Walking Between Worlds: The Shaman Experience in The Harbinger

When I began writing The Harbinger, A Triquetra Chronicle, I knew the story couldn’t lie only in history books or imagined conversations. It needed another layer, the one that speaks not just to what we see, but what we sense. That’s where the shaman experience entered the narrative.

Shamans across cultures have long been seen as guides between worlds. They stand at the threshold; interpreting dreams, calling on ancestors and helping communities navigate the mysteries of the unseen. Their role is less about control and more about listening, noticing and translating.

In The Harbinger, this role surfaces in both timelines. In Ann’s 16th-century world, the presence of guides and visionaries shapes how lives unfold in the face of uncertainty. And in the present day, Sophia herself encounters a shaman whose work brings forth the deeper truth hidden in her recurring dream; a moment that shifts her understanding and unlocks the narrative she’s been circling since childhood.

For me, the shaman thread isn’t just about plot; it’s about legacy. It asks: how do we carry ancestral wisdom? Who are the guides in our own lives who help us make sense of what can’t be explained?

Some readers will recognize the shamanic echoes. Others might simply feel the atmosphere they create; the sense that more is happening than what’s on the surface. Either way, I hope it sparks reflection.

Because whether we call them shamans, mentors, teachers or elders, many of us have had someone who stood at the threshold with us. Someone who reminded us that our stories are never lived in isolation - they are guided, shaped and sometimes illuminated by those who came before.