WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO 'JOURNEY'?
- Sanctum of the Rose
- Oct 4
- 6 min read
There are so many ways to undertake a Journey, it can be an external physical excursion or an inward space of stillness or a combination of both movement and internal exploration.
But at the heart of journeying is observation, knowledge gathering and guidance.
From ancient times people have been undertaking journeys to hunt, to find new lands, to trade, to quest, to foster connections, to learn and hone skills (Like the Journeymen of old who travelled the countryside offering their services to better there trade, I was fortunate enough to see the Journeyman trinkets whilst I was in Romania earlier this year but that is another story, you can read a post about my time in Romania here: https://www.sanctumoftherose.com/post/beautiful-romania-april-may-2025-beauty-simplicity)
Humans have also long been using journeying in a Spiritual sense too, to go within or to commune with ancestors and the spirit realms. In ancient temples priestesses and priest communed with the Gods/Goddesses and were seen as conduits between them and humanity, delivering messages through oracular site. In tribal communities elders, shaman and witches also performed divination and appeasement rituals and ceremonies, often involving journeying both physically and spiritually to help their people, there lands and foster their connection to their gods, spirits, elementals etc and to bring about healing, abundance and insights.
The ancient Egyptians journeyed through the duat to seek their place in the Field of Reeds, perfectly preserving their bodies so their ka and ba could be reunited. This process involved not only also passing through 12 doors and monsters, but required the necessity to have knowledge of sacred texts before culminating in the final test the, Weighing of the Heart.
The Sun God Ra also undertook jouneying nightly descending at sunset, sailing through the darkness in his solar barge to bring back the dawn and the light of the Sun. He too passed through the Duats 12 gates, which are symbolic of soul evolution.
In this explanation the Cambridge Dictionary defines Journey as: "a set of experiences that someone has over a period of time, especially when they change the person in some way"
The Hermit Card in the Tarot depicts a cloaked figure, holding a lantern and a staff and is symbolic of taking a journey of introspection, solitude, spiritual guidance and suggests that the person undertaking the journey is armed with all that they need to navigate their quest to gain internal wisdom. He is looking down not looking forward to the distance further suggesting that the knowledge he is seeking is within.
For thousands of years people has been journeying using substances to support the receptivity of visions, there are also various methods of divination that also support knowledge seeking such as the tarot, scrying, meditation, hypnosis, regression, breath, music such as drumming. And there is movement, take the Whirling Dervishes for example who through Sema ceremony, or active movement meditation, achieve communion with God which is symbolic of the journey of the soul becoming in union with the divine.
If you have ever been to a rave you may also have experienced the trance like state of hours of repetitive dance that may lead to 'Nirvana".
"I have been a seeker and I still am, but I stopped asking the books and the stars. I started listening to the teaching of my Soul". Rumi
And so at the heart of journeying is the longing to receive something that we need in order to improve and better understand ourselves, our lives and our world. Whilst there are other people that may form part of our journeys through life, who may help us find knowledge by sharing theirs, who may open doors and guide the way, it is ultimately our own relationships with ourselves and our journey into the heart of our souls guidance that is of the most importance.
To me journeying forms the basis of all that I do, it began for me in more of an external form through travel and seeking answers through books and study outside myself and this definitely remains a highly valued part of my life. For years I also attended raves and took substances seeking deeper connection but it was generally more revelling in the feeling of being numbed from normality, a blissful escape, rather then a deep connection to self and it rarely resulted in the meeting of my soul. I also spent a few years belly dancing - a beautiful way of grounded connection to femininity and body awareness which to me is also very much part of communion with the realms of self, being embodied supports turning within. When you allow dance to support your to let go, it becomes a true expression of Self.
These days dance is for me definitely ecstatic for me and forms a hugs part of my journeying practices but I no longer need substances to achieve this state and it does very much now support me to journey within into the realms of my own internal wisdom.
But the real start of the journey within started for me around 30 years ago when when I discovered meditation and breath which has evolved over time into a trance state where I journey into the depths of Self and commune with the truths of my heart and soul, gaining insights that support my relationship with myself and a deeper understanding of my own wisdom and medicine. One of my passions over the many years that I have been a facilitator and space holder is to take others on guided journeys into their own internal realms using beautiful visual landscapes, deity archetypes, aspects of self, guides and ancestral connection.
I am at my core a journey woman, a guide and key bearer that supports others to come home to themselves and the rhythms' and cycles of natural transitions, for life is a series of Rites of Passage and if we create and foster a deeper connection to our internal landscapes we gain a much deeper awareness of Self.
Recent Images from my Hathor Retreat where we utilised Trance, Movement and Ceremony to Journey with the goddess as an internal force within each of us.
I will perhaps write another blog post soon that is a bit more in depth about Trance Journeying.
In the Meantime if you would like to Journey with me, I have several offerings coming up that will support you to do so, both online and in-person:
Tuesday 7th October 7.30pm AEDT (Sydney time) FREE Full Moon Live Journey
You don't need a ticket for this, just check my social media at 7.20 for the Google Meet Link to join, you can access through your Gmail, Meet App or you should be able to connect directly through your browser.
My Facebook Feed: https://www.facebook.com/Sanctumoftherose
My Instagram Feed: https://www.instagram.com/Sanctumoftherose
Wednesday 22nd October - Inward Journeying Immersion - 8 Live Guided Journeys
This powerful container of immersion is designed to support you to journey deeply within utilising visual worlds, deity archetypes, elements and sensory activation over 8 Wednesday night lives via Google Meet. All sessions will be recorded. You will also be added to a supported Messenger chat to help with processing and to receive the replays. Info and Tickets here:
November 1st & 2nd - Summer Rose Weekend Immersion
Over the Beltane weekend and includes connection and activation to the incoming energies of summer and fertile union through creativity, song, movement, journeying and celebration and is taking place in the lovely Darling Downs, near Toowoomba. It is a collaboration between myself and my magickal creatress sister Tay from The Old Bone Mother who is during Day 1 guiding us through communion and connection as we birth Rose Ritual Rattles, that will be used in my Day 2 celebratory component of the weekend. Info and tickets here:
Day 1 - Rose Ritual Rattles - The Old Bone Mother:
Day 2: Summer Rose Celebration - Sanctum of the Rose:
And if you aren't a group person and would like to work with me on to one either online or in-person at my home sanctuary I am once again offering my services through mentoring, specific guided journeying session and empowered healing, all have journeying components. You can find out more here on my website, explore the various sections for info about me and what I do. Here is the link to the Guided Journeying Section:
If you have read this far, I hope that it has been resonant and insightful in some way, there are other posts to explore here on the blog and also through my social media, the links as seen in the links shared above.
And remember: "Life is a journey, not a destination." Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Blessings to you for all the Journeys ahead,
Jenni-Rose (Jen/JR)
Sanctum of the Rose
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