'm in a prone position). Go into the journey without expectations. Simply allow whatever energy is there to manifest on its own.
For instance, the blue calcite that I've been working with has a very defined yet ethereal spirit and energy. It's clean and pure and it's spirit manifests as a tall, slender humanoid in embroidered robes and the journey takes place within a small chamber that seems to represent the stone itself. The kyanite is deep and gritty, it's spirit form only vaguely humanoid, and the journey into that stone's energy manifests as an entire landscape in a rural Indian countryside completely devoid of people. The quartz crystal's energy is simply light. I don't go anywhere or see anything when I journey into its energy. Once I've journeyed into its energy, I simply find myself in brilliant uncolored light, like staring into bright sunlight that doesn't harm your eyes or make you squint.
There's a fourth stone that I work with that requires a shift in technique. It was a gift from a spirit that I work with who is associated with the Pacific Ocean. A couple of years back I had finished doing some shamanic work on the Oregon Coast and was walking down an empty stretch of beach, still a little ungrounded, when I caught the glimpse of a juvenile seal between myself and the water. While the area abounds with sea lions (they're a regular sight during a visit to the ocean), seals are rare and I usually only see them during shamanic work or at sacred sites that I've adopted. I quickly turned my head toward the animal, only to find that instead of a medium-sized seal, there was a small stone, a bit bigger than a large chicken's egg where the animal had been, it's coloring and markings exactly the same as the much larger seal. Since that day, I've referred to it by the extremely unimaginative name of "the seal stone."
As a journeying tool, when properly connected with, the spirit form of a seal will spiritually manifest from the seal stone and carry my spirit on a shamanic journey to where a spirit (I refer to as The Handmaiden) awaits in her aquatic home. The technique is almost the same as journeying into the stone's energy, except instead of focusing on the stone's energy as a broad sensation, you narrow your focus to the spirit of the seal that exists within that energy. The rest of the journeying process is exactly the same, as the seal's spirit is responsible for the actual transportation from one realm to the next and you aren't required to master any additional techniques. All you have to do is maintain your focus on the seal's energy while relaxing your mind and maintaining a semi-meditative state.
If you begin working with a stone's energy by journeying into the stone, you may discover a couple of things happening.
First of all, that stone, it's spirit, or the energy it manifests is going to have a very unique perspective on the world and the larger scheme of reality. By utilizing the journeying technique, if the realm opens to you and you meet the spirit of the stone (or are led to another spirit during the journeying), you can learn from that spirit much as you would learn from a spirit guide.
Second, not only can you draw energy from the stone for your own use, but you can give back your energy as a gift or thank you to the stone, a perfect way to maintain the balance of your working relationship. For instance, when I first started working with the seal stone, the spirit seal was very timid and reluctant to transport me. After taking me to The Handmaiden, it would immediately dart off for other waters and wouldn't return until it was time to take me back to the physical realm. At the end of one of the return journeys, I held my focus for a moment longer than necessary and visualized an ideal seal habitat - a gently sloping beach in a protected cove, deep water protected from sharks by a sturdy shoal, warm sunshine and plenty of fish. The spirit seal responded joyfully to the gift. Now when I connect with the seal, I wait until that hidden cove appears in the energy and the seal is now happy and eager to work with me.
You can offer the same sort of gift if you begin working with the spirit of a stone. While a habitat may be appropriate if it's an animal form that you're working with, any gift that truly represents a humble and thankful nature would be appreciated. A beautiful flower to a spirit that resides in a meadow; a gift of a favorite childhood memory to an elderly spirit; almost anything that you can offer in thanks, respect and joy will be well-accepted.
While the three stones that I typically work with were resting in the moonlight, I felt led to work with a stone that had been in my possession for some time but had never worked with, connected to, or used in a journey. Next time we'll look at what happened when it was used in a meditation, the concept of simultaneous journeying, and a second encounter with a goddess - this time standing in the presence of her unleashed power.