Shamanic Divination - An Exploration Of Traditional Divination Practices

Shamanism is not a system of belief or faith, it is aLabrador Naskapi shamans. This journey has a single
system of knowledge, and divination is one of thespecific purpose to find out the physical location of a
paths to gain direct knowledge. Direct knowledge canperson, object, or place where an event will take place.
be defined as that which is experienced first hand byIn this practice no information will be given about the
the senses. Divination is not 'fortune telling', it is a wayobject, person etc only it's location. One can see the
to a deeper understanding of events and influencesusefulness and practicality of this technique, for
surrounding a situation or person. Divination has alwaysexample to help hunters locate game animals, or the to
been an integral part of shamanism. One of the mostfind out and rescue a lost member of the tribe and so
important roles of the shaman has been to seekon. I have used this practice many times often to
revelatory knowledge from visionary sources, whichlocate lost keys or the wallet of a client!
may be for healing purposes, "why has this personAn Exercise - Naskapi Sunbeam Divination Journey.
become ill?" "what medicine does this person need?, orFirst meditate or reflect on what you want to locate or
important communal needs "where are the herds ofknow the whereabouts of, remember the first principle
caribou?", divination is also often used to get meaningof Intention. When ready, find a place where you will
from dreams and visions.not be disturbed for half hour or so, darken the room,
Divination is as old as humanity, but unfortunately inand lay down and relax. Note: It is best if you have
mainstream Western society it has been regarded astape for shamanic journeying drumming (which will
something primitive, irrational, and pandering tosmooth the transition into expanded states of
superstition. Divination is simply a way of revealing theawareness). In the imagination, the launch-pad into
truth. The diviner reveals or uncovers to their clientmulti-dimensional perception, go to a place where you
hidden truths about themselves, or the circumstancescan visualise, perceive, or sense being in the open
surrounding them. In societies outside the West, divininglandscape. Sense being fully in this place, experience
continues to play an important role, revealing that whichyour feet on the ground and the ground pushing up
is hidden, easing anxiety, and helping in coming to termsagainst the soles of your feet, experience the air and
with challenging circumstances that may demand thethe wind on your face, become fully present in this
implementation of difficult decisions.landscape, and when ready look up to the sky where
In divination, the role of the shaman is to act as athe sun will be, with the question firmly in your mind, ask
mediator or 'middle-man'. The shaman by exploring andthe sun to show you the location or whereabouts of
providing the initial reading and interpretation allows thewhat it is you are searching for. Typically a particular
seeker of this information to avoid projecting personalsunbeam will either shine brightly or capture your
wants, desires, and wishes if the question or situation isattention in one way or another, follow this beam of
emotionally charged.sunlight, you may even experience yourself flying over
The Multi-dimensional Cosmos of the shamanthe landscape, and where this specific sunbeam
In shamanism, there is another kind of time, not linear ortouches the ground, that is where the location is. When
sequential but a time which is one single moment. Thisyou recognise the location, and can correlate it to an
vast ever moving moment has no boundaries whichactual physical place, it is then time to return. So turn
separate the past, present and future. This is a time inaround and go back to the place where you started
which anything which has ever happened to anybodyfrom, and when you have returned, gently feel yourself
anywhere, somewhere it is still happening. The shamanback in the physical world, and gently open your eyes.
travels 'outside' of linear time into this vast unendingRemembering the second principle of trust, check the
ever-moving moment to seek the information at theinformation out, try and get verification of the validity of
place where this event is happening.the journey, keep on doing this until you have
One of the main gateways to this vast moment ofdeveloped trust and the confidence will then follow.
time or universal consciousness is our own powers ofShamanic Trance Postures.
imagination coupled with the three fundamentalAnother form of specific techniques is the body of
principles of expanded perception;work known as Shamanic Trance Postures. They
1.Intentiontake the form of certain precise bodily postures.
