About Wandering Stars

WELCOME!

Wandering Stars was formally initiated on the New Moon in Libra at 8:18 p.m. 10/8/2018, to forge a balanced center for holding space with a loose-knit community of friends - all sojourners on the path of seeking mystical experience, increasing spiritual awareness, physical and mental health, and simply finding inner peace.

In particular, the work here is focused on utilizing various healing practices and psychedelic therapies that have been clinically proven to assist people in dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma, substance addictions/withdrawals, and other health issues which are a barrier to well-being and self-realization.

While most of these methods are derived from various ancient world spiritual traditions, there is absolutely no religious doctrine preached here - all are welcome, no matter what your beliefs are. Wandering Stars and our associates have seen proven results when applying these healing techniques with everyone who earnestly partakes in them.

So… having said that - Hello!

My name is Shane Clayton, and Wandering Stars is the current focus of my life-long spiritual journey - one that began way back when in the Summer of Love of 1967. Like so many of the “boomer” generation, my introduction to transcendental meditation, alternative spirituality, and mystical experience came via the popular “hippie” counter-culture movement and the attendant use of psychedelics - particularly LSD and Psilocybin mushrooms, and of course Cannabis.

My introduction to the shamanic use of psychedelics to induce mystical experiences in “vision quests” came first via Carlos Castaneda and his series of books during these early years - writings that are still valuable to me over 50 years later. This led me to research and experiment with other authentic Mesoamerican shamanic psychedelic traditions including that of the Southwest US Mescaleros with peyote, the South American Ayahuasceros with DMT, and the Mazateca of Oaxaca and Salvia divinorum, who also introduced the Western world to psilocybin mushrooms in 1956. The entheogenic practices of Mexican indigenous cultures cross over in many ways, and these “abstract core” teachings are the primary influence on the vision quest ceremonies held here at Wandering Stars.

My introduction to the Kemetic or ancient Egyptian tradition was initiated a decade later during a visit to the touring Tutankhamun exhibit in Seattle in March of 1978. Later, in 1993, I encountered a trinity of Egyptian divinities (Neteru) I was previously unfamiliar with in Sacramento through my involvement with a Gnostic group there. This Egyptian connection culminated for me on the Spring Equinox morning of 2018 - forty years to the month after my initial Tutankhamun experience - a sunrise observance directly overlooking the Great Sphinx, with the Pyramids serving as gargantuan backdrops.

The Sphinx was ingeniously constructed to align perfectly facing the Equinox sunrises, making this a most auspicious event, intentionally timed on my part. Immediately after that, I was allowed to enter the Great Pyramid alone, and after ascending the Grand Gallery and ducking through the passage into the King’s Chamber, I spent nearly an hour by myself sitting with my back to the East wall facing the red granite sarcophagus in the West. It was then that an overpowering mystical experience swept over me - a transmission seemingly triggered by my vocal vibration of AUM which resonated through the empty granite-walled space. Some folks call these experiences “downloads”, and they wouldn’t be far off the mark.

And so, the core of my work here proceeds from the study, research, experimentation, and application of the primary source of the Western Esoteric Traditions - the Sacred Sciences of ancient Egypt. While it is not a prerequisite that visitors share my focus on Egypt, it is important to understand the “pure stream” from where this all comes from. I can boil down my answer to the question “Why Egypt?’ to Dion Fortune’s statement above, the “pristine stream” and “fountainhead” of all things Western is undeniably ancient Egypt.

The deeply resounding spiritual or altered states of awareness I experienced in their temple ruins, and my fascinating discoveries and realizations later led me to create reproductions of the fabled ancient Egyptian temple incense - Kepu - also called Kapet or Kyphi by the Greeks - as well as their Merhet - the Seven Sacred Oils. (See my article “Welcome to Egypt!”) Based upon the most up-to-date archaeological translations of the hieroglyphic inscriptions carved upon the temple walls, these are to my knowledge the only truly authentic reproductions for sale to the public at this time. The results of my four years of research, acquisition of rare ingredients, and experimentation with fragrance alchemy are now shared in limited quantities through my “The Egyptian - Sacred Scents” store, which is the retail “business” part of what Wandering Stars is all about.

