Thank you so much for sharing this. I did something similar when I quit smoking. I concentrated on the years and didn't smoke and how free and healthy I was. I am sure that aided in my quitting the habit.

Rev. Rex posted a question at the same time you were replying, so you might check back a few posts.

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Hi Rev Rex! I want to thank you for your question and I do all that are taking the time to exchange thoughts and questions with me.

In addition to being a Witch, I am also a Shaman but not a Medicine person.
My teacher is Ceremonial Chief Frank WhiteEagle and he helped me define the difference. According to Cheif WhiteEagle, who is spiritual leader to twelve nations, a Shaman works with spirts and the spirit realm in any capacity. A Medicine person work with herbs and plants, like a Kitchen Witch or Herbal one. I began my path with Native Teaching. Interestingly enough, I was his son in another life. This year I will be adopted by him!

Not all Witches work with spirits. When I chose Witchcraft (as opposed to Wicca) as my primary path, I did not know this! As I grew within the craft I learned that some Wiccans practice their faith like a "religion" or a belief system. Some do spells in addition to observing sabbats and esbats and making offering, ritual prayer and petition.

My personal spirit path was totally spirit guided. I chose not to read any books until I was taught by them. THEN I read books and discovered what I was taught was all out there. I preferred to evolve as a solitary and remain a solitary to this day.

I differentiate Wicca from Witchraft because Wicca is new (from the '50s) as founded by Gerald Gardner) whereas Witchcraft is any of the older Pantheon and earth systems. Witchcraft is also healing, herbology and midwifery in addition to spell casting.

I would like to invite you to visit witchvox.com and read my articles that are up. I have written about karma, candle dressing, fighting the shadow self and soul retrieval (among many other topics). It is in these topics that I try to expound on my beliefs as I have experienced them

My first book, GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT, is a comparative examination of nontraditional systems. I am offering it free! There is a story behind this book. It was published by a publisher, claiming to be traditional. This publishser became a nightmare. I fought for three years to get out of my contract and miraculously I was finally released! I felt freed by spirit and decided my mission to educate and help is too important so I decided to celebrate and give it away for free for all who want it! (for your full length pdf please e mail me at catecavanagh@gmail.com)

I am loving this interview!

What are some of the basics that Chief Frank While Eagle has taught you?

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How to honor animal spirits really helped e as I love animals so very much.

I learned to do a ceremony for them so they can cross over as we do for people.

I learned how to accept and honor the "medicine" an animal offers when it dies near me. for example, I have always loved cardinals. One day I found a cardinal dead right by our house.

Because of WhieEagle's teaching, I knew I had to pull it's tail feathers so it could be freed from the earth to soar to Creator's realm in spirit. I thanked it, buried it but kept the feathers and made a modest totem to keep the power of the cardinal strong. I lit a candle for it as well.

I also learned to regularly make offerings-

If I have a gathering for holidays, the spirits must be fed first. Then, the spiritual leader (if present), the elders, others and then the children.

Although I came to this conclusion on my own before I met him, he reinforced that nothing bad comes from Creator. It is the evil that men do...Creator gives us the strenght and power to persevere.

Of course, he also taught me to never neglect a teaching opportunity. for example, I am very racially mixed with a lot of Taino Native American in me.
They orginated in Florida and what is now PR, Dominican Republic etc.

The Tainos called PR Boriqua. He taught me to call it the Native name and when people ask, I can educate them about the history of the Tainos.

He also taught me to give away what is not needed.

He and his wife have given away whole rooms to people in need, leaving themselves with nothing but it has always been replaced because Creator will provide no matter what.

People are always giving him cars and he gives them away to people in need!

I have learned to keep and hoard and not Native. Native is community and tribal and I am very tribal in my ways.

Could you expand on this? It didn't seem to fit in with Chief Frank White Eagles teachings.

Do you think that people who don't have Native American heritage can reach the same spiritual levels you have?

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I agree entirely, and in fact, Wicca IS a religion, as compared to witchcraft (or shamanism) which is not. Traditionally, shamanism does have to do with healing, but the role is far more than just healing. I do teach healing as well as the way of the shaman, but I teach spiritual healing before I teach herbal healing. I should qualify that...I have no problem with telling a person that such and such an herb will help with a cold, or such and such will help with toothache, sleeping, bad dreams, and so on.

My mentors were Cheif Edison Chiloquin of the Klamaths and Chief 'Lefty' Wildeagle of the Blackfoots, and my great grandmother on my mothers side was the second daughter of the Cherokee Chief...needless to say, there is shamanistic background there. My greatest teacher was an old indian, but I don't know what tribe...never thought to ask, but he wasn't from any of those I'm aquainted with...and he departed the physical realm for the last time between 100 and 200 years ago. He called himself Running Buffalo. (I suspect sioux, but I don't know.)

I've been to witchvox many times in the past, and will have to check it out again. I also posted there. (Are you seeing the similarities? )

Okay, back to a question...do you find it hard to explain to people that shamanism is NOT a religion, or that American Indians believe in a single creator?

If I might ask, what is your totum? (You naturally can decline answering that.)

I am sorry. I have nerve damage and sometimes my fingers do their own thing! LOL!

I meant to say that to keep and hoard IS NOT NATIVE!

Chief WhiteEagle has told me that he has met many "White" people that have Native spirits within- many lives as Natives or people whose sensibilities are more Native in composition.

Like Sun Bear, he believes Native teaching is to be shared. It is prohesied that many will come under one banner of Creator in the end of days in many tribes.

In this line, those of us care for the totality of the world are tribal, communal.

I am sorry for the typos!

What happens to your body during astral travels? I would assume that you would be in a timeless realm.

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I noticed my earlier response was not posted for some reason so I am writing again.

On the other side, there is no smell, pain or sadness. I have found many different realms which, in the beginning, were confusing. As I continued on my path I concluded the explanation for different realms are as follows as I have experienced it:

1. The spirits create realms that are pleasing to them either to perpetuate a preferred lifetime of most recent life activity or to resolve issues
2. The spirits create environments that will help me remember the experience when I get up the next day. I will recall one "scene" and recall the whole trip
3. There are various "domains" where the higher spirits and deities are.

I do not speak nor do I hear words at all. It is all a knowing within the mind.

I maintain identity and recall of who I am and those I love in my present life.

I hope this gets posted

Among "our circles" people are very tolerant and open. My friends and family either practice their own form of system or find what I believe very interesting even if they do not fully understand it. My mother-in-law actually tells people I am a Witch--but a good Witch-- which I think is very progressive of her.

Among people who fear to question, anything out of the mainstream is considered superstition. When I was in college this was exactly what was taught and I simply couldn't buy it at all. I judged academia for judging systems they were judging.

As for totems I have so very many but the ones that work with me on a regular basis are: horses, big, wild cats and wolves