Little Druid on the Prairie

Trance 1 is a course designed to introduce you to trance, various methods of entering a trance state, and working within one. Please note that Trance 2 will require a continuation of the journal begun in Trance 1, and ideally the break between the two parts will not be long. Please check the requirements for Trance 2 if you plan to continue with that course.

The primary goal of this course is for students to establish or enhance a regular and effective trance practice by utilizing knowledge of the physical process of trance, as well as modern and ancient techniques for producing trance states.

Course Objective

1. Students will be able to define and differentiate between the practices of trance, meditation and hypnosis.
2. Students will be able to identify trance practices within Indo-European cultures.
3. Students will demonstrate an increased knowledge of the physical process of and basic techniques to produce trance states through regular practice, documentation and reflection on these experiences within a journal.

1.    Define the following terms in your own words: “Trance,” “meditation,” and “hypnosis.” (min. 25 words per definition, dictionary definition does not count toward final word count.)

trance

1:  stupor, daze

2:  a sleeplike state (as of deep hypnosis) usually characterized by partly suspended animation with diminished or absent sensory and motor activity

3:  a state of profound abstraction or absorption

meditate

intransitive verb

1:  to engage in contemplation or reflection – He meditated long and hard before announcing his decision.

2:  to engage in mental exercise (such as concentration on one’s breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness

transitive verb

1:  to focus one’s thoughts on :  reflect on or ponder over – He was meditating his past achievements.

2:  to plan or project in the mind :  intend, purpose – He was meditating revenge.

hypnosis

1:  a trancelike state that resembles sleep but is induced by a person whose suggestions are readily accepted by the subject

2:  any of various conditions that resemble sleep

(Merriam Webster Online Dictionary)

These three terms are, to me, closely related aspects that all center on the idea of attaining an altered state of consciousness.

Meditation is the practice of mental exercise around a focused idea, with the goal being to attain a state of awareness or focused attention. (I’ve given the definition of the verb, above, as it was more explanatory.) While “eastern” meditation predominantly focuses on breathwork as the focus of the mind, and often seeks to create a state of mental calm, whereby ones thoughts slow down and the mind attains a state of focus and discipline, other forms of meditation exist. John Michael Greer speaks of ‘discursive meditation’ as one such, where the mind is completely absorbed in a subject and discourse around that subject. These “full mind” meditations can allow a practitioner to more fully examine a subject, contemplate it, and begin to explore it in a deeper way beyond that of simple conscious thinking.

Hypnosis is the process by which someone is brought into a state of focused and receptive awareness, specifically as it is created by someone to influence the thoughts or behavior patterns of the person being hypnotized. While this can be used like a stage trick – a hypnotized person hopping around or otherwise being ridiculous while under the ‘control’ of the hypnotist – it can also be used in behavior modification, such as in addiction recovery. In a religious context, hypnosis can be an effective tool of dropping into ritual space and time, as well as of guiding others to a state of altered awareness where a specific being or spirit can be interacted with.

Trance is the altered state of consciousness that one attains – either through meditation or through hypnosis (or through one of any of a number of other methods) – where the mind is both focused and receptive to the world in a different way. While in a trance state, especially in a neopagan context, a person is able to explore and interact with the world in an altered way, frequently experienced as visions or conversations with spirits/divine beings. This state may be measurable in quantitative ways, but is also experienced by a person as somehow “different” than their normal waking consciousness.

2.    Give a brief history of hypnosis. (min. 300 words)

Some of the first recorded information about hypnosis comes from Egypt’s Old Kingdom. Among the practices in the city of Saqqara was a tradition called “temple sleep”, which involved long rituals, herbs, and rhythmic recitation of prayers, followed by the individual was led to a special chamber to await a dream to reveal a cure for illness. This practice spread to Greece, where “sleep temples” were built, dedicated to Aesculapius. Oracles also exemplified the use of hypnotic states as a method to divine the future. Similar preparatory processes were used, including herbal mixtures and other rituals, which created a “receptive environment for a profound emotional experience.”

