Sample Chapter: “Spiritcraft: A Guide for Seekers, Witches, and Shamans”

©​ 2020 Mondonac Center

Forward

The following is an ongoing record of the spiritual research of the

Mondonac Center. Jacqueline and myself, the co-founders of the
center, have done our best to report our results in an
evidence-based and non-dogmatic manner. Whenever possible
we have included accounts of our own experiences to give the
reader substance and justification for any claim.

We urge the reader to test the findings of this book for yourself.
Personal experience is the bedrock of personal growth. Never
take anyone’s word for granted! This is the essential philosophy of
the Mondonac Center.

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Sample Chapter: “Spiritcraft: A Guide for Seekers, Witches, and Shamans”
©​ 2020 Mondonac Center

Chapter 1

History of the Mondonac Center

Throughout both of our lives, Jacqueline and I have been

surrounded by the spiritual and the supernatural. Jacqueline has
been a spiritual sensitive since she was a child. She has
experienced many paranormal encounters and spiritual events,
and along the way become a shamanic practitioner in her quest
for meaning. Myself, while not terribly sensitive to the Spirit World,
I have always been dedicated to it. I worked with various systems
of witchcraft, shamanism, and occultism since I was a pre-teen. A
number of years prior to meeting Jacqueline I had devoted myself
to my spiritual studies and magickal practice in a quest for
answers. Upon meeting, the two of us quickly found that our
spiritual interests intertwined.

And then, “things” began to happen. Jacqueline and I experienced

a stream of paranormal events, synchronicities, dreams, and
glimpses of the Otherworld. These strange occurrences
culminated with a “possession event”, during which Jacqueline’s
body was completely taken over by another being. This
experience ended in an impromptu exorcism, during which I used
all that I had learned over the course of my time in the esoteric to
speak with the spirit and command it to leave.

The exorcism was successful. The irony of this experience though

was that, in retrospect, this event was meant by the spirits as our
initiation into the realm of the Spirit World. Certain beneficial spirits
help each and every person grow in life, and while they will never
throw anything at you that you can’t handle, they will test you.
After the possession event, two options presented themselves to

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Sample Chapter: “Spiritcraft: A Guide for Seekers, Witches, and Shamans”
©​ 2020 Mondonac Center

Jacqueline and myself. We could either burn all our esoteric books
and join a convent/monastery, or we could double-down in our
spiritual efforts and seek to truly understand what had just
happened to us. We could run away or, now that we had the
existence of the Spirit World truly confirmed to us, we could delve
deeper. The spirits were testing us to see how committed we were
to the path set before us, And indeed it was a test, as we learned
later. As it turned out, the being who had possessed Jacqueline
was one of her guides. She had been safe and in good hands
throughout the experience. Ultimately, the entire event was meant
as a sort of “baptism by fire” for Jacqueline and myself.

Of the two paths that presented themselves to us, those of turning

away or delving deeper, Jacqueline and I chose the second. We
decided we wanted to learn about the Spirit World in order to help
people connect with its positive aspects while also protecting
themselves from negative paranormal activity. We had just had
the truth and existence of the Spirit World confirmed to us in an
unimaginably vivid way. We were eager to find out all we could
about what was possible and what else there was to know.
Jacqueline dived into her shamanic practices, and I applied myself
to magick and ritual.

At this same time, we began a search for answers. In an attempt

to learn what had happened with Jacqueline, we visited a number
of shamanic practitioners. And what we found there astonished us.
We were met by skepticism and disbelief. The shamanic
practitioners we visited had largely adopted a (predominantly)
psychological model of Shamanism, in which the shaman is
merely accessing parts of their own subconscious mind. What we
encountered was a form of “atheistic shamanism”. These were
shamanic practitioners who would speak of the spirits as

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Sample Chapter: “Spiritcraft: A Guide for Seekers, Witches, and Shamans”
©​ 2020 Mondonac Center

metaphors and archetypes, and were, at the very least, very

uncomfortable with the idea that spirits could directly affect their
lives.

This left us thoroughly underwhelmed. Anyone who gives even a

cursory glance to the history of shamanism will find that spirit
possession is a rare but widely accepted phenomenon. And so we
set out to discover the truth on our own. We did so through a
combination of shamanic journeying, channeling, divination, and
magick. We delved deeper into shamanic practice and magick
than we ever imagined. Jacqueline began working with shamanic
ceremony and journeying on a daily basis. I dedicated myself to
magickal workings and study. We devoted ourselves to first-hand
knowledge. We tried everything out for ourselves, and only
allowed ourselves to trust what was written in books after
thoroughly testing it out. Along the way we began to be closely
guided by the spirits during our channeling and journeying
sessions. The things we found astounded us.

