FOR almost as long as I can remember, I’ve been dreaming of things to create in the waking world. Whether asleep, or during a shamanic journey, it’s not unusual for me to come back with designs that simply have to be turned into physical objects.

In the shamanic world, this is known as bridging the dream and is one of many ways in which medicine objects are created.

In the early days, of course, I didn’t really understand the significance of such dreams. I’d just wake up, desperate to start crafting, then spend hours creating the piece I’d ‘seen’ on the spirit plane and – very often – know exactly who needed it. Most often, it would be a piece of jewellery, but it might also be a dance staff, rattle, drum, divination set… anything at all. As these dreams became more frequent, and the detail of the pieces became more complex, the wonders of the creation process began to unfold.

Special energies

My spirit teacher took time to explain that these pieces were imbued with special energies, designed especially for their keeper. These ‘medicine pieces’ were born to support their earth-bound owners, either topping up their energy to a more healthy level, anchoring a positive state or even acting as a spiritual protector. Sometimes, the objects had many roles; sometimes they acted purely to remind the keeper of their place on this earth, of their connection to the divine, of the importance of walking an authentic path, fulfilling their potential and harming none in the process – perhaps a little like a Christian might wear a cross.

Sometimes, I’d know who the piece was for and might even be given instruction for them, from spirit, but, as the creative process became more frequent, I’d be churning out medicine pieces until my fingers bled, often with no idea who they were for.

You see, when this happens, when something needs to be created, I’m acting purely as the channel – as the hands of my spirit guides, if you like. And when something’s coming through, it’s near impossible to ignore. My hands buzz with energy, sometimes my hairs stand on end, sometimes there’ll be heat surging through my body and there’ll be a magnetic pull towards the materials needed for the piece. When that happens, I surround myself with craft materials, clear my mind and allow spirit to work through me until it’s done. Quite often, I’ll have little idea of what I’m creating until it’s finished and I’m out of the shamanic ‘trance’.

Let go and trust

As I’m sure you’ll understand, there’s a huge amount of trust in this process – I’ll often have no idea what I’m about to create, what its role might be and for whom; I simply surrender to the process and trust that the owner of the piece will find it.

And they always do.

Sometimes they’ll find me at a craft event or MBS fair. Sometimes they’ll come across my website, or Facebook page, or Twitter feed, and get in touch. Sometimes they’ll bump into me somewhere and get talking about shamanism and all things spiritual. Sometimes a friend will point them in my direction. Sometimes they’ll find one of my cards somewhere totally random. However it happens, I’ve yet to create anything that’s stayed with me for too long before finding its rightful owner – it’s as though there’s some invisible thread connecting the medicine piece to the soul it was meant to connect with.

Power of the jewellery

Not too long ago, I had a reading with a lovely lady called Sue Hudd at an MBS fair. I hadn’t been drawn to a reading in years, but that invisible tug pulled me towards her. Part way through the reading, she suddenly asked: “Do you make jewellery?” I answered positively and, from there, Sue reeled off messages about the power of the jewellery, about people being drawn to the piece created for them and about people wearing them and wearing them until the piece had worked its wonders and they no longer needed the energy their medicine jewellery carried. “Celebrities will be wearing your jewellery” she said, “and people will be wanting you to make something especially for them.”

Well, that’s already happening – but Sue couldn’t possibly have known. I don’t tend to shout about the clients who ask me to channel a piece specifically for them – celebrity or not – that’s between us and spirit.

NB: If you’d like to read more about medicine jewellery and power objects, there’s a four page feature (written by yours truly) in the Nov/Dec 2011 edition of Kindred Spirit magazine. Can’t wait to get a copy? Here’s a link to my article: Powering Up

IT’S been a while since my last blog, but so many of you have been asking to hear the my full radio interview, rather than the three minute teaser clip, so I thought I’d better oblige.

If you click the link at the top of the page, you should hear me chatting with Stafford FM’s Ian Beddow. What a lovely chap! For those who don’t know, Ian is married to the very lovely Kate Beddow – one of my Twitter friends. Kate is a reiki healer and has a really beautiful energy; her business name is Growing Spirit and you can also find her on Facebook…. go look her up. Go on. Yes, right now! 

