.png)
Ever feel like there’s a gap in your spiritual or occult practices? Maybe you’ve explored shamanism, magic, or rituals, but some deeper healing or self-understanding still seems out of reach. With these practices, ones connection to the spirit world, the power of their rituals or the number of healing modalities and techniques they have under their belt is not what is important in the long run - it's what is happening internally. Many people who get into these esoteric practices unconsciously operate from a place of separation, seeing the cosmos and the spirit world as something that is separate from them, when in reality, the spirit world is a mirror of what lies within the psyche - all is within!
Enter parts work: a psychological framework that helps you understand, heal and integrate the repressed "parts" of your psyche. This is the missing piece to bring depth, balance, and clarity to shamanism and the occult, whilst ensuring a safer and more wholesome exploration of such practices. In this blog, we’ll explore how parts work complements spiritual practices, its role in shamanism and the occult, it's connection to the spirit world in general, and why it’s a game-changer for anyone seeking inner and outer alignment.
What Is Parts Work?
Breaking It Down
Parts work, often associated with Internal Family Systems (IFS), is a therapeutic model that sees the mind composed of distinct "parts." Each part represents different emotions, beliefs, and behavioural patterns that have formed from early years experiences. For example, you might have an "inner critic" part that pushes you to excel or a "child" part that carries various layers of your vulnerability. Another common part that many can relate to is the "punisher", a protector part that has established in response to childhood punishment, manifesting in childhood as direct self-attack, to later defining it's self-worth through difficulty. These parts are like members of an internal family, each with their own needs and roles.
At the centre of this framework is the True Self—a calm, wise, and compassionate core that has the ability to heal and harmonise all parts from the inside out.
The Key Components of Parts Work
There are many different parts that function within the psyche that can be categorised, however, they will overlap. Here is a rough structure of such parts:
The Protectors: Parts that step in to guard you from pain, often through mechanisms like anger, perfectionism, or avoidance. Protector parts can be seen as expressions of the ego that are like pre-written programs that respond in the same ways to similar triggers to prevent the deeper, vulnerable parts from coming to the surface.
The Child Parts (Exiles): These are the vulnerable, hurt parts that carry trauma or emotional wounds that have been repressed and had their needs ignored. These are typically encased in protector parts, whose role is to stop the vulnerable parts from coming to the surface because it is too painful to feel.
Parent Parts: These can fall under protectors, but can also be seen as individual. These are parts that mirror the parent's projections. The parent parts will be established to respond in the same way towards the child parts as your parents did towards you. Parent parts and child parts often fight, but are actually seeking the same thing through opposite means.
The True Self: The compassionate leader within you, capable of guiding and healing your internal system.
Why It Matters
The problem with the majority of the collective, even the majority of the new-age spiritual community, is that they are wired to avoid the vulnerable parts as opposed to truly facing and integrating them. It is this that causes the same patterns and trauma cycles to continue playing out, like a computer program on repeat. For most, these trauma cycles are repetitive and they continue to ignore the needs of the child parts, causing continuous retraumatisation of the inner child through the same types of relationships, working dynamics, coping mechanisms etc. Each time the child is retraumatised, the parts become even more repressed in the nervous system, causing the individual to become more and more distant from their true self. What happens for many is that they become aware of the repeating pain, so the protector parts come in and create responses that avoid the pain without dealing with the problem. For example, a common one we see in the new age is when someone has been hurt continuously in relationships so the protector parts have created the notion of the lone wolf, not needing any relationship, despite them desiring it deeply.
For most, this is happening unconsciously due to how we have been wired in the western world when it comes to avoiding pain to feel better as opposed to facing it. When it happens unconsciously, the ego will seek a scapegoat to project this internal wounding onto. This can happens through collective events, with many blaming the government or other external forces for their internal needs not being met. In terms of religion, the scapegoat will be the demons and the devil. However, in the realms of Shamanism and the Occult, the spirit world becomes the scapegoat. This is a very dangerous trap to fall into as it causes us to view the spirit world as entirely separate from our own psyche, causing many to fall into a state of seeing themselves as victim to the spirit world, or even to spirits. Or, spiritual practices become a coping mechanism and a way to try and get rid of negative feelings and emotions, repressing them further into the nervous system. This is simply a recipe for distaster when it comes to Shamanism, especially when it comes to the occult sciences.
Working with such powerful spirits and energetic technologies to avoid internal trauma will create more inner conflict between the different parts, which is what makes psychosis so incredibly common in these practices.
This is what makes parts work so important to be able to navigate such practices safely. Parts work isn’t about "fixing" yourself. Instead, it’s about understanding and integrating the different parts of who you are and learning to effectively meet their needs. It’s a way of addressing inner conflict, healing old wounds, and creating a sense of internal harmony.
What Is Shamanism?
Shamanism 101
Shamanism is an ancient spiritual practice that connects practitioners with the spirit world for healing, guidance, and transformation. It’s found in indigenous traditions across the globe and often involves entering altered states of consciousness to access spiritual realms.
