inSpirit Magazine Vol 6 Iss 1 Autumn 2013

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AUTUMN/MAR 2013 RRP: $7.50 AU

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MAGAZINE Australia’s most comprehensive spiritual magazine

animal magic issue

The Magic of Animal Souls

VOL 6 ISSUE 1 ISSN:

1835 5005

billie dean

The Key to

CreatingMAGAZINE

Magic William Whitecloud

PAST LIVES cryshell magic Are you a karmic yogi?

CREATURE TEACHER MEDICINE ANIMAL WISDOM IN THE ARTS

animal totems, paganism, shamanism, giveaways & more... www.inspiritmagazine.com

Editor’s Note Autumn heralds the coming of the season of change. It is the time in nature when the leaves begin to fall, the animals prepare for winter and we slowly start to prepare for our own winter hibernation. Who better to guide us through this time of preparation and change than the Animals themselves.

This issue we’ve tapped into the energy of nature and the wisdom of animals to give you some inSight into the magic of animals and how working with them can prepare you for what is to come. With a variety of inspiring articles to choose from, I’m sure you will find something that works for you.

In addition, we are also delighted to be able to feature an interview with William Whitecloud, author of The Magician’s Way and more recently, The Last Shaman. He gives us his unique views on living intuitively, and offers us some real inSight to lead us forward.

This is our 5th Birthday edition and to celebrate, we are expanding. This issue we welcome to the team, Alex Cayas as Science & Spirituality Content Editor. Laura Naomi is our new Shamanism Content Editor and Nicola McIntosh joins us as Pagan Content Editor and is our new Graphic Designer. Please join me in welcoming them all to inSpirit and I’m sure you’ll revel in their wisdom and contributions over the coming issues.

On a little sad note, we say goodbye to Rita Maher for now.

Rita has been with inSpirit Magazine since its inception and has been a valuable contributor and guiding force over the last five years. Rita is focusing on some new directions right now and we wish her many blessings for all she has planned. Best wishes Rita, thank you and we will have the camp fire lit for you always.

May the Spirit in you seek to be expressed!

In This Issue 4 The Key to Creating Magic

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Taking the Leap of Faith

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Animal Magick Connecting Through the Arts

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The Magic of Animal Souls

10 Getting In Touch With Your Animal Totem 12 Sedna’s Jewels of the Sea 13 Creature Teacher Medicine 14 How to Read Your Animal Totems 16 Past Life - Vows Series 17 Past Lives - What Are They All About?

18 Are You An Unwitting Karma Yogi?

20 What is Shamanism?

Regular Columns 15 Goddess inSpiration 19 For the Love of Angels 21 inSpirit Soul Food 22 inSpirit Reviews 23 inSpirit Directory

Kerrie

With love & gratitude,

THE TEAM MANAGING EDITOR Kerrie Wearing

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CREATIVE TEAM Kerrie Wearing, Nicolle Poll, Nicola McIntosh, Alex Cayas EDITOR Nicolle Poll REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Kerrie Wearing, Nicolle Poll, Nicola McIntosh, Susanne Hartas, Billie Dean, Julia Inglis, Brendan D. Murphy, Gem~mer, Meadow Linn, Natasha Heard, Laura Naomi GUEST CONTRIBUTORS Scott Alexander King, William Whitecloud, Kye Crow GRAPHIC DESIGN Nicola McIntosh COVER ARTWORK Nicolle Poll

Produced by Kerrie Wearing and inSpirit Publishing, inSpirit Magazine is designed to provide a respectful forum for like-minded souls to share in a community which aims to provide informative views, opinions and education regarding the experience of living with Spirit. Disclaimer: While every care has been taken to provide the reader with accurate, inSpiring and thought-provoking information, the Publishers take no responsibility for the accuracy of information and views expressed by the Contributors. The views and opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily shared by the Editor Publishers.

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COMMUNITY COMMUNITY Kye Crow recounts this extraordinary telling of faith embraced, and how bravely leaping into the unknown can be so life changing in the best of ways…..

Taking a leap of faith can be very hard, I know. Believing in yourself enough to let go of everything that’s safe, trusting in the path that unfolds even though it travels close to the edge, and doing it, despite the ridicule or fears of others. These were all things I had to deal with.

When my partner Gill and I were guided to sell our home, let go off all our possessions and instead of building an ark like Noah, build a wagon that could be pulled by camels, quite frankly, I thought it sounded insane. Whilst Gill threw himself into this new adventure, all I did was resist.

so tightly with twine, which had got snagged on a branch and left the poor bird hanging upside down. Gill raced to get the scissors and between us we cut the crow free.

As I watched that crow fly free, I knew the Universe had given me a potent message. I had bound myself up with so many commitments and obligations; I was unable to fly free myself. As I walked back over to the fire I knew exactly what I had to do. It was so simple. Let go.

All of a sudden we noticed our camels sniffing something dangling from a tree just outside their fence. When we walked over to have a look, we were surprised to find a crow. Its legs were bound together

We travelled over three years almost 2,200 kilometres following our guidance, which more often than not came from the animals. They were our teachers, our guides, our family and friends and our depth of communication deepened with these wise beings the more we let go.

I know from my own “Leap of Faith” that challenges are likely too, but that’s the way we grow and learn and unveil more of the Sacred beings we are.

The thought of letting go of my newly renovated beautiful home to head off on a journey into the desert, destination unknown seemed like a nightmare. If I had been truthful with myself I would have acknowledged that I was far from being happy. I felt safe and comfortable, but completely lacking in joy. Nothing in my life excited me and yet I still clung to everything in my life that was worthless, my possessions. One day life gave me a powerful message.

It was New Years’ Eve; the desert earth glowed red in the suns last light. Gill and I were sitting around a fire with a baby camel, our dogs and a parrot. It was a magical scene and yet I felt worn out. I was totally unable to enjoy it. It had been the hardest year I could remember and all I could see in the New Year was more of the same.

us including goats, camels, parrots, dogs, a donkey, doves, our much loved chooks and our beloved rooster, The Colonel. We were guided to rescue more animals along the way, each one making themselves known to us energetically before we met them.

As I sat quietly the night before we left, our last night of safety before we faced the open road and the unknown, I was trying to still my mind of all the fears that consumed it. Would we be able to cope with the sheer size of our vision? Would all the animals be safe? When I finally found the silence I heard a voice tell me that every time we needed help, it would be there. It was.

It took us a year to prepare for our journey, to sell our home, and finish building our wagon. Many of our friends, already puzzling over how we would travel with the animals we already had were astounded when we continued to welcome every needy critter that came our way. Gill and I joked that when news got out about our trip, animals limped in from every direction. When we finally left, we had over fifty different rescued animals with

There are no dreams that are too big when we let go and live fully in each moment.

Like the message from the crow, tangled in the tree, life speaks to us through the birds and the animals, the rocks and the trees, letting us know we are heading in the right direction or what we can do if we are not.

When we live our lives with an open heart, believing anything is possible, we will be looked after.

Kye Crow is the Creatress of Wunjo Crow, a range of Goddess clothing that’s sprinkled with love and sewn with magic. Kye and her partner Gill live with over a 100 rescued animals and teach Sacred Journeys into the Animal Realms, the power of Love and how to live on planet earth as a sensitive.

Contact Kye at: www.camelcampsanctuary.com & www.facebook.com/Wunjocrow Photo Credit: Argnesh Rose Visionary Digital Artist specialising in fantasy and totem portraiture – www.givethemwings.com.au

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Kerrie Wearing talks with William Whitecloud, author of The Magician’s Way, and he reveals many surprising are blown away.

Kerrie – What three things would you say would be the most helpful for someone who wants to consciously work towards creating a life of Magic.

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William Whitecloud,

author of the hugely successful The Magician’s Way has been weaving magic into our hearts for the last twenty years since his own magical transformation, and understandably has an inSightful view on the process of creating.

His latest book The Last Shaman transcends the boundaries of our humanness to inspire an understanding of living intuitively and creating consciously. We asked William to share his understandings with you, on how we can all move to a more dynamic, empowered and Magical life.

William explained to Kerrie that in strict terms Magic is the ability to live your life guided by your intuition. While this is a simple definition, what it is not saying is what such an amazing process it is. The process of connecting with your intuition and applying it is a profound experience and a joy. Following your own intuition, unfolds that you are guided by mystery rather than working out your own life.

When guided by intuition, things work out in ways that you wouldn’t expect and can never predict, so it becomes magical.

Much like a magic show, you don’t see the processes or what goes on behind the curtain but you do see the end result and

William - Straight off the bat the first one would be to have a willingness to live your life differently, and operate in life in a different way than what we have been conditioned to. I truly believe that fundamentally there are a few misconceptions that we are encouraged and trained in, with one of them being what I call Process Orientation.

With what we undertake in life, what drives us, what motivates us, what we take on and the way we operate is such that, we first look at why we are going to do something, when it is going to happen and then it becomes about the why, the when and the how, and principally, the how.

Then we focus on the how, needing to know how something will happen and only proceeding when we know these things.

Firstly, this causes a lot of people to never proceed a lot of the time, because they don’t know how they can have what they want. Then when we assume we know how and go for it based on this, we attract our belief systems, because the part of us that needs to know all of this is our rational mind. In looking at the how, the why and the when, our ego then presents the solutions based on our belief systems which will recreate our limitations.

