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'Getting closer to the reality of your soul'

This transformative ritual was created for a deceased woman who herself requested a ritual from the realm where she now resides as a departed soul. She passed away not long ago. This woman, Sonja, lived independently well into her old age. When that was no longer possible, she did not live for much longer. She led a fairly ordinary life as a housewife and mother, supporting her husband in his work. There were no unusual circumstances, at least not that are known. Her wish for a ritual seemed to have arisen because she knew about the ritual I was going to perform for an acquaintance of hers, also a deceased person. Apparently, she was aware of it. She made her wish known to me before the ritual for that other person had been carried out.

The theme for Sonja’s ritual that came to me was: ‘Getting closer to the reality of your soul’.

Concept

When, some time later, I began to visualise the ritual, a cross-shaped form emerged, which began to rotate and became a wheel. That became the basic concept. I soon came to see the cross-shaped form as a Wheel of the four wind directions – East, South, West and North. The four wind directions were to provide the major driving forces upon which the effect of this ritual would be based.

into the night with a ritual space

First impressions

The four wind directions lie within the ritual like stones or pieces of paper on the ground; in the centre lie the soul and the light of the soul. From every point of the circle, you can look towards the centre. Sometimes the soul is more visible, sometimes not.

West: letting go, in water. I have clearly seen water. Start with it.

North: still and empty. Waiting. Withdrawn. A time of scarcity.

East: gaining wisdom, truly taking it to heart.

South: going for it; what lies ahead may also prove disappointing. But it is in reality.

I see myself walking rounds around this Wheel. Each round describes an aspect of a wind direction and how this can play out in a person’s life. Together, the rounds form a sort of blueprint of lessons and challenges the soul faces across its many incarnations. The descriptions of the rounds will be attuned to Sonja’s situation in lives past and those yet to come.

For each wind direction, three rounds are made in succession, after which three qualities of that wind direction are presented to the soul. After a full cycle of three rounds across the four wind directions, I plan to carry out two more such cycles. I sense, at first, that the West is the wind direction with which to begin.

The West, autumn, represents farewell, letting go, transience.

The North, winter, represents rest, silence and introspection.

The East, spring, represents inspiration, new beginnings and creation.

The South, summer, represents action, building and flourishing.

West – What are you letting go of? - Transience

North – Can you be still? - Existence

East – What moves you? - Emergence

South – What are you going to do? - Moving forward

So, in each cycle, there are three rounds for each wind direction, and there will be three cycles. That amounts to a total of 36 qualities offered to the soul.

In addition, I plan to offer the soul one further, more general quality for each wind direction. The purpose of this separate quality is to unite within itself all the unmentioned influences, forces and qualities of a given wind direction. The following will be used as general themes: for the East, inspiration; for the South, action; for the West, farewell; and for the North, tranquillity. These four qualities will also be offered to the soul alongside the qualities following the rounds.

Making the ritual

I allowed the descriptions for the 36 rounds to arise spontaneously within me. I did not correct, adapt or alter them in any way afterwards. In my intention whilst writing, I had attuned myself to Sonja. A reader who wishes to perform this ritual themselves may use the texts as they are described, but this is by no means necessary. Each text can be adapted to the person for whom the ritual is intended. Follow your own intuition in this. The descriptions are not intended to serve as a manual for everyone. Someone might choose to use them as they are, if that feels right, but it may also be appropriate to adapt them. Trust your intuition.

Physical arrangement

The thought that this ritual did not need to take as long as the previous one I had performed for a deceased person gave me a sense of calm. That previous ritual had lasted for hours, and the spiritual helping forces had had to do a great deal of work during it. How long would this one take? Half an hour? I realised I wasn’t giving it much thought, therefore. (In the end, it did take several hours after all.)

At first, I envisaged that the physical arrangement for this ritual could be very simple, limited to four stones representing the four wind directions, and pieces of paper bearing the names of the four wind directions, the soul, and the qualities. I would lay the pieces of paper bearing the names of the four wind directions and the soul on the ground in an appropriate manner; I would place a stone next to each wind direction; and the physical act of offering the qualities would involve placing a piece of paper bearing that quality next to the paper representing the soul. That seemed to me to be all that was needed. I could do that immediately before the ritual began – a matter of five minutes at most. Easy.

