Nicki Scully has worked with numerous healing systems, and has taught metaphysics, shamanism and the Egyptian Mysteries since 1982. She is the author of Power Animal Meditations: Shamanic Journeys with Your Spirit Allies. She has produced a number of audiocassettes and CDs, and guides spiritual tours to Egypt, Peru and Greece.

Scully’s healing modality is a synthesis of numerous traditions and techniques, which she has practiced for many years. She combines shamanism, alchemy, and energy medicine.

The aim of the book is to inspire readers to awaken inherent healing abilities, through the power of the heart and the Universal Life Force, so as to effect personal and global transformation on both a physical and a spiritual level.

Scully offers a spiritual path of initiation and healing that develops the ability to co-create the future with the wisdom of the spirit world. An overview of her modality is very difficult, due to its multifaceted nature, so I’ll discuss its features in turn.

Scully likens her own path to the Tibetan Terma tradition where little treasures of wisdom were hidden by the founder, the sage Padmasambava, to be rediscovered in different times and places by various people.

Scully’s fascinating healing journey began in the halcyon flower power era of the late 1960s, during which she was the partner of the Grateful Dead’s manager, Rock Scully. This period opened her to hallucinogens, Native American shamanism and the mysteries of Ancient Egypt.

Her experiences in Egypt resulted from being part of the Grateful Dead tour of September 1978.

In 1980 Scully began to incorporate Gestalt Therapy, Hawaiian Huna and Reiki into her own personal system.

In 1985, under the guidance of Thoth, the Egyptian God of Wisdom, Scully’s system of spirituality experienced a growth spurt. This was followed by a battle with cancer though chemotherapy supplemented by a combination of her own healing techniques, overseen by Thoth. Scully sees her own healing as an alchemical process which led to the crystallisation of her system.

Scully’s system begins with self-preparation for the healer. This entails an initiation invoking her primary deity, Thoth. She also calls on the cardinal directions and the four physical elements (earth, water, fire and air) they represent, the earth below and the celestial spirits above. She finishes with a commitment ceremony to Thoth.

The simplicity of Scully’s initial rituals ensures that readers who resonate with other healing gods would readily be able to substitute them for Thoth. A number of the more advanced rituals that follow however, are specific to Thoth.

Scully then goes on to discuss the importance of forgiveness. This culminates in a forgiveness ritual to clear the seven chakras.

The method of healing used by Scully involves working with the Universal Life Force. The attunement presented enhances the clairvoyant abilities of the third eye, prepares the hands for healing and creates a protective energy field.

The effectiveness of the Universal Life Force is then augmented with the four physical elements and spirit. While Scully refers to the Chinese system of five elements on a couple of occasions, her own preference is clearly the Western and Indian system of four elements and spirit.

Scully’s system is expanded by using spirit allies, which appear as deities, power animals, plant spirits, crystals, archetypes, and elemental spirits. She also introduces the use of colour.

Scully provides four commonsense rules to using Alchemical Healing:

• Anything negative removed from a patient must be directed to a definite place.
• The negativity removed from a patient must be replaced with Universal Life Force.
• Openings made in a patient’s energetic field during psychic surgery have to be sealed.
• The healer must disconnect from the patient at the conclusion of the session and thank any spirit allies used for their assistance.

Scully discusses the often overlooked aspect of the ethics of healing. This chapter is essential reading for all who practice healing.

The advanced section of the book begins with an empowerment ritual using the Caduceus, the widely accepted symbol of medicine in our culture. The empowerment involves connection with Cobra energies, which are potent healing allies. The Cobra was a powerful symbol in Egypt, representing awakening and was the guardian of Lower Egypt.

The next chapter returns to Akasha, spirit, ether, or the fifth element. Akashic workings give access to DNA and are far more potent than the elemental workings described previously. The chapter finishes with a meditation which gives access to the “Star Council” of which Thoth is claimed to be a member.

The Advanced Healing Techniques chapter discusses the practical applications of psychic healing which had been previously referred to in the ethics chapter.

The Sound and Music chapter discusses the importance of music to the healing path. I personally would have preferred it if at least part of this chapter had been presented earlier in the book, as the beneficial properties of music should not be limited to advanced healing practitioners.

The Self-Healing chapter introduces pore breathing techniques which will be very familiar to those readers who have studied the system of Franz Bardon. The final short chapters bring Scully’s journey to a close by revealing the spiritual heart of her work.

Scully stresses in the Preface that while she conveys as much as she can about Alchemical Healing, the book is a primer and that teachers are required to enable readers to reach the more refined levels of the work presented.

Overall, Scully effectively introduces numerous concepts and makes her material very accessible in a practical sense. Those readers who perform the exercises provided with conscious intention may well find themselves fulfilling a greater part of their healing potential than would be possible otherwise.

– Reviewed by Tony Mierzwicki in New Dawn No. 96