Anyway, Kate and I have been chatting for some time now; it’s one of those odd situations where we’ve never met, but I feel our spirits have known each other for lifetimes. So, when her hubby took a leap into mind, body, spirit radio, Kate asked me if I’d be his first guest. The rest, as they say, is history. Hats off to Ian… he’s best known for news and sports commentary, and I’m sure a few of his radio pals treated him to a bit of teasing over his new Saturday night MBS show, Chill. It’s a great programme, though, and well worth the teasing; Ian has some wonderful guests and, of course, as you can tune in online, it’s certainly not restricted to Stafford! So, if you fancy having a listen, pop over to staffordfm.com and/or IanBeddow.com and give your ears a gentle treat.

In other news, I’m busily preparing for The Feelgood Show – a new positivity event with an MBS twist I’m involved with organising. It’ll happen in Spalding, South Lincolnshire, on October 15-16 – you can find out more at http://www.facebook.com/TheFeelgoodShow. We’ve been working really hard to get together an amazing array of goods for our Feelgood market place and we’re hosting talks throughout the weekend from a variety of Feelgood presenters (including yours truly). There’ll also be live music, book signings, food, drink and a lovely Feelgood atmosphere. So, if you fancy a day out, please, please pop over to Ayscoughfee Hall Museum and Gardens and say hello – it’d be lovely to meet you all.

Sorry this has been a relatively brief blog, but I promise I’ll be back with a newsletter soon!

Walk in beauty,

Taz / Yellow Wolf Moon

xxx

Various Haida-style creatures blend together seamlessly and, near the top of the pole, an eagle spreads his wings majestically, promising freedom, clarity, soaring to new heights; magical magnificence.

At least, that was the case, until our delightful kitten decided to brutally attack his sworn totem enemy, sending him cascading from the top of our highest bookcase, crashing to the ground with two broken wings.

When I say broken, I actually mean detached. No more wings. Not attatched to the eagle, anyway.

Having recovered from my distress (and having given Merlin the kitten a piece of my mind), I quickly reached for the Superglue. A few minutes of steady handywork later, and the eagle was ready to soar again. I proudly inspected my work, feeling very pleased with myself.

Of course, a few days later, our totem pole was involved in yet another horrible accident. Yet again, eagle lost his wings. Yet again, I reached for the glue.

This pattern repeated several times and, every time, the weakness in the eagle’s wings increased. On the most recent occasion, the lightbulb moment finally occurred and I opted to let eagle be without his wings. Sooner or later, we have to accept that things change and, sometimes, we’re left with a shape that our Western mindsets deem less pleasing than the ‘ideal’.

Who am I to decide what is perfect?

It’s only quite recently that I realised the teachings of the broken totem. Why are we so obsessed with forcing situations to fit the mould we desire for them? Who am I to decide whether the totem pole was more beautiful with, or without, its wings? Surely, sometimes, the beauty is in the imperfection? Then again, who am I to decide what is perfect?

Taking this further, it occurred to me that we’re obsessed with fixing things. Define fixing…. Let’s face it, each time I glued those wings back onto the eagle’s body, I was doing no more than forcing three pieces to sit next to each other when, quite clearly, they had no intention of remaining in committee. I wasn’t actually mending the eagle. To truly ‘mend’ him, I would have had to create magic (in the Harry Potter sense of the word); to completely reverse any damage; to erase the fracture entirely. Instead, with my merry tube of Superglue, I was merely creating a weakness whose only option was to grow.

Bent out of shape?

This scenario plays out in so many situations in our Western culture. How many times have you heard someone refer to a fellow human being as being “all bent out of shape”? What does this actually mean? How do we define what is actually out of shape? The truth is, we create a snapshot in our mind at the very outset of any new situation and, as soon as the inevitable change occurs and that situation appears alien in comparison to our brain-based Polaroid, we assume something’s gone wrong.

Why can we not accept that things change? Sometimes, we choose not to recognise something in its new form and pile all our efforts into trying to force it back into a shape we’re more comfortable with. Why must we do this? Why can we not accept the transition and either grow to love the new shape or move on?