But I was called to order. I was required to offer all the qualities to the soul as symbols. I hadn’t seen that request coming. I tried to imagine 40 symbols. Where was I supposed to get them from? Was I suddenly going to fetch teacups from the kitchen cupboard as symbols? That might well be the case.

Shortly afterwards, I understood the reason for this. For anyone who wants to understand the reason too: have a look at the webpage for the previous ritual I performed for that other person. There’s a photo there of the ritual table that was set up back then. The intention this time, too, was for it to look just like a proper party. Sonja had been paying close attention, and had thought to herself once more: “I want that too.” 😉 I’ll take a photo of this ritual too, and then readers can decide for themselves later on whether it worked.😀

A little later still, I sensed that there was another, more important reason for the elaborate material set-up. It concerned my own attitude towards this ritual. I’d been taking it too lightly. Instead, I needed to approach it as a ritual with powers that were meant to have a profound and far-reaching effect. So I was called to order regarding my own attitude towards this: “I’ll just do that,” I’d thought, “it’ll be quick, done in a jiffy.” Oh ho, I realised now. The winds had started to blow, and they were going to breathe a great deal of power into this. I had to pay close attention because a lot was going to happen. Guardians would have to join in, helpers and so on. I could now see the ritual space slowly taking shape. It would be a circle about one and a half diameters across, laid out on the ground, as I would need to walk around it. Guardians took their places at the four corners, some distance from the circle. And within it, I had to create a powerful space capable of engaging with and sustaining great forces.

But first I walked out into nature, entered into dialogue with the four wind directions, asked for their help and made a place for them at home.

attention to the four wind directions

I planned to arrange the symbols slightly away from the Wheel of the four wind directions, so that the rounds could be made in between them. After three rounds, three qualities would be offered to the soul. The relevant symbol would be placed on the sheet representing that particular wind direction. The sheets representing the wind directions lay like petals around the golden sheet of the soul.

one half of the ritual space

the other half of the ritual space

Rounds, qualities and a message from the shaman’s tree

I filled in the rounds and qualities intuitively, starting in the South, and not, as I had initially imagined, in the West. It just happened that way. (That comes easily to me. You may know, for example, that I wrote my entire master’s thesis using automatic writing. It was channelled. The lecturer wanted to award me a ‘cum laude’ for it, but a mark from an earlier exam meant that wasn’t possible. That would have been a real laugh.)

By then, I had informed the shaman’s tree and asked for its help. I laid everything out exactly as I planned to carry it out. I went to the shaman tree a second time, this time to present all the written texts relating to the rounds and the qualities I wished to offer alongside them. When I reached the shaman tree, even before I sat down against it, it immediately announced that someone from Sonja’s earthly life would be present. This person, also a deceased soul, was needed because otherwise Sonja would not be able to properly absorb and process the information from the wind directions. I sensed, from the way it came to me, that this was a special message.

I was informed at the shaman’s tree that four of the rounds I’d described belonged to a different wind direction. As I already had rounds for that other wind direction, I therefore did not use these surplus rounds. Back home, I created four new rounds. These were deemed acceptable during a third visit to the shaman’s tree. And I had to adjust a few qualities. For this, I was immediately given a different quality at the shaman’s tree.

A second change to a quality occurred. That was when I was writing the notes that went with the symbols for the qualities. One quality changed into another when I went to write it down – one that felt much better.

symbols for 40 qualities

A coherent ritual

The next step was to turn it into a coherent ritual. The core elements were already there: rounds and offering qualities to the soul. But there also had to be a beginning; invitations had to be sent to everyone who would be needed; those with a specific role had to be asked to take part; an explanation had to be given of exactly what was going to happen; a closing statement was required; and thanks had to be given afterwards. There was still plenty to do. All of this can be found in the file provided at the bottom of this web page, which describes the full ritual with all its steps. To get a good feel for the rhythm of exactly what was necessary and helpful here, I went through the whole thing several times at my own pace at home, and also practised it once. As I did so, it gradually became clear what and who were needed, and how I could best translate that into text. It also became clear to me in this way that, after each round and after each offering of a quality to the soul, there had to be space for integration. That has also been incorporated.