Yet when we go from a process orientation to an end result orientation, there’s a value that you have in your life which is to know what you really want and what really matters to you, instead of the how or when. With this you allow yourself to acknowledge and get in touch with what you’d really love, what matters to you, what you love in life and let that be your starting point.

Choose those and then this allows us to step outside the paradigm of our ego and you become creatively orientated, certainly you become creatively empowered seeing connections you wouldn’t normally see, you see possibilities you wouldn’t normally see, you attract resources you wouldn’t normally attract, you enter into a whole new paradigm of creative power. Geez, if I only told people that one thing and they undertook to become end result orientated, if they took that to heart, they would have a dynamically different and empowered life.

Secondly, another misconception we operate under when going through life is to try and understand everything, to have everything figured out, in other words to be in the know. The problem with that is the part of you that is craving, that is the part of you that is made up of your belief systems, your rational mind. It’s the part of you that’s operating on past experience and the definitions and assumptions you’ve assigned from the past. Then it projects those onto your world view and processes.

Then again, the way out of that is to not to have to know or understand. And when you do, you enter into the world of intuition. You enter into innocence, which then is the bridge to your intuition and you become inspired and see everything in a much more creative way.

So the combination of being end result orientation and innocence, instead of being in the know is the bedrock really of the creative orientation of what we lovingly call Magic.

I would say the third thing, and this is really important, is to have a value to live with a deeper understanding of yourself and self awareness. To know where you are coming from because there are basically two places you can come from, from your heart or your head. You can come from your ego or your soul.

With a lot of people, when they are making choices and deciding what they want in life, what they are really doing is compensating their beliefs and

compensating for their limitations, thereby trying to resolve that. Say for example, with someone who is wanting a lot of money and is choosing wealth, what you will see is they are driven by the fact they haven’t got any or they scared of not having any, or they are choosing love because they are lonely in their life. So the motivation that drives them has the power, and that kind of motivation is a negative motivation and that will then just reinforce that negativity. So there won’t be a powerful experience of Magic and of creating life.

Whereas from the other orientation, the

soul orientation, the creative orientation, the Magic orientation, what you are doing is you have a deeper awareness of yourself and you recognise where you are coming from egoistically and you don’t allow that to inform you choices in life. Therefore your choices in life are not based on what you feel inadequate about, what you feel short of and limited by, they are formed by what really matters to you and what you really love.

It is interesting talking in these terms because if someone just applied these three things, their life would absolutely be transformed.

William Whitecloud’s near twenty-year search to discern the essence of what it takes for people to connect with and live from their creative spirit forms the basis of his work, first revealed in the top personal development book in Australia, The Magician’s Way and now evident in his new release The Last Shaman. He now lives in San Francisco, where he devotes his time to coaching, writing, enjoying his family and letting life unfold by magic.

William can be contacted at www. williamwhitecloud.com

Kerrie Wearing is an internationally recognised Medium and Soul coach, specialising in coaching and mentoring people in developing their own unique connection to Spirit. She is the author of A New Kind of Normal: Unlock the Medium Within and has a strong passion in educating others about Spirit. Kerrie is managing editor of inSpirit Magazine, executive producer and has recently established inSpirit Publishing, an organisation invested in bringing education and inspiration for the Soul. She works regularly in the US and has been featured on Australian and US radio.

To learn more about how Kerrie can help you, visit: www.pyschicmedium.com.au or www.inspiritmagazine.com Email: kerrie@psychicmedium.com.au

SELF GROWTH

inSights into creating your own kind of magic, challenging and changing common perceptions along the way.

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Journey with Nicolle Poll as she takes us into her intriguing world of Animal Totemic Art and discover how our Animal Messengers use Art as one of their many ways to connect with us…

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reconnected with my artistic side in my mid-twenties. Sitting in that wonderful art class for the first time, nervous and excited, I knew deeply within myself that this was where I was meant to be. I was there to learn, develop and evolve what would become my craft, my calling and lifelong passion. My teacher was a very wise lady, and her approach to me was to draw and work with what I wanted to do. It wasn’t a structured ‘how to – step one’ style of class and the teachings of my craft were woven into the pieces I was working on. Art challenged me, excited me, made me feel my emotions and still does. I discovered a love for drawing animals; I could bring them to life with vibrancy and detail.

One of my early artworks from this time, nearly two decades later still remains my favourite artwork, close to my heart and crafted with so much personal meaning. I discovered with this artwork I could weave the magick of the visions held within my mind, my tools creating, blending and merging images that are visually connecting, symbolic and most importantly, speak to the soul.

‘The Eagle and the Mountain Lion’ is this piece and I call it my turning point artwork.

The energy of this artwork spoke to me gently through its entire creation. From the initial knowing of working with these animals, the original sketched concept, the whispering of extra details emerging as I progressed. All along, I knew this artwork was symbolic to me, that somehow The Eagle was urging me to embrace my creative nature and soar with it; The Mountain Lion was symbolic of coming into my own power. I was in my mid-twenties, I had at that time consciously accepted and embraced my need to live a spiritual based life, I was letting go of a way of living and personal views that no longer supported me on many levels, experiencing ongoing changes and a deep unrelenting restlessness that I wasn’t living my calling. The Eagle

and Mountain Lion energies made their presence known through my art and I began to live their energies, sometimes consciously and with awareness and at other times, intuitively.

Many understandings I gained from these two animal guides, and I came to learn over time that they are animal totems. Some of my knowledge of my animal totems I understand intuitively, some I have learnt through research or by connecting to wise souls knowledgeable in this area.

When you connect to an animal in whatever way it presents, take time to discover what this animal means to you, what you think and feel about it.

Every animal will have a personal meaning to you; some will be more than others. Then if you want to know more, research your animal totem. For me, Fox represents autumn, dawn and dusk, shapeshifting, beauty, cunning and overcoming diversity, for someone else it may mean a predator that is a threat.

Over many years of developing and diversifying my art skills and styles, I find I don’t wander for long as there are many animal energies calling me to bring their own unique energy into the physical visual world in the form of an artwork. They come in all forms, furred, feathered, scaled, winged, shelled and carapaced. Some are my totems that call for me when it is their time for their influence in my life, other’s come to me through commissions and professional work. I get to journey their wisdom and teachings by being involved in their creation, and their keeper has their own unique experience with them.

Whether it is personal or professional capacity, I am always gifted when working with an animal totem. Throughout the creation life of an artwork, I live the energy of that totem. I recently worked

Our animal totems connect with us in many different ways. If you are inexplicably drawn to an animal image in an artwork, whether it is subtle or that zesty zing you feel with your heart and soul, this could be the whisper of your own personal totem connecting to your soul. Pay attention and listen, its wisdom is journeying with you…

ANIMAL WISDOM

with Snake, I had been through a grueling two year cycle that literally turned my life upside and challenged me deeply with my values and my current place in the world. My personal security for my family and myself had been threatened and my husband and I chose to fight for it, we fought long and hard to retain what we had built together, both in the bricks and mortar sense but also for what we had lovingly created and nurtured over many years for our family unit. We won that battle, and as with all battles, there are scars. Snake to me speaks of shedding the skin and releasing what is no longer needed, outgrowing of old ways, bringing forth a new layer of self and fresh perspectives. I have since discovered when Snake appears as a totem, it is symbolic of death and rebirth happening in some area of your life. With Snake in my life, one of his gifts to me was of perspective - still healing from personal challenges that had rocked me in the past two years, I had the realisation which I felt deeply within; how fortunate I was for these particular challenges, in the timeline of life I could recover and grow from them, compared to the harshness of some of life’s other challenges that are dealt. With this fresh perspective I felt a shift within myself, I felt released, I feel the healing that is happening, and with this comes a sense of peace, being able to move on and acceptance with my lot in life now.

Nicolle Poll is a regular contributor and part of the inSpirit creative team. Nicolle works as an Artist specialising in Oracle Cards, Totemic Animal illustrations and Portraits of the Souls’ Journey, also having studied and practiced a wide range of modalities in her personal and spiritual development.

Contact Nicolle at: www.inspiritmagazine.com / Email: artworkbynicolle@bigpond.com / Facebook: nicolle.poll@facebook.com

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BILLIE DEAN’S

ANIMAL SHAMANISM online course

Transform your life through deeper connections with Animals & Elementals.

• Includes Animal Telepathy

Available now at www.brendandmurphy.net Contact: www.billiedean.com info@billiedean.com

Billie Dean gives gentle insight into her deep bond and truths learnt from our animal friends, showing us how to regain our sacred connection and re-discover the animal magick we once had – with the knowing that this is what our animal friends want us to do.

I’m sitting at the old wooden kitchen table, laptop in front of me, pondering a question about animal souls from one of my students. On the surface it seems an easy question, but it required a framework of magick and myth, because both are the misty landscape of the animal shaman.

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As I sat there, my fingers flying over the keyboard, dogs draped on couches or lying at my feet, cats sitting on the table beside me, I shifted gears from my conscious mind, to the Otherworld.

