Systemic Ritual and Systemic Constellations

The four directions

The four directions as a compass for your path of life.

The wheel of the four directions – also known as the Medicine Wheel – is a model from shamanic cultures. The wheel teaches you that there are always four perspectives from which you can look at things. The four views are derived from the four directions: North, East, South, and West.
Each direction has its own specific qualities, and each direction supports the other three through its characteristics. The four directions belong together; they form a whole. They work together in a complementary way.
The wheel of four directions can thus bring order. It is a helping map that can bring insight at different levels – the mental, emotional and soul level. It shows you in which direction your qualities lie, where you are deficient, where you can gain strength, and where you can find balance.
The wheel of the four directions forms the basic ground plan within which a Systemic Ritual takes place.

The direction of the East

The East encompasses the qualities of renewal, contemplation, perception, oversight, and orientation on the world around us.

Suddenly having clear insights is an eastern force. The East is uninhibited (like a child). Another quality of the East is the ability to regenerate – the East power provides recovery, renewal, and “rejuvenation”. Because the East has the quality of being able to perceive sharply – perceiving both the detail and the whole – it also has the power to add structure.

The energy of the East is most present in the spring, in the morning, at the waxing moon.

The energy of the East is most present in the spring, in the morning, at the waxing moon. In our personal life, it is the period of childhood. In the Northeast, the baby is born, and in the Southeast, the adolescent enters the adult world. The East knows the curiosity and the lust discovery drive of the child and the teenager.

See for ONLINE and IN PERSON workshops and courses: https://systemic-ritual.com/workshops-and-courses-online-and-live/

The Wheel of the four directions forms one of the basic ground plans in which a systemic ritual takes place. The Wheel of the four directions works with the qualities of the four cardinal directions, which means no more than the conscious application of the universal cycle of ‘coming’ / ‘being’ / ‘going’ / ‘rest’ and all associated qualities. The Wheel brings order, depth, insight and balance on the mental, emotional and soul levels.

The book The Four Directions you can order from me – email me: susanne@sejhazen.nl

Costs:

Book	Shipping Costs – (estimation – I will tell you the exact price when you order)	Total
€ 19,80	€ 6,65 (Netherlands)	€ 26,45
	€ 13,50 (EU countries)	€ 28,00
	€ 14,50 (United Kingdom)	€ 29,70
	€ 17,00 (United States)	€ 34,80

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The “East person”

People with highly developed East qualities can be people who have many ideas and/or can oversee structures well, can create conditions, can explain things well to others, and can change things quickly and easily. When you have highly developed East qualities, you are clear, you have an overview, and you are good at planning.
The East has few emotions. “East persons” can therefore appear a bit cool. An “East person” is not the type who gives or wishes to receive a long and firm hug.
An East person is future-oriented. This is the opposite of the “West person” who is nostalgic.

Unbalanced East qualities

When the East qualities “overshoot” or when the qualities of the other directions insufficiently balance the East, problems arise.
When there is too much focus on structure, this can be at the expense of the other qualities of the East: open-mindedness, creativity and the ability to improvise. Obsessive and compulsive behaviour shows the pathology of the East. Structures take on a life of their own.
Unbalanced East energy can also cause someone to “drown” in ideas. One idea to another arises, but the vision, planning and structure are missing. And nothing is ever done with all those ideas. Or worse, something new is always started up, but never brought to full implementation (the South). In severe form, this can be harmful to someone and his environment and lead to debts, among other things. Such a kind of person can start to lie to others to keep himself unguilty not my fault, everyone and everything worked against me, but next week I will have … or I promise you that the next week …… ). In the case of lying the qualities of being creative and being able to see and think of new possibilities are used in a destructive way. Someone with such an unbalanced East energy is incapable of taking real responsibility for his actions and does not get access to the qualities of the South.

The direction of the South

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The South encompasses the quality of maturity. The energy of the South is most present in the summer, in the afternoon, at the full moon.
In our personal life, it is the period of adulthood. That is the period in which we take on our responsibilities as adults. These include: starting a family, making a career, earning money, providing a roof over your head, belonging to a group (colleagues, sports club, a circle of friends, etc.) |
The qualities of the South are: take action, carry out, persist, persevere, and communicate. The South is concerned with the physical manifestation. The South has also the quality of communication. It’s about interacting with the people around you. This is expressed in friendliness and cooperation, but also in friction and conflicts. The South has extroverted energy.

The “South person”.

When you have highly developed South qualities, you like to be physically active. You always want to be busy, and that includes chilling out with the people around you, good food and a drink. Sensory experience is vital to a “South person”, as is contact with others.
Hobbies that suit the “South person” are hobbies where there is a lot of contact with others – this can be collaborative or competitive – and where physical activities are central. Think of team sports, but also conducting political debates, for example.

Unbalanced South Qualities

When the South is too active for a long time or insufficiently compensated by the qualities of the other directions, problems arise. For example, someone becomes hyperactive, cannot stop his activities, takes on too many responsibilities and eventually burns out.
The focus on the other can also get unbalanced and become an obsession. Then you will cling too much to someone else, and if you do not accept the boundary that the other indicates, you could well be called a stalker. Your desire for connection is entirely out of proportion, and the result is the opposite.
Also, too much attachment to sensory experience can lead to dependence or addiction. And that can happen in all kinds of areas: alcohol, drugs, nicotine, sex, gambling, shopping… .
Unbalanced South energy can also lead to dominating others and even abuse of others. Or even the opposite – wanting to be dominated.

The direction of the West

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The West includes the qualities of completion, evaluation, contemplation, letting go, cleansing, discharging and being in touch with the inner world of emotions, needs, desires, values, and desires. In the West, we get rid of ballast, of the superfluous, so that the essence becomes visible.
The energy of the West is most present in the fall, in the evening, with the waning moon.
In our personal life, it is the period of ageing. Children are about to leave the nest. (Grand) parents die. Questions like “is this all”, and “is this what I want” come up. The West is the inner world – what are my wants, needs, and values? It involves coming to an acceptance of how things have gone, an acceptance of how you did it and how others contributed to it, and thus an acceptance of others and the world as it is. The West eventually brings us to old age, and eventually, we die in the North West.

