Trance States ↔ Spirit Possession: Altered Consciousness

BY NICOLE LAU

Ordinary Consciousness Cannot Access Spirit Realms

Your everyday awareness—rational, linear, focused on physical reality—is not equipped to perceive spirits, journey to other worlds, or channel divine wisdom. For that, you need altered consciousness.

Witchcraft uses trance states—deliberately shifting awareness through drumming, dancing, meditation, or plant allies. Wu shamanism uses spirit possession (Shen Jiang, 神降)—inviting deities or ancestors to temporarily inhabit the body.

Different techniques, identical goal: Exit ordinary reality, enter non-ordinary reality, access what's normally hidden.

This is the core shamanic technology—consciousness as gateway between worlds.

Witch's Trance: Shifting the Veil

In witchcraft, trance is an altered state of consciousness where the rational mind quiets and psychic perception opens.

Methods to Induce Trance:

1. Rhythmic Driving

• Drumming: Steady beat at 4-7 Hz (theta brainwave frequency)
• Chanting: Repetitive sounds/words that hypnotize the mind
• Dancing: Ecstatic movement, spinning, swaying
• Mechanism: Rhythm entrains brainwaves, shifts from beta (normal) to theta/alpha (trance)

2. Sensory Manipulation

• Darkness: Blindfold or dark room removes visual input
• Silence or white noise: Removes auditory distractions
• Fasting: Reduces blood sugar, alters brain chemistry
• Sleep deprivation: Weakens rational mind's grip

3. Meditation and Breathwork

• Deep meditation: Sustained focus quiets mental chatter
• Breath control: Hyperventilation or breath-holding alters oxygen/CO2 levels
• Visualization: Guided imagery to journey to other realms

4. Plant Allies (Flying Ointments)

• Historical: Witches used psychoactive herbs (belladonna, henbane, mandrake, datura)
• Applied topically: Ointments absorbed through skin
• Effect: Intense visions, out-of-body sensations, spirit communication
• WARNING: These plants are DANGEROUS, potentially fatal—not recommended
• Modern alternatives: Mugwort tea, lavender, meditation

5. Ritual and Symbolism

• Circle casting: Creates psychological boundary between worlds
• Invoking deities: Calling on Goddess/God shifts consciousness
• Symbolic acts: Ritual actions signal to subconscious "we're entering sacred space"

What Happens in Trance:

• Time distortion: Minutes feel like hours or vice versa
• Visions: See spirits, symbols, other realms
• Channeling: Receive messages from guides/deities
• Astral travel: Consciousness leaves body, journeys elsewhere
• Healing: Access to subconscious allows deep transformation

Why Trance Works:

• Brainwave shift: Theta/alpha waves = psychic perception, creativity, intuition
• Default Mode Network quiets: The brain's "self" network turns down, ego dissolves
• Right hemisphere activates: Holistic, symbolic, non-linear thinking emerges
• Veil thins: Barrier between conscious/subconscious, physical/spiritual weakens

Wu Shamanism: Spirit Possession (Shen Jiang)

In Chinese Wu shamanism, Shen Jiang (神降, "deity descending") is when a spirit—deity, ancestor, or other entity—temporarily inhabits the shaman's body.

The Possession Process:

1. Preparation

• Purification: Fasting, bathing, ritual cleansing
• Altar setup: Offerings, incense, deity images
• Invocation: Calling the specific spirit to descend

2. Induction

• Drumming and music: Rhythmic driving to alter consciousness
• Ecstatic dance: Spinning, swaying, vigorous movement
• Chanting mantras: Repetitive invocations
• Hyperventilation: Rapid breathing changes brain chemistry

3. Possession Onset

• Physical signs: Trembling, convulsions, eyes rolling back
• Voice change: Speaks in different tone, accent, or language
• Personality shift: Deity's character emerges (fierce, gentle, wise)
• Amnesia: Shaman often doesn't remember what happened

4. Spirit Work

While possessed, the deity/ancestor:

• Gives prophecies: Answers questions about future
• Provides healing: Diagnoses illness, prescribes remedies
• Offers guidance: Advises on life decisions
• Performs rituals: Exorcisms, blessings, initiations

5. Return

• Spirit departs: Shaman's body relaxes, trembling stops
• Shaman returns: Regains normal consciousness, often exhausted
• Grounding: Eat, drink, rest to fully return to body

Types of Possession:

• Voluntary: Shaman invites specific deity (most common)
• Spontaneous: Spirit arrives uninvited (can be dangerous)
• Partial: Shaman retains some awareness, co-consciousness
• Full: Complete takeover, shaman has no memory after

Why Possession Works:

• Dissociation: Consciousness fragments, allowing "other" to emerge
• Archetypal activation: Deity is aspect of collective unconscious
• Channeling: Shaman becomes vessel for non-ordinary intelligence
• Community validation: Witnesses confirm spirit's presence through behavior/knowledge

