Last Night's Dream: Who Are These People in My Attic and Why Am I Performing Shamanic Voodoo to Get Rid of Them?

Yes, it was one of those dreams where you can barely wake up and, once you do, you're convinced it was real. So vivid! (And no--there really isn't anything called "shamanic voodoo" so don't get all PC on me.) I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on what it might symbolize.

So here's how it went down:

I was in my house (didn't look like my real house, of course, but that's dreams for you) and somehow was aware there were people in my attic (like "Flowers in the Attic?"). I'm talking, like, a whole extended family or something. Don't know how they got there, but they had to go. Not sure why I didn't just charge rent, but whatever. They all looked like refugees from "La Boheme" (go figure). As I approached, they recoiled in fear, as if I was going to beat them senseless. I would never do that, of course, but I did have some kind of plan.

The attic had these wooden vertical support columns, sort of like stripper poles (ouch--splinters!). For some reason, I walked over and touched the pole, and when I did, it appeared in my hand but much smaller, almost like a tree limb or branch. Somehow, I knew this stick held the answer to my attic refugee dilemma.

Then *poof*, I'm with friends in an abandoned warehouse. It was mostly empty except for some litter, cardboard--and lots of water and mud. I'm not sure why, but we had to clean it all out, and this had some connection to those people in my attic. It felt like a test or challenge, like they have on reality shows where you only get the prize if you first eat mealworms or something gross.

With that done, I'm back in my attic and now I must choose who can stay and who must go, just like "RuPaul's Drag Race," just without the sequins! You'd think I'd want all those people out of my attic, but for some reason this all made sense to me. I remember deliberating about it carefully and for a long time, and then narrowed it down to 5 people who had to leave.

But when I pulled those 5 people out of the crowd, it was like they transformed into something I can only describe like voodoo dolls--very tiny, except they could still talk and move! And they kept going back and forth from regular human size to voodoo doll size. Then I had to put each person in this container of mud (mud, again!) and then insert those sticks (formerly known as stripper poles) into the mud. Freaky. It was like some weird cleansing ritual, I guess. Of course, this all seemed perfectly natural and rational during the dream.

As I'm doing this, a woman appears in the attic out of thin air. Light surrounds her, she has wings and a flowing dress, sort of like an angel but I knew she was a goddess. She doesn't speak but her presence lets me know that, at least, I'm not pissing off the deities with my attic eviction! In fact, I get the understanding that she is their patron saint, of sorts, and she is offering her blessing. Then, right before my eyes, she transforms into a large bird! Hmmm, wonder which goddesses have bird totems?

So I turn back to my ritual, placing the sticks or branches into the mud around these people/voodoo dolls--and this is really where the dream ends. I never see the people actually leave the attic. But I remember coming in and out of sleep, feeling I had to be very specific about my actions to get it just right. It was very important that I do it correctly, not just for me but also for those people. And, oddly, this didn't feel constraining at all but the emotion I recall was something like being "in the zone," when I'm writing or working on one of my shaman rituals in the waking world. A communion with spirit!

An epic dream, certainly, one of the most detailed and cohesive I've had in a long while. If you have any interpretations, fire away!

Last Night's Dream: Who Are These People in My Attic and Why Am I Performing Shamanic Voodoo to Get Rid of Them?

Yes, it was one of those dreams where you can barely wake up and, once you do, you're convinced it was real. So vivid! (And no--there really isn't anything called "shamanic voodoo" so don't get all PC on me.) I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on what it might symbolize.

So here's how it went down:

I was in my house (didn't look like my real house, of course, but that's dreams for you) and somehow was aware there were people in my attic (like "Flowers in the Attic?"). I'm talking, like, a whole extended family or something. Don't know how they got there, but they had to go. Not sure why I didn't just charge rent, but whatever. They all looked like refugees from "La Boheme" (go figure). As I approached, they recoiled in fear, as if I was going to beat them senseless. I would never do that, of course, but I did have some kind of plan.

The attic had these wooden vertical support columns, sort of like stripper poles (ouch--splinters!). For some reason, I walked over and touched the pole, and when I did, it appeared in my hand but much smaller, almost like a tree limb or branch. Somehow, I knew this stick held the answer to my attic refugee dilemma.

Then *poof*, I'm with friends in an abandoned warehouse. It was mostly empty except for some litter, cardboard--and lots of water and mud. I'm not sure why, but we had to clean it all out, and this had some connection to those people in my attic. It felt like a test or challenge, like they have on reality shows where you only get the prize if you first eat mealworms or something gross.

With that done, I'm back in my attic and now I must choose who can stay and who must go, just like "RuPaul's Drag Race," just without the sequins! You'd think I'd want all those people out of my attic, but for some reason this all made sense to me. I remember deliberating about it carefully and for a long time, and then narrowed it down to 5 people who had to leave.