Wandering Stars Cottage

However, my work at Wandering Stars Cottage is not intended strictly as a business. It is, first and foremost, a powerful sacred space - where I just so happen to be fortunate enough to live, practice, and create these sacred tinctures, potions, and fragrant mixtures. Those who come here are always friends and family, honored guests, and associates, in the truest sense - never “customers” “clients” or even “patients”.

My cottage is located on a hill overlooking a pond and eucalyptus grove, across the road from an expansive Butte Valley meadow called Rattlesnake Flats, which is bordered by basalt cliffs to the East overlooking a fork of Clear Creek. The property itself is bordered on the West by the other fork of Clear Creek which runs through Shirt Tail Canyon with its distinctive pyramidal buttes behind us. Most fortuitously, the cottage and visioning tent are aligned within a degree of true astronomical North, just as are Giza’s great pyramids. Everyone who visits agrees that the property has a deeply peaceful, calming, centering, and healing influence.

When I moved in the property was owned by Paula Barros, a certified yoga instructor, chiropractor, and healer, who established the foundation of the vibes here with her Clear Creek Healing Center. But just one month to the day after I established Wandering Stars, the deadliest and most devastating fire in California’s history occurred just a few miles up the hill from me in Paradise. The property here was part of a 2 mile-long swath from Butte College up to just past my place that was rather miraculously saved by firefighters. The landscape was black all around me until the rain came, after which the hills turned bright green. The energy here now, more than ever, is that of healing, rebirth, and regeneration.

Paula decided to sell soon after the fire and left the state. The current owner of the property, Heather Sanzone, purchased it in January 2023, and will soon be officially opening her Dragonfly Healing & Learning Center to onsite classes in 2025. A non-profit spirituality-based members-only school for children, Dragonfly will be uniquely suited to this amazing property. Heather and I have developed a very positive and harmonious connection and look forward to the concurrent development of our respective practices here in the coming years.

Wandering Stars

Open by appointment or simple request - or by invitation, Wandering Stars was conceived as a portal for those seeking integral mind-body-spirit consulting and healing utilizing interdisciplinary methods of self-knowledge, self-repair, psychedelic experience, and spiritual practice if desired - or as simply a safe, peaceful getaway to share with like-minded friends. Wandering Stars has been consecrated as a library and refuge, a place of communion and vision quests, for those who may wish to seek such things, and so is my offering in Spirit - there are no preliminary consultation fees. Even so, this being a mutual exchange, offerings or honorariums are always gratefully accepted, as one may see fit.

After preliminary consulting, both you and Wandering Stars will know whether our healing services are right for you. We believe our rates for these are aligned with other local independent healers, including those of my associates who may assist with my Salvia divinorum “Veladas” or vision quests and other work.

That, in essence, is the core emphasis of our community work here at Wandering Stars, but without the additional encumbrances of monthly membership dues and/or culty requirements found… elsewhere. While we will discuss various mystical teachings of the world traditions and seek to integrate the most salient of their ideas and practices into our lives, ours is a far more open, egalitarian, and mercurial community.

Here, science and spirit coalesce, my emphasis firmly based on scientific data and critical research into the properties of the products and potions sold here. The same can be said for the psychological import of the practices of meditation, ceremony, and especially psychedelic vision quests. In essence, we work with the ancient Sacred Sciences of three of the oldest cultures - Egyptian, East Indian, and Native American, to bring the Spiritual and the Mundane together in our daily practice.

First and foremost, we seek what works for each of us, what appeals to our inner sense of what is right, what we are attracted to, and our inmost desire. We seek to collect wisdom writings and make libraries and share them as well as protect them for future generations. We look forward to building this community around the group practice of meditation and seeking the beautiful mystical psychedelic experience and invite you to join us in this endeavor.

The Work

For those who are interested, I offer an ancient way to assist in developing a personalized path, a user-friendly Astrology-based guidance/coaching portal inspired by and built upon the Egyptian Sacred Sciences, which are the undisputed root of Platonism, Hermetics, Gnosticism, Qabalah, and the Western Esoteric Traditions.

