In almost all cases of magickal pearl-acquisition there lies an element of the mystique, of the occult and the processes of shamanic work. Nature offer these pearls possessing magickal properties to humanity and she often does so in ways that borders upon the miraculous and the "supernatural." We know this to be true as a result of several personal experiences where we were gifted by Nature of unusual objects with inherent talismanic value. We need not elaborate on this, the point being that when the hidden forces of Nature wishes to display their fondness, respect, and friendship towards someone attuned to their existence with mutual feelings on the part of the mortal, they often express their delight with a physical token, such as a natural artifact, a curio or a magickal pearl; these gifts often come as a surprise to the one so-attuned with Nature; sometimes they are specifically requested through occult means--shamans the world over are well familiar with the principles and the processes involved and regularly practice them. The modus operandi of this occult-retrieval, however, is not an exact science, and Nature does not always respond in the manner hoped for--greed, doubt, arrogance, harmfulness, wrong-timing, etc. almost always prevents the psychic-connection and the bonding from being established with Nature. Shamans treating Nature with love and respect while functioning under a magickal-trance and attuning to her life-rhythm are rewarded for their congenial expressions accordingly. This is not to say that just anyone can approach Nature and request pearls from Her and then be given them. It does require a certain degree of mastery and the unfoldment of shamanic/psychic powers aside from the development of purity and a spiritual consciousness--these are cultivated through years of difficult training, discipline and struggle. In Indonesia, the art of acquiring pearls from Nature is a specialized knowledge and not all indigenous shamans of the class called "pawangs" possess this power or know-how; traditionally, the mantras and "Ilmu" (occult-power/knowledge) of this type of work are transmitted from father to son only--one reason why sources for these pearls are scarce.
The search for one's animal-totem in a shamanic-journey also often concludes with the practitioner being gifted with a physical token by the forces representing the archetypal animal-totem; these keepsakes are regarded as magickal tools and as symbolic of the oneness and bond between the practitioner and his/her animal-totem. The occult gifts that Nature of the tropical wilderness of Indonesia present to native shamanic practitioners or fortunate ones come in an array of forms; predictably, they are derived from their native ambient flora and fauna and have mineral and/or organic structures in their composition--these objects are often in a crystallized, fossilized or concretized form. For instance, unusual shapes of fossilized roots, organic in the initial stages of their growth, are often presented to the shamanic-practitioner in his magickal interaction with the hidden forces of Nature. Pearls produced by plants, trees, and animals as a result of unusual organic functions or environmental influences are some of the objects imparted by Nature in her desire to establish a harmonious relationship between humanity and the lives of the various forms of spirit-intelligences composing her being. Lost or unowned objects such as kerises, spear-heads, gem stones, rings and other accessories, etc. when left in the open in the wilds for many years are often collected and hoarded by the intelligences of Nature and kept in secret or hidden places unknown to the mortal mind and unseen to the naked eye--these objects are likewise gifted to shamans under certain conditions. At first reading the above may seem like a tall-story, like a "fairy-tale"--and so it is: fairies are involved; the tales, however, are true.
Journeys to areas of pearl-retrieval often require hours of hiking through jungles and forests. Hardships are endured by shamans during such treks and retrieval-work. Most of the occult operations are conducted in power-spots/haunted areas referred to as "tempat-angker." These are cross-roads of magnetic forces that are conducive to psychic and magickal work, especially those rituals related to the contact with Nature's hidden forces. The tempat-angker are regarded as portals between the third and fourth dimensions and facilitates the passage of beings/entities travelling from one realm to the other. It is for this reason that the tempat-angker are regarded as haunted and avoided by natives familiar with the locale--there are many stories of the unwary person being lost there only to emerge years later but without any awareness of the passage of time. Magickal work done in power-spots require a knowledge of occult principles and rules that govern such occult interfaces to avoid or prevent mishaps from occurring. Two of the famous forests/jungles in Java where magickal operations are often conducted are Alas Purwo and Alas Ketonggo. Many sacred mountains are also chosen for magickal work such as Mt. Lawu, Mt. Sumeru, Mt. Muria, etc. Basically, however, the pawang-shaman would pick an area according to inner guidance or a spot already known to yield the type of pearls that he may be seeking.
During magickal-retrieval operations shamans are given guidance by spirit intelligence as to where mustika-pearls may be discovered and retrieved. Normally it is the regional guardian-spirit of a given area that comes forth to attend to the shaman. The pearls are often revealed to be located in caves, dens, nests, and lairs; other possible spots are in the vicinity of some unusual rock formation, old trees, pools, waterfalls, burial ground, etc. The pearls indicated by psychic sources could be buried or hidden in an area in which case they would have to be dug and sought for. Oftentimes shamans are guided and intuitively led to the whereabouts of the remains of animals who were hosts to these pearls. Through spirit guidance shamans are informed of the pearls available in an area, the approximate amount, their organic origin, and what types they are--the knowledge of these are conveyed via telepathic means and through psychic visions.
