Soul Retrieval
What is Soul Retrieval?
From the shamanic perspective, soul loss
is at the core of dis-ease and illness.
When we experience trauma or
sustained stress in our lives, parts of our
soul, or our true essence, leave our body
to find safety in the spirit world. If these
parts don’t return, we continue to
function without them. Other parts of
our being work harder to compensate for
the lack of wholeness, causing us to
become unbalanced.
Without these
estranged parts of our soul, we are not
able to live whole-heartedly and receive
the gifts of a healthy body, a healthy
mind and healthy relationships.
A shamanic practitioner deals with the
spiritual aspect of illness and dis-ease.
In this ceremony, with the help of a
drummer and their spiritual allies, your
practitioner navigates the spirit world to
search out and invite home the soul
parts that are ready to return. Upon
collecting the parts, the practitioner will
blow the parts back into you through
your heart and the top of your head. The
result is a more whole, full, vital version
of YOU. As these parts become reintegrated
into your being, the more
empowered you become.
Common Ways Soul Loss Occurs
- Physical trauma – car accident,
animal bite, bike accident, sporting
injury or any major physical impact
- Difficult birth into the world,
including gestation, absence of
initiatory celebrations
- Miscarraige, abortion
- Familial separation
- Abuse – sexual (incest, rape,
molestation), mental, physical, all
forms of neglect or bullying
- Loss of relationship – romantic
(divorce), familiar, close friends or
admired ones
- Death – of a loved one (human or
animal)
- Loss of job, home, other investments
of time or money
- Living in oppressive systems **
racial discrimination/violence
- gender-based
discrimination/violence
- discrimination/violence based on
sexual orientation
- religious persecution
- continued economic hardship
- ableist culture
- fat-phobic culture
- Living separate from the land
- Prolonged isolation
- Difficulty around identity
**Trauma from historical oppression
can be passed on through generations. This
ceremony is healing for you and your ancestors.
Symptoms of Soul Loss
- Sudden or gradual onset of
feeling apathetic, numb, or “dead” - Weakened or lack of initiative
Inability to stay physically healthy
due to compromised immune
system - Chronic illness
- Memory gaps
- Addiction to alcohol, food, sex, TV,
shopping, etc. - Difficulty moving forward after
death or the end of a relationship - Feeling of being “stuck”, loss of
resilience or inability to
understand why you can’t “get
out of this” - Depression, personality disorders,
other states of mental dis-ease