The “West person”

When you have highly developed West qualities, you will intensely experience the world, accompanied by intense and deep emotions.
Things are released in the West, which means that there is a lack of structure and more chaos and confusing situations can arise. This can sometimes manifest itself in being unable or unwilling to adhere to generally accepted norms and values, rules, agreements, and plans.
The “West person” “thinks in images and his inner world and feelings are central. The West person has more contact with the past.
Hobbies that suit the “West person” are hobbies where he/she can come into contact with his inner world: painting, poetry, writing, reading, and meditation….

Unbalanced West Energy

When the West energy is too active or is insufficiently balanced by the qualities of the other directions, problems arise.
The West is where things are released, where you sometimes can’t control your emotions and lose control. That can sometimes happen. If all goes well, we manage not to let it go too far and cause too much damage, and we manage to stop ourselves. If all goes well ……. If not, then this aspect of the West is disturbed.
An imbalance of the West can also make a person make things worse than they are – continually complaining, whining, being annoyed, and drawing everything to themselves. There is no longer an eye for new and stimulating insights. The West aspect of the breakdown has become the only reality for anyone.
Not being able to let go can lead to feelings of resentment and hatred – two emotions that are destructive to oneself and the outside world.
The West is also the place where psychosis arises, disintegration, and degeneration. No distinction is then made between images from the unconscious, fears and physical reality. The sense of reality has disappeared.

The direction of the North

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In the North, peace, and doing nothing is paramount. Just BEing it, pure consciousness. It is the place where all experience, yours and all other souls who have dared to tread the wheel of earthly existence, is collected. Where all experiences crystallize and combine in great wisdom. The personality that you had/were in earthly existence has been dissolved. It is the place of the departed souls, of our ancestors. We were born out of the North, and we’re going back there.

The “North Person”

People with highly developed north qualities prefer to keep their distance and tend not to get fully involved with the things that are happening around them. They prefer to view from a distance in order to gain wisdom.” North people” will enjoy meditating. Meditation feeds the north energy.

Unbalanced North qualities

When the north strength “overshoots” and/or is insufficiently balanced by the qualities of the other directions, problems arise. It is entirely normal and healthy to withdraw from others every now and then. When contact is continuously avoided, it is no longer healthy, and there is unbalanced north energy. The demand for peace and stillness has then gone too far. There can also be a loss of contact with the world because someone is only busy with spiritual matters. There is no longer any good conversation possible with others. Another form of unbalanced north energy is dissociation. The outside world is no longer felt and participated in; it is no longer really consciously perceived or experienced. The world can also be experienced as unreal.

Sources:
Daan van Kampenhout – The four directions

Costs:

Book	Shipping Costs	Total
€ 19,80	€ 6,65 (Netherlands)	€ 26,45
	€ 8,20 (EU countries)	€ 28,00
	€ 9,90 (United Kingdom)	€ 29,70
	€ 15,00 (United States)	€ 34,80

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Collective Ancestors

In a narrow sense, our ancestors are our relatives with whom we have a blood relationship. In a broader sense, it also means joint relatives from earlier times, from which we descend collectively – as humanity, nation, community, population group.
In the article ‘Our ancestors, who are they?’ you can read about the Ancestors we have a blood relationship with. This article is about our collective ancestors.

Online workshop: Monday, May 16 – 19.30 – 21.30 – Amsterdam time – Systemic Ritual – the collective ancestors – read more about that: https://systemic-ritual.com/2022/05/01/collective-ancestors/

If you are familiar with the four directions, you can give these ancestors a place on the Wheel. In general, our ancestors are in the direction of the North. In this direction, we can find again a complete wheel with four types of ancestors in each direction.

East – the collective ancestors of practical ideas

Here we find our collective ancestors who discovered something important that we still benefit from today. For example, people who invented fire, invented medicine, electricity, train, aeroplane, and computers. We can meet here various teachers, inventors of tools and things we use.
However, in this field, we don’t only meet our collective ancestors that invented valuable materials. In this field, we also meet people who formulated essential theories in psychology, philosophy, and sciences, for example. These thinkers developed ideas that still influence how we look at the world. These people have shaped our lives. They have made the world a little more comfortable.

South – our biological ancestors – personal

Our biological ancestors gave us our bodies, our biological blueprints. We are in the world because of them. Read more about this in the article: ‘Our ancestors, who are they?’.

West – the collective ancestors of the dreamworld

We can also call them the ‘Ancestors’ from the world of myths and dreams.
These are the people we meet as guides and friends in dreams, in stories, songs, books, and mythology. They are made from dreams, we can meet them when we dream, and they create dreams.
They are ‘characters’ that have come to form a collective dream or concept, for example, Gandalf, Greek gods or goddesses, etc. These characters help us dream, help us to use our imaginations and help us hope for a better world.
In that sense, they belong to the West.
They can serve as role models in our daydreams and reflections.

North – collective ancestors of spiritual traditions

These are “ancestors”, guides and teachers of our spiritual traditions. They have kept the lineage alive and passed the teaching on. We can meet Jesus or other saints who shaped Christianity in this field and teachers from other traditions: Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, Rumi, Gandhi ….. . Gurus, shamans, Christian saints, Tibetan lamas, rabbis etc. all belong here.
It may be that we came to a tradition through birth, or we may have met later in our life a tradition that inspired us and for which we made a conscious choice.

An individual practice

Take as the ‘focus’ of this exercise your work, or the work you would like to manifest.
Then think about the Ancestors of the East – the inventors. Which ancestors of the East can help you?
Then think about the Ancestors or the South – which biological ancestor can help you?
Do the same for the Ancestors of the West and North.

While doing this exercise you will probably experience that one or two directions are very developed and one or two are less clear or strong. What does this mean for you?

Inspired by the teachings of Daan van Kampenhout

Spirit Animal Helpers

I am fond of animals. Because I care for them, I don’t eat meat since I am 16 years old. Dairy I only take from biological farms (and yes, I know even that is not entirely fair). I really detest the way animals are treated in our society for human consumption, clothing or labour. I don’t want to be a part of that.