Modern hypnosis had its origins in the medical practices of Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer, of Vienna, in the mid 18^th century. Mesmer was involved in what would today be termed esoteric or occult aspects of the medical profession, including astronomy and the influence of magnets. After experiencing a phenomenon while working with a patient, he developed an elaborate theory that individuals had magnetic fluids flowing through channels in their bodies, and that other individuals could manipulate the flow of that fluid. While this theory was debunked during Mesmer’s lifetime, his students went on to use “Mesmerism” to influence the mood or psychological states of other people.

Among Mesmer’s students, Etienne de Cuvillers published the first work to name this work ‘hypnotism’, and call the practitioners ‘hypnotists’, based on the Greek word for sleep – chosen because of the similarity to sleepwalking and also previous students calling the state ‘lucid sleep.’

In the early 1840’s, hypnosis came to the English-speaking world through the work of Dr. James Braid, and then spread back into France, where competing schools developed. The Nancy School believed that hypnosis was a natural curative process that operated through the use of mental suggestion, a concept that they called “suggestive therapeutics.” The Salpetriere School, in contrast, only believed that people suffering from hysteria could enter a hypnotic state. The Nancy School eventually won out, but the desire of each to outdo the other led to great advances in researching hypnosis, up to and including Sigmund Freud and Emile Coue’s research around the turn of the twentieth century. Coue’s research led him to become one of the earliest proponents of self-hypnosis, through the use of affirmation and what he called “conscious autosuggestion.”

Around the same time, researchers from other social sciences began to observe hypnotic phenomena in foreign cultures, especially Shamanism and it’s use of healing through the power of spirits using a trance technique. These techniques are found in tribal cultures worldwide, from the Indigenous cultures of the Americas to the Shamans of Siberia and Eastern Asia, and they exhibit similar trance-like states to those experimented with in the history of western hypnosis.

Since the early twentieth century, hypnosis has been found mostly in self-help, psychology, and stage magic, and has grown in many directions, and is seen now (at least in some circles) as a “branch of mental health that can be a powerful tool to achieve personal goals.”

(Campbell)

3.    Describe the ethical issues surrounding neuro-linguistic programming and hypnosis. (min. 150 words)

The General Hypnotherapy Register has a code of ethics published online that details, sometimes painstakingly, the way hypnotherapists must act when with clients. This provides a good outline of the possible ways in which ethics can break down in situations where a person is in a state of hypnosis. I think their primary statement is a good one to adhere to when dealing with hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming:

“Work in ways that will promote client autonomy and well-being and that maintain respect and dignity for the client.” (“Code of Ethics”)

Specifically there are ethical concerns where a person is in trance states that surround bodily autonomy and consent, especially sexual consent. It is crucial to maintain professional boundaries appropriate to a priestly relationship when dealing with any situation where people could be in an altered state of consciousness. Even the appearance of inappropriate behavior could be enough to harm the person in the trance state, and so utmost care is important.

As well, from my own experience when guiding people to and from states of altered consciousness, it is crucial to make sure they are fully “back” to themselves afterwards, and would be a serious breach of ethics to allow someone to drive home or otherwise put themselves in danger if they were not fully functioning and capable.

4.    Identify and describe three instances where trance is found in ancient Indo-European cultures. (min. 150 words each instance)

Norse – Seidhr

There’s a documented form of trance-like seership called seidhr. In Leif Eiriksson’s Saga (ch. 4) a seeress (a volva) named Thorbjorg is featured who is highly honored by the farm she visits. She is brought there during a difficult time for the farm, and she spends a night there, honored by the various guests and given special food (milk porridge and animal hearts). After some reluctance (ostensibly due to being Christian) the women of the farm come and form a circle around her, and sing the ward songs, and she is visited by the spirits, who tell her that the hardship will last no longer. As well, she sees great reward for the woman who sang the ward songs. This type of trance working is also seen in the Voluspa, and is perhaps the most formal and ritualistic type of seership among the Germanic and Norse cultures.

The purpose of seidhr was to get answers, specifically about the health and well-being of the town and the success or failure of the crops in the coming year, from the spirits that the volva encounters in her trance.

