The Shamanic Art of Soul Retrieval
A path for returning to yourself
When we experience something upsetting or traumatic, a part of our essential self dissociates or fragments off as a survival mechanism. This is referred to in shamanic circles as soul loss. When you see someone who has been in an accident or heard upsetting news, they often look as if they aren’t all there, and from a shamanic perspective, it’s because they aren’t.
The part that is missing is often called a soul fragment. In order to find the missing fragment, the shamanic practitioner travels into non-ordinary reality by means of a shamanic journey, a deep meditative state which is typically facilitated by the beat of a drum or other percussion instrument, such as a rattle. Within this state, she can connect deeply with the unconscious of the client, and also get guidance from helpers, which might include Animal Spirit Guides, Ancestors or other spirit helpers. With the assistance of these compassionate helpers, the shamanic practitioner can locate the soul fragment and help to return it to the person.
Within the shamanic cosmology, everything in the Universe is connected through the Web of Life. Animal Spirit Guides are one common way that the energies of the Universe are conveyed to us, through the archetype of a particular animal. For instance, everyone knows that ants are…
