HONOURING THE HERITAGE OF THE SISTER ISLANDS
A SHAMANIC LIFE
This interview with Liane of BeMythical looks at how I started working shamanically, what led to it and how it developed onwards into ancestral areas, and the spiritual traditions of the Sister Islands of Britain and Ireland.
In an era when people are looking overseas to other cultures and indigenous traditions, it worth remembering that where we are born and the traditions which are culturally ours can lead us forward.
I also speak about the ancestral diaspora and how things have to adapt when your family goes elsewhere int he world. How we connect with the living traditions of our land is important, but when there has been an historical hiatus in practice, we also avoid falling into an imitation of tribal tendencies that lead us into atavism. We are living now, and our ancestral traditions also evolve to new conditions.
Here too, I’m talking about the power of the song in shamanic healing, and how the skills of working with metaphor in journeying and dreaming is part of the traditional skills of these islands. Overcoming the fear of singing that is rampant in our culture is a small step when it means becoming part of the song that is always singing, and the traditions of the Perpetual Choirs of Song which is part of the British shamanic tradition.
The gods of the land bestow and reflect the gifts of the Sister Islands upon us - we have all felt them. Find out how the spirits of your own land speak to you. Explore your meditations and journeys ever deeper. They are windows and doorways to a deeper tradition that still resounds, if you will but listen!
I would be very interested to hear from you about your own experiences of working from within our indigenous tradition.
We have three Foundation Courses in the Shamanic Traditions of the Sister Islands running this year - in Oxford, on the South Coast and in Ireland, starting in March 2025.
Each of these Foundation Courses leads onto a progressive and deepening training programme. Courses are taken in order over several years leading to professional levels of work in the community. We do not have ‘apprenticeships’ but we do expect our students who are continuing to maintain their practice. The deeper levels involve supervision and finally to professional practice.
For more about our shamanic training programme see: www.hallowquest.org.uk
For my shamanic training curriculum see: http://www.hallowquest.org.uk/resources/curriculumtraining2024.pdf
Caitlín with students in Portugal
I'm Irish and lived in the USA for thirty years. In 2001 I received my call to the shaman's path, completely out of the blue, while watching the sunset on a mountain on land sacred to the native peoples in New Mexico. At the time the most I knew about shamanism was photos of tribal medicine people in the National Geographic!!!!
What followed was four years of being taught directly by the spirit world. By the time I finally attended a workshop by the Foundation for Shamanic Studies I realized I had already been very well trained. I also realized i was finally home where I belonged.
I had training in Hawaiian and Inka shamanism and had deep connections with the native spirits where I lived in Louisiana. This eventually developed into a healing and teaching practice.
I had to find a way to incorporate and welcome the various spirits of the students who came from diverse lineages. We had wonderful times!
All through this I was aware I was being trained in different methods to use with my own ancestral lineage.
I had a very interesting conversation about this with don Oscar Miro Quesada. He says that as we all know shamanism began with our hunter gatherer ancestors. As societies developed they created their own cultural trappings which are now known as different streams. He believes we are slowly coming together again in a new world shamanism.
I am home in Ireland again. Even though I had worked daily with the spirits of my homeland and was a flamekeeper for the Goddess Brighid I had to reconnect with the spirits of the land. At the time that felt very strange because I had never felt disconnected from my heritage. I understand why though, it's different working on the land itself.
I began visiting sacred sites here in the west and reconnected in a deep way.
Near the summer solstice in 2019 I visited Carrowkeel, among the most ancient. The cairns were still open at that time and I was able to perform ceremony in the largest. I connected with an ancient crone who felt like she was traveling from very far away in deep time. When she asked me what I wanted I explained I was here to honor my ancestors and reconnect to the spirit of the land after my long absence. It was like a switch flipped and since that moment they feel present to me at all times. I felt and feel very blessed and am honored to be here working with them ever since.
It continues to be a great adventure 💚🧚💚
Brilliant, life-changing work, thank you for sharing your wisdom xx