texts and sounds

A ritual with a profound impact

In the meantime, I had sensed that others would also take part in this ritual – spirits who, alongside Sonja, could also benefit from it. It was lovely that its effect was being expanded. However, I hadn’t fully realised the impact this would have on the introductory texts with explanations, on the invitations and on the concluding texts. Nor had I submitted these to the shamanic tree. I had, however, gone through them thoroughly at home, several times, to check whether the rhythm of the ritual was right and whether it was sufficiently coherent. But what I hadn’t realised was exactly what the position should be of those for whom the ritual would also be used. When writing the texts, I’d simply gone by the image I had in mind. That image was: the ritual is for Sonja, and of course it’s nice that others can also benefit from it and make use of it. I would give these others a proper symbol to represent their presence. I intended to arrange all the symbols representing those present and involved in a large ring around the Wheel, so that the rounds could be walked amongst them. That ring formed, as it were, the boundary of the strictly ritual space in which the ritual would take place. Sonja’s place was in the centre of the Wheel.

It was only whilst performing the ritual that I first realised the texts concerning these other people needed to be phrased differently. I did so on the spot. It was not the intention that I should first dedicate a passage to Sonja, then welcome the others, and only at the very end include those who felt the ritual might also be meaningful to them. That was how it was written in the text when I set out to perform the ritual, but at that moment I sensed that it should not be spoken in that way. When mentioning Sonja, the others for whom the ritual was to be performed also had to be mentioned straight away. I also sensed a suggestion that they, too, should be given a place at the centre of the Wheel, but that went a step too far for me. The ritual had already begun and I wanted to reserve this special place for Sonja.

For me, this change to the spoken text meant that I had to pay close attention during the introduction and conclusion, ensuring that I gave those others a place just as central as Sonja’s. That is what I did. In fact, the texts should have read something along the lines of: ‘for all those who receive help through this ritual, especially Sonja…’ Afterwards, I incorporated this correction into the ritual text, which is available for download.

Another form of impact that I hadn’t immediately realised was that the effects of the four wind directions concerned not only the participants’ current life, but also many past lives and future lives. At the shaman’s tree, I was advised to view the effects in past and future lives as a single whole.

A ritual for many at the same time

When I woke up on the morning of the ritual, I had a clear picture of how the ritual would be accessible to many. Actually, I don’t think it mattered to the helpers whether it concerned Sonja or others. The work would be carried out in layers. So everyone for whom the ritual was performed would have their own access to it and could take as long as was appropriate for that person, spirit or soul.

In the spiritual realms, the ritual lasted much longer than it did on Earth, or than it did for me whilst performing it on the physical plane. At the start of the rounds, when those from the West began, I briefly felt the immense weight that fell upon Sonja: so much that had played out in her life and that was illuminated by that round suddenly came into her experience. It was overwhelming on an emotional level, like a massive tidal wave suddenly engulfing someone. I don’t think any of the participants in the ritual saw what they were about to experience coming. I could sense that for a moment. Otherwise, the ritual was not intended for me. I was able to focus calmly on carrying it out properly on a physical level. And as for the participants: not all rounds necessarily had that same weight and impact; I do not know that. But it was clear to me that, through a round, a great deal was stirred up from someone’s experiences in their life. These could then be processed anew through that round and integrated into a person’s whole being. That took time, which is why the ritual in the realms lasted much longer than the physical performance on Earth required. The duration of the various steps in the ritual could be adjusted for each participant, so that everyone could experience the rounds at their own rhythm and pace. (There is no time in the realms. The fact that it ‘took longer’ there is simply a figure of speech from my perspective within time.)

Alone or together?

Whether I would carry it out alone or try to involve someone else – this question did not linger for long. Quite soon, it was made clear to me that it would be busy enough as it was. Having just one person carry out the ritual was appreciated, as there would already be so many involved and participants present in spirit. This is certainly not general advice.

When?

I hesitated for a moment about when to carry out the ritual. I had two weekends to choose from. I thought on Saturday that the first one wouldn’t work after all. But when I asked Sonja for her opinion, she said, ‘today’. ‘Today’s out of the question, I thought. Until I realised that ‘today’ simply meant preparing the ritual space. I did that, and the ritual took place the following day. It felt really lovely again when everything was ready on Saturday evening and I still had a night’s sleep to get through first. I could feel everything coming to life again, just like last time. I could feel how bustling it was in the living room. It was exceptionally cosy. Actually, something to do every weekend…

Guardians from the outset

Following an incident described from the previous ritual – a night-time occurrence relating to the protection of the ritual space – I’d resolved to invite guardians and protectors right from the start. At some point whilst setting up the ritual space, I sensed that the guardians and protectors could be called upon. So I did just that. I’ve also included that text in the description of the ritual. This also meant that, for the night, I felt much freer to completely let go of the living room as the ritual space.

ready to begin

During the performance

As mentioned, whilst performing the ritual, I felt that the others for whom the ritual was also intended, and Sonja, needed to be addressed in unison. It was also only during the performance, in the introductory section, that I realised the table on which the objects lay – serving as symbols for the qualities of the four wind directions – needed to be acknowledged in the introduction. That was easy to add.

