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Dance of the Maenad: What Are Inner Spaces & Why Should I Have One?

Dance of the Maenad: What Are Inner Spaces & Why Should I Have One?

Last updated on: February 12, 2020 at 2:49 pm by Hannah

Dance of the Maenad: What Are Inner Spaces & Why Should I Have One? 2020-02-12T14:49:43+00:00 Hannah

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“Inner Space” is a generic term I use to describe a place within your mind where you go during meditation to commune with spirit guides and other entities, to practice visualization, and as a jumping-off point for journey work and astral shenanigans. You could call it a happy place, an inner landscape, a mind palace – I personally refer to mine as the Sacred Grove. It could be a place you’ve been, a place you want to go, or a place that doesn’t exist in the material world. These places are often constantly evolving, either of their own volition or in response to you actively building new parts.

Your Inner Space could be thought of as a Mind Palace. Image by DarkWorkX via Pixabay.

One reason I personally love working with this concept is that it doesn’t require complete surrender to the experience. I’ve always found that my ego brain likes to hold onto control a little too much to let me fully let go and lose myself in meditation or journey work, which is necessary to fully experience many of the practices I’ve come across.

If this is something that comes easily for you, great! You may find that when you tap into your inner space, it’s already there and you simply have to observe. If you struggle like I do, though, you can decide more consciously what you want to build there instead of hoping and worrying that it’ll work this time and something will show itself to you. As you practice cultivation, you may find it easier to relax and allow the space to unfold as it wants to.

Another thing about this practice that plays well with my hesitation to fully let go in meditation is that it’s entirely self-contained, self-controlled, and protected. If you astrally travel or journey to other realms, the entities therein can, in some cases, pose a threat. But in the inner space, YOU are in charge. YOU can decide which entities you want to invite in, which you don’t, and what the house rules are.

Since you’re essentially within a protective bubble inside yourself, this can be a great place to do shadow work or other personal healing.

Be sure to include a locked and magically sealed door to any other realms you may travel to. Image by Peter H via Pixabay.

A Few Things You May Want in Your Inner Space

Some sort of protective boundary – it may be a mountain range, a rushing river, a white picket fence – but there should be something to physically reinforce the fact that this is a protected place inaccessible to anyone without an invite (and you should be very picky about who you give those to). If you have a typical warding or shielding practice for your home, this could be a good thing to perform here as well. When it comes to your psychic health and safety, caution is paramount.

A body of water to be used for healing and connection with your intuition/subconscious.

A clear entrance and exit – maybe it’s a hollow tree, maybe it’s a teleportation pad, maybe it’s a simple door. Whatever it is, it will help your brain transition between “mundane brain” and “meditation brain” when you arrive and when you return to ordinary reality.

An altar or shrine to an entity or deity you work closely with and trust.

A locked and magically sealed door to any other realms you may travel to – Faerie, the Underworld, the Akashic Records, etc.

The possibilities are quite literally endless; have fun!

If you’re interested, you can get access to my guided meditation on finding and creating your inner space by subscribing here!

About Hannah

Hannah is a witch of divine revelation and devotee of Dionysus. Her practice is largely focused on ecstatic trance, ritual, faery walking, and honoring the natural world. She owns an Etsy shop called Hannah Of All Trades, where she creates ritual candles, prayer beads, and magical art. Hannah is heavily influenced by the work of Brian Fround and Jessica Macbeth, the ocean, baneful plants, and her time spent living in Iceland. She can be found on Instagram @hannahofalltrades. You can read more about the author here.

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