On Tuesday, October 4 2022, there is an online open circle. In this online workshop, we will work with power animals. See: https://systemic-ritual.com/online-circles-systemic-ritual/

I feel connected to animals – not only because they are ‘cute’, but for most that we can learn from them and that they can be our guide, that helps us to explore our inner and outer realms. Animals as teachers and messengers are the guides in the unseen realm.
That animals can be our guide, is known for aeons within shamanic and other cultures. In indigenous cultures around the world, shamans journey into the spirit realm sometimes referred to as “non-ordinary reality”. The spirit realm co-exists with our earthly physical one. The beings in the spirit realm don’t have physical bodies. So we can’t see, hear or contact them with our ‘normal’ senses. But we can communicate with them. At night, when asleep, we sometimes journey into the invisible realm to receive guidance from spirit entities. We can also visit them through a “Shamans journey”.
In my work with Systemic Ritual – I contact them and ask for their guidance and healing by setting up representatives for the animal helpers.
Different animals embody their own unique qualities and powers that they can lend us when we need them.
There is a link between spirit animals and animals that share the earth with us. We can see it in the unique characteristics and powers that are common to both the physical animals and their spirit counterparts. So observing intensively the physical animals can help you to gain access to their qualities and powers.
Whenever you have a particular need or interest, consider the attributes and characteristics of different physical animals. These reveal the powers of the spirit animals and help you select the one(s) that can best help you whenever you have a specific concern.

In my work with Systemic Ritual (a variation of Systemic Constellation Work), I work a lot with the following animals. I describe some aspects of these animals: qualities and powers I see most often. Of course, there are more qualities and strengths of the same animals – when met in a Systemic Ritual it will show itself and the message that is needed at the moment.

I invite you to meet them.

Eagle
The eagle is a bird. Birds can fly; they are familiar with the air. The air element represents the mind and such things as heightened awareness, intellectual development and wisdom. Birds, as spirit helpers, can show you how to increase your mental powers and abilities. Birds like the eagle and the owl – have excellent vision. So they can help you to see things around you more clearly.
The eagle flies high – so he can help you to create some distance from the things that concern you and look at them from above, from a helicopter view. So you can explore the structures around the theme that occupies you at the moment.
The eagle is also able to zoom in – his eyes are like a telescope. From a height of 3 kilometres, he can read a newspaper ;-). So first he explores the whole landscape and then focuses. (He is a hunter – you know!) In this way, he can give you an answer to one of your needs.

Owl
Like the eagle, the owl is a bird and helps with seeing more clearly. The owl is an animal of the night – so his power is also in ‘seeing in the dark’ – meaning helping you to look at your shadow aspects and unconsciousness or helping you to see the things that are hidden.

Salamander
The salamander can live in water and on the earth – as long as the environment is humid. The earth element represents physical or material qualities. As spirit animals, terrestrial creatures can help you handle matters related to work, money, health and other practical concerns. The water element represents emotions, intuition and creativity.
The salamander can regenerate his limbs. If he loses one, it will grow again. So he has an enormous self-healing power.

Parrot
The parrot brings in the quality of free expression and communication. He is playful and likes to make noise. The parrot can help us to manifest ourselves without feeling limited in our expression.

Dolphin
Also the dolphin can bring us freedom in expression, playfulness and our ability to be curious – our need to discover, our openness to what is, without prejudgments. Because of the element water, the power of the dolphin has more to do with emotional expression and creativity.

Snake
The snake has a female aspect – he is connected to the Goddess in some ancient cultures and he moves in half circles on the ground. The snake also has a male aspect – the snake can erect himself upwards. So the snake can help us to balance our female and masculine qualities.
The snake is also connected to our sexual energy and can harmonise that energy. Also is the snake the symbol of wisdom, of healing wisdom – even nowadays it is the symbol of Medicine Art.
The snake can help us with skin problems. He knows how to release old skin and replace that for new skin.

Horse
The horse can give you power and vitality. Horses can live solitary, but a horse preferably lives in a group. Female horses, as well as male horses, can be group leaders. The horse can help you to take responsibilities and help you to find your place in life.
In my work with Systemic Constellation, I often see the quality of the horse in grounding, in standing on both legs.

Peacock
The peacock teaches you how to be proud of the things you have achieved and how to embrace and show to the outer world what you have achieved. To present yourself in a positive way.

Vulture
The vulture eats what has already died. He eats what is no more necessary in your life, what you can put aside and let go. Cleaning up, diminishing ballast.

Bear
The bear sleeps in wintertime. Animals that sleep in winter teach you how to go inwards and step into the dream world, into the depth, into the unconsciousness. The bear digs and makes the roots of trees visible. So he has the power to make our essence visible – the essence of your soul being.

Turtle
The turtle is often called grandfather or grandmother. The turtle is one of the oldest animals that live on our earth. So it carries enormous wisdom of life in itself. The turtle is friendly and warm.

Reindeer
The Sami call the reindeer the ‘gentle ones, the soft ones’. The female, as well as the male reindeer, has antlers. Their antlers reach towards the stars, towards the ancestors. The antlers are like a stair. A stair that can bring you up and down to the sky, through which you can contact your ancestors and the universe. When the help of ancestors is needed, I call in a representative of the reindeer.

Swan
The swan symbolises androgyny. The feminine and the masculine dissolve in the being of the Swan. The polarity disappears. The swan is the protector of the soul. Like the young ones on the back of the swan in the physical world, the spirit Swan protects the soul of sick and traumatised people and brings the soul to safer places. I call in often the spirit of Swan in my work with Soul Retrieval.
The swan can also bring deceased souls to the other world. The swan has a strong connection with the ancestors and the angels. The swan is very serene, brings peace and balance. But even then – if necessary – the swan can defend himself powerfully and knows how to set boundaries.

White spider
The spider can be a healer of the nervous system. The spider creates its own web and also eats its own web. The spider can take away old structures and patterns and weave a new pattern or structure. He helps with breaking off limiting thinking patterns and replacing them with more helpful thoughts.

Recommended, source:

http://www.animal-respect.ch/spirit-animal-helpers-i/

Life after the retrieving of soul parts

In the article ‘Soul loss and soul retrieval’, I wrote about soul parts that have separated from our body and personality at some point in our life. Such a secretion leaves a void, a reduced vitality. Systemic Ritual is one of the methods to get back in touch with those parts and let them come back – if desired.

And what happens after a ritual in which soul parts are retrieved?

