THE ALCHEMIST’S GUIDE TO SHAPESHIFTING
Shapeshifting is the oldest form of shamanism, dating back over 30,000 years, and refers to one who can take on the form of another.
At a time when the earth was just beginning to thaw from the Ice Age, ancient shamans used shapeshifting as a way to see beyond the current human line of sight and enhance survival odds.
This in turn developed reverence and respect towards the land and her powers.
Tales of werewolves made their rounds in Ancient Greece and the Valkyries would shed their swan skins to appear as maidens.
The Jinn – an Ancient Arabian Shapeshifter
And while it you may not think that getting into the headspace of a raven could ever be of benefit to someone living in a postmodern world, shapeshifting is as powerful as ever.
Because to shapeshift is to develop fluidity and flexibility in your perspective.
And perspective is always the key to transmuting reds.
Ancient Greek werewolf tale
HOW TO SHAPESHIFT
At the core of shapeshifting is invocation – the ability to slip the character of another into your own being.
One of my favorite tools to assist with this is the mask.
Akin to shamanism, masks have long held spiritual power to transports users into realms unseen and gives voice to things unspoken.
Within the context of ritual, putting on a mask places the wearer at the intersection between the present and the past, the living and the dead
I sometimes purchase masks that resonate with me, but more often than not I prefer to make my own because doing so not only involves the divine masculine (creating through our hands) but is also a high form of play and flow.
Mask I purchased for invocation purposes (and photoshoot – which is also high play)
And this is exactly what I tasked coven members with last month.
Visionaries who run successful businesses set about to fashion their own masks, we then held an invocation party to pull in the characters to support perspective shifts.
Those who participated felt the true power of this exercise.
If you yourself are facing turbulence and toil in your life or seeking guidance and clarity – I HIGHLY recommend the practice of shapeshifting.
Shown above – the oldest found mask dating back 9,000, which is suspected to have been used by farmers in the Judean Hills to invoke dead ancestors and ceremony. Below is pic from coven invocation party using our handmade masks.
