Shaman as Deathwalkers – Part I.

To follow up on our topic of a shamanic view of death and dying, we move on to the role of the shaman as a “Deathwalker” or “Psychopomp” (from the Greek word psychopompos, literally meaning the "guide of souls").

As a shaman, we may be called to assist those who are making their spiritual transitions or those who have already left the physical body that need help completing their transition and returning to their spiritual home.

The shaman may wait with and comfort the soul of a person who is dying and guide them across at the moment of death. Or they can also be with a person who is dying, when they lose consciousness and communicate with them. This is the time when the person who is about to leave the dying body is mostly on the spiritual side but is still anchored to the body. The shaman can ask the soul where it wants to go, then show them where this place is, so they have an idea about which way to go after death.

Most often, in today’s spread out society, we are called upon by a family member and are able to attend to the person making their transition from the spiritual plane. We come to help to soul to prepare for his or her rebirth. We can usually assess how close the physical death process is by the location of “Light Beings” present in the room. These beings actually help the person to cross into the spiritual realm. The closer they are to dying person, the closer the actual time of physical death.

So, just how do we assist the person to release from the physical body? One of the important things we do is to retrieve any energy or soul pieces that the person is missing. It is important to have these back to make an easy transition. And, often the person who is dying will want to return any soul pieces of others that they may be holding. In a recent case, I was called to the hospital room of a client who was extremely ill and was positioned with one foot in each world. The Light Beings were present in the and when I entered the room in altered state, Rose (name changed) sat up in the bed. She immediately started handing me all these little gift wrapped boxes and asked me to return them to their owners. There were many small boxes and my guides collected them all and immediately distributed them (we don’t ask who they belong to, the guides know where they go). She smiled and relaxed and drifted back to sleep.


In another case, a client asked me to journey for her Mother who was approaching her crossing over point. The client stated the doctor gave her Mother approximately three weeks to live. When I journeyed to her, the Light Being’s were in the room, about one half way to her bed, indicating about 3 to 6 weeks before crossing over. With permission for the Mother’s Spirit Self, a soul recovery was done to bring what she was missing and return what she was holding that belong to others. We then specifically cleaned up her chakra’s which were binding her to the physical body, then had a chat with her Spirit Self explaining the process she was in. We also assisted her to become aware of the Light Being’s and her Ancestors which were present to assist and greet her when she choose to make her transition. We then left her in a very relaxed state in the company of ancestors and Light Being’s.

The following morning, the client called to inform me that her Mother had passed around 3AM, very peacefully and with no struggle. This is the beauty of assisting a person at the end of their earth walk, so that leaving of the physical body is as normal as closing your eyes to go to sleep. Working shamanically with someone who is getting ready to make their physical transition can help them to eliminate the fear of leaving the physical and the struggle of clinging to a physical body that no longer can support living.

The final installment on death and dying will cover helping those who are stuck to complete their transition.

Until then….

Mitakuye Oyasin ( A Lakota prayer as a reminder that we are all related),
Gary & Debbie