The parted veil revealed a room full of Otherworld guests. Fae folk and animals of all descriptions had come to offer their advice and wisdom. Some of the animals were spirit-helpers, and some just spirits among them, our dog-in-spirit Cedar.

On the surface, Cedar had been a worried red heeler who was sensitive, smart, full of a desire to play ball, and who had been abandoned when someone moved house.

She lived with us for fourteen years, and when she passed peacefully and naturally at home, her freed spirit suddenly leapt over to where I was sitting cross legged on the floor, and gave me a hug. She was a fae child, a little girl with long blonde hair and an elfin face, cheekily etched with a grin. My heart lurched. Oh my. I’d been holding it together for Cedar’s hospice care and passing, but the little spirit child’s arms around my neck did me in.

“Don’t cry” she said “we have so much to talk about.” I reached for a tissue and my journal, wiping the tears from my eyes. I had felt the strength of her love in that hug.

I wondered what a fae child was doing in a dog’s body. “I wanted to experience death” she said “because we don’t have to do it that way.”

She wanted to speak about the fifth dimension, the world and dimension where she said she normally lived. And she spent the next hour telling me how to live there too, and what it was like.

Interestingly, I have another dog from the fae realm. Willow is white, majestic and sweet. She told me that in the past I had been her teacher, and she, mine. And now she was “my child”.

Telling me we were from the Tribe of Danu - the Tuatha de Daanan, she sent me off to find a special code of faerie healing, in an adventure which led me to become a ‘faerie doctor’. Her soul is Druidic in nature, and I really don’t think of her as ‘my child’. She is one of the wisest people I know. She is my consultant for all things faerie.

I have two other petite kelpies who I call faerie dogs, but one of them, Tusuque, is the soul of Suki, a dog we had who passed over. Before she left (naturally and

peacefully), she told me to watch out for a brown kelpie, and told me the pups would be probably at a vet’s, and to “watch out for the one with the floppy ears.”

Three weeks later, there was a picture of three black kelpie pups at the vets, and when I went to visit them, I found the mum was a brown kelpie, and she had an odd relationship with the one who was making a bee line for me. I immediately knew that this was Suki, who had spiritwalked into a five week old pup, which is why the mum was acting strangely.

This was not her daughter. All the pups were in danger of being killed, so I took them home to join our pack. The other girl pup had floppy ears and became my constant shadow.

Her soul was the reincarnation of a dog I’d had centuries ago, who was with me in a lifetime I had been stoned to death for speaking my truth. She told me it wasn’t very nice to be left alone, and she didn’t want it to happen again.

The high shaman of ancient times, and wise people like the great philosopher Pythagoras, understood the transmigration of souls. It is why many indigenous peoples refuse to eat certain animals. They might be family members.

Animals also travel in soul families with us. So that heart recognition you feel when you see a face in the pound, could easily be the telepathic call from one soul friend to another. I’ve met animal souls who have been a client’s past life teacher, father, friend, child, grandparent and even a future child.

From ancient times our lives and that of the other animals have been deeply intertwined. Animals and humans are so interconnected, that their attributes have woven deep into the archetypal fabric of our consciousness.

According to Philip and Stephanie CarrGomm in The Druid Animal Oracle, a number of tribes were even reported to be descended from animals such as the ‘catpeople’ in Scotland, and the ‘wolf-tribes’ in Ireland. Some families had animal ancestor, like the seal, and other families had their animal totems.

In ancient times the animals were sacred and the ‘companions of the gods’. They were guides, muses, healers, teachers, companions and friends. The loss of this reverence today I believe has created a wound in our collective psyche – our

disconnection rendering most people numb to the true beauty of animal souls, and our now severed, sacred bond.

To get back the magic in life, we need to remember the magick of another time and place, where animals were not considered beneath us, and used and abused like slaves for our entertainment and food.

It’s going to take a paradigm shift, but I believe it can happen. And I know the animals themselves are hoping for it. I live next door to a cattle farm, and last winter, six steers wandered through the fence to visit me daily. They were vital and funny and magical. Some nights I’d wake up to find at least one sleeping outside our bedroom window. He would make me feel incredibly safe. Cows are considered sacred in some countries and I began to have a deeper understanding of why, the more time I spent in their company.

One day as they wandered around, exploring the stables, they told me they were monks. They were on a special mission. Not long afterwards, the farmer told me he was selling them to market.

Naturally, I had to buy all 40 of them, and free them to roam on my place. The monks were not only grateful but they led me to believe this was part of a bigger plan.

Not long after they had settled in, we were inspired to pitch a new idea for a feature

film called The Farmer, the script of which won accolades. It starred our rescued cows and is currently in development. Of course it will help people get to know cows better while it entertains them.

Next, the cows helped us win a grant, to make a web series called Wisdom from the Paddock. And then they helped us win publicity for that grant, and our vision for a more compassionate world. In the world of a filmmaker I felt as if I was being gifted the hand of grace. The monks just smiled knowingly.

My experience of going the extra mile for animals, because of my deep reverence and respect for them and their magick is certainly paying off for our creative career. And my advice to all animal-loving people is to really step back and see your animal friends with fresh eyes. They could be anyone. If everyone understood this, perhaps the world would be a kinder, gentler place. People would be happier and healthier as we wouldn’t have the collective sadness that comes from the loss of our sacred connections.

So let’s go the extra mile to re-discover the animal magick we once had, and can have again, by loving all animals with the respect and reverence they so richly deserve.

Billie Dean is an internationally recognised animal shaman, an award winning animal advocate, and a professional filmmaker and writer. The author of Secret Animal Business, she also runs a shamanic school, Rainbow Fianna.

Contact Billie: www.billiedean.com and www.wildpureheart.com / Email: info@billiedean.com Photo Credit – Billie Dean

ANIMAL WISDOM

An animal soul might come from the stars, and just be visiting, like many cat souls do.

Other cats have had past lives in Egypt, and bring through an elegant mystery tradition for their human to learn from.

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By Scott Alexander King

An extract from Earth Mother Dreaming by Scott Alexander King (published by Rockpool Publishing)

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’ve had many animals come into my life over the years. Some have simply turned up on my doorstep, others have been given to me and some I have bought. I have always surrounded myself with animals and have always felt much more comfortable in their company than I have ever felt with people. To name just a few of the creatures that have shared my home, there have been Horses and Ponies, Alpacas, Cattle, Sheep, Goats, Pigs, Geese, Turkeys, Chickens, Ducks, Guineafowl, Peacocks, Rabbits, Guinea-pigs, Possums, Lizards, Ferrets, Rats and Mice, Bats, Pigeons, Doves, Parrots, Lorikeets and Parakeets, Cockatoos, Galahs, Partridges, Quail, Pheasants, Finches and Canaries, Tortoises, Frogs, Dogs and Cats.

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I’ve loved them all ... but the ones that have had the biggest impact on my life were the two hand-tamed Foxes (a boy and a girl) that grew up alongside my daughter, Rosie. She would wrap them up tightly in towels and carry them around like babies.

They looked so cute together, her cuddling them tightly and them having no choice but to allow her to! Todd (named after the Fox in the 1981 Disney animated feature, ‘The Fox and the Hound’ that was loosely based on the Daniel P. Mannix novel of the same name) came into my life first. He was a tiny little cub that had been scooped up and delivered to a lady’s house in the Yarra Valley (in Victoria) in a load of compost she had ordered from the local garden supply centre. She had come across him, all wet and confused, when she began shovelling the mulch onto her garden beds. Not knowing what else to do, she took him to To visit Scott: www.animaldreaming.com / Facebook: www.facebook.com/scottalexanderking Upcoming Events: Join Scott for his 6th Annual 3-day Intensive Animal Dreaming Practitioner Course at Taronga Zoo, Sydney in July (26th - 28th).

To find out more, visit: http://www.animaldreaming.com/index.php/workshops/taronga-zoo-3-day-practitioner Artwork Credit: Karen Branchflower

her vet and from the vet he came to live with me.

The other Fox, a near adult female, came to me via a friend who had found her sniffing around his rubbish bin. She wore a red collar, so it was obvious that someone else had already raised her from a cub. But being that she was skinny and timid, it was also obvious that she had been loose for some time and that she didn’t know how to fend for herself. I called her Moonlight, because it was in the moonlight that she was found. Those Foxes were so magickal.

They were so proud and unapologetic.

They loved to frolic and sing, yap and play.

They groomed their tails constantly and slept all rolled up together in a warm little ball. They never bit or nipped, despite the fact that they hated being handled and they never caused an ounce of trouble. I loved them both so very much. I would call upon them energetically when I engaged in ritual or ceremony and I felt their spirit with me while I worked or went about my daily chores. I knew they were with me when I slept and I always knew when they wanted to be fed or watered because I would hear their call in my heart.

They were very special. But despite this close bond, I also felt their forever-wild nature and their strong desire to be free.

No matter what, the Foxes weren’t tame.

They weren’t mine. They were their own beings. And they always would be. And it was for this reason that I knew in my heart that neither would ever become my ‘familiar’. Not in the truest sense of the word at least.

While I understand what it means to have one now, my longing to have a physical familiar has been with me since I was a very small child. Not a pet, mind you that I would have to take places with me in a basket or on a lead, but a TRUE familiar; an animal friend that would accompany me (by choice) wherever I went, helping me with my chores and school work. How wonderful would it be to have a constant ally, who loved you for who you are and what you do and was willing to lend a hand no matter what, I wondered.

