March 2013. Looking back thru the archives of this site, it is revealed that shamanacircle.com began two years ago this month. ISA has had a website since 2000 (www.shamanworld.com) but for a period of time we were unable to update it (before we moved to wordpress). In order to keep moving forward, Quynn decided to create shamanacircle.com and wait until a tech angel came to help update and change the old site of Shaman World. This has now magically occurred. Our tech angel came in the form of Re Carlson of abtek.ca media.
Shamanworld.com is now updated, recreated and alive and well once more! It is bigger and better! Ready for action! So…now it is time for some spring combining. ISA will be migrating the content from this site to shamanworld.com for one easy-to-find megasite for ISA’s Spirit Guided Shamanic Community. By summer this will be complete. Stay tuned!!!
While reading past posts, many wonderful events are remembered, and some awesome quotes and photos are seen once again. Here are some by, and of, community members past and present. Enjoy! If you have yet to attend an ISA event, you are welcome to do so! Find out more about our events at http://www.meetup.com/tucson-institute-for-the-shamanic-arts/
ISA has given me a community of brothers and sisters on the path and safe place to explore all that my inner and outer worlds have to offer. It’s given a way to connect to the earth no matter where I am.
ISA is a true community…an open, kind welcoming and strong force for personal and global change.
I can feel the pulse of community when we rhythm together. This will heal us and our world. Thank you for our blessings.
These are beautiful people and they took me to a beautiful place. For that I thank them.
I feel relief from the lonely feeling… it is a relief, not being the only person who hears voices or sees spirits….I am able to bare my soul without fear of ridicule.
ISA has helped me connect with the most awesome group of people. There are so many with so much to share, and they are here to share with all their hearts, as am I.
The Institute of Shamanic Arts has given me an amazing sense of community. I have met so many wonderful people with whom I share common interests. This is a safe haven for those of us who have felt “different” from common society, you will not be judged or labeled “weird” here. Nothing but open arms and loving hearts.
Nature Walk
Stacking Stones for Ceremony
making Rainbow Wands
Shamanic Performance
Rainbow Labyrinth Walk
Holy Bitch! Remaking Barbie
Drumming after Peace Fair
Thanks to all who joined us for our last night in the Healing Cave!
The shamanic realm has messages for us that are often delivered through images, symbols and metaphors. By tapping into images that might be present through plants, animals, literature, music, and film, we are able to reconnect to the what is sacred, what has been lost, or what has been hidden.
Eileen explained that images are direct links to the soul.
Through several thought provoking exercises, we were able to suspend our judgements and become curious about what images are being presented to each of us.
This is so vital, because in shamanic journeys, we work with images all the time!
Great job Eileen and we look forward to more evocative workshops from you.
If you would like to find out more about Eileen, please see her webpage at:
Feb. 16, 11:00 a.m.-Stone Guided Soul Retrieval and Activation– That little empty spot you feel…? The stones want to assist you in retrieving just the right soul piece to fill it up. Oh, and they do this in such a loving way. They love you. Hosted by Quynn Red Mountain
Feb. 17, 6:30 p.m.-Magnetizing Love, Abundance, and Joy with Crystals– Think about it, the title of this workshop lists off what we all want. Love…..Abundance…..Joy…..all there waiting for you and lots of crystal helpers would be thrilled to help you magnetize these in your life. Hosted by Elisabeth Black and Alyson Greene.
PLUS! On Sundays February 3, 10 and 17 at 10am, Quynn hosts a weekly Shamanic Journeying Circle.
We drum for you twice. Always fascinating. Never the same. Open to all.
Door closes 15 minutes after start time. Parking is available in the lot on the northwest corner of Stone and Toole.
These circles are open to people with all levels of spiritual and shamanic experience. Find out more at any of the listings at ISA’s meetup group calendar.
Recently we explored this question through the method of journeying. We chose animal kin in various animal decks and reached out to them.
One deck that we used was the Shapeshifter Tarot deck. This deck was useful in seeing how humans merge characteristics with animals. By doing this, we can employ the use of animal attributes in certain situations.
If one needs confidence, protection, fierceness, calmness, or just to be able to sense in a different way, shifting with an animal can be useful.
As part of our second journey, we attempted to fill one of our body parts with an animal energy. This proved to be very interesting. As we shared our journey stories and looked closely at each other we really could see aspects of the animal energy within each person.
What follows are pictures of body parts where the animal energy was felt.
This was Pegasus energy.
