Read an Excerpt

Healing Divination

John Hunt Publishing Ltd.

CHAPTER 1

Decisions

Choose what you love ...

The first time I had a psychic reading I was around 13 years old. My mother had fallen out with my father and like always, her eccentric friend Trudy was there to be a shoulder to cry on and provide a place to stay. Whenever my mother and her friends came together, there was the usual trip to a psychic followed by coffee shop chatter on men, the newest affairs, and who was breaking up with whom. I loved those times and on my 13th birthday, I was to be welcomed into the fold and was allowed to have my tealeaves read.

I will never forget going for my first reading with the psychic. She lived in the country and yes, I know it sounds like a cliché, but she lived near a swamp and it was spooky. We arrived on time, which was an extraordinary feat for Trudy, the car turned off the road and onto a driveway bordered with wild flowers. Trudy parked the car, and while my mother and her friend smoked cigarettes, I stared out the back window. I felt excited and jittery as I was being initiated into the fold of womanhood. I was grown up. Like a rite of passage, I was now one of the girls and I could participate in those delicious conversations, and it was all so tantalizing and fun.

The spring night was mild and the fog slowly crept in from the swamp and into the atmosphere causing us to feel secluded from the outside world. Its icy strands surrounded the old car and even my mother remarked it was creepy. We got out and headed for the house, in the distance we heard the hoot from an owl and of course my mother had to mention that was a bad omen. It took everything I could muster not to bolt back to the car and lock myself in.

An elderly man with a slightly awkward demeanor greeted us; he welcomed us inside and guided us into a little front room, which smelled moldy. I remember noticing a bible and thought that was odd. He promptly disappeared and then reappeared moments later with a small tray of tea. "Make sure," he said, "that you leave some liquid in the bottom of your teacup and then turn the cup around three times and make a wish." And with that he left us alone. We sat in relative silence and drank our tea, which I might add did not taste particularly good but I didn't care as I was enthralled with the whole process.

When it was my time to go, the old man came for me to take me to the kitchen as this was where I was to have my fortune told. I remember just standing in the kitchen doorway with my empty cup in my hand. Through the low lighting, my eyes spotted her, an old lady sitting at the far end of the surprisingly large room.

"Come in," she said, as I approached her table where many had shared their problems in life. The silence was awkward and I was secretly afraid she was going to tell me she couldn't read my tealeaves because I was young, but just as afraid she would. I sat down across from her. She took my cup and peered into and said, "Let's see what your fate will be." Her voice cut through me like a knife, she was one who had seen through the veil, she knew what happened in shadows ... I was terrified. I watched her go to work with the skill and experience of an ancient seer; she analyzed the tea grains and poured out her wisdom. She saw multiple marriages, near death experiences, my mother's suffering and much more. I only wish I had been mature enough to heed her warnings. She did indeed see into my future that night and that early experience stayed with me and encouraged me to become a reader myself, which the old lady by the swamp had also foretold.

After that night, I read everything I could find on psychic powers, astrology and anything paranormal. I eventually became friends with a woman who did readings professionally, though instead of tealeaves she used playing cards. I persuaded her to teach me this craft, and over the next couple of years she taught me and we became great friends.

My decision to take this path seriously and make it a career choice happened on a camping trip to Northern Ontario. We had planned to camp, but after a few days on a thin mattress we'd had enough and we traded our tent for a cottage. Our home for the next week was a quaint little cabin located just a few hours north of Toronto. The view was magnificent. We were surrounded in a kaleidoscope of pristine Northern beauty. It was the ideal place to begin a new journey of spiritual awakening. For the first time in a long time, this native woman felt truly connected to Mother Earth. The tapestry of colors and rugged landscape captured my heart and when I breathed, I wanted to take all of this creative energy into me and merge with the land itself.

Walking along the worn path I could hear the echoes of the ancestors, I could sense their presence in the shadows, but I was not afraid and felt a peacefulness rise up inside of me, it was assurance that their love would guide me.

In the evenings, we'd walk down to a communal campfire and enjoy shared beverages, toasted marshmallows and good conversations.

I had bought a deck of playing cards and at the last minute I'd decided to pack them into my bag. One evening I had struck up a conversation about spiritualism with a fellow camper and the topic turned to readings. I told her I had been playing around with my card deck and she asked me if I'd give her a reading. I have to admit I was really shy about it and unsure how I would do a complete reading. But I climbed up the hill to our rustic cottage, grabbed my cards and headed back down to the fire. With a much needed cup of strong coffee, I settled myself into my comfy Muskoka chair and shuffled my cards; I decided to stick to a simple four card layout.