Greece – Delphic Oracle

This is probably the best known example of trance-based seership in the ancient world. The location is said to be built around the omphalos – the center of the world in Greek Mythology. This was over a spring that went deep into the ground, and the seer sat on a three-legged stool over that spring/hole when she did her trance practices. Once there, she would enter a trance and answer questions in an unintelligible speech (“Delphi”). The priests that tended to her often had to interpret what she said, because her messages could be garbled, cryptic, or mean multiple things depending on interpretation.

Especially of note with this oracle is that where the tripod was situated, geographically, it exposed the oracle to ethylene gas, which can have hallucinogenic effects. This gas would have been dispersed, so not truly a drug-induced trance, but it certainly could have helped provide either a trigger or an additional aid to the trance state.

Scottish/Irish – taghairm

In Peter Ellis’ The Druids, Ellis speaks of a ritual known in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland as the taghairm (a word he says has Irish cognates). In particular, a seer is to wrap himself in the hide of a newly slain bull and lie down at a waterfall or at the foot of a precipice and “meditate” – here I suspect the seer was entering a trance state where he was receptive to the voice of the spirits. The spirits would visit him and tell him what he needed to know. (Ellis 222) This particular iteration of this divination form says nothing about actually eating the ritual flesh of the bull, however. This is similar to the commonly told tale of an Irish seer wrapping himself in a bull’s hide, while Druids chant over him, so he may dream of the next king. In both instances, answers are sought of the spirits, and a seer (much like the volva or the oracle at Delphi) goes into a trance state whereby s/he receives the sought after answers, and then relays them to the querents, who must interpret the results.

5.    Describe three ways trance can be used in personal spiritual practice. (min. 100 words each)

Trance can be used in the three primary spiritual practices that I do, each in a slightly different way.

Trance as Speech – For using trance as a method of speaking into the worlds, I would seek to find a medium trance state, not so light as to be indistinguishable from ordinary consciousness, but not so deep as to be unable to remember the outcome. In this state, I would journey to the place or home of the beings I wished to speak to, or petition, and from there would direct my energy in the direction of communicating with them. This is trance as prayer, so truly any prayer could fit into this mold, but I find that extemporaneous prayer works best for this kind of trance.

Trance as Listening – For using trance as a method of listening to the words of the Spirits, I find it best to either maintain a light trance in which I can also do my own recording, or to allow a deeper trance in the presence of a trusted friend or guide, who can record what happens and any messages received for later thought and meditation. This type of trance is one I have less practice with, and oracular work especially is dangerous when done alone. As I don’t have anyone currently to practice this work with, I don’t do it often, and only in situations of great need. Otherwise, I simply use meditation for this work. Divination also falls under this category, and requires a different skill set, as one is interpreting a non-verbal, non-visual message.

Trance as Magic – As the saying goes – As above, so below; as within, so without. Alterations made in the Otherworld have resonance here in this material world, and so magic can be worked in trance. I particularly enjoy magic that involves the use of tools or locations that I can’t access in the material world easily. As well, magical workings in general benefit from the use of trance states as they focus ones consciousness in ways that allows them to be truly aware of the objective of the magic. Magic worked in a trance state also benefits from an observant partner or friend, as this type of trance can be indeterminate in length, and in my experience is the easiest to wander away from your goal. Any kind of sympathetic magic is accessible through trance, and I have found that healing magic often works well in this type of working, as it allows access to the other person even if over a great distance.

6.    Identify and explain three methods of attaining a trance state. (min. 150 words per method)

Sonic Driving – using a steady, driving drum beat is perhaps the most widely known method of attaining trance, whether as a drummer oneself or just for listening to the drumming. Most recommendations are for drum beats in the range of 205 to 220 beats per minute, though faster and slower drumming can be used (Harner 39). Polyrhythmic drumming also fits into this category, with drummers playing different rhythms simultaneously to achieve trance.

Sadly, I cannot achieve trance at all with Sonic Driving – the drum beats in that frequency range make my skin crawl and spike my anxiety fiercely, to the point of distraction and needing to stop the recording or get away from the drums. That said, much slower drumming, especially deep, heartbeat-like drumming, does work for me, because it produces deep relaxation that allows me to “drift” out of my ordinary consciousness and find altered states. This is not Sonic Driving, however, and so can’t truly be considered part of the technique, even if it is related.