Well, this is what having a familiar meant to me and I desperately wanted to know what it was like. I would ask the animals I came across to be my familiar. I asked the Rabbits that ran about in the fields, the Foxes that skulked in the forest, the Frogs that sat proudly on the edge of our creek, but none of them seemed to understand a word I was saying. I called to the Ravens and the Owls, the Horses and the Cows ... but none of them took any notice of me. I was so confused. I couldn’t figure out why the notion of familiars was ‘invented’ if it was impossible to get the animals to take the idea seriously! I offered the animals gifts of food. I made them little houses. I even offered to brush them if they wanted me to. But nothing I suggested made the slightest bit of difference. They all just ignored me! And then it dawned on me. Perhaps I wasn’t supposed to find my familiar at all. Perhaps I wasn’t supposed to ask, bribe or beguile my future familiar.

Perhaps I was supposed to wait for them to approach me; to come to me with the idea?

ANIMAL WISDOM

Scott Alexander King was born to love animals. He spent much of his childhood observing, drawing and writing about the animals he experienced in the small, tattered journal he always carried in his pocket. He would record every animal he saw: where he saw them, what they looked like and what they were doing at the time. This was an activity he never tired of ... so much so that, in essence, he’s still doing today!

So I sat and waited ... and waited ... and waited! And then I forgot to wait. And then I just plain forgot! And then I found my familiar: a beautiful white Barn Owl with caramel-coloured wings, back and neck, huge wise eyes, strong claws and a powerful beak. Apparently she had always been with me, but because I had been looking for her with my physical eyes, I couldn’t see her! My familiar had found me on the etheric plane and it was only with my ‘subtle’ vision that I could see her.

By looking through my third eye rather than my two ‘actual’ eyes, I could see her clearly. And even to this day, she continues 11 to go everywhere I go.

I call upon my Barn Owl when I’m meditating, writing, pondering or offering readings and healings. She’s with me when I go grocery shopping or when I’m preparing dinner for my family. She’s there when I’m out feeding my animals, gardening or mowing the lawn. In fact, she’s with me all the time, even when I’m sleeping! My Barn Owl has become my protector and guide, my muse, friend and confidant. She keeps me company, balanced and in peace. She warns me of danger and shows me where to find light whenever I find myself lost or confused.

She gives me advice and answers my questions. She offers me stronger connection to my guides and to Spirit, assisting me in my journeys, manifestations and visualisations. But most of all, she keeps me in my integrity by warning me when I’m being lied to and when I need to keep my mouth shut so that silence, truth and wisdom may prevail.

Scott is the author of the best-selling, internationally recognised Animal Dreaming (a shamanic reference book and field guide that offers spiritual insights into over 200 native and introduced Australian animals and birds), the Animal Dreaming Oracle Cards and the newly released Earth Mother Dreaming and World Animal Dreaming Oracle Cards (Rockpool Publishing). He is also a husband (he met his beautiful wife in a pet shop!) and father of three. He and his family – along with a huge menagerie of animals – live in the breathtaking Northern Rivers where he endeavours to write every day.

Scott is available for workshops, seminars, readings and interviews.

Mermaid Gem~mer delves into the creation of Sea Animal Magick in this article that is as beautifully haunting as it is intriguing…..

As we explore the underwater realms of the deep blue sea, we come across many well-known and unknown sea creature teachers that can guide us on our personal paths of discovery and truth. One can choose from the many types of fishes, sea mammals and even sea monsters to connect with, to discover with and journey with; particularly through emotional times.

One can even call on the mermaids of this enchanted sea realm for they too are imbued with animal medicine as they are, after all, half fish.

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But where did it all start, these sea creatures in the deep? How did they come to be in the salt ladled belly of Ocean’s womb? There are many stories of creation, of ocean’s creation and the creation of all her sea creature teachers; and all are amazing in their own beautiful right but it is Sedna’s icy cold story of deception and turmoil that must unfold in our underwater journey today for she wishes to come forth to share her truth with those who are ready to accept her animal magicks.

The tale of Sedna is a sad and woeful one that leads her to a life at the bottom of the icy cold seas of the Arctic Ocean.

As a beautiful young woman, Sedna encountered many a prospective suitor, all of whom she turned away so that she could remain with and care for, her widowed father. That is, until one day when a Raven disguised as a handsome young man promised to provide for Sedna’s father and share his home of luxury with her. To his proposal she agreed but was soon to discover she had been cruelly deceived.

One day her father came to visit. He grew angry at the sight of his only daughter, cold, hungry and in despair, begging him to take her home. So he did what any loving father would do, he placed her in his kayak to take her home, but soon after their journey began, Raven called forth a huge storm, thus scaring Sedna’s father. To her

dismay, in order to save his own life he cast Sedna overboard!

Dearest Sedna clung for her life on the edge of the kayak that day and when her father was unable to break her icy cold grip, he cut off all of her fingers, leaving the beautiful Sedna to sink slowly into the briny depths of ocean’s bittersweet embrace. And, as her fingers sank with her, they transformed into the fishes, the seals, whales and all sea creatures.

The demise of Sedna saw the birth of all sea creatures, a sacrifice that sees her ruling over all sea creatures, great and small as she sits upon the floor of the ocean in a tangled mess of seaweed and hair, painfully deformed by her ordeal.

Sedna holds a powerful connection to sea animal magick as she calls upon them all to comfort and ease her pain held within her heart and in her misshapen hands. The creatures of the sea gather around their ruler, their queen, their mother to care and nurture her as she has done for them, as they are her only family.

Sedna’s gift to us is the gift of sea animal magick, a magick to harness and embrace in compassion and complete balance.

So, the next time you connect with sea animal magick, please spare a thought for Sedna, Queen of The Arctic Sea’s and what she endured, both before and after, to bring sea creatures into our underwater realms of discovery, to bring forth Sea Animal Magick.

Sedna: Queen of The Arctic Sea’s, she is the collector of taboo’s and sins and will cause great storms when her pain of harbouring all our mortal sins is not eased.

Her pain is eased by dancing a dance of contrition and singing remorse. She is the ruler of the Arctic food chain, provider of food and sustenance and when her pain is so severe, she will restrict hunters and gathers with storms and by attracting all sea creatures to her. Sedna teaches us that family is not blood ties, family are those around us who are loving and respectful.

Teaching us to delve deep into dark places, cold places, those places we fear to go.

She guides us through the darkness, illuminating the riches and just rewards that lay beyond the darkness. Sedna reminds us that despite our infirmities, our insecurities and mistakes, we still deserve love and respect.

Gem~mer is an intuitive artisan of crystal and seashell jewels, talismans, amulets, connection and healing tools. A messenger for the mermaids, sea spirits and sea creature teachers, passionate about sharing her love and beautiful connection with all who wish to dive deep into the watery realms of ocean magic. Creatress and intuitive of Cryshell Magic, embracing and spreading ocean and mermaid magic.

Contact Gem~mer at: www.cryshellmagic.com.au & www.facebook.com/cryshellmagic Photo Credit: Argnesh Rose Visionary Digital Artist specialising in fantasy and totem portraiture – www.givethemwings.com.au

Natasha Heard’s special kind of magic comes from the natural world, and the medicine she has learnt from the creatures we share it with is natural medicine for all…

As a child I had an inner knowing of Bear - I would feel myself awake from dreams growling and stretching like I had been hibernating for the winter. I would feel myself shapeshift from bear back into a little girl! Bear medicine has always been strong with me and a protective guide.

Spider was another childhood totem. I just love them and would collect to take to my bedroom window sill, their new home! Spider medicine is about creativity, also symbolic is their silky web connecting many lives, bringing karmic lessons to light.

saddened by man’s cruelty and laws, I was lost in confusion. I felt the closer I got to the Earth and using the gifts I was given, the more I was squashed down by human laws and fear.

Then a dream came, I was in the ocean cuddling a sea turtle, feeling much love and peace, his flippers holding me and then he faded away leaving only his shell in my arms. Saddened by this turtle’s disappearance I looked out and saw hundreds of sea turtles all nodding their heads at me.

Then Hare was hopping along in the darkness, quickly disappearing once it sensed my presence. Hare has a strong connection to the moon, feminine cycles and as a vegetarian, looking into your diet for ways to improve your health.

Owl came to me in my teens, waking me in the middle of the night by tapping its beak against my window and staring at me with those huge eyes. Owl is known for great wisdom and magic - a bird that owns the night and strongly linked with Grandmother Moon and her cycles.

As we grow and evolve through life, our totem animals and guides change too.

When my family and I moved to the coast, I felt a strong connection to Sea Turtle, finding its shell and bones washed upon the shore was a sure sign to me!

I love to use animal bones, fur and feathers in my magical crafts as it is the natural order of creation for me. I feel they are being gifted for me to create with. I do not seek out these sacred gifts; I simply come across them naturally - magically even!

I kept being told I wasn’t allowed to use these gifts because of poachers and people who sell animal items on the black markets. My head and heart were at war.