Jacqueline and I were exposed to esoteric truths and practical

innovations that were life-changing, and we decided we wanted to
share these findings. We set out to create a space in which people
could learn how to work safely with the Spirit World. It was
important for us to make this place inclusive, so that anyone who
had experienced paranormal events would feel accepted and safe.
It was to be a space in which the existence of the spirits was
accepted as fact, and in which people could feel comfortable
telling their stories and learning from others. It was to be a place
wherein people of all traditions could gather and learn more about
how to work with the spirits within their own chosen path. And so,
we created the Mondonac Center, and coined the term
“Spiritcraft”.

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Sample Chapter: “Spiritcraft: A Guide for Seekers, Witches, and Shamans”
©​ 2020 Mondonac Center

What is Spiritcraft

There are many ways to connect with the Spirit World. While
mankind usually likes to divide things up and define various
practices as separate traditions, this does not have to be the case.
A witch can engage in shamanic journeying, and a shaman can
cast a spell. These techniques are merely tools that can all be
included in one toolkit. Realizing this, Jacqueline and I began to
gather and test every tool for working with the Spirit World that we
could find. This set of techniques ultimately became Spiritcraft.

Together we built a toolkit that allows the practitioner to connect

with the Spirit World in a safe and positive way. The Spirit World is
full of ancestors and beneficial beings who want to help you and
give you guidance. By connecting with them, you are able to
access spiritual healing and inner growth. The techniques of
Spiritcraft did this for Jacqueline and myself, and they can do it for
you too. Connecting with the Spirit World can help a seeker find
meaning. The guidance of the spirits can help you find peace in
this existence and balance in your life. Spiritcraft is a path of
happiness and growth, through which you can build the life you
want with the help and guidance of the spirits.

Now, Spiritcraft is primarily composed of “spirit-based shamanism”

and “spirit-based witchcraft”. We use the term “spirit-based” to
designate that these approaches within Spiritcraft focus on
working with the spirits. As we noted before, many shamans may
not take the literal existence of the spirits seriously. While these
practitioners may be a minority among the general shamanic
population, the adjective is applied here to provide assurance to
the seeker that paranormal experiencers are safe here, and will

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Sample Chapter: “Spiritcraft: A Guide for Seekers, Witches, and Shamans”
©​ 2020 Mondonac Center

not encounter the dogmatic skepticism that is so common in our

society.

“Spirit-based” is also applied here to our particular strand of

witchcraft as it is possible to be a witch and never work with the
spirits. For instance, a witch can work exclusively with herb
magick, rock magick, the power of intention, etc. This is quite
acceptable as a practice, and there is nothing wrong with it!
However, there are many practices of witchcraft that work closely
with the Spirit World. If a witch chooses, they can delve quite
deeply into spirit work. And these are the practices we have
incorporated within Spiritcraft.

These two forms of spirit-based techniques, those of shamanism

and witchcraft, come together to create a powerful and
comprehensive practice. Jacqueline and I discovered early on that
witchcraft completes shamanism, and shamanism completes
witchcraft. In witchcraft you call the spirits to work with you here in
the physical world. And in shamanism, you send your awareness
to visit the spirits in the Spirit World. By combining the two
approaches you are able to work with the spirits both here in the
physical realm and also in the Spirit World.

The techniques of shamanism, witchcraft, and channeling form a

considerable collection within Spiritcraft. From shamanism the
practitioner may learn shamanic journeying (in which the shaman
sends their consciousness into the Spirit World in order to directly
interact with the spirits). Shamanism also offers the techniques of
spiritual healing and the ability to connect with individual guides.
From witchcraft the seeker may learn the secrets of magick and
manifestation, and unlock the art of divination. Sacred ceremony
and ritual are also strongly present in Spiritcraft, coming from both

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Sample Chapter: “Spiritcraft: A Guide for Seekers, Witches, and Shamans”
©​ 2020 Mondonac Center

shamanism and witchcraft. Finally, channeling offers many

techniques for acquiring direct access to spiritual guidance while
in the physical world.

All together, we call this multifaceted collection of spiritual arts:

“Spiritcraft”. By beginning to read this book, you have already
taken your first steps to becoming an accomplished “spiritcrafter”!

Personal Experience

There is one last thing to note. Within Spiritcraft (and at the

Mondonac Center) we focus on personal experience. Jacqueline
and I have an aversion to dogma, and we never want to create
any of it ourselves! We urge our students and apprentices to test
everything out for themselves. The Spirit World manifests to each
one of us in very different ways. While the experience of
Jacqueline and I can give you a general idea of how things work, it
is up to you to find out how it works for you. Therefore we urge
you to take everything we say as a “working hypothesis”. Take the
information, think about it, and test it out. This is the only way you
will find out if it is true for you. This also applies to any techniques
we teach. Everyone is different (including their energetic system).
This means that different people will have different amounts of
success with the same techniques. Ultimately, you will only know if
they work for you by trying them out!

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