After a soul retrieval, you often hear people say that they feel ‘more present’, ‘lighter’, ‘more alert’, ‘less dreamy’ and ‘stronger’.

If you want to learn more about Systemic Ritual and working with the concept of the Soul: See:

Strengthening the soul by means of Systemic Ritual

Often people also report that they perceive colours more clearly, hear better, and smell better. In short, the connection with the physical body has been improved.
This can cause slight disorientation for a few days. The ‘healing’ has yet to settle down and find a place.

You often also hear these ‘side effects’ after a family constellation. Breaking free from an entanglement with a parent or ancestor, with which the method of family constellations works, is somewhere also a form of ‘retrieving a part of the soul’. A soul part, held by an entanglement, could not be fully present in the here and now because it was too closely connected with the trauma of that (ancestor) parent. In that context, this part was on the other side. When the entanglement is broken, that soul part can retake its place in the here and now, in the body/personality of the client.

Be careful

People are often more emotional after a soul retrieval. With the retrieval of the lost soul part, sooner or later, the memory of the event that made the soul part ‘flee’ may also return. That is why you must also be careful with retrieving soul parts after major trauma. The soul part that has thus gone ‘to the other side’ cannot simply be ‘placed back’. There will first have to be some form of healing of this soul part before returning to the client. The soul part may even have to be taken to a ‘healing place’, a kind of spiritual hospital to receive care and healing there before returning.

In addition, the client must also be strong enough to ‘handle’ and ‘care for’ the soul part that is being retrieved. A client must therefore have sufficient strength to receive the soul part again. It must be safe enough for the soul part to return.

Welcoming little Susanne

After retrieving a soul part, feelings of happiness, sadness, or anger can arise. These feelings could have to do with the lost soul part, and the process of remembering and integrating has to start. And that can take quite a while.

I came across the little two-year-old Susanne in a visualisation during one of my ‘retrievals’ (it is not strange to be allowed to undergo several ‘retrievals’). I saw images of her in a beautiful forest with sweet cats, horses, birds, lots of flowers, extensive lawns, streams with clear running water and even two gnomes – Bop and Mieke as the little Susanne called them. The little Susanne had “hidden” in this beautiful place. And no – she didn’t want to come back.
Several times – spread over a few weeks – I had to visit her, become friends with her calmly and convince her that it was also very nice to come back to the here and now, in my body, in my personality. She eventually did.

Welcome home, little Susanne

Then for days, I felt a wave of enormous anger towards my mother and towards my oldest brother. I could skin them. I was sure it had to do with little Susanne and talked to her. I asked her what was going on.
That’s when the memory came to me. I was two years old, and my brother (5 years old at the time) was playing with me, but it got out of hand. He put a pillow on my face and lay on top of it. I choked, I choked. Then, after a few moments, my little body managed to throw him off me with unprecedented force. An unparalleled power of a small body – it managed to survive. I saw my brother startled and he ran away.

I realised this, back then, was the moment a piece of my soul left. I felt panic and fear rise in me. And then anger – I was furious with my brother and my mother. My brother for what he had done and my mother for not taking good care of her children. Where was she?

I told little Susanne that she’d survived, that she’d been strong enough to throw brother off her. And that these kinds of things are not nice, but can happen and that you can not blame a little boy of 5 years.

These words turned out to be completely wrong. This was not what the little Susanne wanted to hear. This did absolutely no justice to her feelings. These words were disrespectful, lacking in empathy – completely bypassing her feelings of fear, panic, anger and sadness. These words made her return to her safe haven with Bob and Mieke in the woods.

Again I had to find her there. This time I stayed with her, feeling the fear again; we relived the panic, cried, and cursed on brother and mother. We managed to thank the unparalleled strength that appeared back then. We realised it wasn’t ‘I’ who managed to throw off my brother – it was my body’s survival instinct that managed to do that.

These emotions persisted for several weeks. My brother should be glad he didn’t call or meet me in these weeks. I would have given him the full blast of anger.

Integrate

After a ritual in which soul parts are retrieved, you are not done yet. A piece that has been separated from you for years needs time to integrate. That part needs all your attention, wants to be heard, seen and respected. That can be done in different ways.

As I described above, you can regularly start a conversation with the retrieved soul part. If you don’t have experience with this, find a therapist who can help you.

Pampering yourself is also a suitable method. The soul part has left because of a lack of joy, safety, etc. Show this soul part that there can now be joy, safety by undertaking things that underline this.

Bodywork – massage, emotional bodywork, shiatsu, acupuncture – methods that get the “chi” flowing again can be of great help too. Traumas are stored in your body. When a soul part is back, your body can also adapt, and physical blockages can finally be released with a little help from a therapist.

soul retrieval 3 tekening Susanne Hazen (2)

Drawing – the drawings in these articles are my own. After a return of a soul part, I created these – completely intuitive. One drawing shows what I felt. I felt as if a ‘body’ sank into me.
The other drawings show how I took care of the soul part – by travelling with it regularly – in visualisations – to a safe, beautiful and warm place to have quality time together.

After severe trauma, the first thing to do is consult a psychotherapist or psychologist until there is enough strength to do a session in which soul parts are retrieved. After that, a therapist can again be helpful to integrate the retrieved soul part.

Inspired by:

Ingerman, S. Soul Retrieval. Mending the Fragmented Self.

Notes from Daan van Kampenhout’s courses

Soul loss and soul retrieval

In shamanistic traditions, it is stated that parts of the soul can separate from us and that this separation, this loss of soul parts, can be a cause of physical and mental illness. In this context, by soul, I mean an intangible part of our being that gives us vital energy and houses emotions, memories, feelings, sentiments. (This idea of the soul is similar to the concept of the astral body – as described in the article “The Five Bodies”)

Lost parts of ourselves mean that we experience less energy/vitality because there is less ‘spirit’ in us due to the loss. A ‘full soul’ is fully present, clear, radiant. We unconsciously try to regain the lost parts through dreams, daydreams, quests for healing, spiritual disciplines, and by creating relationships with others that repeatedly mirror our lost soul parts.
This search requires a lot of energy, while we already lack power because we have lost parts.

Parts of the soul can be lost due to various circumstances. These do not always have to be extreme circumstances.