But when I pulled those 5 people out of the crowd, it was like they transformed into something I can only describe like voodoo dolls--very tiny, except they could still talk and move! And they kept going back and forth from regular human size to voodoo doll size. Then I had to put each person in this container of mud (mud, again!) and then insert those sticks (formerly known as stripper poles) into the mud. Freaky. It was like some weird cleansing ritual, I guess. Of course, this all seemed perfectly natural and rational during the dream.

As I'm doing this, a woman appears in the attic out of thin air. Light surrounds her, she has wings and a flowing dress, sort of like an angel but I knew she was a goddess. She doesn't speak but her presence lets me know that, at least, I'm not pissing off the deities with my attic eviction! In fact, I get the understanding that she is their patron saint, of sorts, and she is offering her blessing. Then, right before my eyes, she transforms into a large bird! Hmmm, wonder which goddesses have bird totems?

So I turn back to my ritual, placing the sticks or branches into the mud around these people/voodoo dolls--and this is really where the dream ends. I never see the people actually leave the attic. But I remember coming in and out of sleep, feeling I had to be very specific about my actions to get it just right. It was very important that I do it correctly, not just for me but also for those people. And, oddly, this didn't feel constraining at all but the emotion I recall was something like being "in the zone," when I'm writing or working on one of my shaman rituals in the waking world. A communion with spirit!

An epic dream, certainly, one of the most detailed and cohesive I've had in a long while. If you have any interpretations, fire away!

Latest Shamanic Weekend: Sirius and Sacredness, Part 1

Hoo-boy, it's always a challenge to distill these weekends into something digestible. Let's just get to it. I'm going to have to split all this up into several pieces. I started writing this one and aggravated my CTS!

The double star Sirius A and Sirius B as taken by the orbiting Chandra telescope

First a few basics:

Last weekend was the 6th workshop in the Shamanic Mystery School, which I've been participating in since August 2008. This was the Temple of the Galaxy, focusing on the 3rd eye, or brow, chakra, sacred geometry and "galactic citizenship" (I'll get to that). There's always so much deeper to go with these topics, and I'm just scratching the surface. Each workshop takes me deeper, requiring longer periods to let things settle internally and figure out what to do with it all.

Given our focus on the 3rd eye, this workshop dealt with moving between realities and working on changing our perspectives or our ability to see things in different ways. In other words, paying attention to our intuition, the varieties of perception that exist in the world as well as the ability to concentrate.

This one had a particularly difficult start since it began on a Friday night, after work. I was out of sorts coming into such a different setting than my workaday world. But hey, shamans must have the ability to respond to any situation!

This weekend was also much more experiential, with several different meditations. It's becoming clearer that the facilitator wants us to become comfortable leading meditations ourselves. He also talked a lot about serving others, which I was pleased to hear, coming from a Christian background myself. As skeptical as I am, it's refreshing to hear how strongly he believes in what he's teaching and how it can help others. It's certainly helped me, so what more proof do I need?!

America's Next "Chant" Idol!
Well, if there was such a competition, I'd enter it! I really got into the chanting this time. Each workshop, we participate in a ceremony to activate the particular chakra we're targeting, and each chakra corresponds to a different tone. For the 3rd eye, we chanted a long "a." Don't know why, but this felt so groovy, and it was quite moving to be in a room with 20 others chanting the same. Very powerful.

I also noticed how comfortable I've become in these group settings. When I began the mystery school, most of my beliefs and interests were deeply private, and sharing them with strangers made me slightly self-conscious. But now that I'm past that, I can better sense the power of what we're doing, the connections we're forming and the changes that are manifesting.

"Hermetic Wisdom" Doesn't Refer to Smart Sandwich Bags That Seal Themselves
As in "hermetically sealed"--get it? Ok, I never claimed to be a comic. But I had never heard of the so-called Hermetic Wisdom, the works ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus. Have you?

Often grouped with gnostic literature, these writings (also called the Corpus Hermeticum) were created by unknown Egyptian authors shortly after the time of Christ. They share characteristics with Christianity and Neoplatonism, and touch on topics such as the nature of the mind and mysticism. While it seems now accepted that H. Trismegistus was not a historical individual, the writings were believed to spring from ancient primordial wisdom traditions, and they may have influenced Christianity. It is believed this wisdom was even referenced in the Biblical book of Exodus. The writings were the basis by an effort in Europe during the Middle Ages to re-establish magick as a socially acceptable spiritual practice in the West.

Obviously, every shaman worth his salt has to know this stuff! We only skimmed it, and it generally aligns with the principles of shamanism I've mentioned previously. Cool stuff, and I need to delve more into it.

