My Visit With a Psychic Called Spirit Wolf
Copied From a Transcription
On February 14, 2006, I had a session with a local psychic called Spirit Wolf. I had called Whispering Winds the day before, about three or four weeks after receiving the first printed copies of my book, Stories of a Kentucky Mountain Family As Told by Two Sisters and a Brother. I had spent a year writing it, including much research I’d done on my family.
I’d become obsessed with the feeling that my ancestors and/or family members who had passed over were not happy about the book and were trying to get in touch with me, to express their displeasure. Quite frankly, I was scared. I know there are true psychics who can communicate with the other side but I’m not one of them and was afraid to even try, especially since I felt they were angry. My daughter reminded me of a lecture at the YWCA in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that we’d gone to years ago in which Spirit Wolf had been one of the speakers, also reminding me that both of us had been impressed with her.
So I made the appointment, but did not tell Spirit Wolf about the book until we were more than halfway through the session, during which time we had covered some very personal and valuable information that I needed. Once I mentioned the book the session took an unexpected turn. Some family members and ancestors started making their presence known.
Later, in transcribing the session from the tape, I found some parts hard to pick up so I made a number of (inaudible) notations in the transcription, but they don’t detract from the message I received. My fear of disapproval from the other side was my own projection. As I’m sure many people who follow an unconventional path in life knows, disapproval always waits in the wings. We feel it even when it is not spoken; sometimes even coming to expect it. Which is something I’m still working on.
The following excerpts begin after I mention the book. My family members and ancestors begin to show up. The total transcription was seventeen pages long, too lengthy to be included here:
SW (Spirit Wolf) — Why, all of a sudden, are you feeling negative, — negative, period?
AA — (myself) (inaudible — about the book about my family I just self-published. Although I focus on the positive in the book, throughout the book, (inaudible) — on the other side I have four brothers, my father, my mother, (inaudible-book about?) family history, genealogy in the back of the book. It’s like — it’s called Stories of a Kentucky Mountain Family. I don’t know if it’s just — I don’t know what it is. And it’s like they either want to talk to me about the book or they’re not happy about it and I (inaudible).
SW — They’re not unhappy. This is real (inaudible). I don’t know why you’re feeling that way because it’s like — anybody who’s here don’t look unhappy to me. Nope.
(A long pause).
SW — Okay. Is there a Tom? Thomas?
AA — My great-grandfather.
SW — Say hello to him.
AA — Hello (laugh).
SW — Doesn’t matter it you know him or not — he knows you. Um — who’s Mary?
AA — I have several great great grandmothers called Mary. Is that here or on the other side?
SW — No, it’s on the other side. (inaudible) coming forward here. Mary — is her last name like Smith?
AA — Mary Ashley — um — (inaudible — married Alexander Smith — my third great grandparents).
SW — That’s who we’ve got — say hello.
AA — Hello!
SW — Is there a Betsy, Dessie?
AA — I had a great-grandmother called Betsy (for Elizabeth).
SW — Okay, that’s who we’ve got. Say hello. They’re coming in.
AA — I’ve got twenty-two family lines (in the book). (laughs).
SW — That’s all right. They’re coming in. They’re wanting to let you know they’re not angry. Let that go.
SW — Oh! Okay! What this is about is — — they don’t understand why you think they’re angry (laughs).
AA — Well, a friend of mine suggested they’re angry because I won’t let them in, they want to talk to me.
SW — They don’t get angry. What they’ve been trying to do is let you know they approve. You have their approval and they want you to know that.
SW — Okay. Is there a William?
AA — There are several Williams, back then. (NOTE: Senior & Junior, two great, etc. grandfathers).
SW — There’re several of them? (inaudible). Who’s Uncle Bill?
AA — My Dad’s brother.
SW — Okay. Say hello.
AA — Hello.
SW — Okay, it’s like — okay, they’re all coming. They’re happy. You need to let go. Let it all go. They’re making it like it’s their idea that you’re here, because, you know, they want you to get that out, that it’s not okay. It is okay.
SW — Edward. Ed? Edward.
AA — Uh — the only one I can think of is Edward Polly, the one I got my DAR membership through. He was my 3rd great grandfather.
SW — (laughing).
AA — His wife’s name was Mary, Mary Polly.
SW — (still laughing). They’re — it’s like — they’re coming through because they’re wanting you to know they’re approving here. (inaudible) like it was a good thing. It was cathartic, it was something that you know, was perfectly alright. Somebody over there is going “we helped” — “we helped”.
AA — I felt like I was living in two worlds when I was writing –
SW — Yeah, “we helped, we helped it”.
SW — Exactly. So — you need to know . You’re okay (laughing). You were writing their book, you understand? (still laughing).
SW — I’m not sure if this is a Molly or a Polly.
AA — I have several Pollys. You know back then Mary was considered a sacred name. (inaudible) grandmothers who were named Mary were called Polly.
SW — Oh! Okay (laughs). Well, I heard it. Very well. They’re all coming in. You’ve got a whole lot of people here and I want to remind you of something from everybody. Remember you come from good stock. You have a whole lot of people, a lot of earth people. I don’t know if they worked the ground or what they did, but a lot of earthy people. And they’re very satisfied with what you’ve done. And this is their big message. Tell her that we are fine, we are happy, we’re home. When it’s her turn we’ll all be back home together, but it’s not time, you’ve got a lot of time here.
AA — Okay.
SW — The name Alice?
AA — (pause) Alice Lloyd started a college down in the mountains –
SW — Has she crossed though?
AA — Oh yeah.
SW — Then say hello.
AA — (inaudible) (NOTE: probably that I didn’t know Alice Lloyd personally, wasn’t related).