In my heart I felt using these natural gifts, so full of power, is a beautiful thing. Yet

One of my biggest lessons from animal totems came during the recent Summer Solstice. Each night on my bare footed wanders down my quiet street I was greeted by a night creature teacher. One night it was a calm brown snake slithering along in the gutter beside me, she moved like water, so smooth and flowing; her teachings were to leave behind the old, shed my skin and be reborn into the new year coming.

I see this dream as a sign from Spirit and the sea turtles that using the bones, shells and feathers of animals and insects is what they want. I feel their medicine and energies are so magical and add much to the tools we use in healing and manifesting magic. I create again without fear - I honour and respect all creatures and the environment. Sea Turtle is a sacred symbol of Mother Earth, reminding us that we are a part of Mother Nature.

magic

My animal totems have always been strong guides in my life, helping me on the right path, showing me signs and teaching me valuable life lessons...

The next creature teacher was much 13 unexpected indeed. I left my home and entered the darkness, my personal space to connect with my inner truth. I stopped to find a can. I picked it up to put into our bin on my return and found it was a full can of unopened Salmon. This was my creature teacher this night with a very powerful lesson to share. My first totem being Bear and its favourite meal – salmon!

The teacher was telling me it is time to grab what I desire with both hands, also teaching me to swim against the current and not to go with the flow, for increased creativity. My heart sank realising one of my beloved creature teachers was dead in a can, yet still lovingly guiding me. I felt deeply in my heart I knew it was time to become vegetarian, for my love of the creature teachers, for good health and for Mother Earth!

Natasha Heard is a creatress of all things magical! A natural witch ~ her magical life and connection to the Earth flow into all her creations. Specialising in Wands, Sceptres and Staves; and creating with her horticulturalist husband Michael, Blessed Rune sets and Tree of Life Bind Rune Talismans. Her innate connection with all aspects of the natural world and passion for magic is what makes her a true creatress of powerful, magical tools.

Natasha can be contacted at: www.blessedbranches.com / Email: blessedbranches@gmail.com or flowerlove@live.com.au Facebook: Blessed Branches…magical tools by Natasha Heard.

Photo Credit: Argnesh Rose Visionary Digital Artist specialising in fantasy and totem portraiture – www.givethemwings.com.au Artwork Credit: My amazingly talented Sistar Vicki Liddell painted my dream for me and is a constant reminder of my connection and love of my Sea Turtle totem.

Journey with Nicola McIntosh as she invites you to further explore your animal totem connection, and how creating a totem piece can further bond you to your animal helper…

So, you may have done a meditation to find out your totem animal. You may have seen someone to find out, or you may have noticed a particular animal re-occurring in your life that you have a special affinity to. It’s very easy to say, “Oh yes my animal totem is this...” But where to from there?

Why do we have totem animals and what purpose do they serve?

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My totem animals are the Black Panther and the Australian Tawny Frogmouth bird (sometimes referred to as an owl; however they are not part of the owl family). I met them in a guided meditation. The tawny frogmouth flew onto my left shoulder and the black panther stealthily walked out of the forest to greet me, bustle against me and come to rest in my lap. Now whenever I do any Shamanic Journeying, I call them to me before I venture off. My frogmouth offers me guidance and my panther is my protector, so I feel I am journeying with guidance and safety.

So how do you find out what messages your totem has for you? When I knew I was going to write this article, I called for my tawny frogmouth and let him know that I wish to communicate what their message is and if he could come back at the right time to let me know what that was. Spirit communicates to me mainly through images and this is my interpretation of what my images showed me:

environment. Your energies meld until you feel a complete part of your surrounds; like a tree bending in the breeze, you move and sway to the energy around you.

He then showed me many tawny frogmouths all in the trees that I had not noticed before. They were all looking in the same direction and smiling. This showed me that I am not as alone as I thought. There are more like me out there - silent, observing, being one with their surroundings. There was no judgment, they were at peace and loving and smiling down with knowing.

After that I was shown another bird in the air making lots of noise with big bright showy feathers. He reminded me that I don’t need to gain the attention of everyone around me to give me my self worth. I am comfortable with who I am and love the feeling of peace that comes with that. I am not outspoken, I am very quiet and I love time to myself.

Then I received the words ‘There is much wisdom in silence’. I think I read those words in a Native American book a long time ago and every now and again they re-surface in my mind. I believe it to be a very powerful statement. You can learn so much from observing and feeling in silence. One of the statements I came up with years ago reminds me of it -

I saw myself walking along a path and felt that he was there with me - this showed me that he is with me on my journey.

Spirit is everywhere, it comes in many forms. Be still, be quiet and allow yourself to see the beauty of something unnoticed. - Nicola

Then we suddenly had to run and hide from some sort of danger - showing me how to hide or remain unseen by using camouflage or the ability to sink into one’s environment. He showed me how they sit un-moving, being still and quiet. It not only allows you to see and hear everything, but it allows you to feel the energy of your

So how do I use this information now? I need to remember that I can call on these qualities at any time in my life. My totem animal is always there, all I need do is ask for its help. Everyone’s interpretations will be different. What is your animal trying to show you? What feelings do you get if any? You may get signs by way of

hearing, smelling, images, words, colours, sensing or just knowing. You are the best source of your interpretations. Take some time out to discover for yourself.

I find it is always important to ground and protect before doing any type of spiritual work or meditation. It always ensures you are centered and receiving the right information in a safe manner.

Also have a notebook on hand to write everything down. Sometimes you may not understand it until you write it and then it all comes to life.

You can also create your own totem piece if you wish. I have a feather from a tawny frogmouth. If you don’t have a feather from your favourite bird, ask! You will be amazed at the ways in which you can receive something you ask for. I wish to wear my feather in my hair, so here is a simple way of creating a feather wrap!

Firstly I received some leather that someone didn’t want to throw away and I picked up some seed pods from a walk behind my house in the conservation park to use as beads. I like to use found items for my creations, one because obviously there is no cost, but more importantly, it is always good to recycle and use items found from around your own home to help you to connect to your surroundings.

You are also giving back by caring for your environment.

The intention is for me to be able to tie my feather wrap into a small plait in my hair.

It’s good to tie it into a plait so it doesn’t slide down your hair and fall out.

Dates to remember -

Samhain

April 30 - May 1 (Southern Hemisphere)

Step One

Step Three

I need enough leather to tie into my hair and for the feather to be stuck to. Just cut 2 good lengths, you can always trim it later.

If you couldn’t find any seed pods, you can use beads. Just make sure the hole is big enough to thread your leather through. I drill a hole through the centre of my bead.

Step Four Thread your new bead onto the leather and bring it down to sit over where you glued the feather on. Put a couple on if you wish. Mine fits on nice and snug so it won’t go anywhere.

Step Two

Time to get out your Obsidian, Onyx and Smokey Quartz crystals and celebrate those who have passed. A time to also let go of that which no longer serves you.

Head to our website for ritual information on Samhain! www.inspiritmagazine.com.au

Then tie it into your hair! There is such a beautiful energy to something you create yourself and every time you wear your new feather wrap, you can be reminded of your totem animal – enjoy!

Glue the very tip of the feather to your leather with a good glue. Either Aquadhere, E6000, Selly’s Clear Liquid Nails or any other strong glue.

Please contact Nicola at: www.nicolamcintosh.com / nicola@nicolamcintosh.com

GODDESS INSPIRATION Freya is one of the major Goddesses of Norse Mythology.

‘Freya’ means ‘mistress’ and from her name our day Friday is derived. She is the Goddess of Love and Beauty, and also a great Warrior Goddess. She is a lover, healer and a source of love and peace. Freya is usually seen riding a chariot pulled by two cats. Cats are sacred to Freya, often carrying messages for her.

Although Freya is largely portrayed with indulging in love, romance and lovemaking, if you call upon Freya, she may also show you how to find your own passion in amongst the complexities of modern life. She may ask you to slow down, be in the moment.

Listen to the wonderful sounds of nature outside your window.

She may bring your attention to what you are currently creating in your life that is diverting your attention from the things you

by Nicola McIntosh

love. What are you passionate about? Are you doing things to make yourself busy and not really getting anywhere but stressed and tired? She asks you cut these ties and follow your passion.

Allow the things in your life that aren’t necessary to take a back seat and put your focus and energy into what you truly want.

Where attention goes, energy flows. Reclaim your inner focus and strength, and channel that into what you want.

By doing the things that you love, you create more love. By doing the things you love, you are giving back to yourself. You are saying I love and respect myself enough to put me first and love myself.

I will not weigh myself down and forfeit my health for things that are not necessary and are not in my best interest.

When you feel out of love with yourself, your partner or maybe your career, call on Freya to help you find your way. But also realise once she has helped you find your way, you need to take the reins of the chariot and move forward with focus, determination and above all...love.

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Ancient wisdom

Nicola is an Artist, Herbalist and Pagan. As she is learning to walk the Shamans Path she is ever learning and evolving, acquiring knowledge from many faiths and origins. She has a special affinity with Celtic lore and everything Faery.

Her connection to Nature and Spirit is what drives her to grow and motivates her to teach.

In this fascinating series of freeing the binds of past life vows, Julia Inglis brings understanding as to how the Vow of Obedience taken in previous times can affect your current life, and most importantly, how you can release this binding.

