A Knowledge Base Article for Spirit Walkers & Beginners Alike
❓ Overview
Shamanic journeying is the practice of entering an altered state of consciousness to access spiritual realms, receive guidance, and retrieve healing information.
Unlike meditation, which aims for stillness or awareness, journeying is active and visionary a deliberate walk into the spirit world.
It is one of the oldest forms of spiritual communication known to humankind, practiced across cultures using drums, rattles, chants, & sacred rhythm.
🌀 Why Do Shamans Journey?
Journeying allows the shaman to:
- Communicate with spirit guides, ancestors, and animal allies
- Retrieve soul fragments for healing
- Access wisdom from the Upper, Middle, and Lower worlds
- Clear energetic blockages or intrusions
- Receive messages for self or community
- Perform spiritual tasks on behalf of others
In essence, it is the vehicle of the shaman the way they move between the worlds of Spirit and Earth.
🌍 Three Worlds in the Shamanic Cosmos
Most journey traditions describe a three-world cosmology:
- Lower World – the realm of animal spirits, plant allies, and ancestral wisdom. Often accessed through caves, roots, or water.
- Middle World – the spiritual mirror of our earthly plane. Used for healing, divination, and nature-based spirit work.
- Upper World – the realm of celestial guides, soul contracts, and divine teachers. Accessed through flying, climbing, or astral ascent.
Each world offers different types of insight and is navigated with the help of a power animal or guide.
🥁 How Journeying Works
Most people use rhythmic sound especially drumming at 4–7 beats per second to shift into a theta brainwave state. This mirrors the trance state used by Indigenous cultures for millennia.
Common Journey Tools:
- Drum, rattle, or shamanic playlist
- Eye covering (dark cloth or eye mask)
- Safe, sacred space
- Clear intention or question
- Spirit guide or animal ally connection
You lie down or sit still, state your intention, listen to the beat, and allow the journey to unfold.
🔑 Keys to Successful Journeying
- State a clear intention
(Example: “I ask to meet my spirit guide in the Lower World.”) - Surrender control don’t try to force visions
- Write everything down afterward
(Even if it feels strange, symbolic, or dreamlike) - Practice regularly trust deepens with repetition
- Open and close each journey with a blessing, offering, or gratitude
🛑 Safety & Ethics
Journeying is sacred. It is not escapism or casual astral travel.
Respect is essential. Never spy, steal, or try to control in the spirit realm. Ask permission. Offer reciprocity. Close portals.
Avoid journeying when:
- You're under the influence of drugs/alcohol
- You're emotionally unstable or ungrounded
- You have not been spiritually protected or prepared
Always return with grace. Always honor the wisdom you receive.
📥 Want to Begin?
Start with our free guide:
“Journeying 101: How to Enter the Spirit World Safely”
Or explore our deeper resources:
- Intro to the Lower World
- Finding Your Spirit Guide
- Journeying Ritual Pack: Drum Tracks + Invocation Scripts
- Soul Retrievals: When to Seek a Trained Practitioner
🐺 Final Note
Journeying is not a performance it’s a spiritual responsibility.
If you're called to walk between worlds, walk with honor. Spirit is watching, and your medicine is sacred.