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Ancestor
Retrieval
by
Judy Winters
Ancestor
retrieval? Soul retrieval,
power animal retrieval,
yes - anyone who knows
anything about shamanism
has at least heard
of and probably has
experienced them.
Of course “soul
retrieval” is
a bit of a misnomer
since one can only
truly lose parts of
the self, not the
soul. Sandra Ingerman,
the foremost authority
on the subject of
soul loss and retrieval,
describes soul retrieval
as a returning of
parts of the self
that have been fragmented
through trauma or
sacrifice. For example,
a child punished for
being honest will
voluntarily give up
that part of the self
because it has proven
too dangerous. The
shaman perceives the
lost part to have
relocated to the Lower
World where it remains
until a trance journey
is undertaken to retrieve
and bring it back
into the body.
Power
animal retrievals
are accomplished in
much the same way.
In ancient cultures
each person was understood
to have a guardian
animal totem from
birth and was encouraged
from an early age
to develop a relationship
with that animal who
is both protector
and companion. If
this relationship
lags, or, as is the
case in our own culture
where such a relationship
is never recognized
to begin with, the
animal may become
bored and wander away
and must therefore
be “retrieved.”
Once again, a trance
journey is undertaken
to the Lower World
by either the individual
concerned or someone
acting the shaman's
role. When the animal
is found, it is returned
to the person to whom
it belongs by blowing
or breathing it back
into the body.
Along
with animals, the
ancestors have always
figured large in shamanic
cosmology, though
much of the referencing
tends to be confusing.
In some instances
these ancestors were
simply the deceased
biological predecessors
of those living in
tribal communities,
whose bones and skulls
were kept in ceremonial
places. However, in
other traditions,
such as that of the
Australian Aborigines,
"ancestors" are thought
to be the force that
created the world
and they can be contacted
in the Dreamtime,
or what we today might
call the trance state.
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