After the cards were pulled from the deck, I took a deep cleansing breath and decided to just feel the cards and her together. I had picked up on people's energies before and I wanted to see if I could just tap into that ability again. It was especially easy to get into the mood, sitting near a campfire, smelling the aromas of the crackling wood, and under a canopy of stars, the energy seemed to flow effortlessly and the connectivity to spirit was felt.

At the end of the hour-long reading, she pulled some money from her wallet and handed me some cash. I refused it, but she was adamant about it and made me take the money. She insisted I was correct about everything and she felt much better about things. Everything I shared with her is what she had desired to do all along and she felt the reading was going to help make some transitions go more smoothly.

I felt really happy for her and I felt that this is what I wanted to do. I really enjoyed connecting with people and sharing with them, and so on that Northern summer night my journey into psychic development seriously began.

Weeks later on warm September day, I parked my car just down the street from a spiritualist church, and with my feet swishing through a blanket of autumn leaves, I made my way to the little white church. I had no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised to see rather ordinary looking people inside. The service was pleasant and except for the mediumship performed at the end of the service, it seemed to me like a traditional Protestant service. That would have been okay but I have never liked church services. I listened to the parishioners recite the spiritualist creed, which centers on such things as personal responsibility, the existence of God and life after death. I continued to attend the occasional service and I did attend their psychic development classes, which were very enlightening and helpful. I found that I could agree with their beliefs but my spiritual path was a Native American/Celtic path and the religious ceremonies of the spiritual churches didn't fulfill me. My mother had been my mentor and my spiritual teacher, since we had a long time ago chosen to live far from our community. After her death I was on my own walking a familiar pagan path that was now different.

I knew that the foundation of my beliefs could not change, that is why I didn't connect with the services at the spiritualist church.

As an aboriginal woman, I feel a strong connection to this land ... to nature. As a Métis person, my heritage gives me a distinct way of bringing two powerful cultures together, the Cree and the Celtic, and it is from the merging of these two flames of spiritual knowledge that are so similar and so powerful that sustain me with a deep and profound inner peace.

In reality all our paths lead us back to a common circle ... the Sacred Hoop ... everything has spirit and everything is sacred, Awen.

When I tap into spirit, I am consciously linking with the energies of the Sacred Hoop that we are all part of; the elements, the stone people, the plant people, the swimmers, the winged ones the four legged and the two legged, creepers and crawlers. It is the energy of all creation that holds us together. Deep inside us, we are all one, and that is why when we open our minds and feel with our hearts, we become aware of the relationship we have with each other and our world.

When developing, it is important to be curious and open but it is also necessary to be protective and cautious, many people believe there is no evil, but I seriously doubt you'd find any aboriginal culture on this planet that doesn't acknowledge there is such a thing as darkness.

Even when I deal with dark people, and I have dealt with my share of them voluntarily and involuntarily, while I do not consider those dark people sacred, there is a purpose for them or they would not be here, the lessons that they have taught me are sacred because they have helped me gain wisdom.

Walking in the higher vibrations of gratitude, love and harmony is your best defence against negative energies.

We are more than our physical bodies, we are spiritual beings and if we tap into our true essence, we can remove the blocks in our lives. With divination, we can access our spiritual side for counsel in order to make better choices about the future. Consulting our inner selves by way of oracle cards, we can put an end to confusion and gain a renewed optimism to move forward in our lives with confidence. This method of renewing hope and bringing insight to situations is what healing divination is all about.

There is a very sacred side to readings, you will connect with people emotionally, spirituality and mentally, in a manner that is very pure and honest. There are realizations that go on in a half an hour reading, there are connections that people will remember for the rest of their lives and connections I will remember for the rest of my life.

Enjoy this journey you are about to embark on, as I can guarantee that you are going to meet some fantastic people. You will be shocked, frightened, intrigued, and discover things about yourself you never knew. You will cry, laugh, and eventually you will discover if you really like people or not. If you realize you don't like connecting with people, walk away from this path now. But if you really enjoy meeting people and connecting with them, then carry on in the Creator's name and enjoy the discovery. It is a beautiful dream to aspire to be a healer and through the immeasurable mysteries of existence, we come to learn who we truly are.

CHAPTER 2

Purification, Prayer & Protection

Mother Earth, disperse the darkness and heal my soul ...

Morning whispers with the promise of a new day, the smell of the herbs smoldering in my shell, are the perfumes of Mother Earth. I spark my match and light my herbs, and with a deep breath, I breathe in the sweet musky smoke of these trusted friends. Cupping my hands together, I bring the smokiness up and around my head and shoulders and then swoosh it towards my legs and feet. Finally, I bring the smoke to my chest/heart and I bring in the spirit of the Earth.