VOW OF OBEDIENCE Binding: Fear of - Rejection, Being Outcast and Alone, Authority, Instincts and Intuition, Persecution, Death.

Blessing: Joyful self expression, acceptance of your own unique gifts and wisdom, trust in your own authority, instinct and intuition, acceptance of others and their differences.

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‘I found myself within a tribe of teepees.

A fire, a Father, a Chief at the door of his teepee. And a Mother, and more children (my siblings) sitting at the door of her teepee. I stood by my Father, the Chief as he asked me again if I would do what was expected of me. And again, the 12 year old HER (me) said NO. I would NOT. I was banished from my tribe for being who I was. For speaking who I was. For saying NO to what was not true for me.

I caught the eye of my mother and she caught mine, sadness but understanding I saw there and in my father too, not as chief, but as my father a sadness and again an understanding. And away SHE went, alone, to live a life of isolation, to be herself.’

- Kristan’s Swan Blessing Story, 2012 Many of us have experienced a story like Kristan’s in a past life and have the Soul Memory of breaking the Vow of Obedience and becoming the Outcast. Many times in past lives we’ve had to repress a vital part of our spirit and Obey the tribe just to stay a part of it. The ‘tribe’ may have been represented by: family, village, society, temple, religious order, class or

gender. In the rise of the Divine Feminine, we are understanding that these ‘tribes’ or institutions of old and the rules that went with them do not bring us together but keep us separated and focused on our differences. When we clear the binding energy of the Vow of Obedience we learn to trust in our own Divine Authority and Natural Instincts whilst still experiencing the unity of being a part of the Universal whole.

One of the strongest binding beliefs attached to the Vow to Obey is that we will be forever outcast and alone if we stand up for what we believe in. Primitive circumstances of past lifetimes often have strong soul memories of being unable to survive on our own without the assistance of our tribe. The deepest fear, the Seed of the Vow of Obedience binding is actually the Fear of Death. This is why we come to the altar of our own spirit with great reverence and love to consciously release these deep and ancient fears. Fears that at first we may think are dramatic and irrational to us in our current lifetime can still feel very real. Considering that many people still take the Vow to Obey when they become married, and that this Vow is still a part of Oaths taken by parents and godparents in baptisms and other commonplace religious ceremonies, we can begin to see that the binding of the Vow of Obedience is actually an issue that still very much affects us today.

Another binding belief that can be created from taking the Vow of Obedience is that to truly be ourselves, to express ourselves fully and without censorship by outside forces, we must journey alone. We may have deep-seated beliefs that our true and natural nature will somehow be deemed ugly, shocking, unacceptable or even dangerous. What we may actually fear is our own wild and instinctual nature that is our birthright along with the divine power of our own authority.

‘Animal Magick’ is a very important element of our shamanic work with The Swan Blessing. Firstly we journey with the Wild Swan, a totem who brings grace and free expression to help us to recall the words that we have spoken when making Past Life Vows and Oaths. At the end of each session we journey for each individual to call forth a personal animal totem from the spirit world to act as a guide, often already known and beloved to the person. A gift to us from the spirit world, they teach us how to be more authentic, instinctive and honest in our lives. They are powerful guides to show us where and when it is safe and right to follow ‘the rules’, when it is time to honour our own spirit, and say NO, and when to create our own new pathways. Most importantly, they ask us to come to know our own personal moral code and act accordingly.

As we learn to trust our own authority, we reclaim our ancestral teachings and share them again in our present lives in a new expression. For those of you who are feeling fear about expressing and sharing their wise ways, hostility or controlling behaviour from others, let the animal of your own Wild Heart guide you in your choices. Choose to surround yourself with those who simply let you BE, and those who celebrate who you are. Have courage to live by your own moral code. By coming to understand and respect our own authority, we remember that we are all creatures of the earth - as individual and necessary as every animal and plant in the wheel of life.

Julia Inglis & Tony Esta are husband and wife creators of Sacred Familiar, a shamanic practice based in Sherbrooke Forest, Victoria. They are dedicated to clearing the binds that tie in the wave of change being felt in the rise of the Sacred Feminine. www.sacredfamiliar.com / Phone: 0421 249 183 Events: Femmina Unbound - Clearing Past Life Vows Binding the Sacred Feminine in Love and Relationships. Shamanic Journey clearing past life binds guided by the Animal Spirit of our Wild Hearts. Seven Sisters Festival, April 12-14th 2013, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria Artwork: Serpentarium by Patricia Ariel - www.patricia-ariel.com

If you have ever felt confusion about Past Lives and what they entail - Toni Reilly shines the light on this fascinating area, as well as demystifying what happens when you experience a Past Life memory or choose to journey through Past Life Regression.

The soul is immortal, our body is not, it is merely a vehicle to navigate the soul through its lessons.

be an issue for someone now because in another lifetime they drowned. Suffering claustrophobia or anxiety now could be from being suffocated in a previous lifetime. An unreasonable fear of losing a partner or child may subconsciously surface in a current life because in a past life you did lose them tragically or unexpectedly. You may carry weight in this lifetime because you starved. Perhaps you feel unable to speak in front of others because you were ridiculed or persecuted for stating your beliefs. You may feel unnoticed and disempowered feeling victimised, all these issues can come about from incidents in other previous lifetimes.

Each time the soul returns to earth it comes in a carefully selected body and a plan of life circumstances, which have been agreed to by your soul to enable lessons to be learned. No one is a victim; we are all volunteers, here to advance our soul and to help others to do the same. Your life has a blueprint; it seems a tangled web but has actually been strategically planned with clarity before you arrive in the womb to begin a life.

Exploring past life memories can help you to realise where these feelings and fears stem from. Understanding the event which created a fear can clear physical and emotional symptoms that plague you now. There is much more to regression and some emotional relief occurs by understanding why we chose to experience adverse or painful circumstances like losing a child, suffering a terminal disease or why we have a self-centered, cruel or distant parent.

Some soul memories from past lives can trigger feelings in your current life that may keep you from living this life to the fullest. A phobia like fear of drowning may

Past life regression opens the pathway to access your soul and in turn understand yourself, like why you behave in a certain way, traits you have which are a challenge

such as impatience or a short temper.

Maybe this life is to learn patience? If that is the case you can be sure that events and experiences that appear throughout your life will provide the circumstances to allow you the chance to learn the patience lesson.

And what about animals? Do we reincarnate as animals? I have not come across anyone being an animal but certainly there have been clients who experience being in different schools of learning other than earth. So if animals reincarnate do they come back to participate in lives with the same souls?

It would seem the answer is yes. I have encountered clients who recounted during regression, seeing a dog in a past life and recognising the animal as their current living dog or pet or one whom was important to them at some stage of life.

Past life regression is facilitated and guided rather than suggested by the therapist. Only an individual’s higher self truly knows what their agreements are and how they are best to react in order to learn the lessons. Getting in touch with your soul opens up a pathway to truly understand who you are and why you are here. Our answers are within each and every one of us and past life therapy is a brilliant and gentle way to access them.

Toni Reilly is a Past Life Therapy teacher and facilitator; she trained with Dr. Brian Weiss in New York. Toni is the founder of the Toni Reilly Institute to provide courses and workshops that allow people to grow and become self-aware through modern spiritual development. She facilitates Private Sessions, Training and Workshops in Australia and Internationally.

See the website for a schedule: www.tonireillyinstitute.com / Email: info@tonireilly.com.au / Phone: 0413 088 970

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PAST LIFE

Past Life Regression is communicating with your soul also known as the higher self. The subconscious is where all of our memories are stored. There are two significant experiences which may happen when the conscious mind is quietened down through relaxing, meditation or hypnosis. One is viewing yourself in past lives and the other is having a spiritual experience such as hearing from a passed over loved one, a visit with your soul family or a meeting with your guide.

Men are so apt to tie themselves to the things they create, or to the things for which they are working. They make themselves slaves instead of masters – Yogi Ramacharaka 1904.

A

sCIENCE & SPIRITUALITY

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s personalities, we were all “born” from the One timeless consciousness—the Eternal/ Absolute/Brahman—and it is back to this awareness that we all wend our unique paths. There are as many paths back to Reality as there are people—and we all arrive in the end. The yogi philosophy teaches that the best way to accelerate one’s personal spiritual evolution and thus, the journey home, is through the practise of yoga. There are considered to be three primary sub-categories of yoga: Raja yoga, Gnani yoga, and Karma yoga. We’re going to focus on Karma yoga here, because in a fast-paced and materialistic world where many people feel burdened by a sense of powerlessness, misfortune, heavy responsibility, and/or dreary obligations, the option of sitting, meditating and living like a yogi may seem neither practical nor appealing.

an act not for the promise of a gratifying end result—glory, a dizzying high, an ego boost, or some kind of material gain—but because they enjoy the act in itself and embrace their duty to do it well. The work is its own reward, and thus is intrinsically satisfying. Performed to the utmost of their ability, their task benefits all whom it touches, even if it only connects with others indirectly and impersonally. This is the mentality of the Karma yogi, though truth be told he is operating in accordance with some fundamental truths that are still poorly known in “civilized Western society.” Those truths are key to being an “everyday Karma yogi.” They include the facts that:

You may therefore find it reassuring to consider that you may have been practising Karma yoga without realising it.