This eclectic mix includes smatterings of relevant Eastern Vedantic, Buddhist, and Taoist teachings and certain North American and Meso-American shamanic methods. I am not ashamed to say that I have “cherry-picked” what I believe to be “purest streams” from these, but would also point out that their core teachings are all generally found in common amongst each other - all coming as they do from what the wise ones tell us is the same long-lost source.

Therefore, none of these practices are emphasized in particular, nor do I seek to “convert” anyone to any particular spiritual belief system - although I am partial to the ancient Egyptian religion, the oldest and most completely preserved without distortion or corruption. Although my work is based upon decades of both solitary and group experiences, the methods offered are provisional at best — still, they serve as a historically tried and true framework from which to explore each individual’s path leading to the Remembrance of their divine center and pure will.

My intent is to open up a playful, grounded yet uplifting, and mindful mental and emotional space and dialogue with each friend visiting me or my associates here. No heavy trips or initiations, unless you are interested in those sorts of things… even my atheist friends find refuge here.

Ultimately, I am just a provisionary guide and receiver to assist in focusing on and perfecting one’s own truth and pure will - not mine. My admonition is always “Physician, heal thyself!”

Mine is simply to do that too.

Sacred Psychedelic Experience

If so desired, I can share some techniques for cultivating self-awareness from the Mesoamerican shamans. Of these, the most controversial, frightening to some, and yet irresistibly intriguing is the use of various sacred plant psychedelics. I, as do the shamans who bequeathed them to us, believe that the vital taproot of all spiritual traditions and healing practices is the mystical experience that these entheogens engender; and so much of my work here is in sharing practical methods of achieving that experience utilizing these power plant “allies”. One of the most powerful and beneficial methods is through shamanic psychedelic “vision quests”.

While the possession and use of most psychedelics such as Ayahuasca, Psilocybin, or DMT are strictly regulated by the FDA under penalty of law, being illegal to possess or use in the USA except in certain licensed medical facilities or Native American religious entities, there is a very powerful and safe green plant psychedelic available that is legal for those over 18 in the State of California, which I grow here at Wandering Stars and use for my therapeutic vision quest experiences. Its botanical name is Salvia divinorum, literally Latin for “diviner’s sage” a green plant whose leaves are chewed (not smoked!), used by the Mesoamerican Mazatecan and Aztec shamans in their vision quests for millennia.

Wandering Stars recommends first reading the article Salvia Divinorum - The Diviner’s Sage in its entirety to see if Salvia divinorum is right for you. Positive experiences depend on being well-informed beforehand, as does being in a safe, relaxing, and supportive environment. Like with the more well-known psychedelic mushrooms or LSD, set, setting, and the support of experienced others is critical to having an enriching experience.

If you find this interesting, and potentially something you would like to partake in, I heartily suggest you research the current therapeutic results on the use of magic mushrooms and other psychedelics in the treatment of addictions, withdrawals, stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, etcetera. There are too many articles out there to list, but a simple search will yield much. These two articles from Michael Pollan’s website should answer most questions on benefits and risks: “The New Science of Psychedelics and What do we know about the risks of psychedelics?”.

In addition, for the past few years Wandering Stars has been closely allied with the groundbreaking Phoenix Nest Community Project in Chico, CA, a local psychedelic ketamine therapy center owned by my dear friends and associates Alexandra Kriz and Jesse Spallina. They were the first to discover the profound benefits of using the Wandering Stars Seven Sacred Oils reproductions as aromatherapy in conjunction with their ketamine therapy, and used them for every session, just as I do now for my Salvia divinorum experiences. Ketamine has proven to be quite powerful in treating opioid addictions and withdrawal symptoms, as well as the above-mentioned maladies.

Disillusioned with the medical/clinical approach, and with the advent of other Ketamine clinics in the area, Alexandra recently decided to close Phoenix Nest as a medical clinic, and will now focus on a more grassroots approach encouraging people to become educated about natural psychedelics and confident to use them as medicine in the privacy of their own homes, or small enclaves with experienced assistance where the focus is on set and setting - such as here at Wandering Stars. Together, we are looking at ways to make this vision manifest and accessible to all without prescription pharmaceutical drugs, impersonal office clinics, or deleterious medical interventions.