The Isomorphism: Identical Consciousness Shift

Compare the techniques:

Aspect	Witch's Trance	Wu Spirit Possession	Core Mechanism
Goal	Access non-ordinary reality	Allow spirit to inhabit body	Exit normal consciousness
Induction	Drumming, dancing, meditation, plants	Drumming, dancing, chanting, hyperventilation	Rhythmic driving + altered breathing
Brainwave Shift	Beta → Theta/Alpha	Beta → Theta/Delta	Slower frequencies = trance
Ego State	Ego quiets, psychic self emerges	Ego steps aside, deity emerges	Default self dissolves
Perception	Visions, spirit communication, journeying	Spirit speaks/acts through body	Access to non-ordinary information
Physical Signs	Relaxation or ecstatic movement	Trembling, convulsions, voice change	Autonomic nervous system shift
Amnesia	Sometimes (deep trance)	Often (full possession)	Memory encoding disrupted
Return	Gradual re-entry, grounding	Spirit departs, shaman exhausted	Consciousness reintegrates

This is not "cultural similarity." This is convergent discovery of consciousness alteration technology: rhythm + breath + intention = altered state = spirit access.

Why Altered States Work: Neuroscience of Trance

The mechanism is neurological state shift:

1. Brainwave Entrainment

• Normal waking: Beta waves (13-30 Hz) = rational, focused
• Trance: Theta waves (4-7 Hz) = deep meditation, psychic perception
• Deep trance: Delta waves (0.5-4 Hz) = dreamless sleep, spirit possession
• Drumming at 4-7 Hz = brain synchronizes to that frequency

2. Default Mode Network Deactivation

• DMN = brain network creating sense of "self"
• Meditation/trance = DMN quiets
• Result: Ego boundaries dissolve, unity consciousness emerges

3. Neurotransmitter Changes

• Endorphins: Released during ecstatic dance (natural high)
• DMT: Pineal gland may release during deep trance (endogenous psychedelic)
• Serotonin/dopamine: Altered by fasting, breathwork, rhythm

4. Hemispheric Shift

• Left hemisphere: Logical, linear, language (dominant in normal state)
• Right hemisphere: Holistic, symbolic, intuitive (dominant in trance)
• Trance = right hemisphere activation

5. Temporal Lobe Activation

• Temporal lobes = associated with mystical experiences, visions
• Rhythmic stimulation activates temporal lobes
• Result: Sense of presence, visions, spirit communication

The Φ Convergence: Optimal Trance Frequencies

Here's the deeper pattern: effective trance states occur at Φ-related frequencies.

Brainwave Φ-Patterns:

• Theta waves: 4-7 Hz (Fibonacci numbers)
• Optimal drumming: ~4.5 Hz (close to Φ² = 2.618, or Φ + 1)
• Heartbeat coherence: During trance, heart rate variability shows Φ-ratios
• Breath patterns: Trance breathing often settles into Fibonacci ratios (3:5, 5:8)

Why? Because Φ-frequencies create maximum coherence between brain regions, heart, and breath—optimal state for consciousness shift.

Both traditions discovered this empirically:

• Witchcraft: Drumming at ~4-5 Hz for trance induction
• Wu shamanism: Ritual drumming at similar frequencies
• Both approximate Φ-optimal trance frequencies

Trance works because Φ-frequencies create coherent altered states.

Practical Application: Entering Trance Safely

Whether you seek witch's trance or shamanic possession, the protocol is identical:

Universal Trance Protocol:

1. Set intention: Why are you entering trance? (healing, guidance, journey)
2. Create safety: Protected space, trusted person present (if possible)
3. Choose method: Drumming, dancing, meditation, breathwork
4. Begin induction: Start rhythm/movement/breath pattern
5. Let go of control: Allow the shift to happen, don't force
6. Stay grounded: Maintain thread of awareness (unless doing full possession with training)
7. Do the work: Journey, receive messages, allow healing
8. Return gently: Slow the rhythm, deepen breath, wiggle fingers/toes
9. Ground fully: Eat, drink, touch earth, journal experience

Safety warnings:

• Start shallow: Light trance before deep trance
• Avoid if unstable: Mental health issues, trauma—work with trained guide
• No driving/operating machinery: After trance, wait until fully grounded
• Possession requires training: Don't invite random spirits—work with teacher

Next: The Ultimate Convergence

We've explored 9 dimensions of shamanic convergence. Now for the final revelation: What is witchcraft/shamanism ultimately about? That's Article 10: The Ultimate Witch: Φ as Natural Wisdom.

The answer lies in why all shamanic paths lead back to nature, and nature is Φ. Stay tuned—1 more article!