Welcome to The Divination Nation blog!
We are Pleasant Gehman and Crystal Ravenwolf, a duo of divination divas, “spiritual sisters from another mister”. We’re life-long Tarotistas, obsessed with all things esoteric and paranormal. We’ve created this blog to share our knowledge and to connect with the vibrant worldwide metaphysical community. Aside from Tarot, we practice many other disciplines, including Reiki, pendulum divining, dousing, crystal work, mediumship, house cleansings, and more. We read for clients, write, lecture and teach together as well as working solo. For years, we’ve worked as professional belly dancers, and since 2009, we’ve been doing paranormal investigations together, exploring public and private sites that are reputed to be haunted. Currently, we’re working on our book, “ Walking The Tarot Path”.
We are Pleasant Gehman and Crystal Ravenwolf, a duo of divination divas, “spiritual sisters from another mister”. We’re life-long Tarotistas, obsessed with all things esoteric and paranormal. We’ve created this blog to share our knowledge and to connect with the vibrant worldwide metaphysical community. Aside from Tarot, we practice many other disciplines, including Reiki, pendulum divining, dousing, crystal work, mediumship, house cleansings, and more. We read for clients, write, lecture and teach together as well as working solo. For years, we’ve worked as professional belly dancers, and since 2009, we’ve been doing paranormal investigations together, exploring public and private sites that are reputed to be haunted. Currently, we’re working on our book, “ Walking The Tarot Path”.
We’d love for this blog to be relevant for metaphysically-inclined peeps at every stage of development from e beginners to professionals, our posts will range from basic concepts and info that many of you are undoubtedly familiar with, to interviews, how-to’s and reviews on events and products.
We hope this blog is as fun for you to read as it is for us to write…Enjoy!
We
live for the dead…or more specifically, we are professional paranormal
investigators. We’ve been working as a
two-gal team since 2009, and often hunt with others as well. In addition to our
own Divination Nation investigations, we’ve done several with Ghost Girls, an
all-female Los Angeles-based team with revolving members- many of whom were new
to paranormal investigating. Of course, the newbies had several questions. This
coming weekend, we’re teaching our workshop “Paranormal Investigation 101”, in
California’s Central Valley and we’re
certain that those exact same questions will come up in class, so thought
we’d share some of our tips for keeping safe both spiritually and physically on ghost hunts.
HOLD A PRE-INVESTIGATION CIRCLE
Gather the members of your team together in a
circle, for a discussion that includes a run-down of protocol. This should include information on the site
you are investigating, including the layout of the site (or building) as well
as its history of haunting and what sort of spirits you might potentially
encounter.
Go over general
troubleshooting, such as making sure everyone knows what to do if they get
separated, in case someone gets injured, or feels physically ill. Often, spirits
have an affect on humans, who are sensitive to them, which could include-but is
not limited to- headaches or bouts of nausea. Making sure everyone is on the
same page about these matters will make for a much more efficient- and safe- hunt.
On our investigations, we
like to conclude our circle by having everyone hold hands and have a member of
the team lead a non-denominational prayer, asking for spiritual protection, and
wishing all team members a safe and active hunt.
PERSONAL PROTECTION RITUALS
There are many protection rituals that can be
performed before embarking on a paranormal investigation, and they are as unique
as the individuals who practice them! In fact, sometimes they might seem as
superstitious and downright bizarre as the lucky rituals gamblers practice…but
hey, that’s precisely why these are personal.
There’s no right or wrong here- as the old saying goes, “If it feels good, do
it!”.
Often, people like to carry a talisman or good
luck charm with them to ward off evil, so if you need a shiny 1943-penny or
your grandma’s rosary beads in your pocket, or must have a rabbit’s foot or
skeleton key with you in order to feel spiritually protected, go for it! Bear in mind that certain stones -crystals
especially- will actually absorb both positive and negative energy, so make sure you do your research, cause you
certainly don’t want to bring home any bad stuff with you.