Examples through which soul parts can ‘depart’ are:

You are too busy and lose sight of your soul
The soul gets bored because you “don’t live it.”
Souls can get jealous and then go to a ‘better place.’
Difficult situations “It’s not fun here anymore, so I’m going to a better place.”
Trauma, including abuse, loss of a loved one, miscarriage, abortion, surgery, accident
Sudden and extreme shock/fear
Parts of the soul can also be ‘stolen’ by someone else.

Symptoms or expressions of soul loss are:

Lack of vitality and connection with life
The feeling of being ‘absent’ after, for example, the death of a loved one, an accident or after an operation – the feeling of still being a bit in the anaesthesia
Feeling after a divorce that ‘a part of you is still with the other person.’
Feeling of dissociation or depersonalization
Can’t remember a situation
Chronic depression

In shamanism, there are methods to bring the lost soul parts back to the person. This technique is called soul retrieval. Also, with the Systemic Ritual method, we can contact lost soul parts and help bring them back. After a soul retrieval, you will experience more connection with life, the earth, yourself and others.

For ONLINE and LIVE workshops and courses, see: workshops-and-courses-online-and-live/

Inspired by:

Ingerman, S. Soul Retrieval. Mending the Fragmented Self.

The Wheel of the Souls

In the article “The Multiple Soul”, you have read that shamanistic traditions assume multiple souls. In my work, I distinguish the family soul, the tribal soul, the individual soul, and the universal soul. You can give the souls a place on the Wheel of the four directions, and the Wheel tells something about the development.

The Family soul

A baby cannot be born without a father and a mother. With this fact, the baby becomes a member of the family system.
A baby comes from the spatial, formless, timeless and nonpolar direction of the North; actually a gift from the ancestors whose place is also in the direction of the North. The North-East point in the Wheel is the moment of conception.

If you want to learn more about Systemic Ritual and working with the concept of the Soul: See:

Strengthening the soul by means of Systemic Ritual

A baby comes from the spatial, formless, timeless and nonpolar direction of the North; actually a gift from the ancestors whose place is also in the direction of the North. The North-East point in the Wheel is the moment of conception.
The child gets to know the polarities, rules, norms, values, and concepts about the world and life in the family.
The child adapts to that because he needs protection and structure, just as a body needs bones. Adapting to the rules, norms, and values makes the child belong to the family and feel safe.
In essence, the family soul narrows our space. This is necessary to be able to participate in the world later on.
At some point in adolescence, the family system feels too limited. At that moment, the child starts to rebel against the parents, the so-called individualisation. It is a fake individualisation because the family is replaced by peer groups. Friends come, and the child starts to adapt to the accompanying subculture of these peer groups with their rules and limitations.

The tribal soul or collective soul

Joining a community is a necessary and logical step. Belonging to a group is needed to function in the world. It is a law of nature that you are more powerful as a group than as an individual. Therefore, when you join a group, you experience more safety and power.
The group forms a unit by the grace of excluding others. As a result, polarities arise – we and them. To have a sense of being part of a group implies that there are outsiders. Sometimes it concerns minor differences, such as dress codes.
There are ‘hard cores’ in the tribal soul. Groups that only look inward, cannot or do not want to enter into a relationship with other groups. Dialogue is not possible in that case.
This hardcore does not allow individuation. The hardcore does not tolerate dissenting opinions or behaviour from its group members. We know this from religious communities, but the same thing happens within football clubs and other associations or between political ‘camps’.

The individual soul

In time the individual member, if the circumstances are well enough, develops and matures. At one point, he/she will experience that the tribal soul also becomes too oppressive. The group member starts to feel different in some aspects and wants to find his own values.
This entails a whole process. We are programmed to survive, and that works better in a group. If the chances of survival (physical and mental) allow it, the individual can grow further.
In humanistic psychology, this is called self-actualisation. In Jungian psychology, it is referred to as the process of individuation.

The universal soul

It is paradoxical, but while maturing in the individual soul, the realisation will come that you are a universal being; one with all there is.
Ultimately, by observing your being, you arrive at the deepest core of your being. The identification with your body and personality disappears. That structure is released and transforms into a sense of unity with the whole. That is timeless, formless, unconditional, awareness of the equality of people, animals, plants. Here there is no more experience of polarity, no personal identification.

The veil between the material world and the ‘other world’.

We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors.
African saying.

It is said that around the beginning of November, the veil between the living or the material world and the world of the deaths /gods/saints/spirits or the ‘other world’ is at its thinnest and that on these days, contact with the other world can be most easily accomplished.

The month of November seems to be a suitable month for ancestor rituals. I start an ONLINE workshop series of 5 Saturday afternoons: Systemic Ritual with family themes and ancestors (basic)
This series starts on November 6, 2021 and consists of 5 ONLINE workshops. For more information and registration, see: /systemic-ritual-with-family-themes-and-ancestors/

The first week of November is when the sun is halfway through its (apparent) course toward the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere. There the sun ‘arrives’ around December 22. The sun is at that moment the furthest away from the Northern Hemisphere. Early November is on the Wheel of the four directions the moment where we move from the West to the North – actually the beginning of winter. The boundary between West and North is also the boundary of the living and the deaths. The West is the place of the elderly; the North is the place of the deaths and the immaterial existence.
We see that at the beginning of November, the transition from the direction of the West to the direction of the North is central. Hence probably the idea that the veil between the two worlds is paper-thin at this time. At least this applies to the Northern Hemisphere. It is different in the southern hemisphere (sun in the North). And that will be different for countries between the equator and the tropics.

Various myths tell about this, and traditionally different cultures have rituals that have to do with ‘the other side’ in this period. For example, the Celts and Germans celebrated festivals like Samhain these days. Likewise, it’s the time of Halloween, All Saints’ Day (November 1), All Souls’ Day (November 2) and the Dia de Los Muertos (Mexican Day of the Death). All these celebrations have the same theme, namely the commemoration and tribute to the deceased.

