top of page
Search

The Axis Mundi and The Three Shamanic Worlds

  • Writer: Andrea Lawrie
    Andrea Lawrie
  • 1 day ago
  • 6 min read

This Full Moon falls in the brightening stretch between Imbolc and the Spring Equinox.


The days are lengthening and as I write this blog, the sun is shining and carpets of purple crocuses are pushing through the grass.


Something has shifted. And when something shifts in the outer world, it often invites a shift in the inner one too.


In this blog series so far, I’ve been exploring shamanic practice step by step: What Is Shamanism?, The Shamanic Journey, the role of the Shamanic Drum and most recently, Preparing to Journey, where I wrote about calling in the Four Directions and establishing a sacred circle around us before we journey.


In this blog, I want to explore what happens next.


When we journey, our awareness loosens from its usual orientation and begins to travel. To understand that movement, it helps to imagine a vertical structure or axis that links us above and below.


The Axis Mundi

Axis Mundi is a Latin term meaning “Axis of the World.” It describes a recurring pattern found in many traditional cosmologies - a vertical relationship between what many cultures have described as the sky world, the human world and the underworld.


Ornate stone column with spiral carvings in a historic cathedral. Colorful stained glass windows in the background add a vibrant touch.
The Apprentice Pillar, Rosslyn Chapel, Midlothian, Scotland

This structure appears visually in many forms:


  • A world tree (such as Yggdrasil in Norse cosmology)

  • A sacred mountain

  • A central pole or pillar

  • A well

  • A tower

  • A column of smoke rising from a fire


Though the imagery differs, the structure is consistent:


Above. Middle. Below.


In shamanic journeying, we are not physically descending into caves or climbing sacred mountains. Instead, we enter these layers experientially through focused awareness supported by a steady rhythmic beat.


As we start the journey and the body settles, we begin by imagining an opening, or a doorway into the journey.


This doorway might take the form of a hollow tree, a root system or a cave entrance. It does not need to be remote or mythic. It can be somewhere familiar like a favourite tree in a forest, a stone circle, an opening in the earth. It might even be a stairwell, an underpass or a doorway in an urban landscape.



The opening acts as a threshold, a way of orienting awareness before it begins to move beyond ordinary perception.


The Three Worlds

In cross-cultural shamanic practice, this vertical structure is often described as three interrelated worlds: the Lower World, the Middle World and the Upper World.


This framework is not intended to be a rigid doctrine, but more a practical map, a way of organising recognised patterns of experience across many traditions.


Journeying is ultimately experiential. It makes more sense in practice than on paper! Yet having language for these worlds gives the method shape. It helps orient you once awareness begins to travel, and allows you to recognise where you are when you arrive.


The Lower World

Despite what the name might suggest, the Lower World is not a bad place or a place of punishment. The word “lower” refers to direction of entry, traditionally imagined as moving downward through roots, caves, wells or openings in the earth.


Experientially, the Lower World is often experienced as vivid, natural and alive. Landscapes may resemble forests, rivers, deserts or ancestral terrains.


This is where, as beginners, we first journey to meet a power animal or compassionate spirit ally that can accompany and guide us as we begin to explore further. Some traditions describe this ally as having been with us since birth; others recognise it as a source of strength and protection first encountered through journeying.


The Lower World is often associated with:


  • Instinct and embodied wisdom

  • Vitality and life-force

  • Earth-based intelligence

  • Restoration and retrieval


It can feel familiar and grounding here. Like the roots of a tree, it connects us to what sustains life.



The Middle World

The Middle World is often described as a subtle dimension of this everyday reality that sits alongside the visible world.


Here, we may encounter spirits of place, plant intelligences and the waters of rivers and seas. It is the energetic layer of the world we already inhabit.


Because it reflects ordinary reality, the Middle World needs some discernment as it can contain a wide range of energies. For this reason, beginners are often encouraged to establish a relationship with a compassionate ally in the Lower World first before exploring here.


With experience, journeying here can deepen our ecological awareness and reciprocity with the earth amongst other things. It reminds us that the land, and the waters are not passive ground beneath us. They are alive, responsive and in relationship with us.


The Upper World

The Upper World is reached through ascent and imagined as moving upward through branches or toward the sky.


It is often described as spacious and expansive. Here we can encounter spiritual teachers and guides.


The Upper World is often associated with:


  • Clarity

  • Vision

  • Perspective

  • Spiritual teaching


It is not superior to the Lower or Middle World, just different in quality. Just as roots, trunk and branches are all essential to a tree, these realms all exist in relationship.



Moving Along the Axis in Practice

Before beginning a journey, it is good to form a simple intention and write this in the journal you will use for your shamanic practice.


Once your space has been prepared and the drumbeat begins, bring to mind the opening you have chosen, perhaps the hollow at the base of a tree, or an opening in the earth.


If the entrance feels dark, you might imagine turning on a torch or lighting a flame. If roots block your path, you can imagine a clear passage or a spiral staircase descending. If the opening closes, imagine it opening again.


Here, imagination is used deliberately, not to invent the journey, but to cross the threshold.


As you descend, you will arrive in a landscape beyond the entrance. From here, allow the experience to unfold in its own way. There is no “correct” scenery. The landscape that appears is the one meant for you.


Psychological or Spiritual?

I am often asked whether these worlds are psychological landscapes of the imagination or spiritual realities.


Some people experience them as dimensions of consciousness - ways of accessing intuition and deep memory. Others encounter them as relational realms inhabited by spirit guides and compassionate helping presences.


Shamanic practice does not require a single interpretation. What matters is your experience and the real-world change that follows.


Over time, people often say journeying brings them:

  • Greater clarity

  • Reduced anxiety

  • Renewed vitality

  • Emotional processing

  • A stronger sense of belonging

  • Increased intuition

  • A deeper relationship with nature


If the practice brings insight, restoration and coherence, you could say the map has served its purpose.


Why This Structure Matters

Modern life rarely teaches us how to move between states of awareness consciously. We shift from screen to conversation to task, often without pause.


This vertical structure gives shape to our inner experience. It reminds us that our awareness can move and that learning to move consciously within this structure, and to return steady, is part of the art of shamanic practice.


What Comes Next

Often the first journey a beginner makes is to the Lower World to meet a power animal or other compassionate ally.


Next month, I’ll explore that relationship - what a power animal is, how we meet them, and how that connection can support us in everyday life.


Closing 

The three worlds are not elsewhere. They offer ways of relating more deeply to this one.

The axis that connects them is never far away. It runs quietly through the centre of our own awareness.


May this season offer you moments of pause, greater clarity and a deep sense of peace and being held.


If you feel called to explore further, you’re warmly invited to:


With warmth and heartfelt gratitude


Stylized text "Queen – RiseandFall" with decorative patterns and a detailed skull design on the sides, set against a white background.



Certified Shamanic Practitioner • Teacher • Based in Aberdeenshire, Scotland




 

 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page