Occasionally, during the ritual of retrieval, pearls are manifested directly before the shamans from the etheric planes through teleportation or from whence they were hidden in the physical realm--this type of acquisitions are typically accompanied by long inner-struggles with the spirit guardians of the pearls and often the presiding shaman is tested in various ways of his courage, purity and worthiness. With the possibility of such a prospect shamans are always psychologically and physically prepared beforehand. If a shaman has spirits (khodams) working for him, his task is made much easier with their assistance. To facilitate the magickal retrieval process, offerings and certain empowered oils and incenses are employed in the magickal rituals as gifts to the fairy-spirits, and pragmatically, to release sufficient psychic energies so that spirit guidance or direct manifestations may occur; these oils and incenses can be quite costly and pearls acquired in this manner are not given away for a cheap "mas kawin," or "dowry." When all the tools and implements are set, the shaman would commence chanting the secret mantras of invocation, conjuration, communication and/or manifestation--this step alone could take hours to complete. Occasionally, of course, spirit guidance and directions are given to shamans without any need of rituals.
In the retrieving-ritual process, etheric forms may appear frolicking or moving menacingly before the shaman. If they are spirits related to dragons, tigers, and snakes, the etheric shadows would possess such forms as the associated-creature. Dragon-spirits regularly manifest themselves as wisps of smoke, as slithering etheric shadows--at time they form themselves through the flames of the camp-fire. While the psychic-struggle and testing is taking place, these spirits would strive to thwart the efforts of the shaman. But once the operator overcomes all of the trials and temptations, all of the personal fears, etc, the spirits eventually award him with the pearls that they watch over. Sometimes the spirits would indicate that the time for release would have to be at a later date as prevailing conditions related to the "bilateral relationship between humans and spirits" are not conducive or appropriate for the gifting--shamans would then have no other alternative but to postpone the acquisition. It has been suggested by some that the whole modus operandi of pearl-retrieval should be captured on video--this would certainly have a promotive effect on the sales of mustika-pearls; however, rituals conducted under such conditions are apt to fail because of the varied factors that conflict with the sacred and prepared environment and the processes of shamanic-work. Unwanted intrusions or an inappropriate/inept set-up are causes of failures during retrieval-work.
If these pearls are psychically revealed to be in caves where snakes and venomous creatures are to be found in abundance, the shaman while entering in the vicinity of the hidden pearls would strew certain substances left and right while chanting a power-mantra to repel the creatures and thus avoid being bitten--but even then, because they are so numerous, shamans often do get bitten by these creatures; at least one pearl-retrieving shaman showed us the marks of the various snake-bites that he sustained during the many trips he made to the caves in the dense jungles.
Hidden pearls are apt to glow or radiate subtly coloured-rays of light when they have a "desire" to be found; these auric lights are detected by shamans through etheric vision, and at times these lights are apprehendable through normal sensory perception. When the glow is seen in some dark recess or as emanating from the ground, it actually indicates that the regional or indwelling spirit of the pearl wishes to be bonded with a human-being. It is logical to assume that these nature-spirits are responsible for making the hidden sacred-objects to glow as once they are found the glowing phenomenon ceases--they do not continue to radiate lights and assume normal appearances once in the possession of their human keepers. The appearances of these lights not only occur in a shamanic pearl-retrieval setting, these events also occur under ordinary circumstances and in the haunts of men--even layman experience them according to the many reports that come to us. Various rumors and tales of glowing cobra and centipede pearls may have their origin in this paranormal phenomenon. Kerises and gem-stones when hidden by Nature similarly reveal themselves in the twilight or nocturnal hours as colored-lights emanating from the ground or wherever they are hidden--but when extracted from their position they no longer give-off their unearthly radiance. The latter is a strong argument in favour of spirit-activity in regards to glowing pearls as witnessed by individuals; that these are the result of spirit-agencies and not of any inherent properties of the pearls themselves unless possessing phosphorescent or fluorescent substances/minerals.
In the case of fluorescent minerals, however, ultraviolet light is required in order to see the effulgence. During their magickal rituals, shamans would often capture in their hands colored-lights floating or zooming their way--the captured object would feel warm and soft in their grasps. When their hands are unclapsed, stones or other small objects reveal themselves to be the miniature UFOs. This phenomenon and shamanic practice has gone on for centuries long before stage-magic came up with entertaining routines duplicating closely the above. The phenomenon of glowing lights in the environments of Nature are well recorded in the annals of paranormal research; nevertheless, there are still lots of mysteries related to the glowing-pearl phenomenon and as reported by reputable individuals that nothing conclusive as yet can be reached.
Copyright © 2006 Luxamore