Samhain

The ancient Celts and Teutons celebrated the beginning of winter and the new year around October 31 – the exact date differed by tribe and region. The celebration of Samhain (Celtic New Year) traditionally begins at sunset on October 31 and lasts for three days.
Since – according to the Celts – during this period the division between the world of the deaths and our world is paper-thin, the Celts believed that the deaths are present in our world during Samhain. So it is the best time to commemorate and honour the deceased. The ancestors are welcomed during this festival with fires outside and inside the hearth fires. On Samhain, the table is set again for deceased family members. A plate with a napkin is placed on the altar to welcome the deceased and food is placed on the altar. Food can also be left outside for the deaths.
However, it was not a sad feast but a joyous feast with amusement, entertainment, food, and drink. During Samhain, the life of the ancestors is celebrated, and they become involved with the living. The ancestors are consulted and receive not only food but also gifts. Actually, a very nice way to deal with the deceased, to honour their place and to process their loss.
It is not only a celebration to honour and commemorate the deceased, but a celebration of all spirits and nature spirits. They also show themselves during this period.
Around this period, the harvests is brought in and stored. Some of the cattle are put back into stables and some are slaughtered to add to the food supply needed to get through the winter. The slaughtered flesh was also offered to the Gods, nature spirits and ancestors.
Therefore, Samhain is also a closing harvest, slaughter festival, and thanksgiving to the Gods, nature spirits, and ancestors for the harvest obtained.

Halloween – All Hallow’s Eve, All Saints Evening.

Halloween is associated with the Samhain festival. Irish and Scots who immigrated to the United States and Canada in the 19th century took the Halloween celebration with them. Today it is ‘celebrated’ by almost everyone in the US and Canada and has also been ‘blown’ back to Europe.

All Saints and All Souls

All Saints Day – November 1 – is a Christian holiday. On this day, all saints are commemorated and venerated in the Roman Catholic Church. During All Souls’ Day – on November 2 – all the deceased are commemorated.
At the beginning of November, there was also a ‘holiday’ in the agricultural sector in the Netherlands. That was a day of thanksgiving for the harvest. This took place on the first Wednesday of the month.
Until the beginning of the 7th century, All Saints’ Day fell on May 13. But to gain more acceptance for Christianity among the people, the festival has been moved to November 1. By celebrating the Feast of the Departed Saints on November 1, followed by the All Souls’ Day on November 2, these Christian festivals blended more easily with the original traditions of the people. Moreover, that made it easier for the church to “win souls”.

Dia de Los Muertos

In Mexico and, to a lesser extent, other countries of Central America, the Dia de Los Muertos takes place at the beginning of November. A 3-day festival in which the deaths are commemorated and honoured. This festival has its origins within the Central American Indian peoples.
In many aspects, it resembles Samhain. Here too, it is not a sad event but a joyful celebration. Altars are made for the deceased, on which food, drinks and gifts are placed. Life is celebrated both indoors and outdoors – in the cemetery. There is singing, eating and dancing.
Initially, this festival took place in early August. Under the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, this festival was ‘moved’ to the beginning of November to coincide with the Roman Catholic Remembrance Day.
Early August is an interesting time for Central America. Around June 21, the sun is perpendicular to the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere. For Central America, that is the North. At the beginning of August, the sun is almost perpendicular to Central America. Then the sun moves south again. From the beginning of May to the beginning of August, Central America has the sun in the North. Then the sun shifts south again. Initially, that was the moment of the Dia de Los Muertos.

Systemic Ritual with Ancestors

Overall, the month of November seems to be a suitable month for ancestor rituals and contact with souls. I participate in that by giving an ONLINE workshop series of 5 Saturday afternoons: Systemic Ritual with family themes and ancestors (basic)
This series starts on Saturday afternoon (4 p.m. Dutch time), November 6, 2021 and consists of 5 ONLINE workshops.

For more information and registration, see: /systemic-ritual-with-family-themes-and-ancestors/

Inspired by:
https://www.middenamerika.nl/mexico/reisgids/feesten-dia-de-los-muertos/
https://www.beleven.org/feest/samhain
www.nightofartemis.nl
http://samhain.heidensweb.nl/geschiedenis.php
https://www.middenamerika.nl/mexico/reisgids/feesten-dia-de-los-muertos/
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

The White Spider and the mental body

(Photo: The Spider = from the PsychoMotion Methode Reflectiekaarten
– www.psychomotion.nl/producten/)

In the article ‘Five bodies or our being‘ you could read about the different bodies.
In this article I describe a Systemic Ritual to support the mental body. You can perform this ritual alone or with others. In this ritual, the White Spider is used.

The mental body
The mental body can best be described as a structure that makes thinking possible. So it’s not the thinking or your thoughts themselves. It consists of channels and structures that determine how dreams, thoughts and associations are processed. The actual expression of the thinking process is done by the personality, the ‘me’ or ‘I’.
We find strong patterns in the mental body. Patterns consist of an automatic link between perceiving, recognising and feeling. The mental body has created paths that link past events, beliefs and emotions and lead to “automatic” responses.
Some of these automatic ‘responses’ or conditionings may be unfavourable for you and deeply grooved.
It takes practice to get rid of these destructive paths and put new ones in their place. So IT IS NOT A ONE TIME PRACTICE, BUT A PRACTICE YOU HAVE TO REPEAT AGAIN AND AGAIN.

The White Spider
The Spider can eat its own web. (That is a West aspect, cleansing) She reuses matter. Concerning the mental body, she can remove old structures and patterns. The Spider also can weave a new pattern or structure for you. (That is an East aspect).
She is also called Grandmother Spider or Crystal Spider.

A ritual to ‘heal’ patterns in the mental body

Take a seat in the centre of the wheel. You look to the South.
In the West (to your right) invite (in your mind or a representative) the White Spider that eats unfavourable paths.
To the East (to your left) invite (in your mind or a representative) the White Spider that creates new paths.

Ask the the Spider in the West:

“White Spider coming from the West. Certain patterns don’t serve me anymore. I ask you to help me get rid of these patterns.”

The White Spider in the West says:

“I am the White Spider who can break down, eat up, unfavourable pathways in your mental body. I help you to let go of what is no longer good for you at this moment of your life. I come from the West.”

Aks the Spider in the East:

“White Spider coming from the East. I want to replace old patterns that are not beneficial to me with new patterns that work better. Will you help me with this?”

The White Spider in the East says:

“I am the White Spider who creates new pathways in your mental body. I help you attract what is good for you at this moment in your life. I come from the East.”