Shamans are seen as mediators between the physical and spiritual worlds. Their role is to restore balance, which is done in numerous ways—whether it’s healing emotional wounds, retrieving lost soul fragments, or clearing heavy energy.
Well-Known Practices in Shamanism
Soul Retrieval: Reclaiming lost parts of the soul that fragmented due to trauma.
Journeying: Entering trance states to communicate with spirits, guides, or ancestors.
Extraction: Removal of intrusive energies.
Energy Work: Removing intrusions or blockages from the energetic body.
Psychopomp: Moving on stuck spirits.
Connection With Nature: Seeing all living things as interconnected and alive with spirit.
As beautiful as these ancient practices are, we must ask ourselves, where does Shamanism fit into a western world with western problems? If we take the role of an indigenous shaman and place it into the western world, the role will need to adapt in order to fit the needs of our society. One of the core ways to do this is to understand the connection between the ancient shamanic medicines and the human psyche so that we can understand how such practices fit into a society that has generations of unprocessed trauma. By understanding this connection, we can ensure that we are approaching Shamanic healing tools from the perspective of assisting others with healing from the inside out, as oppose to supporting them seeking a scapegoat or coping mechanism to avoid the trauma that lies beneath the surface.
What Is The Occult?
Understanding the Occult
The term "occult" often conjures up images of mysterious rituals, magic, and esoteric practices. At its core, the occult is about exploring hidden knowledge and tapping into unseen forces to understand the universe and the self. From ceremonial magic, to tarot and advanced initiatory technologies, the occult encompasses a wide range of spiritual systems and practices.
Common Practices in the Occult
Divination: Using tools like tarot cards, astrology, or runes to gain insight.
Ritual Magic: Performing ceremonies to manifest intentions or connect with spiritual forces.
Alchemy: Both a literal and symbolic process of transformation.
Invocation and Evocation: Communicating with spirits, deities, or archetypes directly.
Path working: Exploring vast currents of energy through astral travel, summoning spirits and entering perceptual states.
The occult offers an advanced and accelerated approach to soul evolution. In my experience, there is nothing that initiates change as effectively and as quickly as the advanced occult sciences and path workings, as long as the person has the right intention and awareness of how vast the energies they are tapping into really are. However, there are many ego traps with the occult that need to be brought to the awareness of everyone who chooses to explore it. Very few people who approach the occult actually care about their evolution and are focussed more on low magickal practices that support their false self such as getting rich quickly, getting their ex back, baneful magick etc. Most of this is illusionary and when you go deep enough into it, you realise how superficial the low magick areas of the occult really are and how it's a deliberate distraction from the true evolutionary potential of such practices. "Occult" means "hidden", which refers to the exploration of self which has to happen from the inside out. The missing piece of many occult practices is understanding the fact that there really is no such thing as summoning anything that is outside of the self. If you summon a spirit, it has it's own consciousness but will be a mirror of a core part of you. All is within! Breaking out of this illusion of separation is the recipe for success in the occult sciences.
Where Parts Work Fits Into Shamanism and the Occult
The Missing Piece in Spiritual Practices
Both shamanism and the occult often focus on external forces—spirits, guides, or magical energies. But what about the internal landscape? Without addressing the inner conflicts or wounds carried by your psyche, your spiritual practice can feel unbalanced or incomplete. These practices can even feed into this fragmentation if approached from the wrong perspective.
This is where parts work comes in. By addressing the psychological layers of your experience, parts work adds depth and integration to shamanism and the occult. Think of it as creating a strong inner foundation to support your spiritual growth.
Many also forget that there is no definitive form beyond the physical plane and that the spirit world is truly infinite. Therefore, it is shaped by the perception of whoever is viewing it, making the spirit world a projection of what lies within the human psyche. It's the same if we perceive a spirit; it could appear as a three-headed goat with bat wings but does it actually have this definitive form or is your psyche filtering the energies that are being perceived and shaping it into a resonant image? This is why deities appear in many different forms, according to the archetypes that exist within the collective unconscious. For example, an angel once appeared to me as a big lizard, as opposed to the typical robe and harp.
How Parts Work Enhances Shamanism
Soul Retrieval Is Parts Integration
One of the cornerstone practices in shamanism is soul retrieval, where a shaman retrieves lost fragments of the soul caused by trauma, aligning themselves and their clients with their authenticity. Parts work complements this beautifully, in fact it can be seen as the same thing in many ways. In psychological terms, these "lost soul fragments" often correspond to exiled parts—wounded aspects of ourselves that we suppress or disconnect from. This makes parts work extremely effective for integrating soul retrieval.
After a soul retrieval, parts work can help you:
Integrate the Soul Fragment: Reconnect with the returned part of your soul in a conscious and compassionate way.
Heal Trauma: Understand and feel the pain that caused the fragmentation in the first place, allowing you to then meet the needs of the part/soul fragment.
Restore Harmony: Create balance between the returned part and the rest of your internal system.