Sacred Geometry Doesn't Mean Trig Class Was Ordained by God
I did know a little about sacred geometry, but I do remember snickering the first time I heard the phrase. This section will be woefully short, unfortunately. The topic was woven into everything we did in the workshop, and it's difficult to tease it all out. I'm quite interested in this, and would love to have explored it further. You could probably do an entire weekend on this alone. Suffice to say that sacred geometry helps you see the underlying form and foundation for everything in the universe, from the cells in our bodies to the components of stars.

Not to get to "creationist" on you, but it does appear there is some "intelligent design" here. For example, measure your foot. Now measure from your elbow to your wrist. Those measurements should be roughly the same! How does that happen? Think how funny you would look or how clumsy you would be with really looooong forearms and super-short feet! The width of your palm should also roughly match the distance across your face from one iris (eye) to the other. We take all this for granted and yet, how do you explain it?

If I'm stating this correctly, check out why the 5 Platonic solids make up, at some level, everything in the world. Who knew math could be so fun? I would've paid more attention in high school if we had studied this! And if you're going to be an effective shaman, it's critical to know how the universe works.

reminds me of D&D dice! But I digress...

Come back for Part 2!
That's all I got today. As a preview, look for updates on what "sacred" means, my minister ordination and on meeting Jesus on one of my shamanic journeys!

Latest Shamanic Weekend: Sirius and Sacredness, Part 1

Hoo-boy, it's always a challenge to distill these weekends into something digestible. Let's just get to it. I'm going to have to split all this up into several pieces. I started writing this one and aggravated my CTS!

The double star Sirius A and Sirius B as taken by the orbiting Chandra telescope

First a few basics:

Last weekend was the 6th workshop in the Shamanic Mystery School, which I've been participating in since August 2008. This was the Temple of the Galaxy, focusing on the 3rd eye, or brow, chakra, sacred geometry and "galactic citizenship" (I'll get to that). There's always so much deeper to go with these topics, and I'm just scratching the surface. Each workshop takes me deeper, requiring longer periods to let things settle internally and figure out what to do with it all.

Given our focus on the 3rd eye, this workshop dealt with moving between realities and working on changing our perspectives or our ability to see things in different ways. In other words, paying attention to our intuition, the varieties of perception that exist in the world as well as the ability to concentrate.

This one had a particularly difficult start since it began on a Friday night, after work. I was out of sorts coming into such a different setting than my workaday world. But hey, shamans must have the ability to respond to any situation!

This weekend was also much more experiential, with several different meditations. It's becoming clearer that the facilitator wants us to become comfortable leading meditations ourselves. He also talked a lot about serving others, which I was pleased to hear, coming from a Christian background myself. As skeptical as I am, it's refreshing to hear how strongly he believes in what he's teaching and how it can help others. It's certainly helped me, so what more proof do I need?!

America's Next "Chant" Idol!
Well, if there was such a competition, I'd enter it! I really got into the chanting this time. Each workshop, we participate in a ceremony to activate the particular chakra we're targeting, and each chakra corresponds to a different tone. For the 3rd eye, we chanted a long "a." Don't know why, but this felt so groovy, and it was quite moving to be in a room with 20 others chanting the same. Very powerful.

I also noticed how comfortable I've become in these group settings. When I began the mystery school, most of my beliefs and interests were deeply private, and sharing them with strangers made me slightly self-conscious. But now that I'm past that, I can better sense the power of what we're doing, the connections we're forming and the changes that are manifesting.

"Hermetic Wisdom" Doesn't Refer to Smart Sandwich Bags That Seal Themselves
As in "hermetically sealed"--get it? Ok, I never claimed to be a comic. But I had never heard of the so-called Hermetic Wisdom, the works ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus. Have you?

Often grouped with gnostic literature, these writings (also called the Corpus Hermeticum) were created by unknown Egyptian authors shortly after the time of Christ. They share characteristics with Christianity and Neoplatonism, and touch on topics such as the nature of the mind and mysticism. While it seems now accepted that H. Trismegistus was not a historical individual, the writings were believed to spring from ancient primordial wisdom traditions, and they may have influenced Christianity. It is believed this wisdom was even referenced in the Biblical book of Exodus. The writings were the basis by an effort in Europe during the Middle Ages to re-establish magick as a socially acceptable spiritual practice in the West.

Obviously, every shaman worth his salt has to know this stuff! We only skimmed it, and it generally aligns with the principles of shamanism I've mentioned previously. Cool stuff, and I need to delve more into it.

Sacred Geometry Doesn't Mean Trig Class Was Ordained by God
I did know a little about sacred geometry, but I do remember snickering the first time I heard the phrase. This section will be woefully short, unfortunately. The topic was woven into everything we did in the workshop, and it's difficult to tease it all out. I'm quite interested in this, and would love to have explored it further. You could probably do an entire weekend on this alone. Suffice to say that sacred geometry helps you see the underlying form and foundation for everything in the universe, from the cells in our bodies to the components of stars.