SW — It doesn’t matter. This is their opportunity to come, they’re going to come. It may be their only one –
AA — I did mention her in the book
SW — There you go, honey. (laughs).
SW — They’re coming through. They’re here to support. Everybody is here to support. They coming — they’ve got dogs with them (laughs). Somebody brought a horse in.
AA — That might be my grandfather. My brother was an artist — he drew a picture of a horse, that is in the book. I think it was my grandfather’s horse.
SW — Okay. Cool. (laughs). They’re letting you know (inaudible)
SW — Is there an Elizabeth?
AA — (inaudible) (I have several great grandmothers named Elizabeth).
SW — Well, just say hello. Like everybody there (inaudible) all of them. They’re all here. Who were — someone is saying “I was specifically called Granny”.
AA — (inaudible) 150 years ago (inaudible) called Granny. (NOTE: I later remembered Great Grandmother Matilda Smith Hale was called Granny Tildie).
SW — Okay. Trying to get the specifics here — now is there an Annie — Anna, Annie?
AA — (inaudible) Andy?
SW — I don’t know. Is there an Andy?
AA — He’s my brother.
SW — Andy — is he crossed?
AA — Oh yes.
SW — He’s the drawer?
AA — Oh no. (inaudible)
SW — (inaudible) showing me a B — the letter B.
AA — Byrd! He’s the drawer — he’s named after my Dad, Byrd Junior.
SW — Okay. Say hello. And this is something else. Somebody’s saying “Tell her I hear her when she talks to me.” Mom, it’s your Mom. She wants you to know she hears you.
(Long pause)
SW — She’s here to support. I don’t know what she’s showing me. She’s showing me a picture of something here. I don’t know what it is. (long pause). Who’s Jack?
AA — Jack’s my brother too.
SW — He’s crossed?
AA — Yes.
SW — They all — they’re like — very supportive — they’re in support. They want you to know that — now — Somebody’s like this — they’re saying this. “Tell her if we knew here on this side like what we know here, things would’ve been different, cause someone’s making me feel like they weren’t as supportive of you when they were here as they should’ve been. Do you understand that? And they’re saying “We wish we’d have known that there. We wish we’d known that there.” “Because we know now.” You understand?
SW — (inaudible). Somebody’s showing me a rose. I don’t know if it’s symbolic or a name.
AA — My sister’s middle name is Rose but she’s still here.
SW — Okay, that’s fine. Tell her hello from Mom . Is your Dad there, is your Dad there too?
AA — Yes.
SW — And they’re all going, like, we wish we’d known here to be more supportive. We know it now. So that’s why they’re here. To let you know they support you and they’re happy with what you’re doing here. This is something else that they’re saying — they’re telling me they didn’t tell you here enough, or maybe never, that they’re proud of you and they love you. And Dad is making me feel like he didn’t say it enough here. You understand that?
AA — He died when I was eight.
SW — It doesn’t matter. He wants you to know. And there’s lots of love coming here, and so it’s like free yourself up, do these wonderful things that you’re capable of doing and know that you’ve got a whole lot of support here, honey. (laughs). There’s like bleachers of people! (laughs).
AA — You get back a few years you’ve got hundreds of grandparents.
SW — There’s like, there’s just like bleachers! (laughs).
AA — Is there any Indian? I know I have Indian blood but I never knew –
SW — You know what I’m hearing right now is — do you have Irish in your blood?
AA — Yes
SW — Cause I’m hearing in the back ”Don’t forget the Irish.”
SW — It does feel like it’s back there.
AA — It’s probably back 200 years. Family tradition you know (inaudible).
SW — I found some Cherokee blood here.
AA — Yeah, Cherokee.
SW — Uh huh, that’s my tribe.
AA — That’s your tribe? A lot of (inaudible) came into the mountains then. People who came as early as my people did (inaudible –NOTE: probably that they had some Indian heritage).
SW — Oh yeah, oh yeah
LATER:
SW — Oh, somebody was in the Civil War!
AA — Yes, my great great grandfather.
SW — They showed me a (Note: I was sorry later that I interrupt her here as we lost it).
AA — Did you ask me about Alfred before?
SW — Yes.
AA — Oh, I’m sorry, my great great grandfather Alfred served on both sides. (NOTE: he served first for the South, and then switched to the North).
SW — Cause he just walked in in a uniform, with a sword. Cavalry, that’s what it was.
AA — Yeah, he was in the cavalry.
Spirit Wolf says I need to pay more attention to my intuition. I think I’ve often discounted my intuition, afraid I was “imagining” things, and so I didn’t trust things that came to me in that way. I was also leery of the word “psychic”, at least in regard to myself, even though I’ve had premonitions and precognizant experiences in my life. She thinks I should write down these experiences and they will evolve into another book.
I recently published Hanged Man Hollow, am working on an Epilogue to update it.
NOTE: After publishing the above, I found the following story in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. I hadn’t known Spirit Wolf had died last year:
CEDAR RAPIDS — A pillar of Cedar Rapids’ spiritual community, Spirit Wolf, died Feb. 27 in her home in Ely. She was 71.
Wolf was well known in the metaphysical and paranormal realm as a medium, teacher, spiritualist minister and paranormal investigator. She owned a metaphysical shop, Whispering Winds in Cedar Rapids, which was renamed Spirit’s Journey. There, Wolf taught workshops and raised money for local causes. Spirit’s Journey closed in 2009, but Wolf continued work as a medium from her home.
She said she was a clairvoyant medium, meaning she was able to gain information through extrasensory perception. She aided family members in healing, guided lost souls through paranormal work and helped those left behind by aiding law enforcement in missing person cases.