Many paranormal investigators like to
concentrate on surrounding themselves in a protective bubble of white light. As
woo-woo and Grateful Dead Parking
Lot-adjacent as that might sound, it’s a terrific idea. If you feel safe and
spiritually protected, you probably are. Heck, we do this all the time. You must be at least somewhat woo-woo to be
ghost hunting in the first place, right? Embrace it- Woo-Woo “R” Us!
PHYSICAL PROTECTION
Your physical well being on a paranormal
investigation is definitely not a woo-woo concern, it’s very important. The
first rule is: Never Hunt Alone. You
never know what-or who- you might encounter…and speaking from experience, we
can truly say that we’re probably more afraid of humans than we are of spirits!
Many of the places you’ll potentially
investigate are in remote or abandoned areas, very late at night. Anyone with
even the simplest working knowledge of B horror films knows that these are precisely
the type of places where some nut in a clown suit or hockey mask is gonna pop
out and try to murder you. All kidding aside, there should always be at least
two people, more is better. Since we are both women, and often hunt with
all-girl teams, we always have a
couple of brawny dudes with us to act as security. Although our security team
is always terrific for warding off sketchy humans, truth is told, one of them
nearly quit on the spot out of sheer terror the first time he heard our Spirit
Box go off!
Remember to dress in layers, and wear
comfortable, well-fitting sturdy shoes or boots- you never know what you might
be walking around on- mud, rotting floor boards, debris strewn floors, uneven
steps.
Bring along plenty of water
and some protein snacks- many investigations last for hours and you’ll need to
keep hydrated and have your energy stay up.
A flashlight is a must, as is a small first aid kit. If there are several of you and you are
splitting up, Walkie-Talkies are also a great thing to have along. Remember to bring extra batteries- spirits
are notorious for draining batteries, not just on your equipment, but also on
flashlights. Make sure your cellphone is charged, too.
ASSISTING YOUR TEAM MEMBERS
If someone on your team needs help for any
reason, you need to be there for him or her.
As we said earlier, anyone who is sensitive to spirits can become
drained of energy, get panicky, headachy or sick to their stomach. These physical
reactions are fairly typical, and need to be addressed. Please do not leave
anyone alone or unattended if they’re in distress! Humans Before Ghosts, ok?
AFTER YOUR
INVESTIGATION
When you’re done with your investigation,
there are many things you can do to make sure you’re not bringing home an unwanted guest, often referred to as a
“hitchhiker”.
Circle up with your team again and have a
re-cap session, going over what you’ve all experienced and then let the
cleansing begin. First of all, you can respectfully ask any spirits you’ve
encountered to stay where they are. Mention that you had a good time
interacting with them and thank them, but that they need to stay put, they can’t
come home with you.
Have some sage in your car, light it up, and
take turns smudging each other before you leave your investigation site,
lightly fanning the smoke up and down each other’s bodies. Also, it’s quite important to make sure you
don’t have the sage with you on your
hunt- burning or not, it will keep spirits away! If anyone on your team can do
energy work, they can pull any negativity off the other members.
We like to keep our doors and window sills
freshly salted in general, but especially before going on an investigation, so
that in case we come home with a hitchhiker, they won’t be able to get into our
houses.
If you find yourself feeling
a bit under the weather after you’ve gotten home, don’t jump to conclusions: rule out the mundane first. Could it be
that your body is aching because you were running around on your feet for seven
hours? Your head hurts…are you sure you
drank enough water? When was the last time you ate? Check with other team members to see if
anyone had a cold you could’ve caught, that sort of thing. If you’re feeling
sick or just tired in general, monitor your symptoms and see a doctor if
necessary.
Stay safe, have fun and Happy Hunting!
#
For more on Crystal’s background, click here http://www.crystalravenwolf.com
THIS SATURDAY, AUGUST 8, 2015: LEARN TO CONDUCT PARANORMAL INVESTIGATIONS.... AND COME ON A GHOST HUNT WITH US!
(IN THE FRESNO, CALIFORNIA AREA)
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