58/In the Shadow of the Shaman

shamanic path.
In the appendix, I have included a chart on totem medicine. It is
made up of totems that I use for the usual journeys and wheels of the
four directions. There are many other wheels within the wheels I have
included in this chart. The ones I have given you can serve as a
foundation for your own journey experiences. I do suggest that you
begin to keep track of the effect of various totems on your journeys
or wheels.
Sometimes these totems follow very traditional attributes, and
you may tap into that energy easily. Sometimes totems have very
personal reactions to you or to the specifics of riding the wheel you're
on. Keeping notes can be valuable. After all, wheels do keep spinning
around and around. You may find yourself right back where you started,
doing the same things again. This time, though, you have the greatest
totem helper of all-personal experience. Pair experience with some
useful information about which totems specifically helped in particular
situations you may not have to keep riding that same wheel.
"Pocket power" is a term I use to describe the ongoing specific
use of totems for daily shamanic medicine or energy connections.
The totems of the Plant and Mineral Worlds naturally lend themselves
to this pocket power more easily than Human, Animal, or Spirit
World totems. I'm going to give you a variety of specific applications
for Plant and Mineral World totems that you may use on a daily basis
for what we call in psychology "problems in everyday living."
Before I discuss the Plant and Mineral Worlds, I want to share a
few ways that make it possible to utilize Human and Animal World
totems easily on a daily basis. Spirit World totems, such as sacred
ceremonial items, or totems of extremely high vibration, are probably
best left to special use instead of daily application.
A good example of such a high-vibration totem is the Herkimer
diamond. Its effect is very intense on most people carrying it as a pocket
power, or even in a medicine bag close to the body. Unless a person is
very earthy in their aspects-very earthy-the Herkimer diamond
has a strong sedative effect.
The Herkimer diamond is a powerful dream and shamanic­
journey stone. While it may sound pleasant to be in a state between
the worlds of concrete and abstract form, it could have dangerous
results. It could also cause some serious psychic fatigue and real­
world exhaustion. Save the high-vibration totems for ceremony and
occasions separate Irom the everyday world.