Falcon energy
Porcupine
More Porcupine energy
Crab calling in the storm
Monkey ear
A resource that provides much valuable information about shapeshifting is called: Deerdancer by Michele Jamal. A quote from this book that is significant is:
“According to legend, from our primal beginnings when life was raw and we knew no separation between instinct, and intellect, between body and spirit, humans had an intimate, inspired relationship with the animal kingdom. Two-leggeds knew other animals as kin, and all had the ability to interchange shapes.”
Helpful resource
There will be more shapeshifting to come as the Institute for the Shamanic Arts is planning a spring shapeshifting event. Stay tuned for more information and get ready to honor your animal allies and kin!
Back in Jan. 2011, ISA held such an event and here is a comment about that last event:
Shapeshifter is one of the best events I have attended. It was moving and magical, the synchronicity of all the attendees was amazing. This type of event allows positive energy for healing us, our animal kin and mother earth. This is an absolute necessity for all of us looking for healing, love and peace within the Shamanic Community. Thanks to everyone who participated last night for making it so special.
For more information about ISA’s events please see our Meetup page at:
My name is Elisabeth Black and on Saturday, Jan. 12, I was spirit led to facilitate a circle about the power of love.
Because of the nature of love, my spirit guides asked that I be more self-revealing than I ever have been in past circles.
I shared about my process of opening up to the intimacy of love. I entrusted to others, in the circle, thoughts about my struggles with giving and receiving love and I spoke about the joys that love has brought into my life.
This circle was very beautiful as each person shared about how love has touched their lives.
I found that I wished that people that I am close to and love dearly were present at this circle. Then I began to feel that because I carry them in my heart, they really were with me…are with me. Always.
On my altar, I placed items that carried the resonance of love. I had an open heart ring, a female turkey feather, clam shells, citrine gemstones, rose quartz, aventurine stones, a bell, a note from the universe, mirrors, rose petals, and a heart.
For our journeys, we asked that animals share messages of love with us and let us know just what we need.
As part of our circle, I explained how the Institute for the Shamanic Arts (ISA) had recently participated in a Handfasting Ceremony where two people committed to loving each other. Then I passed out ribbons and we all did a handfasting commitment to love ourselves. We wrapped the ribbon around our wrists and repeated vows.
To share love with others that didn’t get a chance to be present in our circle, we used divination to choose words that were written out. We then incorporated them into some written thoughts which I have listed here for you.
Play Spirit Things
A playful kind, loving spirit
connection to all things is one path of loving
wrap me in a kind, loving and playful spirit…gratitude
connection to all things is one path of loving.
…………………………………………..
I am a wave in the ocean.
I am part of a powerful and connected system of sea life and movement
beckoned by Grandmother Moon.
Does it serve me to fear that the other waves head toward the rocks and not the beach
or that they move more quickly or slowly.
I do not control how big they swell or how soon any break.
I fear that I am not important.
I need love knowing that I am only a small part of the whole.
I need to give. I need to receive.
I cannot flow alone.
Hold me mother ocean.
Take all of me.
Move me as I am.
…………………………………………………..
Love Is….
Nurturing: allowing of what longs to come forth in its own time. No sooner. No later. Just Perfect.
………………………………………………………….
Divine Thought
Resides within,
and begins with You!
Be open and let Love flow.
……………………………………………..
Love is about finding peace with both the head and the heart, the intellectual and the emotional. A balance is needed for a healthy love to survive!!
……………………………………………
Love
Decide in a strong way that there is indeed power in love.
The universe gives you permission to use this love. You are capable.
………………………………..
To find out more about Elisabeth Black please see:
For the last journey circle of 2012, Institute for the Shamanic Arts (ISA) gathered to explore the tradition of soup making.
This was during our Shamanic Soup workshop.
Each individual brought a soup ingredient that they felt was an important soup addition.
While the soup simmered away full of spinach, kale, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, yams, sweet potatoes, spices, onion, and of course, love, we all journeyed to the beat of the shamanic drum.
We contemplated the thought of a caterpillar inside of its chrysalis in a soup state with all of its DNA present to make a butterfly.
We laughed at a coyote tale about coyote always being ready with his hidden spoon.
We expressed gratitude and realized that we are always in a state of gratitude.
We even recognized that, “It’s all perfect.” Each given moment is perfect.
We shared stories, laughed, listened to the rain fall, kept warm, ate homemade tortillas (thank you!) and enjoyed deeply nourishing soup.
As a final touch, we each went into our journeys and fetched what we thought would be the perfect ingredient for an ISA Shamanic Soup.