Some years ago, I was involved with a women’s networking group. At first, it was a fabulous forum of solidarity; we’d meet every month, support each other, talk and generally set the world to rights. Somehow, though, as personalities came and went and, as we grew to know each other and allowed some of those surface masks to slip, it became clear that a few fissures were beginning to appear. For whatever reason, some of those personalities simply did not gel; cliques began to form, people became blinded by their own version of events, then came the rumours and backbiting and, eventually, all trust seemed to drown in a sea of paranoia. In the end, of course, people began to leave and the group dissolved, although some of us remain good friends.

In hindsight, this was another broken totem pole scenario. The energy of the group had begun to shift into a new place – not necessarily a bad place, but certainly a space we weren’t familiar with. Speaking personally, I can now see that instead of accepting the change, I kept on pretending that I was with the same old group, with the same, familiar, comfortable air of support and sharing. Effectively, I kept on sticking those wings back onto the totem pole, desperately trying to make them fit. I wonder how differently things might have turned out if we’d all been able to put the original scenario behind us and accept that our group had moved into a new phase. Maybe, just maybe, if we’d welcomed that new shape with open arms and actively worked towards accepting and getting to know our new situation, we might have avoided some of the negativity that ensued. Maybe.

Those of you who work with crystals will, no doubt, be aware that the power of the stones can be just as powerful if there are ‘imperfections’. I remember an old medicine lady telling me that the beauty was often in the wound of the stone, that the ‘crack’ could sometimes be delivering us a powerful teaching and directly relate to a situation on our own path. When one of my palmstones broke in two, I happily accepted that it wanted to separate and become two individual gems. Not once did I reach for that glue…

So, thank you, Great Spirit, for the teaching – I’m sorry it took me so long to catch on. From now on, I’m setting out to roll with the punches and move with the times. Sometimes, if something morphs into a new shape, I’m going to try to recognise that this is simply evolution and not something that needs to be ‘fixed’. And sometimes, if the new skin really doesn’t fit MY shape, I might take heed of the signs and step away with love, peace and gratitude for the teachings.

Walk in beauty,

Taz / Yellow Wolf Moon

xxx

The One Year Shamanic Circle begins on April 8, 2011.

You see, in this western world, it’s so easy to tune out our hearts and operate from the tactical, strategic, careful, sensible brain-mind instead.

Nothing wrong with that, you might say – where would we be if our accountants, lawyers and estate agents flicked off the analytical switch and began to operate purely based on emotion?

Well, as the old saying goes, it’s important to have balance in all things. So, when the brain-mind starts to completely overrule the heart-mind, it’s not unusual for spirit to start giving us a few gentle prods. And if we ignore the prods? Well, prepare your posterior, for the full-blown spirit kick is sure to follow!

Where am I going with this blog? Well, some of you have asked what prompted me to run the One Year Shamanic Circle, starting in April, and one of those spirit kicks lies at the heart of the scenario.

When I first set foot on the shamanic path, more than a decade ago, I had no intention of teaching. My dream was to learn to heal and help people, as well as finding out what all those strange visions and visitations I’d had since childhood actually meant. I remember one of my first shamanic teachers stating that I’d be running teaching circles one day, and I also remember shaking my head and telling her it wasn’t for me.

Great Spirit moves in mysterious ways…

When I was in full-time employment, before I’d dared to step out on my own, I was quite happy to offer healings in my spare time, to coach and counsel when needed, to help people as much as I could. Over time, of course, word spread and I found myself being asked to teach people how to meet their spirit guides, how to contact their power animal, how to access past life information, how to release stress from their lives… the list goes on. Looking back, helping people with these requests were my first tentative steps onto the teaching path, and they felt so, so supported.

As time progressed, I found myself doing more and more of this ‘leadership’ work and, eventually, ended up passing lots of teachings onto a shamanic circle I’d been part of for many years; this brought its own messages and teachings of its own, and soon became second nature. During this time, my guides were nudging me ever closer to the teaching path, yet still I resisted… the world had enough shamanic teachers, and many of them had been on the path for much longer than I… some of them had even been published!

Over the years, I had many compliments from people who said they loved my teaching style. Teaching? I wasn’t teaching, I was merely passing on information and guiding them through the steps. That’s not teaching, is it? I had more and more requests from people asking me to teach them and people asking when I was going to start a training group of my own. How ridiculous, I thought, I can’t possibly teach other people when I’m still learning myself!