And then you sit there for about 10 minutes – with a rattle or a drum or meditative music or just in stillness.
In these 10 minutes, you keep the image of the two White Spiders active. You repeat the sentences regularly. Just let happen what wants to happen.

You can repeat this ritual for a few days as long as it feels good to you.

Systemic Ritual, Shamanism and Theatre – who am I?

Besides practising Systemic Ritual and Systemic Constellations, I work at ZID Theater in Amsterdam as a project manager. I love theatre. People sometimes wonder how does this combination of Systemic Ritual and theatre work for me. I tell you, for me, there is no difference. As Systemic Ritual is related to Shamanic work, I want to explain how theatre is associated with Shamanism.

First: What is theatre?
When I use the word theatre, I am not talking about a building nor the standard narrative dialogue style of plays. Instead, I use the word theatre for the branch of performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience, using a combination of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound, and spectacle – so, in essence, multidisciplinary.

Second: What is Shamanism?
Shamanism is one of the most ancient human traditions. It exists already from the early beginnings of humanity. Shamanism evolved in hunting-and-gathering communities. An essential task of the Shaman was predicting and influencing the outcome of the hunt. Above that, his ceremonies were done not only for the sake of the community but also for the sake of the animals in the wood to be healthy and reproduce themselves.

It is said, Shamanism originated in the distant forests of Mongolia from where it spread. But I suggest it originated already before that time – at the very beginning of humankind in Southern Africa.
Shamanistic practices still exist in our present time. The detailed methods vary from one culture to the next. However, they all have in common that a Shaman can heal the sick, communicate with the otherworld, escort the souls of the dead to the otherworld, recalls souls back to a person that lost a soul part and the technique of trance. Women, men and transgender individuals can be shamans.

Strictly speaking, the word Shaman only refers to the peoples of Nothern Asia and the Ural-Altaic. But more generally, Shamanism is also used to describe all indigenous groups where a medicine man or woman is a central figure in a community, like in Arctic peoples, American Indians, Australian Aborigines and African groups as the San.

What is a Shaman?
Easy said, a Shaman is an important figure within small communities who connects with spirits or the divine through trance to gather spiritual and medicinal needs to heal individuals and the community.

In shamanic cultures, the Shaman is the keeper of ritual, religious mythos, and ancestral lore. Essential is the fact that the Shaman always works in and with the whole community. Family, food and fellowship always accompany ceremonies. This reinforces the cultural identity and unity of the community.

The origin of theatre
There is a theory that states that theatre evolved from Shamanistic rituals. The art of the Shaman is multidisciplinary. We find rituals complete with masks, costumes, dance, music, props, dialogue, chorus, myth, music, poetry and let us not forget forms of visual art (sculptures, decorations, paintings). All of this is similar to theatre.

Similarities and differences between theatre, Shamanism and Systemic Ritual

Time and space
Time plays no role either in a shamanistic ritual, Systemic Ritual or Theatre. The rituals take place in space, in the here and now, as is true for a performance.
The space is in all three methods set up. There is a clear ground plan or decor wherein the ritual or performance takes place.

The aspect of healing
Shamanic and Systemic Rituals have an explicit aim to bring healing, not only to an individual but to the community as a whole; healing on physical, mental, emotional and soul levels.
In Shamanic and Systemic Ritual, healing comes not merely from ritual healing actions and words, but also from the supernatural, spirits, and ancestors. Thus, the healing effect is not so much based on the individual’s capability, but forces from outside are used – for example, an ancestor.

Theatre is primarily directed to entertainment, although a healing aspect of theatre can be that it brings catharsis in one way. We love the performance that evoke us a tear, a laugh, a sigh, a moment of reflection. Don’t we?
For sure, nowadays, this is not a prime aim of theatre. But once it was. Aristotle said that proper tragedy has to lead to an evocation of emotions followed by a purgation or purification of those feelings to restore emotional balance and order.
Also, the ancient Greeks saw theatre as a means of healing a community or providing a public good through demonstrating societal ills and their consequences.

Purgation and purification is also an element in Shamanic and Systemic Ritual. In a Shamanic Ritual predatory spirits that have either possessed or wounded a patient’s body and soul are relieved. The same can occur within Systemic Ritual. In Systemic Rituals, often strong emotions can appear and be released. These strong emotions evoke the feelings of the other participants that join the rituals. This enables them to process their own emotions and undergo catharsis.

Use of language
In Shamanistic and Systemic rituals and theatre, language/sentences are used in a specific way, more like poetry, sentences with an archaic power – appealing to our creative capacities and unconscious. Maybe it is not the purpose of theatre, but these sentences are meant for a healing effect in the Shamanic practice and Systemic Ritual.

In all three methods, dialogue exists. In the Shamanic ritual, the dialogue occurs between the various characters that the Shaman becomes; he can speak as the evil spirit or next time as the benign spirit, for example.
In Systemic Ritual the dialogue occurs between the representatives.
In both cases the dialogue is created at the moment, in Systemic Ritual mainly with the help of the facilitator.
In theatre, the dialogue is between performers and well-rehearsed.

Music
Like in theatre music often guides the Shamanic and Systemic rituals. In the Shamanic and Systemic Ritual, that happens with the sound of the drum. The monotonous drumming helps the Shaman or participants of the Systemic Ritual into trance. For the Shaman, this is important to transport him to the world of the beyond. In Systemic Ritual, only a very light trance is invoked to help participants to feel what is, instead of thinking.

Embodiment / movements
In theatre, movements or dance are performed as esthetic entertainment. And well-rehearsed.
The Shaman uses his body too in rituals. The dancing helps to sustain the trance, but above all movements are a way to contact the spirits and communicate with the audience.
In Systemic Ritual I always encourage the participants to embody their experiences because it helps deepen the experience and representation.

Besides these movements, in Shamanic and Systemic Ritual, ritual actions with the aim to bring healing are used – just like the archaic sentences do.

In the trance state, the Shaman can perform acrobatics or vigorous dancing for very long periods. In normal states, this would not be possible. The same counts for fire-walking, fire-eating, and other acts of apparent self-torture; without trance, this would not be possible. These acts are taken as demonstrations of the supernatural.
These things you won’t meet in Systemic Ritual.