This special ISA Shamanic Soup sounds amazing and you are invited to partake in all of ISA’s nourishment for the year 2013!
As participants traveled down the stairs on Sunday, November 11th, an aura of uplifting, mystical, and calming violet purple welcomed them.
They were greeted at a welcoming table by Elisabeth Black and then escorted inside the Grotto where they quickly became aware of the energetic qualities of centering, blessings, love, sweetness, respect, clearing, radiance, joy, grounding, and light.
This energy radiated from the practitioners and their altars.
Each practitioner had an altar that was filled with sacred items from their practice to promote healing.
Participants commented that they received just what they needed for the day and about how wonderful they felt after receiving sessions.
Practitioners that offered sessions for the day were: Dee Watts, Quynn Red Mountain, Alyson Greene, and Darcey Blue. (Read more about each practitioner at: https://shamanacircle.wordpress.com/is/practitioners/ ).
What follows are pictures of the different altars and a short description about the altar.
Dee’s altar had crystals and owl energy. She said that her crystals were feeling neglected and all called out to come share in the Healing Arts experience. Owl energy also wanted to be present. She used the crystals in her work and one crystal in particular for divination in showing which chakra was out of balance and needed attention.
Quynn received the message to work with illuminating the “heart”. Her altar had heart stones that included aventurine, selenite, and stone hearts. Red cloth and rainbow cloth wanted to be present. She also used olive snail shells that she had since 1999 in the same jar. These had been collected on the Olympic peninsula. The shells were smooth and beautiful. LED light was used to focus on the heart and provide illumination.
Alyson’s altar illustrated movement from the underworld up through the earth and out into the air/cosmic with the inclusion of elements. The underworld was represented by a pomegranate. A blue silk became curving water. Earth elements were shown with animals, crystals, and a turtle. A shell recalled the ocean. Butterflies flew gently with air reminding us of transformation. A cosmic squid lovingly held the idea of Sky People.
Darcey set her altar up according to the four directions. In the south, she had a candle to represent fire. For the west there was lichen to illustrate letting go and releasing (like the cycle of life). The north demonstrated the idea of ancestors and helpers. She did this by using a sacred rock from the root of a juniper tree that first empowered her to become a plant shaman. She also had blue corn because of her strong connection to the spirit of corn and the land. There was a turtle because that is one of her close helpers. Finally, in the east, to aid with clarity, there were bird feathers that she had picked up during her own moments of clarity.
The smudge was for clearing.
For Elisabeth’s altar, a spiral functioned as a gateway to welcome each Healing Arts Sampler participant into the gentle, peaceful, and mindful practice of tending to their sacred SELF by receiving sessions from the practitioners. Some of the tokens that were present were rose quartz for heart, shell for feminine energy, pine cone for male strength, bell for clearing, words: “joy”, “smile”, “fun”, butterfly to soar with your beauty, and a mirror for self-reflection.
I hope that each one of these beautiful, gratitude filled, creative, and inspiring altars has perked your interest.
If you would like the chance to explore more about personal shrines, which are very similar to altars but are more for making personal offerings and devotions, you can do so by attending an upcoming workshop that Quynn is offering. Find out more at:
Thank you to all of our practitioners and participants for a wonderful Healing Arts Sampler. If you were not able to make it to this one, don’t worry, we will be offering more in the near future!
I.S.A.’s Empaths gathered together on Sept. 8 to practice different skills.
In the safe, secure, and loving environment of the Grotto, each Empath had the opportunity to try different skills and do self-reflection about what works best personally.
We used clearing methods and shared ideas about ways and when to clear ourselves.
Then we did a meditation to ground and center ourselves. This helps us to focus on what emotions belong to us and which ones are not our emotions.
After that, we chose a way to protect ourselves from taking on emotions. We were mindful of the idea of not completely blocking ourselves.
Color Protection
Some ways to protect ourselves were using color, an animal guide, an angel protector, or using light.
Angel Protectors
We realized that all of these protectors were available for us to call on for assistance with our empathic abilities.
Animal Guides
After preparing for practicing our skills, we were then able to try some “sensing” activities where we tuned into what sort of emotions were coming forth from someone else.
These are some helpful thoughts that I.S.A. Empaths had to share:
“Be kind with yourself. See the humor. (What do I do with it? Should I tell the person? etc.) then ask your guides and protectors for assistance and clear instruction. Remember that if you don’t know what to do with the incoming emotions or energies, you can always return people’s “stuff” to them with love.”
“Cherish and value your gifts. Stay vulnerable. Eat beets.”