So, I continued to ignore the little nudges from spirit and carried on with my life. I ignored the dreams sent to me, I politely referred people to teachers I’d worked with when they asked about training (so what if they were hundreds of miles away? It’s all part of the journey…), and decided that one day, when I’d learned all I could learn, I might consider offering some training of my own.

To cut a long story short, a number of things happened to lead me to reconsider my stance. Life led me to meet a number of ideal teaching partners and I began to tentatively run a few shamanic workshops. First came the shamanic glass workshops with the wonderfully talented stained glass artist, Gillian Wing. Gillian and I met through a business networking group and, when we got talking, it soon became clear that we had similar interests in meditation, energy-based healing and shamanism. When we began to explore the possibilities, we realised how beautifully stained glass crafts and shamanism fit together. The healing powers of energy-based work, coupled with heart-based creativity and the wonderfully vibrant energies of colour… the more we talked about it, the more we just had to go ahead and Shamanic Glass was born.

At first, Gillian and I only ran day workshops but, as word spread and demand for more in-depth teachings grew, we expanded our offering to weekend workshops, which are still going strong today.

By now, my spirit teachers were beginning to smile a little more and I was beginning to accept that part of my healing work would be through teaching.

So, how did I move from weekend workshops to a year-long training programme? Well, a couple of things happened to provide that kick I needed…

One of my dearest friends, with whom I’d been working shamanically since my very early days of stumbling along the path, was diagnosed with cancer. Jane was one of the most talented precognitive dreamers I’ve ever known; she had the purest, most beautiful of spirits and delivered some of my soul’s greatest lessons without even trying. She fought so hard but, when it became clear that she was destined to move onto the next life, she was nothing short of amazing. Jane knew what I needed to do with my life – she knew how much I hated the treadmill I was on, and she knew how much I lived and breathed shamanism. If ever anyone encouraged me to follow my dreams, to live with courage and conviction and to walk my talk, it was Jane. I saw Jane only a matter of weeks before she died and, despite our teasing about her newly-sprouted shock of curly hair, she looked incredibly well and beautifully free. Her final words to me? “It’s not goodbye, it’s farewell – fare thee well.”

Jane’s death was a massive jolt and promoted me to re-evaluate. Life really is too short to spend in an ill-fitting job, or stunting your spiritual potential in favour of the financial safety net. Yes, of course bills still need to be paid and food still needs to be put onto the table but, alongside my dream to have more time for shamanic work, my partner and I had long dreamed of running our own business. Couldn’t they work perfectly together? What if we kick-started our own business plans, became our own bosses AND I took more time for shamanic healing and teaching?

Less than six months after Jane’s passing, I left my job, set up in business with my partner AND started to run more shamanic glass workshops, offer more healing work and give more shamanic talks and presentations.

…Which brings me neatly to the One Year Shamanic Circle.

People who’d been on Shamanic Glass workshops kept asking me for longer, more in-depth teachings, as did people I met through healings, talks and presentations. I was sent more dreams, more messages from spirit but, by now, my ‘excuse’ was not having the right venue for an ongoing training circle. So, the universe upped the ante again and a series of ‘coincidences’ led me to meet a firewalking instructor, not 15 miles from my home, with a purpose-built retreat centre looking to be used. Just outside Peterborough, this retreat is beautifully constructed from Scandinavian pine, sits in acres of wonderful land AND has a place for a firepit. Perfect!

The final decision came during the 2010 Society of Shamanic Practitioners’ UK Conference. I was presenting at the event (teaching, again, then…) and went along to a workshop on divination, led by the brilliant Jules Farrer. I chose to work with cowrie shells, which deliver very strong yes or no answers. My line of questioning went something like this:

Should I continue shamanic teaching? YES

Should I do even more shamanic teaching? YES

Should I run some one-off workshops at the new retreat? NO

Should I start an ongoing training group at the retreat? YES

Six months? NO

A One Year Shamanic Circle? YES

And so, the One Year Shamanic Circle was born. We’ll be covering the basics of core shamanism, working with the energies of the land, learning how to journey to meet our power animals and spirit guides, learning about the elements of the medicine wheel, working with song and dance and indulging in shamanic craft work, amongst other things.