Auditory Confusion – This is the practice of playing (or having performed) two different auditory stimuli, one in each ear. Often examples are given of playing two different pieces of music at the same time, or having two people read different pieces of literature or poetry. However, trance for me is best achieved with this method through the use of binaural beats. . For a beat to be “binaural”, it must produce two pure-tone sine waves, both with frequencies lower than 1500Hz, with less than a 40Hz difference between them, which is presented one through each ear. The result is being able to hear both tones and a third tone which is an auditory illusion (“Binaural Beats”).

I find this method to be extremely effective at producing a journeying trance, one where I can stay in the sort of altered-state that allows for exploration and travel in the Otherworld. My only concern is that this method does require both headphones and relative quiet, so it may not be useful in all situations.

Body Postures – Felicitas Goodman describes seemingly endless variations on body postures in her book Ecstatic Trance: New Ritual Body Postures. As well, Belinda Gore’s Ecstatic Body Postures provides another extensive list of examples. The idea in this type of trance is to maintain a body posture long enough for the body to settle into and “become” the posture, experiencing a trance state that is related to the type of posture chosen. Both tension and relaxation are key to this work. I tried several body postures in an attempt to attain trance, and found that alone they were not enough to produce a trance state. However, in combination with relaxing sound or (especially) binaural beats, I could attain a trance state. The physical discomfort associated with many of these postures being sustained for a long period of time, however, made them not particularly useful for journeying. I can see them being good for attaining personal healing or personal guidance from the Otherworld, but would not want to attempt a long journey using these postures.

7.    Using one of the three methods described in requirement 7, describe in depth a single experience you had while in the trance state from an experiential point of view (i.e. what did you feel, see, sense, etc.). (min. 300 words)

From my Trance Journal, week of 25 September 2017 – a trance Journey to speak to a spirit ally.

Using Binaural Beats (Auditory Confusion) I spent approximately five minutes in progressively deeper states of relaxation in order to attain a trance state. I find that maintaining trance is about hovering just on the edge of discomfort – it is a dizzy feeling that suggests that not all is the same about the world around me. I can feel the floor underneath me (I do most of my trance lying prone, as this is the most successful way for me to relax enough to enter the trance state), but the rest of the world seems to spin. I don’t typically see with my visual senses, so much as get an idea of the way the world seems in any given moment, with inner visualizations shifting and changing from moment to moment as I descend to my Mental Grove.

The light in my mental grove is often ambiguous, but this time it was clearly liminal – I believe dusk, by the way that my interactions went. I spoke to the grove, which has several inhabitants that come and go, including a large brown and white rabbit, a barred owl, a couple of different toads, and a stag. Tonight it was just the rabbit, who seems happy to be there most of the time. She and I said our greetings, and I settled myself down to the fire, and said to the grove “I would like to speak to Ruby Olar”.

Sometimes this works, and other times it doesn’t, but tonight it did work, and Ruby walked in through a small gap in the tree limbs, as spry and light on his feet as ever. A dancer and martial artist in life, I recognize Ruby as much by his face and his voice as I do by the way that he moves – a trait that stuck with him in the afterlife.

We had a long conversation, that I will not document here, but where he told me several times that I needed to “be in the moment” and that while I should be proud of being a “force of nature” to remember that nature is both still as a mountain and flows like the river. I don’t remember precisely what he told me in answer to my questions, but after a good few minutes of conversation we fell into a companionable silence. He ended the encounter by standing, and – like he did in life, and like he has always done in my grove – asking if I wanted a hug. I always accept (but he still always asks), and then he disappeared into the mists outside the grove.

I sat in the grove for awhile, made offerings of incense and whisky to the fire in thanks for my conversation with Ruby, and then allowed the grove to disappear into mists in my mind and brought myself back to my body, lying on my floor.

The journey took about 30 minutes total, and when I was done I felt both refreshed and tired. I had a cup of tea and some yogurt, and left the lamp burning on my altar long after I was done with my working.

