Hitch hiker

A friendly reminder to maintain energetic hygiene and robust personal boundaries in these wild times.

So, as I’m sitting here writing this, I’m in a cloud of sage smoke sitting next to five buckets of crystals soaking in water and sunlight outside, all as a lawn care specialist removes detritus like leaves and sticks from our backyard.

Yah, we’re in big time cleaning mode today.

Why?

Well, because a client brought a “hitch hiker”—i.e. negative entity, demon, non corporeal entity, sentient inhuman entity, etc.— with her to an in-person client session here at TOTEM last week, and things have sucked pretty hard ever since.

Fun fact: TOTEM is a work + live space, so dealing with this entity every night during bedtime has not improved my mood.

It’s worth noting: I’ve never experienced this level of spiritual negativity in my 20 years of doing this work— and nearly 30 years of reading tarot cards.

Have remote and in-person clients that have come to see me have entities attached to them before? Sure, but it’s been very rare. What’s more: despite a little bit of a creep factor and some heightened awareness, none of these other, previous hitch-hikers have ever burrowed in, violated my energetic and mental boundaries, or put on an Amity-level shit show night after night despite daily cord-cuttings, energetic and space clearings, and all the rest of the requisite entity eviction processes we shamans undertake.

Now, before you get too worried, I’m going to be fine. I have the tools, resources and theological and historical know-how to keep on keeping on, and I’ll eventually wear this thing out by staying consistent (more on that further below). My guides, including several archangels, have been regularly engaged to assist, and I think I had a bit of a breakthrough last night in that department, leaving me feeling more cautiously optimistic as I sit down to write this.

It’s always a risk to shine a light on the darker corners of spirituality. It’s alienating and upsetting and isn’t exactly the kind of content I want to be focusing on with this Substack.

But I feel an obligation to be transparent and share what’s actually happening in the energetic ecosystem. And, to be clear, it’s not just me that’s experiencing some high strangeness lately.

In fact, the last several months have been pretty noteworthy.

Based on client sessions, discussions with peers and practitioners, and my own recent experiences, this kind of stuff seems to be both amplifying and accelerating. I actually think something really positive is on the horizon for all of us, and I’ve been feeling super buoyant and energetically awesome lately, so I’m not suggesting that this will ultimately be a doom and gloom situation.

That said, you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, and it would be appear that there’s a bit of serious spiritual churn at the present moment.

And some of that churn is in a real mood.

So, I’ve pulled together a few key helpful tips and tricks if you ever find yourself dealing with a hitch-hiker:

You’re not to blame

As I detailed in my post, Demons, HERE on Substack, these energetic parasites can latch onto anybody— regardless of religion, spiritual belief system, psychic ability, job, family, location, etc. In other words, this recent experience didn’t happen to me because I read people’s tarot cards or, as the kids say, “f*ck around and find out” on the regular. As many of you know, I’m unusually cautious with energetic hygiene and boundaries to the point of rigidity, and probably have better protections in place than the average person.

The bottom line is that I’m experiencing this because I had someone in my home that had a pretty gnarly entity attached to them. This person could have been a cleaning lady, a maintenance man, a family friend, or a neighbor— they just happened to be a TOTEM client. So, please take note: the key in these experiences is the human host, not any bad action on your part.

I mean, within reason.

Now, having some elaborate Aleister Crowley ritual magic sex ceremony or hardcore seance with a Ouja board or camping in a haunted hospital overnight isn’t a great idea, but those are the absolute most extreme (and stupid) spiritual behaviors and certainly have nothing in common with what I do here at TOTEM— or with what you fine people do as a part of your personal spiritual practice.

Now, it’s true that these energetic f*ckers like to bother psychics because they know we’re more sensitive to their presence, but that’s not the same thing as an invitation. Anyone that was psychic as a child will tell you they went through a phase in which they were tortured by negative spirits, particularly at night. I don’t know one psychic that didn’t have to overcome a fear of the dark or some degree of insomnia later in life as a result.

So, don’t blame yourself. I looked back on this particular situation and honestly didn’t do anything wrong other than give a nice lady some really positive, constructive spiritual insights and a bit of hope for the future— as well as two free flower essences as gifts! There’s something in there about no good deed going unpunished…

Sometimes, though, even a small gesture is enough to interfere with one of these things’ agendas. I mean, just a simple display of basic human kindness can trigger these bastards if they had some nefarious scheme in the works.

And none of this is ever a reason to not keep on keeping on. In fact, this b.s. is sometimes designed to get us to stop making a positive difference, and can indicate that we’re over the proverbial target in some unseen, super relevant and consequential spiritual tipping point that we aren’t even aware of.

That said, I am suspending in-person sessions for the near future. More on that below, but suffice it to say it seems like a simple, common sense step to maintain the energetic cleanliness I’ve worked so hard to attain.

Clean and clear, then rinse and repeat

Discovering a negative entity is a bit like spotting a cockroach. You need to tackle the problem aggressively, and then sustain pest control efforts on a regular basis to ensure the creatures are, in fact, gone for good.

So, that’s what I did the first morning after our unpleasantness began. I burned sage in every room, opening windows and doors and drawing open the shades to let the sunlight in. I use a small bronze container from CB2 filled with sand to maintain (relative) safety while quite literally playing with fire when I smudge the house! In between bouts of sage, I’ve been burning uplifting lemongrass incense. I’ve been repeating this every day, also spraying our Holy Water sage spray on my bed/ around my bedroom before sleep at night.