All actions begin with an intention, a desire for aThese postures are gateways to an altered state of
specific outcome. The principle of intention operates onconsciousness, and visionary experiences. This body
two levels, the obvious , 'this is what I want to do', andof knowledge originates from ancient civilisations and
the subtle level, i.e. it is a signal or alert to energy to bemany indigenous cultures throughout the world.
prepared to move to a certain destination.Rediscovered in the 1970's by the renowned
2.Trustanthropologist Felicitas Goodman, these postures are a
Trust is an ineffable quality, it is experienced in thepiece of living history from our heritage of spiritual
body, not the mind. Trust takes time, and to get trusttradition.
we need feedback which either directly or indirectlyIt involves holding non-strenuous, but precise physical
validates our experience. With trust our experiencespositions together with an accompanying rhythmic
and confidence in our actions increase significantly.sound eg. Shamanic drumming or rattling. There are a
3.Attentionnumber of specific postures for divinatory purposes,
This is about the application and focus of energy andfor example the Nupe people in sub-Saharan Africa,
intention. Attention is not 'hard-work' yet it needsuse these ritual postures, and in the one that their
consistency, to place your awareness at the interfacedivinatory shamans work with gives the experience of
of events or places..... Energy flows where Attentiondetachment and a dispassionate persepective of the
goes.question.
Divinatory methodsAn Exercise - Nupe Divination Posture
The shamans used many diverse methods forOnce again meditate or focus on your question, as
divination, either ways seeking patterns innaturalwith this work it really helps if the question is sharp, no
objects and events, or using techniques to directly'ifs', 'shoulds' , 'but' and so on, get your question as
obtain hidden knowledge. An example of the formerrazor honed as possible.
could be the practice of divination with rocks.Sit on the floor, leaning toward your left and supported
Rock Divinationby your left arm. Hold your left arm rigid, with your
To do this the traditional practice is for the seekerhand at a right angle to your body. Place your left hand
looks for a rock whilst holding the question in the mind,at a spot three to five inches to the left of your body
eventually there will be a rock which stands out orand just behind a straight line drawn along the back of
'metaphorically' shouts out "me, me!". Here is anyour buttocks. Bend both legs at the knees with both
opportunity to practice the principle of trust!. As afeet pointing to the right, positioned so that your left
helpful tip the more faceted and inner forms the rockfoot is resting just to the left of your right knee. Place
has the better as more facets and patterns meanyour right hand on your lower left leg, where the
more detail will be available to the reader. The seekermuscle indents about halfway down your calf. Move
should then give the rock to the shaman or practitioneryour head slightly to the left, so you are looking over
and state the question. The shaman (who knows asyour left knee, and close your eyes.
little as possible about the questioner or theIf possible listen to a shamanic drumming or rattling
circumstances regarding the question) will gently focustape, as this will enhance the visionary potential and
on the rock and allow patterns to form within themakes the experience smoother, and more powerful.
imagination. The shaman may ask the seeker to stateAllow the visionary imagery , or just simple 'knowing' to
the question a few times as this helps to deepen thetake place, when you have a sense of an answer
trance state of awareness, to the place where the(even if you do not understand it rationally) just gently
shapes and patterns in the rock become a 'gateway'release yourself from the posture, and come back fully
directly into the universal field of energy, and images,into the present. If an answer is not immediately
pictures, words, feelings will start to form within theunderstood, incubate it, play with it, draw or paint it, this
shaman's being. Each rock face represents a differentis important as the answer is not always addressed to
aspect of the question, and the initial response isthe rational mind. Being with the imagery or vision will
generally "where the questioner is at this moment", andoften lead to a deep and profound revelation.
this leads to other rock faces, each rock faceTo conclude there are many other ways of divination
exposing and presenting an expanded view of thein shamanism many which underlie well known
answer. To me personally this work is awesome,practices eg; divination with quartz crystals, casting of
mysterious and poetic, and I have found that is as if aobjects, Scrying.
person's life story is contained in a rock.As the Tungus shamans of Siberia say "we are all
Sunbeam Divination Journeyconnected, we are all one". So is it no wonder that we
An example of a specific technique to discover hiddencan discover ourselves through the natural world.
knowledge is the Sunbeam divination journey of the