Jane’s power animal was a kestrel, incidentally. On the way home from that conference, I sent up a message: Jane, if it’s right to run this One Year Shamanic Circle, send me a sign. Between the conference and home, I counted no less than 12 kestrels.

Until next time, walk in beauty.

With all love,

Taz

x

• If you’d like to find out more about the One Year Shamanic Circle, please visit the events section of the website, or email info@firechild-healing.co.uk
• The next Shamanic Glass workshop is Singing the Rainbow, and will be held in March. For details, check the events section of the website or contact gillian@strawberryglass.co.uk

Signs and signposts are around us all the time, little messages from the universe to show us we’re not alone – and sometimes, just sometimes, those whispers on the wind are pure magic!

Today, for me, has been one of those magical days – full of awe-inspiring moments that reminded me just how amazing the unseen world really is.

It all began this morning…

Not unusually, I was running late for an appointment. I’m involved with a wonderful networking group called Fenland Women Of Achievement (FWOA – great acronym, eh?) and, just as I was about to leave my house, I had a really strong, out of the blue urge to take a pack of medicine cards. Not any old medicine cards, of course, but I pack I hadn’t used for a while, buried at the bottom of a stack of storage boxes. This was one of those magnetic pulls that couldn’t be ignored so, with a glance at my watch and a huff of annoyance, I closed the door again, put down my keys and went back in search of the pack.

Eventually, cards in hand and with 20 minutes for a 45 minute journey, I headed out.

En route, I could feel spirit with me – again, not unusual, but there seemed to be more than normal. As well as my usual helper spirits, I had a few new ones, together with some old friends who hadn’t made themselves known for a long time. Consensus reality also had a few allies to show me – buzzard, kestrel and crow had all made themselves known. By the time we arrived at the destination, I was flanked by my usual spirit guardians, plus an additional circle of protection around the outside and two new energetic shields. I was positively buzzing with energy.

Once inside, I quickly realised what the extra protection was about – the building we meet in is full of spirit anyway, but it seemed a little busier than usual! Nothing negative, to be clear, but enough to have potentially thrown me off kilter had I walked in ‘open’.

Once the formal part of the meeting was over, we gathered in the cafe area for lunch. Just before Christmas, one of the group’s members had asked me to make some medicine jewellery for her daughter and I’d asked her to supply me with a few pics to help me tune in; today, those pictures were handed do me across the table. To set the scene, I knew nothing about this girl other than her age but, after holding the prints for a matter of seconds, I felt a strong feline energy and blurted out “Cat”. It was one of those moments when it feels as though everything has fallen silent and everyone is looking your way - you know the ones? The lady stared at me for a second: “I didn’t tell you that,” she said, “Her name’s Catherine, but she insists on being called Cat.” If anyone at that meeting didn’t know about my work with spirit, that cat (if you’ll excuse the pun) was well and truly out of the bag!

Later, I was talking to another lady who was telling me about some of the situations she’d been facing, when it became clear that this was why the medicine cards had wanted to come along. Wondering how she’d react, I took them out of my bag, only to be met with the brightest smile I’d seen from her in a while. Within minutes, I had a queue of people wanting readings and spend a good few hours doing just that. Several times, I thought I’d finished, only for another person to tap me on the shoulder and ask if they could go next – even a couple of staff members from the building we were in asked to have their cards read.

From one meeting, I’d been able to provide guidance to ten people, explained shamanism to  group of interested individuals who’d never even heard the term before and been asked to deliver a talk to a group in another town. Not bad for a day that started badly!

No matter how busy we are, no matter how occupied we may be with the mundanities of the ‘muggle’ world, when we just tune in and trust, the real magic happens.

Walk in beauty,

Taz

xxx

A shamanic practitioner may use a drum, rattle, herbs and feathers during your healing

As a shamanic healer, I’m often asked to explain what I do; it’s a difficult answer to fit into a nutshell but, essentially, shamanic healing is healing at the spiritual level.

Really, shamanic healing is a kind of spiritual reconstruction – a method of reuniting us with lost parts of our soul and removing spiritual blocks.