I’ve also been cleaning every surface, every toilet, every sink, and have been working to methodically clean out every closet and pocket of my work/ live space that may be heavy with stagnant energy. We even had the lawn care dude out to clean up dead leaves and sticks from our front and back yards, helping to move any stagnant chi around in our outdoor space as well. All of this is the first step in creating a clean energetic foundation.

From here, I’ve been cleaning all of my crystals— they’re literally outside, right now, in water, bathing in sunlight to detox from any wandering spirits. I’ve been taking super intentional, daily salt baths before bed, focusing on cutting energetic cords while in the water.

And this last part is going to sound a bit nuts, but I’m a professional shaman so here it goes:

I’ve been cancelling all spiritual contracts out loud. Now, I didn’t enter into any such contracts— such as inviting something into my space— on purpose, but it doesn’t mean that there wasn’t some tricky flip-of-a-bitch small print somewhere that I didn’t notice and that is presenting this parasite with some energetic loophole to exploit. So, for as crazy as it sounds (and yes, this is one of THOSE AREAS that sounds legit crazy), verbally cancel any and all spiritual contracts. You’ll also want to state out loud that nothing is welcome in your home but for what you’ve invited in, and ask anything else to leave.

In fact, don’t ask. Tell. Hell, I yell when I do this work. This is my house, my energy body, and this particular hitch hiker has been hitting my nightly dreams (now nightmares), which is super uncool and rude.

So, f*ck right off and keep it moving up the street!

Engage your spirit support team

I have been asking for help from the primary archangels with whom I do client work. As Nichole Bigley and I just discussed in our recent episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast, we tend to get our primary angel guides early in life— and continue to work with them as we grow and develop.

One great tip I learned from a Feng Shui consultant: ask four archangels to post up on the four corners of your home, space, room, etc. and manage the boundaries, removing any nefarious actors ASAP and preventing them from re-entering. Michael the archangel, Nichole’s primary guide, is especially expert at removing negative entities. Think of him as a super stoked spiritual cop, eager to put the bad guys in handcuffs and get them off the streets.

And remember: your spirit support team isn’t just your spirit guides— it can be your friends and fellow practitioners, too! Oddly enough, I received a care package from a fellow psychic and former coaching client (and friend) containing a myriad of energetic protection amulets and objects the day after this nonsense started. You see: there really are no coincidences in spirituality, so I called her to thank her for her thoughtfulness— and let her know that her intuition is ON POINT.

I’ve received a few other messages from clients and friends, each telling me that I’m in their thoughts. Not only does this full good and supportive, but it’s proof that we’re all energetically connected. I even had a dream featuring several psychic friends that I know in which they were helping me unravel this mystery, eventually getting the name of the entity and some context about its nature.

And don’t get hung up on the details with asking for help. I’ve pulled out my blessed rosary from Notre Dame (before it burned down) and some holy water. May this be a bit superstitious? Sure. But it makes me feel better and that, in turn, shifts my energy in pretty needle-moving ways. What’s more: objects of power, regardless of faith system, are actually powerful: they contain the intention and energy of positive spirituality, and that’s the thing getting harness when we pick them up to use them.

Things seem to be speeding up

I’m not sharing this experience to be dramatic or generate fear. In fact, it’s a super counter-intuitive move for any spiritual business: it can alienate and bum out my client base. But it felt important and, based on recent dialogues with all of you wonderful fellow travelers, it seems like it’s a topic that’s coming up in one way or another for all of us.

So, it’s important to maintain your energetic hygiene and spiritual boundaries, but it’s equally important to not spiral into fear or negativity. In fact, lower vibrational energies— collectively referred to as “loosh” in the world of woo— can serve as food for these parasites, so indulging in them can literally feed the very thing you’re trying to get rid of.

Personally, I’ve been reminding myself that this world is for us humans, and that we have the stronger foothold and claim to this place. What’s more: I’m very connected with the positive aspects of my spiritual system, having maintained regular contact on an ongoing basis— and not just waiting for a problem to reach out.

In turn, I have a pretty strong muscle memory on “reaching out” to my spiritual guides and angel helpers for assistance, and this has really come in handy during what’s proved to be a very challenging tug of war.

If nothing else, it’s proof that there is so much more to our world and our reality than we know. It’s a humbling reminder to stay on top of my game and remember that, as crazy and weird and woo as all of this is, it’s proof positive that there is a whole spiritual world just beyond our regular perception.

And I know that I have friends and loved ones in that world, balancing out whatever negativity comes my way from time to time.

This experience has also been a reminder that this kind of practitioner work is really not for the spiritual tourists. This is real stuff, which is why every civilization and faith system since the very dawn of time has documented its existence, attempting to collect their own tips and tricks to navigate these landscapes in relative safety.

And, at the end of the day, this experience has been an undeniable proof point for why the work I do is important.

Thank you to the clients that are being patient as we move appointments around to ensure energetic hygiene, and a huge shout out to the awesome, psychic women in my life that have reached out “intuitively” with messages of love, friendship and support!

If nothing else, light up some sage. Take a salt bath. And remember to maintain your boundaries!

-Rachel