8.    Describe what happens to the body during a trance state from a physical standpoint. (min. 300 words)

Goodman speaks of trance as fluctuations in tension and electric charge within the brain, which can remain relatively constant over a long period of time (16). This “DC potential” is a “highly reliable and recognizable value for the excitability and wakefulness of the cerebral cortex” (Goodman 16). Three methods of altered-reality were tested according to this DC potential, and their effects on the brain were studied.

Hypnosis was shown not to have a significant change from the ordinary waking state, though the person who has been hypnotized often achieves attention that is very narrow and limited in focus. Meditation is often practiced before ecstatic trance, but is “not practiced in shamanic rituals themselves” (Goodman 17). A number of Zen monks – who possessed both the know how to achieve meditative states and a curiosity about the answer the question – were tested in modern EEG machines, and no significant changes were shown between the ordinary waking state and the trance state here either.

Ecstatic trance, however – specifically when combining a sonic driving auditory experience with a static body posture – caused the DC potential to shift considerably, and not in the direction of relaxation. The increase of the DC potential by a significant state suggested that the subject was “more” awake, despite the EEG showing that the brain had entered a slower, theta-wave state that would normally only be present in a deep sleep (Goodman 18).

Goodman’s ultimate conclusion was that a trance state allows the mind to descend into a theta-wave state (similar to deep sleep) while maintaining a “more than awake” consciousness (as shown by the DC potential). This is achieved by the combination of driving practices and tension within the body postures, using the body posture as a “control system” for regulating the depth of the trance. This odd mix of “psychic high tension and relaxation” produces what Guttmann called “paradoxical arousal” (Goodman 19).

9.    Keep a journal for five months detailing the trance work that you have done. Write an essay based off those journals that examines your practice over the time you journaled. In this essay, explain how you can apply the trance work to divination, magic, and other workings you do in ritual and personally. Entries occurring less than weekly will not count toward completion of this requirement. Your journal must include work from the exercises found in the support material for this course. (min. 1000 words)

This course is the second time I have attempted to complete the Trance journal for my clergy training program. The first lasted approximately three months in mid-2015, and ended when I found I couldn’t sustain a trance practice through my mental health challenges. I began again and consistently worked through the trance practice from 12 June through 6 November 2017. This practice saw me through some ecstatic highs and some true lows – as a person with Bipolar disorder, I knew I would have to create a practice that I could sustain even when my mental health was working against me, in order to properly train my mind to do this work. My journaling reflects this, and several weeks had simply “attempted trance three times” style entries where my efforts to attain trance were unsuccessful due to a depressive episode.

That said, this course – and many conversations with many priests and initiates in ADF – have opened my eyes to the varied and endless expressions that are “Trance”. When I began, I had a very narrow view, thinking of trance only as the journeys that I saw my more psychically inclined friends having, where they went deep into the otherworld to retrieve information. This type of trance is still difficult for me, but I’ve discovered that other types of trance seem to come as naturally to me as breathing.

Ritual trance, for instance. I lead public ritual frequently for a group as large as 35-40 people. In that ritual space, when I create the center of all worlds and tear open the gates, I enter a trance state from which I frequently can’t remember the nature of the ritual, or who made which offerings. I especially often don’t remember the omens (I do most of the divination for my grove). This trance state allows me to be fully present and open to the spirits in ritual in a way that is powerful and meaningful to me – and just as much a “trance” as if I sat alone or with drummers and went on a journey. Ritual, for me, is part of my regular trance practice.

Divination is as well. I find that divination trances are lighter than ritual trances, but allow me to tap into a greater understanding of reality, whether with runes or with my tarot deck. I often have revelations and thoughts that don’t feel like they are my own, but which ring true for my querents (or for myself when I reflect upon them at a later date). These trances are “easy” for me, and feel like second nature.

That said, it has been an important part of my practice (and an important requirement for this course) that I experiment with other types of trance work and types of trance induction. Thus follows my experiences and effects with different trance methods, as well as what is – to date – the most effective way for me to achieve a journeying trance, which is slightly unorthodox but works well.

My journals walk me through trying sonic driving, drumming, dancing, body postures, auditory confusion, progressive relaxation, chanting/mantras, and other types of trance.

