Healing Divination: A Native Guide To Being Intuitive - Softcover

Laboucane, Shirley

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1780994591 ISBN 13: 9781780994598

Publisher: Dodona Books, 2013

Synopsis

Healing Divination teaches people how to develop psychically using methods based on the author s native spirituality. The book covers how to work with herbs and plants and how totems and power animals can give us with the ability of clairsentience, clairvoyance and clairaudience. There are lessons in divination including how to make your own oracle deck and how to do readings using cartomancy.
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About this title

About the Author

Shirley Laboucane is an aboriginal woman who holds spiritual gatherings and workshops throughout southern Ontario, Canada.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Healing Divination

By Shirley Laboucane

John Hunt Publishing Ltd.

Copyright © 2012 Shirley Laboucane
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-78099-459-8

Contents

Introduction...............................................................
1
Chapter 1 — Decisions......................................................
3
Chapter 2 — Purification, Prayer & Protection..............................
9
Chapter 3 — Angels, Guides & Totems........................................
18
Chapter 4 — Angel Medicine.................................................
25
Chapter 5 — Deer Medicine..................................................
32
Chapter 6 — Swan Medicine..................................................
40
Chapter 7 — The Green Intuitive............................................
51
Chapter 8 — The Aura.......................................................
57
Chapter 9 — Playing Card Meanings (Cartomancy).............................
68
Chapter 10 — Creating and Working with Your Own Orade Deck.................
85
Chapter 11 — Healing Ritual................................................
121
Chapter 12 — Doing a Reading...............................................
124

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, hereccentric friend Trudy was there to be a shoulder to cry on andprovide a place to stay. Whenever my mother and her friendscame together, there was the usual trip to a psychic followed bycoffee shop chatter on men, the newest affairs, and who wasbreaking up with whom. I loved those times and on my 13thbirthday, I was to be welcomed into the fold and was allowed tohave 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 ontime, which was an extraordinary feat for Trudy, the car turnedoff the road and onto a driveway bordered with wild flowers.Trudy parked the car, and while my mother and her friendsmoked cigarettes, I stared out the back window. I felt excitedand jittery as I was being initiated into the fold of womanhood. Iwas grown up. Like a rite of passage, I was now one of the girlsand I could participate in those delicious conversations, and itwas all so tantalizing and fun.

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

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

When it was my time to go, the old man came for me to takeme to the kitchen as this was where I was to have my fortune told.I remember just standing in the kitchen doorway with my emptycup 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 manyhad shared their problems in life. The silence was awkward andI was secretly afraid she was going to tell me she couldn't readmy tealeaves because I was young, but just as afraid she would. Isat down across from her. She took my cup and peered into andsaid, "Let's see what your fate will be." Her voice cut through melike a knife, she was one who had seen through the veil, she knewwhat happened in shadows ... I was terrified. I watched her go towork with the skill and experience of an ancient seer; sheanalyzed the tea grains and poured out her wisdom. She sawmultiple marriages, near death experiences, my mother'ssuffering and much more. I only wish I had been mature enoughto heed her warnings. She did indeed see into my future thatnight and that early experience stayed with me and encouragedme to become a reader myself, which the old lady by the swamphad also foretold.

After that night, I read everything I could find on psychicpowers, astrology and anything paranormal. I eventually becamefriends with a woman who did readings professionally, thoughinstead of tealeaves she used playing cards. I persuaded her toteach me this craft, and over the next couple of years she taughtme and we became great friends.

My decision to take this path seriously and make it a careerchoice happened on a camping trip to Northern Ontario. We hadplanned to camp, but after a few days on a thin mattress we'dhad enough and we traded our tent for a cottage. Our home forthe next week was a quaint little cabin located just a few hoursnorth of Toronto. The view was magnificent. We weresurrounded in a kaleidoscope of pristine Northern beauty. It wasthe ideal place to begin a new journey of spiritual awakening.For the first time in a long time, this native woman felt trulyconnected to Mother Earth. The tapestry of colors and ruggedlandscape captured my heart and when I breathed, I wanted totake all of this creative energy into me and merge with the landitself.

Walking along the worn path I could hear the echoes of theancestors, I could sense their presence in the shadows, but I wasnot afraid and felt a peacefulness rise up inside of me, it wasassurance that their love would guide me.

In the evenings, we'd walk down to a communal campfire andenjoy shared beverages, toasted marshmallows and goodconversations.

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

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

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

I felt really happy for her and I felt that this is what I wantedto do. I really enjoyed connecting with people and sharing withthem, and so on that Northern summer night my journey intopsychic development seriously began.