The term “Karma” comes from the Sanskrit word “Kri” meaning “to do” or “to act.”

Thus, Karma yoga is the yoga of work or action, ideal for the more task-oriented and perhaps less philosophically inclined individual. One need not be an impressive intellect, a sage, a natural philosopher, or in any way mystically or religiously inclined in order to walk the path of Karma yoga.

Indeed, proclivities towards those other areas suggest the paths of Gnani, Raja, or Bhakti yoga instead (though they are all complimentary).

• The lives we lead touch many others one way or another.

How do you know if you have been operating as something of a Karma yogi?

Easy. A Karma yogi works for the sake of doing the work. They participate in

• Nothing truly happens by accident.

• We are all here with the personal and collective mission of evolving spiritually.

• Our lives are lived not for the benefit of our own personas, and not even solely for the benefit of our own personal spiritual evolution, but for the benefit of ALL humans in their development.

• Even the most humble and thankless or seemingly trivial tasks are important and exist for a definite purpose—EVERYONE is a part of the Grand Design.

Yogi Ramacharaka waxed eloquently on these ideas in his Advanced Course in Yogi Philosophy (1904) when he said: “A certain piece of work may seem…useless as a part of our own development, but

By Brendan D. Murphy that particular bit of work is…needed in some part of the great plan and we should perform our part willingly. Every move and position has a meaning, just as [in] a game of chess…And, so the true Karma Yogi allows himself to be moved by the Spirit without complaint, knowing that all will be well with him, and that the move is needed to effect certain combinations or changes in the great game of life being played by all men.” 1 I know a woman who works in a highstress environment as a cook in a busy local café’s kitchen. Her husband is on a very satisfactory five figure salary and she actually has no financial reasons to work, and yet she does…because she loves the work. The work is its own reward. She has even been known to log on later in the day than her shift actually starts (thus cutting her own wages back) in order that her less financially abundant co-workers (who need the work) can log more hours without upsetting their volatile and frugal boss who strives to keep the minimum staff on at all times in order to save money. This woman, in this sense, is acting as an unconscious Karma yogi. Unattached to the material rewards for her time and labour, she works for the enjoyment of the act itself, even self-sacrificing for the benefit of others as she goes. Although she does not know “The Secret of Work,” she applies it unwittingly. She practises non-attachment, apparently “non-awares”!

The theory of non-attachment teaches that, if followed diligently, this principle will cause one not to desist in the enjoyment of certain things, but to enjoy everything, knowing in their hearts that every task—even the most futile or tortuous—forms a crucial strand in the

web of mankind’s overall development.

The person practising non-attachment understands that happiness is not something reaching him from without as the effect of certain causes, but something that arises from within as part of his own nature, if he will but allow it. When you are attached to any one thing, person, or outcome, you make yourself a slave to it. On the other hand, the yogi who has mastered non-attachment has mastered himself and is free to turn any potentially displeasing or boring occurrence into a source of pleasure, since he knows that his peace and happiness is carried within himself and accompanies him into even the least pleasant of circumstances.

As the theosophical gem Light on the Path (1885) states, we must “Kill out ambition”

and yet “Work as those work who are ambitious.” This is a slightly cryptic way of exhorting us to the non-attachment of the Karma yogi. Work, perform your duty, pour yourself into the dreariest of your obligations, for what better option have you once immersed in the moment? Far from being just a curse on mankind, work can distract and take us away from repetitive thoughts of self-pity, rescue us from idle fantasies, and it also affords an excellent opportunity to rise above our lower animal nature and the Instinctive Mind (one aspect or “layer” of our psyches). The way of spiritual progress is not in hiding away from the travails and trivialities of life in the world as it is. On the contrary, the furnace of modern life and its myriad challenges is

the perfect place for us to forge the steel of our souls so we might better ourselves.

As Ramacharaka said: “If thy Karma has set thee in the midst of action—act! It is thy only chance of working out of the conditions that fret and disturb thee.”2 Peace, contentment and abiding happiness are within you right now. It is not what you do that will eventually bring you these things; no, these things are what you are.

Freed of attachment, this is the truth that the Karma yogi lives out.

1 Yogi Ramacharaka, Advanced Course in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism, Lesson V. Yogi Publication Society, 1904.

2 Ibid.

Article © 2012 to Brendan D. Murphy.

Brendan is the author of the non-fiction epic THE GRAND ILLUSION: A SYNTHESIS OF SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALITY (Vol’s 1 & 2), and a contributor to several popular magazines and websites.

Find Brendan at: “The Grand Illusion (TGI)” fan page on Facebook www.facebook.com/The.Grand.Illusion.Books and at www. brendandmurphy.net.

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By Susanne Hartas

She works in close companionship with Archangel Raphael in healing and protecting the animal kingdom. While Ariel is the guardian of all animals, she is especially aligned with birds, fish and lions, with the lion considered to be her ‘Animal Totem’. Her name means ‘Lioness of God’ and she is often depicted with lions, for it is the courage, strength and confidence of this magnificent creature her energy emulates. Her aura is a pale shade of pink and she is associated with the rose quartz crystal. Wearing or holding this crystal will open the heart center enabling her unconditional love to flow in.

Ariel is aligned with the elements, in particular air and water. She guards the

waterways and protects those who travel upon it and the livelihood of all aquatic life.

She guides those who work in the conservation fields and assists in educating those who are receptive and have a passion for restoring balance to Mother Nature and all her beautiful creatures.

Archangel Ariel asks that we be mindful of taking good care of our planet and wildlife, for they are precious gifts from God and they have been given with much love, in the hope they would be treasured and respected.

Archangel Ariel is also the master of Divine magic and manifestation and she reminds us that we are not limited beings but rather, Infinite Creators, living in the image of our Divine Creator.

Ariel’s message “You have the power to create the most joyful of existence, if only you would

remember and believed in your truth, for it is you who holds the power to create within. The Divine Creator has given you the most refined, powerful and perfect tool, YOU! Call upon me to be your cocreator, for I will lovingly guide you in miraculous ways as you create a life that reflects your unlimited potential. Be not a victim of circumstance Dear Ones’, but the artist and creator of your masterpiece YOUR LIFE. Many blessings.”

Susanne Hartas is a Psychic Medium and Angel Intuitive.

Please contact Susanne at: www.inspiritmagazine.com mail@inspiritmagazine.com

Psychic Awareness

There are many angels who take care of the Natural World; however it is Archangel Ariel who is known as the Angel of Nature and the Patron of Wild Animals

Laura Naomi demystifies the ancient practice of Shamanism and gives understanding of its important role in our modern world…

Shamanic practices have been part of many cultures around the world.

Shamanism has also existed in ancient cultures for over ten thousand years.

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It was used to increase the potential of humans and to speed up the healing process in people’s lives. This extraordinary system of healing is still present all over the world in these modern times. The term Shaman (pronounced shah-mahn) is derived from the word saman from a Siberian tribe, which means ‘to know’. Shamans are a type of medicine man or woman who is not generally recognised in western culture; they are actually the most ancient practitioner and are found in all Earth-based cultures.

Shamanism has been debated for many years by those who wish to understand this ageless practice. A lot of what was passed down was through story-telling, myth and legend, and specific training with aspects recorded through writing.

shamanism

Shamans have developed themselves to such a state that they are integrated with their connection to cosmic creative energies and Earth energy, which enables them to heal at a very deep and vast level.

In a Shamanic society, the Shaman is an honoured and sacred part of the community where there is deep respect and are seen as a Spiritual Advisor.

Through their gifts and psychic abilities, they also journey into spiritual landscapes in order to assist in healing and retrieving energy or information. This can be experienced as being (or having one’s focus and/or energy) in two or more places at one time. This is often explained as an ‘altered state of consciousness’, where attention is divided with expanded awareness. There is another type of Shamanic journeying, which is a type of

ancient meditation of inner consultation.

There can be several reasons for guiding a patient on a journey; usually there is a specific purpose in mind and is often used in healing – certain types of vision quests, consulting with animal or spirit guides, retrieving information soul/energy retrieval or ceremony.

A Shaman is essentially a healer.

There are different types of Shamans and Shamanism has evolved over time but the essence has remained the same.

Depending on what has been passed on to a student of this path, depends on how they express their gifts. In some cultures it can take up to 40 years to then be honoured with the title of “Shaman”. Most forms of Shamanism have commonalities such as sacred theatre, energy clearing, ceremonies, soul retrieval, masks, art, music and dance. There is an innate understanding that all things are connected in the web of life. Given there is a profound connection to nature; here lies a key element to the healing process.

Nature offers sanctuary, purity and abundance. It is always there to hold us and support us in our growth as spiritual beings and also to nourish and cherish the body. Nature reminds us that we are made up of the exact same essence and energy; the flow and serenity that the Earth holds, we also have within us. It is there to remind us of this every moment of our lives, although we are often not quiet enough to hear this song. There are subtle (and sometimes powerful!) messages that nature speaks and a Shaman is in tune and sensitive to this language, therefore, often act as interpreters of spirit and energy bridging the gap between worlds. They also take part in rituals such as coming of

age, initiations, seasonal changes and cycle of life ceremonies.