The ones that did not work at all were:

• Sonic Driving/Drumming – something about the fast beat of the drums spiked my anxiety in a panic-inducing way and I was unable to find trance through this method.
• Dancing – even simply spinning in place was too awkward in the space I have (which is small and furniture-laden) and so I never was able to “let go” enough to just dance. I think I’d like to experiment with this further, especially with certain types of dance music, in settings where I feel safe enough to let go and appreciate the altered states of consciousness
• Body Postures – I was not able to sustain Goodman’s “paradoxical arousal” in these states for very long, and found them awkward and uncomfortable. I’d try them again, but in general I didn’t feel like this was the type of trance induction that produced good results.

The trance induction methods that I had some amount of success with were:

• Progressive Relaxation – this worked best when combined with other methods, but I could attain trance reliably by the end of five months of working with the technique. The method I use was taught to me by Nick Egelhoff, using nine sets of breaths to relax the body. This works both for meditation and for finding light trance states, but if I want a deep trance, I need additional ways to shut out the world
• Chanting/Mantras – While I never found a favorite mantra (though Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti is one I have used for years), I found mantra chanting to be a good way to get me in the right headspace for journeying. It produces a “fuzzy” state that I liken to letting the world get a little “blurry” around the edges, which leads easily to deeper trance states.

The trance induction methods that met with the best success for me were as follows:

Auditory Confusion – Binaural Beats are probably my favorite way to induce trance in a reliable way when I can rely on an aid to get me there. Thankfully, a pair of earbuds and an app on my phone is all I need to be able to find that headspace and sink into the otherworld. The fuzzy-headed, almost dizzy sensation of finding myself in between the worlds comes easiest when using this method, with two exceptions that I will note next.

Progressive Relaxation in specific locations/with specific sounds – Progressive Relaxation alone does not, for me, provoke deep trance. However, in combination with running water, I can truly deepen into the altered states of consciousness, and the feeling is almost intoxicating. This can be done sitting on a beach or even sitting in the waves, feeling the water lap at my skin; sitting next to or in a running stream or lake; sitting next to or in a waterfall; or, amusingly, sitting in the floor of my shower, letting the stream of hot water beat on my chest.

Guided Trance – I have my most profound trance experiences when I am assisted by a guide, whether a recording of my own voice, or with another person whom I trust. Being with another person helps me feel safe enough to “let go” of my conscious control and drop into the otherworld more easily. As well, a skilled guide can help me talk through what I’m experiencing and go even deeper, if necessary, to access new places and environments in the otherworld. Obviously this method only works if you have a skilled friend(s) to help, but I felt it important to mention, since it is by far the easiest way for me to find a trance state. It seems so simple to have someone lead me to the edge of consciousness, but it really does work.

Having gone through all of the experimentation, and then successfully maintained the practices for five months, I have been able to, over the intervening months, continue to work in trance. I don’t often work magic there, but find that it is good to go there to visit with my guides. While my mental grove has animals that often meet me there, my newest guide – a brindle French Bulldog I’ve named Molly – is excited to lead me out into the otherworld for us to explore. She provides a lot of comfort as I journey, since I tend to be cautious when I veer outside of my mental grove. Together we have been to mountains and cities and all kinds of interesting places, as well as met other spirits. I wish I had run into her sooner, but I met her for the first time in late November, after the majority of my journaling was complete.

Overall, I feel like I gained a ton of experience through this journey and coursework – things that I had no idea I was capable of doing. I still don’t consider myself particularly skilled at trancework, but it is part of my regular toolkit having done the work to finish the course, and I am glad for it. I look forward to honing my skills, and especially to perfecting my ability to use water as a trance aid. I know that historically “crossing over water” was a common element in reaching the otherworld, and I would like to get to a place where I can do that without needing physical water or the sounds of physical water to be able to reach that state of consciousness.

10.Create a self-hypnosis tape to put yourself in trance and go on a spirit journey and bring yourself back out. Submit a script as well as a summary of your results. (min. 200 words for the summary)

Begin by finding a comfortable position sitting or lying down.

Take a moment to close your eyes and relax; find your center. Breathe deeply, and let the cares of the day fall away. For a moment, simply watch your breath as you breathe in. . . and out. . . in. . . and out. Continue to pay attention to your breath for a moment. . .

