If you felt drawn to this article, chances are you know the story of the boy who lived, a.k.a. Harry Potter, and his arch-nemesis Voldemort. But you might have missed the angle we’ll be using to inspect these “dark” objects and what we can learn from “He Who Must Not Be Named” in our own lives. In this article, we will look at how trauma leads to a similar split of our souls.
A short overview (Spoiler Alert): As already mentioned, Voldemort is Harry Potters’s arch-enemy in the Harry Potter Series. In “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” the reader is finding out, that Voldemort has created dark magical objects called Horcruxes to become immortal.
We are also finding out that a Horcrux can be created when a magician commits the most atrocious act by killing someone. It is said that when the person commits the murder, the soul will split and that it is possible to link the split-off soul part with an object.
We also know that Harry can only beat Voldemort by retrieving all the Horcruxes, destroying them, and at the end to face his antagonist. In the last book of the original series “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows” the reader is accompanying Harry and his two best friends to find and destroy the Horcruxes.
So far, so good. There are a few things that are of great importance to understand more about split-off soul parts and what we can do to reintegrate them. The integration part is the only difference in our perspective because Harry needs to destroy Horcruxes whereas Voldemort would have to do the work that we are going to do when we heal ourselves and bring back our vital energy.
The mystery of how to find these hidden objects, as well as the challenge to integrate them. I understand that traumatic events are always painful and depending on the severity of the experience we might not even remember they happened.
Knowing this, I chose a Hero many people have followed in their childhood, and to muster the courage necessary to begin the journey. From a shamanic point of view, when we experience pain that is too much to bear, a part of us is leaving the situation and escaping somewhere else. This is the case for humans and animals alike, and maybe other forms of life as well.
This reaction is “necessary” at that time because the strain is overwhelming, and it is an automatic protection. The problem, on the other hand, is that a kind of Horcrux is created. That part of us is detached, and the energy contained in the detachment is no longer available to us. Depending on how many times we disconnect in such a way, we lose more and more of our vitality.
Not only are we losing vitality, but our ability to feel and empathize with other beings decreases with every split that is not healed. By intentionally fragmenting his soul, Voldemort has lost almost all of his humanness/feelings and does not even realize that Harry and his friends destroyed many Horcruxes before it is too late.
At the end of the story, Harry Potter asks Voldemort to come to terms with his actions, because he has seen what is left of Voldemort’s soul. If integrating these parts is so important to be whole or healed and to re-integrate our life force or mana, how can it be done?
I will give you a brief overview because I believe this should only be done with proper preparation and with someone able to accompany you in the process. In order to reconnect with the split-off part, we make a shamanic journey and set out to find that part. Some parts want to be found, whereas others will try to hide because they are afraid the event might repeat itself.
In other cases, these parts are still “trapped” in the traumatic event, which will make it necessary to revisit the site and to deal with the experience in a way that is needed to resolve it. What kind of resolution is needed depends on the individual, but I gathered the most common aspects that can help you during such a journey.
#1) Be courageous
The events that hurt us often look much more daunting and fearful through the rearview mirror. Know that reliving the past on a day-to-day basis causes much more harm in the long run through avoidance or suppression than to confront. I created a short reel the other day when I use a question Wayne Dyer regularly asked his audience.
If you could choose between either having anything you wanted or experiencing inner peace, no matter what the circumstances, what would you choose? I have learned the hard way that possessions and having our wishes fulfilled are no real alternatives to being at peace. In order to find that peace, we need to be courageous and decide to let go of the past so that it is no longer able to dictate our present moment.
Harry Potter faces Voldemort knowing that he has to die, but because he does it for all the people he loves and wants to protect, he can come up with the resolution to walk into a situation that will end his life. There is an important point in the story, Harry as he was, needed to die in order to become the person he can be and is meant to be.
#2) Prepare well and summon your allies
When we are prepared to walk into a situation we experienced as extremely hostile and painful, we need to have our guardians and allies by our side. In the story, Harry has all the loved ones who passed away at his side. In our own situation, we can do the same or summon the allies who showed up in our shamanic journeys.
Whenever I am re-integrating soul parts with this method, I have my totem animals and spirit helpers at my side. It is not significant who or what we ask to help us, it is only essential to feel we are empowered by their presence and feel strong enough to revisit the scene.
#3) We are in charge of the situation now
The most profound aspect of shamanic journeys to me is, that I am in charge. I can “manipulate” the situation in a way that I come out as the victor of the confrontation. It doesn’t mean we have to relive the past and let everything happen the way it did. It is exactly the opposite.
We step in and stand up for ourselves. We might have been a “victim” when it happened, but we are stronger and “grown up” now. Furthermore, we protect ourselves from what happened. This applies to people as well as objects, or forces of nature. During the journey I can run into a burning house and extinguish the fire, I can bring everyone from inside out in time, and I can stop my car so that I miss the accident. These are just examples so you get an idea. The importance is to step in, in such a way that we get the feeling of resolution, and to best do it positively.
#4) We retrieve our soul part and take it with us
This is the most important part. Even if we don’t change the situation because we get scared or don’t feel capable, our goal is always to bring our soul part with us. I know of many situations and journeys where I simply got in, and asked my younger self if it was ready to leave this place and bring it back with me.
This example might be a little farfetched, but when Harry Potter fought Voldemort in “The Goblet of Fire” he grabbed the body of Cedric Diggory as difficult as it was. In a situation where we feel surrounded by attackers, our main goal is to get hold of our younger self and exit with it.
In all the years I have done the work, I found that when the time is ready we know where and how to find these aspects of ourselves. We usually find them through our emotions. There is some kind of dark or uneasy feeling that will lead us to where we need to go. When we meet a soul part, we can ask it two important questions. These also apply whenever we meet a being on any other shamanic journey.
We ask:
“Is there something you need from me?”
and
“Is there something you have for me?”
Other approaches might be needed depending on the situation, but it’s always a good way to start. Sometimes we will have to make a promise in the form of a commitment to take care of ourselves in a certain way and see to it that we will protect it because remember, we are in charge now.
When the situation feels resolved and whole, we ask it where in the body it belongs to. We hear the answer, we can begin to breathe into the body, and lead the breath to where the part got lost. In most cases, we will feel a sense of resonance or inner knowing that it fits like a key. Oftentimes, we even experience certain ailments that begin to heal with the integration of that journey.
When we are setting out on this journey, there are some things we need to keep in mind. Besides courage, we need great compassion and self-love. It can be difficult to revisit these challenging situations, and when we do, we need to treat them with care. It is essential to develop sensitivity to our needs and how we can prepare ourselves for that journey.
Similar to the progression of Harry Potter’s education and abilities, this is a highly advanced craft, and we need to have many tools and skills in place. In the LIFE program I created, it is among the last journeys we make before the end of the program.
I am not sure why I felt it is important to write about such an advanced journey. Maybe it is because I am once again following Harry on his mission to find the Horcruxes and face off Voldemort. Maybe it is because I want you to know that as fractured as we might feel, there is a way, and it is possible to feel whole and at peace with the events that haunt(ed) us.
I invite you to join the community and participate in a free shamanic journey workshop with me. You can find out more about it here.
Keep on keeping on…the journey has just begun!
Aloha