Not to get to "creationist" on you, but it does appear there is some "intelligent design" here. For example, measure your foot. Now measure from your elbow to your wrist. Those measurements should be roughly the same! How does that happen? Think how funny you would look or how clumsy you would be with really looooong forearms and super-short feet! The width of your palm should also roughly match the distance across your face from one iris (eye) to the other. We take all this for granted and yet, how do you explain it?

If I'm stating this correctly, check out why the 5 Platonic solids make up, at some level, everything in the world. Who knew math could be so fun? I would've paid more attention in high school if we had studied this! And if you're going to be an effective shaman, it's critical to know how the universe works.

reminds me of D&D dice! But I digress...

Come back for Part 2!
That's all I got today. As a preview, look for updates on what "sacred" means, my minister ordination and on meeting Jesus on one of my shamanic journeys!

I'm Back In Time to Celebrate Imbolc!

Well, crazy week, 'nuf said. Hopefully, next week won't be as manic.

And here we are at Imbolc, the midpoint between winter and spring. If you don't know, it's an old tradition that marks the time when lambs start to nurse and focuses on fertility and the return of the sun from the dark, cold days of winter.

If you're curious about my altar photo:

• The white cloth and candles, plus the blue candle, reminded me of the wintry season we're in.
• The "white wand" at the left side is a mana tube I made. It contains sand and a quartz crystal within a copper pipe to attract energy. It's decorated with clear beads, reflective ribbon, glitter, white tape and white adhesive skulls. Yes, I am a 12-year-old girl--so there! Anyway, I actually made this several months ago. But then I read that St. Brigid, the patron deity/saint of Imbolc, "uses her white want to breathe life into winter," I thought, perfect!
• I have a dead twig to symbolize winter and a sprig of monkey grass to symbolize the coming spring.
• The ginger snaps also symbolize winter and the last celebration, Yule. The milk recognizes the nursing lamb aspect of Imbolc.
• The stuffed wolf is actually a poppet I made when i was given the name "Riverwolf." The wolf is one of my animal totems/spirit guides, and they have several connections to Imbolc. Some say that wolves, along with groundhogs, come out of hibernation about now to check the weather. In some areas, February is considered the "wolf month" because of its harshness and old tales of wolves eating humans to stay alive. Also, in roughly 2 weeks, is when Lupercalia, an ancient Roman festival, was once held (roughly same time as our Valentine's Day). The best part? As part of the fertility ritual, the men would run around town naked except for a wolf mask! Sounds like fun--but it's a wee bit too cold for that around here!

Given the fertility rites surrounding Imbolc, it's a good time to focus on what we hope will grow in our lives in the coming year and how we can sow these seeds. I had my usual: more writing assignments, more honesty in my life and relationships and, of course, a whole lot more fun!

It's good to be back!

I'm Back In Time to Celebrate Imbolc!

Well, crazy week, 'nuf said. Hopefully, next week won't be as manic.

And here we are at Imbolc, the midpoint between winter and spring. If you don't know, it's an old tradition that marks the time when lambs start to nurse and focuses on fertility and the return of the sun from the dark, cold days of winter.

If you're curious about my altar photo:

• The white cloth and candles, plus the blue candle, reminded me of the wintry season we're in.
• The "white wand" at the left side is a mana tube I made. It contains sand and a quartz crystal within a copper pipe to attract energy. It's decorated with clear beads, reflective ribbon, glitter, white tape and white adhesive skulls. Yes, I am a 12-year-old girl--so there! Anyway, I actually made this several months ago. But then I read that St. Brigid, the patron deity/saint of Imbolc, "uses her white want to breathe life into winter," I thought, perfect!
• I have a dead twig to symbolize winter and a sprig of monkey grass to symbolize the coming spring.
• The ginger snaps also symbolize winter and the last celebration, Yule. The milk recognizes the nursing lamb aspect of Imbolc.
• The stuffed wolf is actually a poppet I made when i was given the name "Riverwolf." The wolf is one of my animal totems/spirit guides, and they have several connections to Imbolc. Some say that wolves, along with groundhogs, come out of hibernation about now to check the weather. In some areas, February is considered the "wolf month" because of its harshness and old tales of wolves eating humans to stay alive. Also, in roughly 2 weeks, is when Lupercalia, an ancient Roman festival, was once held (roughly same time as our Valentine's Day). The best part? As part of the fertility ritual, the men would run around town naked except for a wolf mask! Sounds like fun--but it's a wee bit too cold for that around here!

Given the fertility rites surrounding Imbolc, it's a good time to focus on what we hope will grow in our lives in the coming year and how we can sow these seeds. I had my usual: more writing assignments, more honesty in my life and relationships and, of course, a whole lot more fun!

It's good to be back!