Spirit & Entity Attachments Are Unintegrated Parts
Core aspects of Shamanic Healing practices deal with spirit & entity attachments. Through extraction work, such energies can be cleared from the system but does this deal with the problem on it's own? The answer is never. The energy field is a magnet for energies that mirror what one has not integrated within themselves, much like the external world. Therefore, when a fragmented spirit latches onto the field, it is a direct mirror of a part that is unintegrated and that needs attention. But once again, what most will do in this case is try and scapegoat the problem onto the spirit world and create false notions that they are being attacked by external forces, which will only make it worse.
Many practitioners are operating from a place of separation when it comes to such energies, not just the clients. There are many Shamanic healers that have not done the work properly themselves, causing them to go into Shamanism as a coping mechanism, using it to project their own unmet needs into the practice, therefore creating false notions of fighting evil spirits or curses, without taking accountability. This notion then gets projected onto their client base, causing many to approach such practices to get rid of their parts instead of integrating them.
Facilitating Inner Dialogue During Spirit Work
In shamanic journeying, practitioners often encounter spirits or guides who offer insights. These experiences can sometimes be overwhelming or unclear. Parts work helps by creating an inner dialogue between your Self and any parts of you that resist or struggle with the messages received during journeying.
How Parts Work Enhances Occult Practices
Shadow Work and Parts Work
The occult often emphasises shadow work—the process of exploring and integrating the hidden or repressed aspects of yourself. Shadow work and parts work go hand in hand. In fact, the "shadow" often consists of unacknowledged parts of your psyche.
Parts work provides a structured approach to shadow work by:
Identifying the parts of you that you’ve repressed or ignored.
Creating a safe space to explore these parts without fear or judgment.
Helping you integrate shadow aspects into your conscious self.
The occult sciences, particularly the darker aspects, will tap the practitioner into repressed aspects of their psyche and nervous system, therefore emphasising the importance of owning the unintegrated parts. Otherwise every ritual or invocation will keep uprooting repressed trauma, causing the practitioner to attach to coping mechanisms/protector parts to deal with the pain that is coming to the surface. However, if the parts are being looked at properly and owned, the practice is incredibly beneficial on many levels.
Rituals With a Balanced Inner System
Ever performed a ritual with mixed results? That might be because parts of you were in conflict about your intention. For example:
One part of you might want to manifest love, while another part feels unworthy of it.
One part might crave success, while another fears the responsibility that comes with it.
Parts work helps you align all aspects of yourself before engaging in rituals, ensuring that your energy and focus are fully unified. Performing a ritual or projection of energy when your parts are not on board can often cultivate energy towards the opposite of the desired outcome.
Practical Steps to Integrate Parts Work Into Shamanism and the Occult
Step 1: Identify Your Parts
Start by journaling or meditating to explore your internal parts. What emotions or patterns come up during your spiritual practices? Notice if certain parts resist or sabotage your efforts. Shadow oracles/tarot can also be a good way to identify the parts.
Step 2: Bring Compassion to the Process
Use the concept of Self to approach your parts with curiosity and compassion. Avoid judging or suppressing them. Be willing to sit with the parts until the end, not just to get rid of the feeling - this would be a parent part trying to shut the child part up.
Step 3: Combine With Shamanic Practices
During a soul retrieval or shamanic journey, notice which parts of you feel activated. Afterward, create a dialogue with these parts to integrate what you experienced. My Shamanic Healing programs provide an amazing approach that integrates the ancient shamanic practices with modern trauma work.
Step 4: Align Before Rituals
Before performing any occult ritual or pathworking, check in with your parts. Are all parts of you on board with your intention? If not, take time to address their concerns.
Step 5: Work With a Practitioner
Consider working with a shamanic healer or therapist who understands parts work to guide you through the integration process. My Shamanic Training Courses also provide in-depth training, allowing you to learn to integrate the ancient knowledge and modern psychology with yourself and your own clients. My inner child program also offers a potent exploration into the realms of the inner child, combining parts work, soul retrieval and other shamanic tools.
Benefits of Adding Parts Work to Shamanism and the Occult
Deeper Healing
Parts work ensures that spiritual practices don’t just address surface-level issues but reach into the core of your psyche.
Inner Harmony
By integrating all aspects of yourself, you create a solid foundation for spiritual growth and magic.
Clearer Intentions
When your parts are aligned, your spiritual practices become more focused and effective.
Sustained Transformation
Parts work helps you integrate the insights and shifts gained from shamanic or occult practices into your everyday life.
Safer Exploration
Owning your parts will ensure that you do not approach such practices to feed your false self and use them to further suppress emotions.
Conclusion
Parts work might just be the missing piece you’ve been searching for in your shamanic or occult practices. By addressing the psychological dimensions of healing and transformation, it adds depth, balance, and clarity to your spiritual journey. Whether you’re retrieving lost soul fragments, performing shadow work, or casting spells, integrating parts work ensures that all aspects of your being are on the same page.
Ready to explore the magic of your inner world? Combining parts work with shamanism and the occult could be the key to unlocking a deeper sense of wholeness and alignment.
Comments