In today’s Western society, it is not uncommon for people to feel lost, or that a piece of their vital essence is missing. From a shamanic viewpoint, when we face periods of difficulty, or trauma, throughout our lives, part of the soul – our essence – can actually split away. In most cases, this happens as part of a coping mechanism; the piece leaving us takes with it the worst of the pain and, in some cases, a selection of the memories connected with the trauma. However, although this allows us to manage and get on with our lives, we are usually left with the sense that something is missing.

Soul loss and dis-ease
Soul loss can lead to many problems later on – not least depression, illness and other forms of dis-ease. So, soul retrieval is one of the core shamanic healing methods.

Properly trained shamanic practitioners are able to search the world of spirit, find the lost soul piece and bring it back to the client. In doing so, the healer is bringing back the client’s lost power and restoring them to vitality and wholeness.

Sometimes, the healer will also check to make sure the client is not holding onto any energies that do not belong there; if any are apparent, the shamanic healer will be able to remove them to their rightful home.

The shamanic healer will also be able to help the client find their power animal – a strong spirit ally that can help the client to access lifeforce, find their true self and guide them towards their true path.

If you’re interested in finding out more, please do ask. Until then, walk in beauty.

Taz / Yellow Wolf Moon xx

What is shamanism? Wow! That’s a huge question… but it’s one I’m asked frequently and try to answer as openly as I can. Those of you familiar with this ancient spiritual path will know just how tricky it can be to answer what seems to be a simple query, and I hope I’ll be able to cover some of the basic elements in this blog. I’m aiming for shamanism in a nutshell!

Okay, the first thing to point out is that shamanism is NOT a religion; shamanism is, in fact, a spiritual path thought to pre-date any religion. The truth is that nobody really knows exactly how old shamanic practice is, although various sources claim it can be traced back at least 50,000 years.

Essentially, shamanism is an ancient way of gaining knowledge and is thought to be the oldest healing tradition in the world. The word ‘shaman’ actually comes from Siberia’s Tungist tribe and translates as ‘one who sees in the dark’. Historically, the shaman served as the communicator between the physical and spiritual worlds, bringing forth guidance and teachings and integrating parts of our life force that we have been separated from, helping us to regain our natural power. In short, shamans bring about healing by ‘mending’ the soul.

At the heart of shamanism lies animism – the belief that everything has a spirit. So, animals have spirits, rocks, trees and plants have spirits and, yes, even this computer I’m typing on has a spirit.

Shamanic practitioners spend years getting to know their spirit allies and building relationships with them. Many of you will have heard of ‘power animals’ – shamanic practitioners usually work very closely with their power animals, which are spirit allies with whom they build strong relationships. One of my teachers claimed you could often tell what form a person’s power animal took by observing their physical mannerisms; often, he said, their body language – and even physical features – mirrored their power animal’s. So close is the bond with your power animal that some cultures believe you were that animal in a former life.  Of course, a shamanic practitioner may work with many other spirit allies and teachers, which are usually contacted by ‘journeying’ into their reality.

Journeying to other realities

Shamanic practitioners use various methods to gather information from the spirit realms, or non-ordinary realities, but the most common is the ‘shamanic journey’ or ‘flight of the soul’.

First, let me address a common misconception: we don’t need to use hallucinogens of any kind, either man-made or natural – there’s absolutely no requirement to head off to an ayahuasca retreat or search out a supplier of peyote. Yes, they were used by some indigenous cultures (and still are) and yes, you can pay to go off and experience their powers… would I recommend it? No. Hallucinogenic substances are absolutely not needed in shamanic practice today and my personal belief is that we should leave them to the peoples who grew up in those cultures and spent lifetimes learning to respect and work with the properties of the plants. I could talk about this for hours, but that’s another blog!

So, how do we access non-ordinary realms? Most commonly, we ‘journey’ to a special drum beat that helps bring about the shift of conscious needed for shamanic journeying. This deep, meditative (or trance) state allows us to transcend space, time and consensus reality. Core shamanic practice involves journeys to three different worlds: The Lower World, a wonderful place, full of nature, where we can meet power animal allies and receive guidance and help; The Upper world, where we meet our spirit guides, teachers and wise elders, usually in human form; and The Middle World – non-ordinary parallel to the earth we inhabit in consensus reality.