Weeks later on warm September day, I parked my car justdown the street from a spiritualist church, and with my feetswishing through a blanket of autumn leaves, I made my way tothe little white church. I had no idea what to expect, but I waspleasantly surprised to see rather ordinary looking people inside.The service was pleasant and except for the mediumshipperformed at the end of the service, it seemed to me like a traditionalProtestant service. That would have been okay but I havenever liked church services. I listened to the parishioners recitethe spiritualist creed, which centers on such things as personalresponsibility, the existence of God and life after death. Icontinued to attend the occasional service and I did attend theirpsychic development classes, which were very enlightening andhelpful. I found that I could agree with their beliefs but myspiritual path was a Native American/Celtic path and thereligious ceremonies of the spiritual churches didn't fulfill me.My mother had been my mentor and my spiritual teacher, sincewe had a long time ago chosen to live far from our community.After her death I was on my own walking a familiar pagan paththat 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 spiritualistchurch.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy this journey you are about to embark on, as I canguarantee that you are going to meet some fantastic people. Youwill be shocked, frightened, intrigued, and discover things aboutyourself you never knew. You will cry, laugh, and eventually youwill discover if you really like people or not. If you realize youdon'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 isa beautiful dream to aspire to be a healer and through the immeasurablemysteries of existence, we come to learn who we trulyare.

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 ofthe herbs smoldering in my shell, are the perfumes of MotherEarth. I spark my match and light my herbs, and with a deepbreath, I breathe in the sweet musky smoke of these trustedfriends. Cupping my hands together, I bring the smokiness upand around my head and shoulders and then swoosh it towardsmy legs and feet. Finally, I bring the smoke to my chest/heart andI bring in the spirit of the Earth.

My family taught me that before I perform any intuitive workI must be cleared and cleansed of any negative vibrations. Inorder to cleanse your energy you need to enter into a state ofgratitude and forgiveness: gratitude releases blockages andopens 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 thathave accumulated in our aura; collections of negative energiesthat are being held within our energy field. These pools of detrimentalvibrations can be memories, actions and emotions fromthis lifetime and prior incarnations. That is why it is not enoughto just waft smoke around our bodies, we should be connectingto the plant that is being used in the smudging ritual, and askthat plant being for healing.

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

When we smudge, we lift the doorway into the spiritualrealm. Once the herbs are ignited, there is power and strength,and that which illuminates our prayers, hangs thick in the air asit swirls and twirls around our heads. Whether by morn orstarlight the smoke will surely rise with steady ease — beautyand love ascending upwards towards the divine, and the trust isthere between sage and human. I gaze upwards to an azure sky;I want the universe to accept my offerings. The song of the sageresonating 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 touse before any kind of divination work. At first, I go through theseries of meditations of tuning into what gender it is, and whatkind of personality it has, just so I can get a foothold of the plantsvibration. While I am holding the dried rosemary, I let my mindrelax, let the scent of it come to me, and then I take a deep breathas if I am taking the energy of this plant into my lungs. Relaxingmy mind, I put out my psychic sensors towards the rosemary"feeling" not "assuming", remember there is a huge difference inthose intentions one is intuitive the last one is not. So before Iplace the herb in my smudging bowl, I imagine the smoke fromthe rosemary drifting around my head and I "feel" what theenergy of that smoke is like and how it affects me. I allow thevibration of the rosemary smoke to heal and to communicatewith me. Once I have made the psychic connection with therosemary, with much respect I ask for healing, wisdom andprotection.

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

Warm and musky frankincense expects to be burned. Thisresin has an inner knowing of its duty of warding off evil andcleansing people and places. Frankincense is a mighty shieldfrom evil because it knows how evil thinks and behaves, and soit can always outsmart it. Its energy is sharp and direct andnothing negative can withstand its force.

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

Cleansing the energy around the body using the smoke fromburning materials such as frankincense, tobacco and sage, iscalled smudging. Not all plants should be inhaled so do yourresearch about what is okay to smudge with and what is not. Ihave listed a few resins and herbs at the end of this chapter thatI use in my spiritual path.

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

The oils sprayed around yourself and the room before areading or any psychic work creates an atmosphere of balance.From my research, I have found that using one teaspoon ofvodka or witch hazel in a small bottle filled with water, and fiveto ten drops of an essential oil work fine for me. But I suggestthat you read up on essential oils and speak to an aromatherapistif you'd like to use them for cleansing and protection. Remembernever 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'mbeing enclosed in a cloud ethereal bliss ... soothing protectionfrom our Earth Mother. I have unquestionably discovered thatsmudging shifts the vibration of my mood from stressful to beingpeaceful.

(Continues...)

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.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Dodona Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1780994591
• ISBN 13: 9781780994598
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 141