In Shamanism, dismemberment is a journey that one can ask for (sometimes it is even spontaneous), in which the body can be either partially or fully torn apart.

Though this is sometimes quite gruesome and terrifying (I know it was for me at least my first time), it is a natural and powerful healing journey in which the spirits tear you down until it is only your soul essence that is left.

These two different types of dismemberments are, in my opinion, used by the spirits for different functions.

A full dismemberment is exactly as it sounds. You are fully dismembered, nothing left except the soul essence. No arms, legs, brain or even heart. Once dismembered, you are completely and utterly just your soul and consciousness.

Once in this state of being, you are given the opportunity to reconnect with your soulful self. This is the one who knows everything you need to know. Everything about your past, present, and future lives. Your skills, and gifts, your spiritual advancements and knowledge. This is essentially your light. Your one true self.

In a partial dismemberment, again just like it sounds, you are only partially dismembered. The spirits may not see a need to strip you of the unnecessary, but only just the parts that may be causing issues, or to help learn a less. They may only take your eyes, or half your body, or a part that has arthritis. This proves useful for many reasons. Like healing or an energy extraction. Many people and shamans have experienced this.

I have experienced this recently myself where I was becoming angry quickly and for no reason. This lead to me releasing it in an unhealthy way towards loved ones and was becoming very toxic. So, I asked for a dismemberment and a ritual to do to help heal. The spirits obliged, and though I won’t go into specifics, I have been able to move on from that time.

The next step in a dismemberment journey is the rememberment. Yep! You won’t stay dismembered forever! You will be remembered by the spirits! But it’s not always in the way you expect.

Instead of eyes, they may put gems or crystals in their place. Instead of an arm, you might get a wing, or a head of stone (all these are ways the spirits have remembered me in various journeys). This serves a purpose and is a good idea to write it down so you can look up or journey on each meaning later.

There are two main types of rememberings. A full and a partial.

In a full remembering, they will bring back or replace your full body and you are a working being again. Or they will only remember part of you. The meanings behind either of these vary with the meaning of the items they remembered you by. Just know that very rarely will you be remembered as you were before. This is to help you move forward. To continue that forward motion of change.

In a partial remembering it’s the same as a partial dismemberment. Your spirits don’t think you need to be fully remembered. I have had several of these. And every time I ask myself why. When I journey on it, they always tell me I didn’t need what they didn’t put back.

This has helped me grow in ways I didn’t think I would. For those of you familiar with Bonsai, it feels as if I am a Bonsai tree that is being shaped and grown into a beautiful figure (Of course that’s my perception, you may have a different).

So why? Why does this exist? And why is it so gruesome?

Well, let’s answer the last of those questions first. Why is it so gruesome? Because it is natural. In nature if someone was to rip of your arm, you would bleed out. Or if you were pecked to the bone by crows, it’d be pretty gruesome there too. This is natural, and again it is pretty natural to feel fear about these too. Understand that it is part of the natural cycle and there is no malintent with these journeys.

Dismemberment exists to heal. It exists to facilitate subtle and dramatic changes. It exists to reconnect us to natural cycles of birth, death, and rebirth. The complexity of dismemberment is usually only understood by the one who is dismembered and shouldn’t be interpreted by anyone but. This journey is deeply personal and should only be shared if you want to share.

Dismemberments though unpleasant, provide a necessity to all shamans across the world as they live with a foot in each world. To have a dismemberment is to be rid of energies and intents that are not your own.

As always!

May you go forth in love and light,

Wyatt