Of course, there are other journeying methods, including rattles, rain sticks, didgeridoos and even breath, or the heart beat; at first, though, it’s important to work with an agreed ‘call back’ to bring us back into our bodies and to our everyday lives. Many shamanic drumming soundtracks have a special rhythm built in to return us to consensus reality, and I’d definitely recommend one of these if you’re planning to journey at home.

What’s the point of all this?

The benefits from practising, and studying, shamanism are countless. Not only can shamanism help you to access life and soul guidance, but it is a rich and fulfilling way of life. Imagine being able to experience, first hand, the worlds of helping spirits, being able to experience shape-shifting during your journeys, seeing ‘life’ as a tree, deeply rooted for hundreds of years, or flying as an eagle and gaining perspective from its place, high in the clouds… Shamanism has the power to change lives in a fundamental way, allowing us to see life through new eyes, awaken our spirits and reclaim our lost energy and power. Whether you choose to use it purely to enrich your own way of being, or train to become a healer, shamanism will change your life.

• Want to find out more? Drop me a line at info@firechild-designs.co.uk or visit www.firechild-designs.co.uk.

Until next time, walk in beauty,

Taz / Yellow Wolf Moon

xxx

You can always tell the festive season is upon us when the TV ads for various boozy tipples start to appear with alarming regularity, swiftly followed by promotions for indigestion remedies and hangover cures; come the new year, of course, the theme switches to weight loss programmes and exercise DVDs.

So many of us talk about joining the gym (again), dieting and detoxing our bodies, but how often do we think about detoxing our spirit? Shedding a few extra pounds is one thing, but what about cleansing away all that stress and dis-ease?

For many people, the festive season brings with it stress from over-spending, tense reunions and pressure to create the ‘perfect’ environment – so detoxing really needs to be a more holistic approach.

In order to cleanse and revitalise, we need somewhere to send all that negativity and stress we’ve been holding onto – there are lots of ways to do this but, this time, we’re going back to an old favourite – tree hugging! We’ve all heard the jokes (probably even teased a few people ourselves for being a so-called tree hugger), but there really is something in it. Think about it… trees are the standing people; they’ve been rooted to the same spot for years and years and they’re more connected to the earth than any of us. And think about their role in the survival of the planet – without the trees, we wouldn’t be here. So, not only are they deeply grounded, but the wonderful trees have been taking care of us, and the world we live in, for millenia. Treated with respect, trees have a beautiful energy, and they’re fabulous allies when it comes to shedding negativity energy and sending it back to the grid.

Here goes: Pull on your warm clothes and wellies, grab an old blanket or something else to sit on, and get out in nature! It doesn’t matter whether you find a tree in your local woodland, park, or even in your back garden – the important thing is to connect with the energy of the tree and ask it to cleanse you of negative energy. Once you’ve identified your tree, take a few minutes to tune into its energy and ask if it’s willing to work with you – don’t get too hung up on this, you’re just after a ‘feeling’ that it’s okay. When you’ve done this, it’s a good idea to give the tree a small offering – maybe a pinch of tobacco you’ve breathed a prayer into, or a bit of hair – even saliva… just something to give your thanks. Tune in again and find the right place to sit with, or lean on, the tree and ask the tree to take away the negativity/stress/dis-ease you’re feeling. Concentrate on your breathing – breathe slowly and deeply and try to find a rhythm that matches the energy of the tree; after a while, you should begin to feel a difference. Stay with the tree for as long as you need and, if you want to, ask the tree if you can continue visiting and working together. Don’t forget to say thank you, again, before you go home, and try to leave the area even more beautiful than you found it.

Let me know how you get on….

With this blog, I’m aiming to post regular updates, between newsletters, as well as providing information on shamanism, healing, craftwork and personal development. There are so many gems scattered across the web and, as I come across them, I’ll be happy to share these with you as well. I’m a big believer in pooling information – there are so many people out there who see everyone in the same field as competition, but I reckon it makes much more sense to join forces, unite our energies and pool all those wonderful resources for the good of all our relations. Maybe I’ll write more about this in another blog…

Anyway, this was meant to be merely an introduction, so that’s enough for now.

I do hope you like the blog (it’d be amazing if you subscribed as well) – if there’s anything you’d particularly like me to cover, please do let me know and I’ll do my best to help.

Until next time, walk in beauty.

Taz / Yellow Wolf Moon
xxxx