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moonvoiceMapping the Otherworlds
The otherworlds, though vast and ever-changing, generally have specific landmarks and paths that are familiar to us, and cultures. Some landmarks may even be familiar worldwide, such as the presence of a world-tree, in some shape or form, with roots that stretch into the underworld, and branches that stretch into the upperworld.
Some people ask how we know that we're journeying in the otherworlds, and not just 'daydreaming' or visualising something that is internal only, and one of the ways that we can tell - though we can never 'prove' it - is by the presence of landmarks, and the way things happen there. After all, it might be a magical place, but it still seems governed by 'rules' in the same way that our own 'real world' is governed by natural rules.
When I journey, I take note of landmarks, such as forests or hills, animals or landscapes, doors or trees. I have noticed that I tend to 'enter' into the middleworld into the same two or three areas, every time. My explorations of the underworld, so far limited, are always in the same places, with the same features. These landmarks form a mental map in my head.
Consider mapping your experience of the otherworlds, draw a mud map, or just a vague sketch of your surroundings. Is it familiar? What kind of landscape is it? Where you in the middle, upper or underworld? Who did you meet there? What did you learn there? As you go on in your experiences, you may find that other landscapes connect to this one, or that certain paths take you to specific places. Sometimes drawing a mud map may even enable you to journey to specific places more easily in the future.
Certain cultures have mythologies that suggest or indicate 'places' or landmarks that may pre-exist in the otherworlds. For example, in Norse mythology, the presence of Helheim, or an underworld kingdom for the dead, may be a particular 'landmark' that you may encounter. The world-tree, found in many cultures, is another. Look into the stories of your heritage, or look into the mythologies of your childhood and your adulthood that have interested you and pulled at your spirit, and notice if there are landmarks there which resonate with what you have encountered in the otherworlds.
I feel it's important, if you do journey, to find a 'place' in the upper, middle or underworld where you feel safe and protected. It might be a small, quiet place. Or it might be a big sunny field, or it might be many places that each mean something different to you. Remember this place, and aim - if you can - to start your journeys in these places, or to finish them there. In the middleworld, I often come to a grassy plateau, surrounded by trees. In the underworld I come to a dead forest of skeletal trees and a hard, brown, packed floor. But for some reason I feel comfortable there.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- are there certain places I have been to more than once when I journey?
- do I have a sense of 'direction' in the otherworlds? (do I know if I'm in the middle, upper or underworlds, and what 'direction' I may be headed or in?)
- what do these different places and landmarks teach me?
- where do I do the most healing?
- do I have a place, or places I can go to where I feel safe?
- what could be the benefits and or cons of a map that I could always refer to?
The otherworlds, though vast and ever-changing, generally have specific landmarks and paths that are familiar to us, and cultures. Some landmarks may even be familiar worldwide, such as the presence of a world-tree, in some shape or form, with roots that stretch into the underworld, and branches that stretch into the upperworld.
Some people ask how we know that we're journeying in the otherworlds, and not just 'daydreaming' or visualising something that is internal only, and one of the ways that we can tell - though we can never 'prove' it - is by the presence of landmarks, and the way things happen there. After all, it might be a magical place, but it still seems governed by 'rules' in the same way that our own 'real world' is governed by natural rules.
When I journey, I take note of landmarks, such as forests or hills, animals or landscapes, doors or trees. I have noticed that I tend to 'enter' into the middleworld into the same two or three areas, every time. My explorations of the underworld, so far limited, are always in the same places, with the same features. These landmarks form a mental map in my head.
Consider mapping your experience of the otherworlds, draw a mud map, or just a vague sketch of your surroundings. Is it familiar? What kind of landscape is it? Where you in the middle, upper or underworld? Who did you meet there? What did you learn there? As you go on in your experiences, you may find that other landscapes connect to this one, or that certain paths take you to specific places. Sometimes drawing a mud map may even enable you to journey to specific places more easily in the future.
Certain cultures have mythologies that suggest or indicate 'places' or landmarks that may pre-exist in the otherworlds. For example, in Norse mythology, the presence of Helheim, or an underworld kingdom for the dead, may be a particular 'landmark' that you may encounter. The world-tree, found in many cultures, is another. Look into the stories of your heritage, or look into the mythologies of your childhood and your adulthood that have interested you and pulled at your spirit, and notice if there are landmarks there which resonate with what you have encountered in the otherworlds.
I feel it's important, if you do journey, to find a 'place' in the upper, middle or underworld where you feel safe and protected. It might be a small, quiet place. Or it might be a big sunny field, or it might be many places that each mean something different to you. Remember this place, and aim - if you can - to start your journeys in these places, or to finish them there. In the middleworld, I often come to a grassy plateau, surrounded by trees. In the underworld I come to a dead forest of skeletal trees and a hard, brown, packed floor. But for some reason I feel comfortable there.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- are there certain places I have been to more than once when I journey?
- do I have a sense of 'direction' in the otherworlds? (do I know if I'm in the middle, upper or underworlds, and what 'direction' I may be headed or in?)
- what do these different places and landmarks teach me?
- where do I do the most healing?
- do I have a place, or places I can go to where I feel safe?
- what could be the benefits and or cons of a map that I could always refer to?
