How (and why) to Spirit Journey
What is a spirit journey and how can you use it to transform your spiritual practice?
There’s a stone cottage atop an island of towering cliffs. It’s surrounded by vibrant wildflowers and overlooks an azure sea that can never decide what mood it’s in. Not many animals are seen here, given it’s the only land for miles in any direction, but the birds and butterflies flock to the garden where stone birdbaths provide a welcome refuge.
Inside the cottage, a small kitchen perpetually smells as if something warm and buttery just came out of the oven. A pot of fresh tea awaits all who enter, and the fireplace crackles with a fresh log, filling the room with the smell of cedar no matter the season.
It is here that all my journeys begin. I sit for a cup of tea and talk to any Ancestors that may be present before setting off across the open plain just beyond the garden in search of whatever it is Spirit wishes to show me next.
These days, I can access this cottage in a matter of seconds, but that wasn’t always the case. Like any spiritual methodology, it took returning again and again to find ease in the practice. After years of spirit journeying, it’s become second nature, and it’s now one of the main ways I connect with my guides when I seek guidance, healing, and/or knowledge.
One of my favorite things about spirit journeying is that while it’s incredibly potent, it’s also accessible to anyone. But how does one cultivate a spirit journey practice? What does this practice offer to spiritual seekers? Most of all, what even is a spirit journey?
What is A Spirit Journey?
Spirit journey is a term I use to describe a practice that has appeared in many cultures throughout time. In modern, new-age spirituality, a watered-down version of this practice is commonly offered as “guided meditation” or “visualization,” but in my experience, those practices only scratch the surface of where a spirit journey can take you.
A spirit journey is a sort of trance experience, in which you cultivate an ecstatic, trance-like state in order to connect with spirits and receive their wisdom.
My first exposure to any form of trance practice was in Kerala, India in 2012, where I participated in a Theyyam. This Hindu ritual features a dance and invocation meant to help the performer embody a particular folk deity. Once invoked, the deity works through the performer’s body to provide healing, offer fortunes, or otherwise engage with their loyal followers and those present at the Theyyam.
In 1890, the Ghost Dance was integrated into Native American ritual, designed to reunite the spirits of the dead with the living that these spirits might join their living Indigenous descendants in fighting back against the colonizers.
These are two examples of using trance to connect with spirit, but I could write a whole book of examples showcasing how various cultures have used trance in this way.
While these forms of trance and ritual are meant to bring spirits to us, journeying is designed to bring us to our spirits. This practice can take many forms, but the general concept is often referred to as “shamanic journeying” or “trance journeying”.
The term Shamanism was derived from the Manchu-Tungus word šaman, which is often used to describe healers and religious folk who use a trance state to access the knowledge and healing powers of spirits. While the practice of spirit journeying is similar to the trance state evoked in shamanic practices, I avoid the term “shamanic journey” for two reasons: (1) the word shaman has been widely misused and watered down by new-age spirituality and (2) there are many traditions in which this practice is present beyond those from which the term shaman originates.
For example, in the Chaldean Oracles, cult initiates worshiping the goddess Hekate use mystical tools to induce a trance state that they may experience ascension of the soul and union with the goddess.
In Baltic paganism, a tietäjä (literally “one who knows”) was a member of the community believed to have a deep relationship with the spirit world. These practitioners used a form of trance to take a journey into the spirit realm to communicate with their ancestors and spirits.
In late medieval Europe, trance dance was even used in Christian communities to experience their faith and connection to God in a more potent and tangible way.
All of this to say, I am not the first person to take a spirit journey, nor is their one “right way” to do it. My particular method is something I’ve developed through a combination of working with mentors, studying various techniques, and a lot of trial and error. It’s hard to boil the practice down to one thing, but if asked to describe what a spirit journey is in a sentence, here’s what I would say:
A spirit journey is a meditation practice that uses a combination of breathwork, visualization, and music to invoke an altered state of consciousness known as a “trance state” in which we engage in astral travel to connect with our spirit guides and/or ancestors to gain knowledge, seek guidance, or receive healing.
