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andreag23's review
5.0
I’ll go through this review chapter by chapter.
The Psychopomp
This chapter gives a general overview of who a psychopomp is and what they do.
Psychopomp Teachers
The author explains that while it is good to have a human teacher to learn about psychopomp work, you also work with spirits on this. In this chapter, there is an extensive list of psychopomp spirits and deities and descriptions of them, for instance Hekate and the Valkyries. The chapter closing with a ritual/shamanic journey to find such a teacher. I think it is best if you already have some experience with shamanic journeying or similar methods. The author then proceeds with tips about how to work with the psychopomp teacher/spirit that you have found (or who has found you) during the ritual as well as how to honour them, for instance with an altar space and offerings.
The Afterlife
This Chapter is about what happens when you die (on a physical and spiritual level) and what happens after that as one’s spirit (or soul) travels to the realms of the afterlife, welcomed by their ancestors. The author says that the afterlife is not Heaven and that there is no hell and he also writes that there is no punishment for »sins«. I guess your opinion about this very much depends on your personal beliefs/ faith/ religion, so some reader may disagree here.
There is a shamanic journey to one plane of the afterlife included in this chapter and the author encourages the reader to explore all the planes of the afterlife in more shamanic journeys. Another exercise is a journey to the so-called »Shadowlands«, which are also a part of the afterlife.
Spirit Communication
There are several exercises in this chapters, for instance about the »sphere of sensation«, empathy, psychometry, speaking to spirits with a pendulum (with yes or no questions) and scrying.
A note about the exercises of this book: In many of them, the author works with the chakras and he often talks about their importance. If you are not familiar with the chakras, I would recommend to research them a bit to find out more.
Helping the Dying to Transition
I found some very useful ideas and exercises in this chapter, which I hadn’t read about anywhere else so far.
Working with the Spirits
There is a strong emphasis in this chapter about remembering and working with your ancestors. For instance, setting up an altar for your ancestors and more. Again, there are some interesting exercises. However, there is not much information to be found about how to deal with problematic ancestors (with problematic I mean for instance people who were abusive, criminals or something like that when they lived). The author also emphasises how important the family is. However, those who come from a dysfunctional family may prefer a found family, people who are not related to them by blood.
Earthbound
Another interesting chapter in which the authors explains why some souls stay earthbound (for instance because of sudden or violent deaths, addiction, unfinished business or other reasons). He also presents some stories of spirits he has met who told him their story, to illustrate this further.
The next chapter, »Guiding the Spirit« gives a lot of interesting details about how to guide spirits into the afterlife, as a solitary psychopomp worker or in a group. Again, there are some exercises for this, for instance in working with ancestors and travelling to the »Land of the ancestors«.
Haunted Houses and Psychic Self-Defense
In the last chapter, the authors writes about reasons why and how a house can be haunted (or why some houses are mistaken to be haunted) and what to do about it, along with psychic self-defense and various methods for spiritual cleansings. There is also a section about spirit attachments and more.
There is an extensive bibliography (books and websites) included at the end.
TL;DR - My Conclusion
This is an excellent book for practitioners with some experience in magic and/or shamanism who want to do or feel called to psychopomp work.
If you have no experiences yet with magic-related methods like grounding and shielding or exercises for psychic abilities, and if you are completely new to shamanic journeying or similar methods which lead to a deep trance, my recommendation would be to research and study these first for a while and then read this book later.
The Psychopomp
This chapter gives a general overview of who a psychopomp is and what they do.
Psychopomp Teachers
The author explains that while it is good to have a human teacher to learn about psychopomp work, you also work with spirits on this. In this chapter, there is an extensive list of psychopomp spirits and deities and descriptions of them, for instance Hekate and the Valkyries. The chapter closing with a ritual/shamanic journey to find such a teacher. I think it is best if you already have some experience with shamanic journeying or similar methods. The author then proceeds with tips about how to work with the psychopomp teacher/spirit that you have found (or who has found you) during the ritual as well as how to honour them, for instance with an altar space and offerings.
The Afterlife
This Chapter is about what happens when you die (on a physical and spiritual level) and what happens after that as one’s spirit (or soul) travels to the realms of the afterlife, welcomed by their ancestors. The author says that the afterlife is not Heaven and that there is no hell and he also writes that there is no punishment for »sins«. I guess your opinion about this very much depends on your personal beliefs/ faith/ religion, so some reader may disagree here.
There is a shamanic journey to one plane of the afterlife included in this chapter and the author encourages the reader to explore all the planes of the afterlife in more shamanic journeys. Another exercise is a journey to the so-called »Shadowlands«, which are also a part of the afterlife.
Spirit Communication
There are several exercises in this chapters, for instance about the »sphere of sensation«, empathy, psychometry, speaking to spirits with a pendulum (with yes or no questions) and scrying.
A note about the exercises of this book: In many of them, the author works with the chakras and he often talks about their importance. If you are not familiar with the chakras, I would recommend to research them a bit to find out more.
Helping the Dying to Transition
I found some very useful ideas and exercises in this chapter, which I hadn’t read about anywhere else so far.
Working with the Spirits
There is a strong emphasis in this chapter about remembering and working with your ancestors. For instance, setting up an altar for your ancestors and more. Again, there are some interesting exercises. However, there is not much information to be found about how to deal with problematic ancestors (with problematic I mean for instance people who were abusive, criminals or something like that when they lived). The author also emphasises how important the family is. However, those who come from a dysfunctional family may prefer a found family, people who are not related to them by blood.
Earthbound
Another interesting chapter in which the authors explains why some souls stay earthbound (for instance because of sudden or violent deaths, addiction, unfinished business or other reasons). He also presents some stories of spirits he has met who told him their story, to illustrate this further.
The next chapter, »Guiding the Spirit« gives a lot of interesting details about how to guide spirits into the afterlife, as a solitary psychopomp worker or in a group. Again, there are some exercises for this, for instance in working with ancestors and travelling to the »Land of the ancestors«.
Haunted Houses and Psychic Self-Defense
In the last chapter, the authors writes about reasons why and how a house can be haunted (or why some houses are mistaken to be haunted) and what to do about it, along with psychic self-defense and various methods for spiritual cleansings. There is also a section about spirit attachments and more.
There is an extensive bibliography (books and websites) included at the end.
TL;DR - My Conclusion
This is an excellent book for practitioners with some experience in magic and/or shamanism who want to do or feel called to psychopomp work.
If you have no experiences yet with magic-related methods like grounding and shielding or exercises for psychic abilities, and if you are completely new to shamanic journeying or similar methods which lead to a deep trance, my recommendation would be to research and study these first for a while and then read this book later.
annarella's review
4.0
There're some interesting ideas and there's food for thought. I don't always agree with the author but this helped me to reflect and try to find my way.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
alexalkes's review
Honestly? It’s bad. This book is the prime reason I don’t read witch books. Poorly researched. Mediocre writing. Disappointing and not worth my time.