I also felt that I needed to refer more to not only the participants’ souls, but also their core essence, their divine spark.

I began the ritual with three long ‘Ohm’ sounds. I hadn’t planned that in advance either.

the Wheel of the four wind directions afterwards

A mistake

In hindsight, it turned out that, despite all my careful preparations and a few adjustments made during the ritual itself, I had still made quite a mistake. That mistake wasn’t in the ritual itself. I’d recently bought a gnome made of thin terracotta. I’d found a quiet spot for it where it would be safe. I knew I was going to perform the ritual in that very same room, but I didn’t see that as a problem. After all, I’d appointed guardians and protectors right from the very start. After performing the ritual, I left all the items lying around for hours, as I’d gone out first. When I returned later that afternoon, I went to put everything back in its place, and that’s when I noticed the gnome. To my utter amazement, it looked extremely sad. I took a closer look because I thought: ‘That can’t be right; this gnome always has a terra-cotta smile on its face.’ But really, its lips were turned down. I saw a deeply sad gnome who made no secret of the fact that she was very unhappy. How could that have happened? What had gone wrong? The first thing that occurred to me was that perhaps the ritual had been too much for her. But no, actually, that couldn’t be. After all, that was one of the reasons I’d appointed guardians and protectors. I didn’t assume that they hadn’t done their job properly. Then I saw it. There was a piece of petrified wood standing next to her, which I’d taken away the day before to serve as a symbol in the ritual. That was the problem, I sensed. I’d actually placed that piece of petrified wood right next to the gnome as a safe protection for her, as a source of support and comfort in her life. And I’d taken it away for quite a long time during the tense hours of an intense ritual! I realised my mistake. I was glad I’d understood it. I apologised and made quiet contact with her from time to time. The next day, I gave the gnome some honey. I could see she was all right again. She was standing there calmly once more. And I hoped that the joy she’d radiated before would return soon. She’d really been shaken. It was very sad.

together again

Tips at the shaman’s tree

Shortly after the ceremony, I returned to the Shaman Tree. There, I was given some more interesting tips. These are listed below. And right at the bottom, you’ll find the link to the file containing the full ritual.

A practical ritual

At the shaman’s tree, I was told that this ritual, ‘Getting closer to the reality of your soul’, is very useful in all sorts of settings, with just a few minor adjustments to the names mentioned in it. You could perform it for your own ancestors. You could do it for yourself, as a couple, or in a larger group. There are plenty of possibilities. The Shaman Tree also offered the advice that it can certainly be helpful for you personally if you are going through a difficult time.

A smooth performance

At the Shaman’s Tree, advice was also given not to perform the ritual alone. If, for example, the periods of integration with sounds and the recitation of the texts can be shared between two people, this gives the performance a lovely, smooth rhythm.

It also became particularly clear that it is important for the person conducting the ritual to remain fully focused on performing it well. This can be done in a relaxed manner, with love and care. It is not beneficial to the performance to try to observe aspects of how the ritual is working whilst it is taking place. The person conducting the ritual is focused on the progress of the ritual itself, not on noting down everything that happens.

Sonja’s position and that of the other participants

I explained to the shamanic tree that I had left Sonja’s physical position in the centre of the Wheel as it was, and had not physically shared this with the other participants in the ritual. I was told that it had been right for me to follow my own intuition in this matter, and that Sonja had sensed that this spot was there especially for her.

Two tips unrelated to this ritual

To my surprise, I was asked to help people via the website to create a setting to open themselves up to shamanic inspiration when making rituals.

When I asked whether the first transformative ritual I’d performed should also be featured on the website, the response was immediately positive: definitely.

So plenty to get on with.

the shaman’s tree

The texts of the ritual

Here is a link to the full ritual in Word: 6d0428f1-31ce-4a67-ac96-fe13f9bffe56

Here is a link to the full ritual in PDF: a61a5cc3-7e9b-464c-877b-53be1eb4b7ad

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