It may be a run-on sentence, and it leaves out some nuances of the practice, but it captures the essence well enough. Now that we understand a bit of the history and what a spirit journey actually is, let’s talk about why we would go on one in the first place.
Why go on a Spirit Journey?
The simplest answer to this question is, “to meet your Spirit Guides.” It’s how I market the guided spirit journeys I offer, and it’s at the core of this work. But there are many other reasons one might take a spirit journey. When I set out on a spirit journey, it’s usually for one of four reasons:
1. To connect with a new guide
Whenever I’m made aware of a new guide or ancestor in my court, I make time for a formal introduction. Sometimes, this looks like pulling cards or using other divination tools to better understand who they are and why I’m becoming aware of them, but often, I choose to take a spirit journey.
Because spirit journeys are designed to put us in direct contact with our guides, I find it’s the easiest way to approach a new guide and learn why they’re here. When going on a spirit journey for the first time, meeting one of your guides is a great intention to set for the practice, as we cannot work with our guides until we know who they are.
2. To get guidance on a situation
Once I have a relationship with a guide, I will often journey if I’m in need of their advice or guidance. For daily situations or quick advice, I turn to divination (spirit journeys take longer and require more energy from me than pulling a few tarot cards). However, if I’m struggling to find clarity on a situation that keeps coming up or am finding it hard to identify what questions to even ask at the divination table, I’ll turn to journeying.
In general, spirit journeys offer a more complex understanding of the situation and can provide more detailed guidance from our guides. Because of the strength of my divination and mediumship practice, I don’t use spirit journeying for this purpose very often, but it is a great way to connect with your spirit court if you’re finding your divination practice is lacking the details or answers you seek.
3. To learn something new
Currently, this is my favorite way to use spirit journeying. Ancestral remembering is a big focus for me at the moment, and I’m dedicating a lot of my practice to trying to learn the folk magic traditions of my lineage. Much of this has come through reading folklore, studying pre-Christian culture, and listening to the words my ancestors sprinkle into my dreams, but an equally important practice in my ancestral remembering efforts has been spirit journeying.
During my spirit journeys, ancestors show up to teach me rituals, recipes, and other practices to strengthen my magic and deepen my relationship to my lineage. While I love receiving these learnings no matter what, it’s been especially validating to see their teachings reflected in the folklore and history I stumble upon months later. For those looking to deepen their practice and become more rooted in the magic of their ancestors, spirit journeying is a great place to start.
4. To ask for healing or support
It’s been a while since I’ve used journeying in this way, but one powerful approach to spirit journeying is to ask for healing. I’ve used this to help me heal physical ailments as well as to support me through heavy periods of grief and hold me as I unpack deep-seeded trauma.
Spirit journeying is by no means a cure-all, but working with spirits in their realm can be an effective way to find relief when things become too much. I’ve participated in healing rituals in the realm of spirit, had burdens taken from me, been cleansed by fire and water, and given healing spells to perform in the mortal realm during various spirit journeys. When we come up against a block in this world, it can be worth it to see what’s possible in the world of spirit and if it might help us feel a little better.
How to go on a Spirit Journey
Now, for the part you’ve all been very patiently waiting for: HOW do we spirit journey?
There is no one way to journey, but I’ll share my go-to method. I encourage you to tweak and explore until you find a version of this practice that works best for you.
I developed this method by blending my own experiences and preferences with methods learned from various mentors and teachers, including Kaitlyn Graña, Sabrina Lynn, Tai Hubbert, Angel Lopez, and Brandon Alter.
My approach to spirit journeying uses a set breathwork practice, followed by a simple visualization, which leads to a deep meditative/trance state in which the journey takes place. I also use music to help provide a container for the practice.
I’ve created a detailed, free guide on how to spirit journey on your own, which you can download below. I also offer monthly guided spirit journeys at Tahoe Flow Arts & Fitness in Tahoe Vista. Our next guided journey is Sunday, November 3rd from 1:30-3:30pm and I’d love to see you there!
