The Lower World as Realm of Instinct and Ancestors
BY NICOLE LAU
The Lower World—the underworld, the chthonic realm, the earth's depths—is where shamans journey for power, healing, and connection to instinct and ancestors. This is not a place of punishment but of primal wisdom, raw energy, and the roots of life. Understanding the Lower World reveals where true power comes from and how to access it.
Characteristics of the Lower World
The Lower World has distinct qualities that differentiate it from the Upper and Middle Worlds:
Energetic Quality
- Dark and earthy: Primal, dense, grounded
- Powerful: Raw life force, intense energy
- Ancient: Timeless, primordial, pre-human
- Wild: Untamed, instinctual, natural
Landscape
- Pristine wilderness: Forests, jungles, caves, underground rivers
- Natural beauty: Often described as more beautiful than the Middle World
- Alive and vibrant: Teeming with life and energy
- Timeless: No human structures, no civilization
Atmosphere
- Primal: Raw, instinctual, visceral
- Safe (usually): Despite being "underworld," it's often welcoming
- Healing: Restorative, regenerative
- Honest: No pretense, no masks, pure truth
Inhabitants of the Lower World
Who you meet in the Lower World:
Power Animals
- Personal power animal: Your primary spirit ally in animal form
- Helping animals: Different animals for different purposes
- Totem animals: Clan or family spirit animals
- Animal teachers: Animals who teach specific lessons
Ancestors
- Recent dead: Family members who've passed
- Ancient ancestors: Lineage going back generations
- Collective ancestors: The human family, pre-human ancestors
- Wise elders: Ancestral guides and teachers
Earth Spirits
- Gnomes and dwarves: Guardians of earth and minerals
- Root spirits: Beings of the underground
- Chthonic deities: Hades, Persephone, Hel, Ereshkigal
- Nature spirits: Of caves, stones, underground waters
What You Seek in the Lower World
The Lower World is accessed for specific purposes:
Power and Energy
- Retrieving lost power
- Connecting to life force
- Gaining strength and vitality
- Accessing primal energy
Healing (Soul Retrieval)
- Retrieving lost soul parts from trauma
- Healing fragmentation
- Restoring wholeness
- Recovering what was buried or repressed
Instinctual Wisdom
- Connecting to body wisdom
- Accessing gut knowing
- Understanding animal nature
- Grounding in earth reality
Ancestral Knowledge
- Learning from those who came before
- Healing ancestral wounds
- Receiving lineage gifts
- Understanding family patterns
How to Journey to the Lower World
Shamanic techniques for accessing the Lower World:
The Descent
- Down the roots: Follow tree roots into the earth
- Through a cave: Enter a cave and go deeper
- Down a well: Descend through water
- Through a hole: Animal burrow, crack in the earth
- Diving: Into a lake, ocean, or underground river
The Threshold
- Often there's a tunnel or passage
- May feel like going through darkness before emerging into light
- The Lower World is often surprisingly bright and beautiful
The Return
- Ascend the same way you descended
- Bring back the power, healing, or wisdom
- Thank your guides and allies
The Lower World in Different Traditions
Shamanic (Siberian, Native American)
- The realm of power animals and helping spirits
- Source of healing and shamanic power
- Accessed through drumming and trance
Greek/Roman
- Hades, the underworld of the dead
- Also Elysium, the blessed realm
- Accessed through caves or at death
Norse
- Helheim, realm of the goddess Hel
- Also the roots of Yggdrasil
- Home of ancestors and chthonic wisdom
Egyptian
- The Duat, the underworld journey of the soul
- Realm of Osiris and transformation
- Accessed through death or initiation
Psychological Interpretation
From a depth psychology perspective, the Lower World represents:
- The unconscious: Personal and collective shadow
- The body: Somatic wisdom and instinct
- The id (Freud): Primal drives and instincts
- Repressed content: What's been buried or denied
- The shadow (Jung): Rejected aspects of self
- Ancestral patterns: Inherited complexes and traumas
Journeying to the Lower World is accessing the unconscious and integrating shadow.
Power Animals: Your Allies
Power animals are central to Lower World work:
What They Are
- Spirit allies in animal form
- Represent specific qualities and powers
- Offer protection, guidance, and energy
- Different from totem animals (which are collective)
How They Help
- Protection: Guard you in journeys and life
- Power: Lend you their specific strengths
- Guidance: Show you the way, teach lessons
- Healing: Help retrieve lost soul parts
Common Power Animals and Their Gifts
- Bear: Strength, introspection, healing
- Wolf: Loyalty, instinct, pathfinding
- Eagle: Vision, perspective, spiritual connection
- Snake: Transformation, healing, kundalini
- Deer: Gentleness, sensitivity, grace
- Jaguar: Power, shamanic ability, shadow work
Gifts from the Lower World
What you bring back from Lower World journeys:
- Power: Vitality, strength, life force
- Wholeness: Retrieved soul parts, integration
- Grounding: Connection to earth and body
- Instinct: Gut knowing, animal wisdom
- Healing: Physical and emotional restoration
- Ancestral gifts: Lineage wisdom and blessings
The Shadow of the Lower World
The Lower World has its challenges:
- Getting stuck: Becoming trapped in the unconscious
- Shadow possession: Being overwhelmed by repressed content
- Regression: Losing ego function, becoming too instinctual
- Addiction: To power, to the journey itself
- Imbalance: All descent, no ascent; all instinct, no spirit
The Lower World must be balanced with the Upper World and integrated in the Middle World.
Practical Application: Lower World Journey
To journey to the Lower World:
- Set intention: What power, healing, or wisdom do you seek?
- Enter trance: Through drumming (especially effective for Lower World)
- Find your entrance: Cave, tree roots, well, or hole in the earth
- Descend: Go down through the tunnel or passage
- Emerge: Into the Lower World landscape
- Meet your power animal: Call for your ally to appear
- Receive: Power, healing, teaching, or soul retrieval
- Return: Ascend back to ordinary reality
- Integrate: Embody what you received
The Lower World is not a place of punishment—it's the realm of power, healing, and primal wisdom. When you need strength, wholeness, or connection to your instinctual nature, journey downward. Descend through the roots, enter the cave, dive into the depths. Your power animal is waiting. Your ancestors are there. The healing you seek is in the earth.
