What is Shamanic Journeying?

Shamanism symbolises a universal abstract framework found among indigenous tribal humans. It contains the belief that the natural world has two aspects: ordinary everyday awareness, constructed by our habitual behaviours, beliefs, patterns, cultural conditioning, social norms, and a second non-ordinary awareness accessed via ecstatic trance or altered states induced by shamanic practices such as repetitive drumming. Entering an ecstatic trance state is called a shamanic journey or soul flight. It allows the journeyer to view life and issues from a detached, spiritual perspective, which is not easily accomplished in a state of ordinary consciousness.

Shamanic journeying is a form of communicating with your inner or spirit self and retrieving knowledge. Your inner self constantly communicates with all aspects of your environment, seen and unseen. You only need to journey within to find answers to your questions. You should have an objective or question in mind from the start. Shamanic journeying may be undertaken for personal healing, divination to meet one’s power animal or spirit guide, or other reasons. After the journey, you must interpret the meaning of your trance experience.

The drum, occasionally called the shaman’s horse, provides a simple and practical way to generate ecstatic trance states. When a drum is played consistently at three to four beats per second for at least fifteen minutes, most beginners report that they can journey successfully even on their first try. Enchanted by the driving beat of the drum, the shamanic traveller journeys to the inner planes of consciousness.

The Shaman’s Universe

According to shamanic cosmology, there are three internal planes of consciousness: the Lower, Middle and Upper Worlds. Humans did not create these inner realms; they discovered them. Far from being a human contrivance, these archetypal worlds are ingrained in the collective unconscious, the common psychological inheritance of humanity. They are woven into the matrix of the psyche. They are a part of our psyche, a part of us whether we choose to become aware of it or not.

The three realms are linked by a vertical axis called the “World Tree.” Its branches hold up the Upper World, Its trunk is the Middle World and ghe roots of the World Tree connect the Lower World. This central axis exists within each of us. 

Through the sound of the drum, which is invariably made of wood from the World Tree, the shaman is transported to the axis within and conveyed from plane to plane. There is a bridge on these sound waves so you can go from one world to another. In the sound world, a tunnel opens through which we can pass the shaman’s spirits to us. When you stop playing the drum, the bridge disappears.

A Journeying Technique requires a drum or a drumming audio to enter a trance state and support your journey. Shamanic drumming is drumming for the purpose of shamanic journeying. A good shamanic drumming recording should be pulsed at around three to four beats per second. You may also rattle, chant, or sing to induce trance. There is no right or wrong way to journey. Be innovative and try different ways of journeying. Many people need to move, dance, or sing their journeys. My first journeys were supported by listening to a shamanic drumming recording. Still, now I have stronger journeys when I drum for myself.

For your first journeys, I recommend travelling to the Lower World using the technique that you visualise an opening into the earth that you remember from sometime in your life. The entrance could be an animal burrow, hollow tree stump, cave, etc. When the journey begins, you’ll go down the hole, and a tunnel will appear. The tunnel often appears ribbed and may bend or spiral around. This tunnel-like imagery is related to the central axis that links the three inner planes of consciousness. Enter the tunnel, and you will emerge into the Lower World -- the realm of power animals, spirit guides and ancestral spirits. It is a beautiful, Earth-like dimension where we can find lost power, retrieve lost souls and connect with animal and plant spirits.

Engaging the Imaginal Realm

Imagination is our portal to the spirit world. Internal imagery enables us to perceive and connect with the inner realms. If a shaman wants to retrieve information or a lost guardian spirit, “imagining what to look for” is the first step in achieving any result. The shaman’s journey employs the imagination, and the use of myth as inner map gives the shaman a way of imagining non-ordinary reality, so that they may move about intentionally in it. By consciously interacting with the inner imagery, the shaman can communicate with spirit guides and power animals.

Communication in non-ordinary reality is characteristically archetypal, nonverbal and nonlinear in nature. The images we see during a shamanic journey have a universal, archetypical quality. Imagery from these experiences combines our imagination and information transmitted to us by the spirits. Our imagination gives the travels a “container,” which allows us understand the messages we receive. It allows us to understand and articulate the experience for ourselves and others. 

In the spirit world, communication transcends words. Symbolism reigns supreme, with visions and meetings serving as metaphorical messages. Understanding these symbols needs a unique form of intuition, a language of the soul that guides the journeyer towards healing and self-discovery.

For those attracted to the mystical magnetism of shamanic journeying, the call to adventure beckons. Anyone can embark on this transformative quest with an open heart, a curious spirit, and a willingness to explore the unknown. The drumbeat echoes, and the spirits await—will you answer the call?