However and whenever you choose to journey, do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. I’m always available and happy to support you in whatever way I can. I know working with spirits can sound scary (or, at least, a lot of you have expressed that feeling lately), but I’ve found it to be an incredibly rewarding and powerful addition to my spiritual practice and I’m excited for you to discover what mysteries await when you step beyond the veil.
After all that talk about spirit journeying, it seemed appropriate to share a spell I learned during a spirit journey. My ancestors taught me this recipe last week and then I went out of town, so I’m planning to make my first batch when I get back home. I’ll let you know how it goes and encourage you to give it a try as well!
An Herbal Wash to Awaken Second Sight
Ingredients
1 lemon
1 orange
Petals of 1-2 pink roses
3 cinnamon sticks
5 bay leaves
Water
A large jar
Directions
Decide what water you are going to use. Any water is fine, but this is a great time to implement any charged water you’ve been saving for a spiritual purpose.
As I write this, my guides are telling me, “We used the pink moon because it was first light.” I just looked it up and the Pink Moon is the April Full Moon in Scorpio. I assume they mean first light in that it was the first full moon after deep winter, but I could be wrong. Scorpio is also highly associated with mystic and psychic powers, so that also tracks, but just because it’s what my ancestors did does not mean it’s what you need to do!
Slice your orange and lemon. Keep the peel on.
Line the jar with the orange slices (bottom half) and lemon slices (top half). Fill the center with the rose petals, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaves. Fill the jar with your water and seal.
Leave the jar on your altar for 4-6 weeks, gently shaking it about twice a week.
Strain the contents of your jar into a bottle or vessel of your choosing. Apply the potion to your third eye and around your ears before meditation, divination, spirit journeying, etc. to help you see/hear more clearly into the realm of spirit.
NOTE: Traditional tinctures are made using alcohol rather than water. This kills the bacteria, acts as a preservative, and helps extract the properties of the herbs. For example, vodka is traditionally used to make Florida Water. My knowledge of tinctures makes me want to use vodka, my guides are adamant that I use water. “It’s a wash, not a tincture,” they keep saying. That said, it you would like to try this recipe with vodka it would probably last longer and would be safe for consumption if you wanted to use it as a tincture in the traditional sense. In general, altar this recipe in whatever ways feel right to your intuition!
☁️ November 3 - Journey Into Spirit
One of my favorite workshops is now a monthly afair! Through a combination of breath work and guided visualization, you'll journey to the realm where your Good Spirits await. Experience their profound wisdom first-hand as you engage face-to-face with your Spirit Guides and receive their guidance. When the journey is over, I will gently guide you back, ensuring a grounded return. You'll go home with practical strategies to integrate these teachings into your daily life.
1:30-3:30pm at Tahoe Flow Arts & Fitness, Tahoe Vista
$45 per person
🔮 November 24 - Tarot + Tea Party
We’re changing the format of our monthly Tarot + Tea parties, and I’ll share all about that soon, but in the meantime, reserves your spot and put it on the calendar! Don’t worry, it’ll still include all the same magic, now with a little extra umph ;)
5:30-7:30pm at Spirit Rebel in Truckee
$25-40 per person
Went to Lady Mendl’s with my bestie and it’s by far the best afternoon tea I’ve ever had. I’m still dreaming about their toasted coconut oolong tea paired with cranberry scones and clotted cream.
Playing with my nephew for the first time since March 2023. He’s growing so fast and it’s taking all my willpower not to write a five-paragraph essay about why he’s the best kid in the world and I’m honored to be his auntie.
Fall colors on the east coast are truly something else, and I’m glad I got to visit during a time when they are out in full force.
Please donate to Washiw Zulshish Goom Tahn Nu (Washoe Warrior Society) and their efforts to build a Washoe Peoples House in the Tahoe Basin!
Don’t forget to register to vote and show up for the election. Your voice matters and you deserve to be heard.
My favorite occult shop in the world is trying to buy their own storefront so they can create a witchy healing space. It’s going to be incredible, but they need our help to make it happen. Donate today to help them realize this dream!