“Who does this belong to? Me? Someone else? Something? I return it to sender with consciousness. Access Consciousness.”
“If you are unsure of what to do with sensing information that you receive, it is okay to check in with your guides and ask for clarification. It is also okay to ask someone, “Are you open to me sharing information that I received?”
“Clearing, grounding and protection is not optional. It is as important as sleeping and eating.”
“Embracing your talents can be scary and allowing your talent to blossom and to be in your life and your practices can be very fulfilling. Love yourself and good things will come to you.”
“You are important. Take time to nurture and protect yourself. Being Empathetic doesn’t have to be a weakness as long as you value yourself and what you can do and feel.”
For more information about our meetups please see:
Bone readings have played a part in different cultures around the world.
Generally, bones are cast into a circle and the way that they fall determines the outcome of the reading. In addition to bones, other small objects may be added to the cast such as coins, shells, nuts, dice, or stones. Patterns are looked for in the way the bones fall or markings on the bones have significance.
For the Shamanic Seer-Divining Bones night, a different style of reading the bones was used. This method had been presented via the dream world.
My style of bone reading (Elisabeth Black) was shown to me by the spirit world in dreams. These dreams started with the initial dream where I was watching a Native American bone reader give readings to people. He spoke to me and told me that I am to read bones. When I asked him how I would do that, he answered that I should start by getting bones.
Many talkative bones have since been gifted to me. They find their way to me with an urgency to share messages from the spirits. This urgency gets so strong at times that the bones seem to rattle to get out of their protective case.
Together, the bones and I act as conduits to bring forth messages.
The night before the Divining Bones shamanic circle, my spirit teachers appeared in a dream. In this dream, they showed me how they wanted me to share information and proceedings for the night. Tuning into them and being open to their guidance assures me that I am truly being a “hollow bone” and allowing their wisdom to channel through me.
Here is what one man had to say about the night:
“Hi Elisabeth, The Shamanic Seer- Divining Bones session was wonderful. Sharing the info from Spirit as each of us perceived it from our individual points of was very enlightening. It was truly a blessing to be part of this shared experience! I highly recommend this to anyone who feels Spirit guiding them to participate. I’m very grateful for all the opportunities for Spiritual Growth and Healing provided by ISA’s various Shamanic Practitioners.”
In addition to using the bones, I also had the card deck modeled after Tikar Spider Divination. In Southwest Cameroon they use earth spiders which are relatives to the trapdoor spider. It is believed that because they nest underground they have supernatural wisdom. Originally, plum leaves were used instead of cards. A spider was used to divinate on special occasions.
I pair the use of these cards with the bones because I feel that they share a lot of the same qualities of earthiness and grounded messages.
If the idea of a Bone Reading calls out to you or you are curious, I encourage you to reach out for your own personal Bone Message.
You can find out more information for when the next Bone Readings will be at:
On Saturday, November 26, the Institute for the Shamanic Arts presented Cracking Open-A Shamanic Evocation.
Performance members spent the day preparing the space by setting things up, clearing the space with ritual, smudging, bringing in love and light, communing with our spirit guides, sharing camaraderie, and really invoking our intentions for the the night.
There were many well thought out goals for this performance. To revisit some of them, they were:
1. In a shamanic style, we will act as hollow bones to evoke messages of “cracking open” (creation anew through the power of memory or imagination).
2. We will personally bring forth a part/parts of ourselves that are ready to be manifested.
3. We will be a welcoming group to benevolent star beings. (This was amended to include all benevolent beings).
The performance was magical, moving and beautiful.
The audience left their “audience” status at the doorway and were like tribal members participating in the flow of energy, love, and belief.
Pieces flowed and morphed into what was needed. Even the train cooperated by arriving at just the most opportune time and then as it moved on it cleared the space for whatever was next.
There was a full house and no empty chairs with 50 people present. People even traveled from Phoenix to witness and be part of this wonderful event.
Comments were received after the performance that it was exciting, riveting, entrancing, and that we are onto something good.
Considering the feedback, and the way the cast and crew felt after the performance, we feel that we met and exceeded our goals!
Many talked of how they did personally “crack open” and about how excited they are from the process (even today, the day after.
Please know that if you didn’t get the chance to make it to Cracking Open, I.S.A. plans many future performances and you are welcome to be a part of them in whatever way you are called!
Remember, you are LOVED! And you are also very welcome to join this tribe.
For the last journey circle of 2012, Institute for the Shamanic Arts (ISA) gathered to explore the tradition of soup making.
~Web of Life Church~ 