Interestingly enough, unlike the traditional tryptamine psychedelics (LSD, psilocybin, DMT) which work with serotonin receptors, both Salvia divinorum and Ketamine are kappa-opioid agonists and therefore share the same properties in easing opioid receptor stresses. Salvia has been of great interest to clinical psychologists over the past decade, but because of its rapid metabolic uptake and dissipation, it has “proven unsuitable for clinical research” (read: not profitable). Also like Ketamine, Salvia divinorum has the unusual property of having absolutely no effect on some 5% of people. That means the only way to find out is to try it - and the only way to enjoy its benefits is through its fresh green leaves or tinctures in those states where it remains legal, such as here in California. Again, for more information, read my “Salvia Divinorum - The Diviner’s Sage” article.

And finally, Wandering Stars Astrological Natal Horoscopes are always free for the asking. After all, Wandering Stars is a place that is expressly dedicated to assisting folks to know themselves and their divine nature and thereby find inner peace, whether here in person, online, or on the Akashic levels. Reach out, at any time - a listing of our services, rates, and contact information can be found below…

Thank you so much for your interest!

In Ma’at,

Shane

Wandering stars - Services and Products:

Wandering Stars offers several private and group services and products that support our work and practice here:

PSYCHEDELIC THERAPY & VISION QUESTS:

Salvia divinorum “velada” ceremony, approximately 2 - 3 hours - $333 per individual session.

Includes the presence of one or two experienced psychedelic sitters for the duration of the ceremony. Please contact me below for details.

EVENTS:

Pricing may vary, with a maximum of 12 guests per event

Sound healing sessions

Lunar / Solar / Cross-quarter gatherings

Guest Speakers and Presentations

Virtual Egyptian Temple Tour slideshows

Monthly Sunday Morning Portico Meetings - always free

OTHER SERVICES:

Consulting, Aromatherapy, Readings, Instruction, Guided Meditation:

Initial consultation (1 - 3 hours) and printed Natal Horoscope are offered no charge. After this, the fee is a sliding scale based on $50 per hour.

Egyptian or Vedantic Chakra aromatherapy sessions

Mind/body health and wellness consulting

Astrological charts and interpretations

Qabalistic Numerology interpretations

Tarot / I Ching Readings

Guided meditation, breathing, and chanting

Animal/Plant/Earth re-connection on the property.

Egyptian Theurgy:

Theurgy centers on the practice of ceremonies or rituals, perhaps seen as magic, performed with the intention of invocation/evocation of the noble ideal, action, or Presence of one or more deities. The Noble Ideal is to achieve henosis, that is, perfecting or identifying oneself with the attributes of the said divinity chosen by the aspirant (or truly, vice versa).

Henosis - ἕνωσις is the classical Greek word for mystical "oneness", "union" or "unity". In Platonism, and especially Neo-Platonism, the goal of henosis is union with what is fundamental in reality: the One, the Source, or Monad. The Gnostics called this realization or remembrance Gnosis - knowing. The Hebrews call it Yechidah - unity. The Egyptians called it Ra or Horus the Elder “B’Hedety.” This “Great God” was depicted as the Winged Globe found on the lintel over every Egyptian temple doorway:

Wandering Stars Products:

‘The Egyptian’ Sacred Scents store: Sacred oils, unguents, perfumes, and incense reproductions

Emerald Goddess Salvia divinorum ethanol liquid tincture - please email me for pricing and details.

Again, should you require additional information, simply call, text, or e-mail me... my mobile phone number is (530) 434 - 0923 and my email is shane@wandering-stars.net. For location or to drop me a line visit my Contact Information page.

… and thank you again for your interest in Wandering Stars!

Sekhau!

In Ma’at,

Shane

About Wandering Stars content © Shane Clayton/Wandering Stars Publishing

2018-2024 All Rights Reserved

Wandering Stars is dedicated to expounding the Sacred Science of Ancient Egypt

In memory and in honor of John Anthony West

Born July 9, 1932 - Wested February 6, 2018

AUM