In modern day society we have Contemporary Shamanism – where spiritual advising is also taken into the business world and cities. It’s a merging of the spiritual world and corporate worlds.

There is still quite a misconception of what Shamanism really is in the western society, and especially so in the corporate arena but group consciousness is slowly changing. As Shamanism is quite a misunderstood part of spirituality, it can be misjudged. It can also be quite abstract and can be challenging for people to grasp.

Although a number of avenues of spiritual development are compartmentalized (as human-nature and the mind love to do), into ‘New Age’, it is in fact incredibly old. Because of technology and how the world is developing, generally speaking we have increased our disconnection with community and the land. Remember that under the buildings and houses in the cities is land. Under the cement, roads and pavement, is land. There are pockets among the high rises and offices that reveal nature with parks and rivers. It is definitely more challenging zoning out and ‘zening’ into this energy however, since in cities the energy is much more concentrated and incredibly dense. It’s about slowing down, connecting to the body with the breath and knowing when it’s time to nurture the self with some nourishing energy (which I believe to be always!)

People are looking for more empowerment, connection and are yearning for something wholesome.

Shamanism is a gentle and powerful path where you are able to heal and integrate the Self towards balance, harmony and awareness.

Laura Naomi is a Contemporary Shaman, which blends the unique modalities of Zen practices, Shamanic and energy healing, space clearing and psychic and emotional counselling. She guides individuals, groups, corporations and businesses and is passionate about creating more awareness around energy and the spiritual world; how it affects us and how to harness this power to create a more harmonious lifestyle.

Web: www.laura-naomi.com / Email: yourdreams@globaldreamwhisperer.com / Phone: 1300 887 581

inSPIRIT | Soul Food

Meadow Linn contemplates the unexpected twists and turns her life has taken by being open to the flow of the Universe.

Many of us are familiar with the expression “When God closes a door he opens a window.” Sometimes though, he doesn’t just open a window, he rips the roof right off what we thought was possible, making way for something far better.

Recently I dreamt I was applying to universities and had been rejected from every single one. However, hidden underneath the pile of rejection letters, I found a small envelope offering me a free ride to a school in the Caribbean, even though I hadn’t even sent in an application.

I went to visit this tropical island and as I stepped off the plane, I inhaled the scent of frangipani, heard the gentle sea breeze rustling the palm fronds, and realised this far surpassed the experience I would have had at the other schools.

This dream was not totally out of the blue.

Eight years ago, I applied to PhD programs in French Literature at Stanford and Berkeley. I didn’t have a burning desire to be an academic or even a professor, to date I’d either been in school or teaching school since the age of five, so it seemed like a logical step after receiving a masters degree in French Cultural Studies.

I still remember exactly where I was standing when I read the rejection letters.

Now, when I look back on this, I’m filled with so much gratitude. That thin piece of paper that said “we regret…blah…blah”

opened the door to a completely different life. I quit my job, moved to Switzerland, and began to step out of my comfort zone.

A PhD in French Literature at Berkeley and Stanford generally takes seven to nine years, which means only now I’d be receiving my degree. Looking back on the myriad experiences I’ve enjoyed, the people I’ve met and the personal growth I’ve had, it seems hard to imagine that had I been accepted at one of these schools, I would still be wedged into a collegiate office analyzing Sartre and Camus. No doubt I would have been satisfied, but I don’t think I would have been particularly happy. I just didn’t know it at the time.

Thank goodness the powers that be, either the people in the admissions office or the Almighty himself, knew to send me in another direction.

If you’d asked me back then if I thought I’d be doing what I’m doing now, I wouldn’t never have guessed that this would be my life. This is so much better than what I’d dreamed up for myself eight years ago.

This is not the first time this has happened.

Often when I dream of my future, I’m stuck within the confines of what I already know. Even when I dream big, it’s still based on a present version of myself. It’s only when I’m willing to let go of the reigns and ride the wave of life that I can end up somewhere so much more miraculous than I could have ever imagined.

I imagine ten years from now I’ll look back and think “Thank God things didn’t work out the way I’d hoped, because this is so much better.” The challenge is being willing to let go enough so that when doors keep closing, God can swoop in and rip off the roof, or at the very least open a window.

Rainy Day Soup A delicious soup for a rainy day, using whatever you have on hand to see what culinary magic you cook up!

Serves 8 2 Tbsp. olive oil 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped ½ kilo carrots, peeled and chopped 1 whole celery, chopped ½ green cabbage, rough chopped 1 large bunch Italian parsley, chopped 400g can diced tomatoes in juice 10 cups water ½ cup cider vinegar ½ cup lentils salt and pepper, to taste In large stockpot, over medium heat, sauté onion and garlic with olive oil and pinch of salt and pepper until the onions are soft and translucent, 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile chop carrots, celery, cabbage and parsley and add to the pot. Stir frequently to prevent sticking to the bottom. Add diced tomatoes, water and cider vinegar, and another small pinch of salt and pepper.

Increase heat to medium-high to attain a gentle boil, reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cover and gently simmer for about an hour. Add lentils, cover, and simmer until the lentils are soft, about 45 minutes.

Add salt to taste. Enjoy on a cozy rainy or snowy day!

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What in your life is better because you didn’t get what you thought you wanted?

How would your future be different if you allowed for alternate routes?

Meadow Linn is a writer and a chef, living in California with her dog, cats and chickens. She believes that living well and eating well should be tasty and fun.

Meadow has just co-authored her first cookbook with Denise Linn which is available now through Amazon.

HEALTH & WELLBEING

A peach is ripe when slightly soft. A melon is ready when its perfume fills a room. Milk has a “sell-by” date. But, matters of the heart are not so simple.

How do we know when we should turn right instead of left, or when we should keep fighting or look for a new direction?

We were born into this world without an instruction manual to decipher the signs that propel us on our path.

inSPIRIT | review A New Kind of Normal – Unlocking The Medium Within

Wizdom Press Authored by William Whitecloud

Beginners, developing and professional mediums - ever wanted a one-stop book to go to that will help you with the many aspects of mediumship?

This is the book. Authored by industry professional Kerrie Wearing, her depth of knowledge and experience shines through as she guides you to further enhance and understand your mediumship abilities.

The Last Shaman transcends the boundaries of our humanness to inspire an understanding of living intuitively and creating consciously. Set in the wilds of South Africa amid some unrest and war threatening the lives of all concerned, this fictional story see’s our hero Mark Vale return from The Magician’s Way to further cement our spiritual understandings of intuition and living creatively while in search of The Last Shaman.

Comprehensive and thorough, this book is rich with development exercises and tips, personal stories, insights learnt from real life events and experiences, gained from developing and working in many aspects in this field. It delves extensively into what mediumship is about and what it entails.

While sitting on the edge of your seat from one chapter to the next with excitement of Mark’s adventure, you find yourself being infused with new knowledge and awareness in a way that transcends most books written on the subject of the law of attraction.

‘A New Kind of Normal’ presents a pathway, creating a clear and simple foundation on which to grow your mediumship skills upon.

Author, William Whitecloud has most certainly weaved his magic into the reader’s heart once again.

inSpirit Publishing Authored by Kerrie Wearing

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The Last Shaman

In Alignment Healing

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inSPIRIT | Directory ANIMAL SHAMANISM

ASTROLOGERS

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BILLIE DEAN Animal Shaman, Author, Teacher, Filmmaker www.billedean.com

DAVID WELLS Teacher, Qabalist, Astrologer, Author & Past Life Therapist www.davidwells.co.uk

JAYS PRINTING SERVICES 6/83 Cox Avenue, Kingswood NSW T: +612 4732 3523 www.jaysprint.com

AROMATHERAPY

CRYSTAL SHOPS

PSYCHICS & MEDIUMS

The Scented Lotus Aromatherapy Oils & Blends www.thescentedlotus.com E: thescentedlotus@hotmail.com

JOPO FENG SHUI & CRYSTALS 2 Revesby Road, Revesby NSW T: +612 9785 0798

KERRIE WEARING Author, Soul Coach & Medium www.psychicmedium.com.au

SPIRIT STONE For crystals & new age supplies www.spiritstone.com.au

SCIENCE & SPIRITUALITY

ARTWORK NICOLLE POLL Artwork by Nicolle - Oracle Cards & Animal Totem Illustrations, Portrait of the Soul’s Journey & Writer E: artworkbynicolle@bigpond.com FB: nicollepoll@facebook.com NICOLA MCINTOSH Graphic Design, Fairy & Fantasy Art, Oracle Cards & Writer www.nicolamcintosh.com

ASSOCIATIONS

www.ciema.org

MAGICAL TOOLS NATASHA HEARD Blessed Branches www.blessedbranches.com GEM~MER Cryshell Magic www.cryshellmagic.com.au

PAST LIVES SACRED FAMILIAR - Julia Inglis & Tony Esta Author, Past Life Healings & Workshops www.sacredfamiliar.com

BRENDAN D. MURPHY Author - The Grand Illusion www.brendandmurphy.net

SHAMANISM LAURA NAOMI Consultations, Workshops & Seminars www.globaldreamwhisperer.com

RADIO SHOWS www.ghostsofoz.com

Would you like your listing included here? Email us at mail@inspiritpublishing.net for details.

Personally signed copies available - in stock now!

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