My family taught me that before I perform any intuitive work I must be cleared and cleansed of any negative vibrations. In order to cleanse your energy you need to enter into a state of gratitude and forgiveness: gratitude releases blockages and opens the gates of abundance, so before you pray and smudge, place your mind set in a state of thankfulness.

Purification is important. It helps us to release toxins that have accumulated in our aura; collections of negative energies that are being held within our energy field. These pools of detrimental vibrations can be memories, actions and emotions from this lifetime and prior incarnations. That is why it is not enough to just waft smoke around our bodies, we should be connecting to the plant that is being used in the smudging ritual, and ask that plant being for healing.

For example, sage is an ancient healer and an empowering presence in spiritual work. I would say it is essential to have this plant being as a helpmate.

When we smudge, we lift the doorway into the spiritual realm. Once the herbs are ignited, there is power and strength, and that which illuminates our prayers, hangs thick in the air as it swirls and twirls around our heads. Whether by morn or starlight the smoke will surely rise with steady ease — beauty and love ascending upwards towards the divine, and the trust is there between sage and human. I gaze upwards to an azure sky; I want the universe to accept my offerings. The song of the sage resonating through the air and fills me with awe and wonder ... is this healing? ... I think so.

Let us say you are about to cleanse yourself with rosemary. This plant helps increase psychic awareness and is excellent to use before any kind of divination work. At first, I go through the series of meditations of tuning into what gender it is, and what kind of personality it has, just so I can get a foothold of the plants vibration. While I am holding the dried rosemary, I let my mind relax, let the scent of it come to me, and then I take a deep breath as if I am taking the energy of this plant into my lungs. Relaxing my mind, I put out my psychic sensors towards the rosemary "feeling" not "assuming", remember there is a huge difference in those intentions one is intuitive the last one is not. So before I place the herb in my smudging bowl, I imagine the smoke from the rosemary drifting around my head and I "feel" what the energy of that smoke is like and how it affects me. I allow the vibration of the rosemary smoke to heal and to communicate with me. Once I have made the psychic connection with the rosemary, with much respect I ask for healing, wisdom and protection.

I sometimes get a sense with rosemary that it doesn't want to work through burning, but in the water element. I will add the herb to a spray bottle and spritz it around my body, making sure I get the front, sides and back of myself.

Warm and musky frankincense expects to be burned. This resin has an inner knowing of its duty of warding off evil and cleansing people and places. Frankincense is a mighty shield from evil because it knows how evil thinks and behaves, and so it can always outsmart it. Its energy is sharp and direct and nothing negative can withstand its force.

Sometimes we do not know how to pray, when this happens it is a good idea to light some incense and meditate. Resins such as frankincense and myrrh know the mysteries of the divine and can help us in our intimate moments with our God.

Cleansing the energy around the body using the smoke from burning materials such as frankincense, tobacco and sage, is called smudging. Not all plants should be inhaled so do your research about what is okay to smudge with and what is not. I have listed a few resins and herbs at the end of this chapter that I use in my spiritual path.

There are a few methods of working with plants to cleanse your energy field and your environment. You can add some petals or leaves to container of water, if I am doing this I only make a small quantity because the water can go rancid. Most of the time if I want to use a spray I will add some essential oils to the water such as rosemary or sweet grass oil and a couple of drops of witch hazel. One of my favorite smudging mixtures for the spray bottle is lavender and amber, the scent of these two combined is beautiful and I find that the lavender gives me strength and helps me speak my truth without fear. The amber oil teaches me to not spill my beans too quickly and above all to always be discreet, so you see there's a beautiful balance between these two energies, not just in spiritual truths but in fragrance as well.

The oils sprayed around yourself and the room before a reading or any psychic work creates an atmosphere of balance. From my research, I have found that using one teaspoon of vodka or witch hazel in a small bottle filled with water, and five to ten drops of an essential oil work fine for me. But I suggest that you read up on essential oils and speak to an aromatherapist if you'd like to use them for cleansing and protection. Remember never spray into your face.

I love to bathe myself in the aromas of an herb, resin or spice. Smoke is so mysterious; it stealthily encircles things. It's as if I'm being enclosed in a cloud ethereal bliss ... soothing protection from our Earth Mother. I have unquestionably discovered that smudging shifts the vibration of my mood from stressful to being peaceful.
(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Healing Divination by Shirley Laboucane. Copyright © 2012 Shirley Laboucane. Excerpted by permission of John Hunt Publishing Ltd..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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