Now, in your mind’s eye, see the mists that hover between the worlds as they roll in around this sacred space. Watch these grey mists as they come gently closer: see them, mists of magic that are colorless, yet full of color; formless, yet with shapes that form and dissipate constantly. In all directions, the shifting mists close you off from the mundane world, leaving no trace of the world beyond you.

Now, at the edge of the mists, there is a parting. The mists roll back to reveal the great tree, on the edge of a clear spring, surrounded by mountains. Hear the sound of the wind, ruffling the leaves of the tree. Smell the soft smell of leaves and clear water. Feel under your feet – is the spring’s riverbed pebbly or sandy? Are there creatures in the water near you?

Reacquaint yourself with your tree – remember what kind of bark it has. How tall it is. If its branches are sprawling and long or upright and outstretched?

Walk around the base of the tree, feeling the cool water of the spring against your feet. Run your fingers along the trunk of the tree, feeling if it is warm, from the sun, or cool in the shade. Feeling if it is rough or smooth. Remember what color the bark is, and whether there is moss or vegetation around it.

Above you, in the tree, a squirrel darts through the branches. Are there any other animals or birds that you can see or hear?

See on the ground a small circle of short stones near the tree. Wide enough to stand in, but not too wide. Are the stones rough or smooth? Feel them with your hand.

Begin to place the wood, stacked nearby, into the small circle of stones, leaves and twigs first, and then the larger branches, until you have a small stack standing against each other.

Reach into your pocket and find a striking stone. Gather up a handful of leaves and dry moss, and strike the stone, creating a spark. Watch as the spark glows red in the dry material in your hands. Blow gently on it, letting it smoke and kindle.

Now place it under the other wood you have gathered. It will catch on the smallest twigs and sticks, gradually building, glowing red and orange, as it catches on the dry wood. Smell the fragrant smoke on the air. Watch as the smoke curls up into the sky, making delicate patterns in the gentle breeze.

Sit here, next to your fire, your well, and your tree. Rest, feeling the cool water, the warm fire, the shade of the tree. Hear the crackling of the branches, the rustling breeze in the leaves of the tree, the rippling water of the spring. Smell the soft earth, the wood smoke, the clean water.

Sit, breathe, and be calm here for a few moments.

(5 breaths)

Now, take a moment to re-center yourself. Bid farewell to the great tree next to you, to the fire you have built, to the gently burbling waters of the spring. Know that you can return here whenever you wish, to begin or end a journey or a dream, to find your center, here at the center.

See the mists of magic roll in again, drawing near so that the tree and the waters are lost beneath their cover. Feel yourself at the center, and then draw in a deep breath. . . and as you exhale see the mists of magic dissipate and reorient yourself. Begin to move your fingers and toes. Stretch, if you would like. Feel yourself fully in your body as it moves and awakens from the journey. When you are ready, open your eyes.

*****

This is a journey I have used many times, and it is the basis for a workshop that I teach on finding and orienting oneself in a Mental Grove – an inner temple of sorts, from which trance workings can be done. It is a journey I wrote and that I enjoy walking, and yet each time I do so it is slightly different.

My mental grove is stable now – the tree is an ancient live oak, much like the Seven Sisters Oak or Texas A&M’s Century Tree, her branches long and sprawling to touch the ground at the perimeter of the mists. She stands nearby a spring of water, which burbles up from the ground and runs in a small stream to the south, away from the grove. And it is there that I kindle a fire each time I visit, allowing the warmth of piety to let me find my center. The fire and well and tree there are as much a part of me as any “real” place in the material world, and as I travel to them, each time they provide me comfort and a safe place to return to from my journeys.

When I went to the tree this time (today, on February 15), I found a raven waiting for me. She is new to my grove, and I look forward to meeting her again here. I suspect she will become a regular visitor, much like the stag, the boar, and my little brown and white rabbit friend. Molly (the bulldog) was there to greet me as always, but she knew today’s visit was not for an adventure, and so we simply enjoyed each other’s company.

I found this journey to be invigorating – encouraging me to push forward, to breathe deep of the earth and the sky and to travel with confidence. A lesson I often need, and one I will take with me for the rest of my day.

Works Consulted

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