Voice
In Shamanic and Systemic Ritual, there is singing. Singing is a kind of prayer that holds the space for good things to happen. “It keeps away the bad spirits”.

Besides that, the voice reinforces the connection with the spirits and communicates with them. So during the ritual, the Shaman may make the sound of the animals he meets in the trance journey or mostly his own power animal.
In Systemic Ritual, I encourage the participants to use their voices for the same reasons. But only the very experienced participants will do so.

Representatives versus performers
In theatre, there are performers. They rehearsed very well, and each time they perform, they do more or less the same.
In a Shamanic Ritual, there is only one performer – the Shaman. Well-educated in connecting with the spirit and making trance–journeys, but all his movements and sounds arise from the moment in a trance.
In Systemic Ritual, we work with representatives, just like in Systemic Constellations. Everything that occurs arises from the moment, guided mainly by the facilitator – unless the participants are experienced.

Costumes, masks, props
This is an essential part of theatre.
But from the very beginning, it came from the Shaman. The mask and costume of the Shamans are very complex. All aspects of the Shaman’s costume and mask are a part of the animal nature of the Shaman. By putting on the mask the Shaman becomes possessed by the spirit represented and takes on the functions of that spirit.
Furthermore, there can be different props on the costume that protect the Shaman during his journey and help him come back to reality.
In the space where the ritual is done, there are other props that serve as food for the spirits, animal offerings and other objects for several purposes.

In Systemic Ritual, props can be used for similar reasons. However, costumes and masks are not used – at least not by me.

The role of the community
Rituals are always done for a whole community. As theatre is performed in front of an audience.
In Shamanic work, the community attends either as witnesses (audience) or as participants, depending on the ritual. Mostly, the communities help prepare for Shamanic rituals, which are often accompanied by feasts or fasts, a sacrifice of community resources, or even challenging group journeys into the wilderness.
In Systemic Ritual, everybody participates actively. Because of this active participation, the rituals help integrate individual problems and collective ones. Shamanic and Systemic Ritual work recognises and emphasises that an individual never stands alone but is always a part of a community.

Inspired by:
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-shamanic-practices-making-comeback-contemporary-art

https://www.bradshawfoundation.com/cave_art_an_intuition_of_eternity/decent_into_the_cave/shamanistic_visionary_experience.php

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/shaman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamanic_music

https://www.britannica.com/art/Western-theatre/Mystery-cycles

https://www.britannica.com/topic/shamanism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performing_arts

Dramaturgical Applications of Shamanic Healing for Social Change
John Patrick Brunner, Jr.
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in the Theatre Department of the School of the Arts, Columbia University, April 23, 2021

THE HEROIC JOURNEY: SHAMANISM AND THE ORIGIN OF THE THEATRE
By Alisa Shriner Ridgway, A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA. In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the graduate college THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, 1975

The Eagle

Recently I visited Florence for my work. I had some time to enjoy this beautiful city. So I went for a long walk, a bit outside the city.
I visited the San Miniato al Monte. As the name points out, this church is situated on a hill, not far from the city centre.
The building of this church began in 1018, and it was completed about 1207. The church is for sure one of the Tuscan Romanesque masterpieces. It is built on the grave of the martyr St. Miniatus.
I was impressed by the symbol of the Eagle that you can find in this church and wanted to find out more about that. I found out that the eagles are the emblem of Calimala, the Merchants’ Guild that was responsible for the church’s maintenance from the 13th century onwards.
But, the Eagle must mean more than this. In general, Christian churches house more pagan symbols and astrological symbols.

What about the Eagle?

Soaring to the heavens
The Eagle has the ability to soar towards the heavens, to 10 000 feet. The wingspan of an eagle can range from 6 to nearly 8 feet wide. When an eagle dives, they are streamlined for speed. They can achieve speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. When they soar, their wings spread wide as they allow the air currents to elevate them.

Symbol of Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension
Because it soars upward, the Eagle is often used as a symbol of Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven.

Symbol of St. John
The Eagle is also the symbol used to depict St John. John was one of Jesus’ disciples and wrote one of the four Gospels about the life of Jesus. John’s writing about Jesus is often said to ‘soar’ with inspiration – just like an eagle in flight.

The Divine
Because of its ability to soar incredibly high, some traditions say that the Eagle is an intermediary between humans and the Divine or the Great Spirit.

Monogamous animals
Like swans, geese, ducks, cranes, storks and a few other big and prey birds, Eagles are monogamous animals who mate for life. Male eagles stay with their female partners to help raise their eaglets. And many eagle pairs return to the same nest year after year.
So the Eagle can teach us about loyalty and devotion. I am sure the Christian religion likes the Eagle because of this.

Other symbolic meanings of the Eagle.

Hope and salvation
In other cultures, this ability to soar so high in the sky is associated with hope and salvation. In ancient Rome, the Eagle stood for victory. In ancient Greece, it stood for the triumph of good over evil.

Freedom and Independence
Because of their flight abilities – speedy diving and high soaring, the Eagle is also associated with freedom and independence – the embodiment of life without restrictions, borders, or limitations.

Truth and Honor – “The truth will set you free.”
The Eagle teaches us that when we live in the truth, we will have the power to soar higher than ever imagined. In this context, the truth means being truthful to ourself and others. Being truthful to ourself means living our life’s purpose on Earth and not the life others want to implement on us.

Powerful vision
Like owls, hawks, and other birds of prey, eagles have incredibly powerful eyesight. However, unlike owls that hunt at night, eagles hunt during the daylight hours. Their eyes are like a telescope: they can see eight times as far as we can and broaden their view/make a landscape view, but they can also zoom in on prey – they can read a newspaper (if they could read 😊) from two miles away. Furthermore, they can see more colours than we do.
In this aspect, the Eagle is a symbol of foresight and psychic awareness.
Metaphorically the Eagle can also help us to see things from a viewpoint we usually don’t see.

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Miniato_al_Monte

https://www.inspiredclassrooms.org/lectern

https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-1484,00.html

http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/san_miniato.html

https://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/birding-basics/birds-mate-life/https:

//www.uniguide.com/eagle-meaning-symbolism-spirit-animal-guide/