We are often inquired how mustika or magickal pearls are extracted by shamans from Nature's realm or how some people are fortunate enough to be gifted by Her. It certainly is appropriate that collectors and those interested in the subject of animal/plant stones acquire more information in this regard. Those who are misinformed or are not properly educated on the processes of pearl-acquisition by shamans often mistakenly believe that animals fall prey to hunters of these pearls and are killed indiscriminately without compassion; generally speaking, this is not the case here in Indonesia as wanton killing is a waste of time and resources even for shamans and would put them on Nature's black-list and cause them to lose their raison d'être. It is important to stress that one would hardly find animal-pearls through such killing.. Shamans are careful in maintaining a good relationship with Nature and Her forces as it is through working with Her rather than against Her that the magickal pearls are acquired. It would, therefore, probably be proper if we were to offer some enlightenment and remove the concerns that some individuals might harbour in their minds.

In almost all cases of magickal pearl-acquisition there lies an element of the mystique, of the occult and the processes of shamanic work. Nature offer these pearls possessing magickal properties to humanity and she often does so in ways that borders upon the miraculous and the "supernatural." We know this to be true as a result of several personal experiences where we were gifted by Nature of unusual objects with inherent talismanic value. We need not elaborate on this, the point being that when the hidden forces of Nature wishes to display their fondness, respect, and friendship towards someone attuned to their existence with mutual feelings on the part of the mortal, they often express their delight with a physical token, such as a natural artifact, a curio or a magickal pearl; these gifts often come as a surprise to the one so-attuned with Nature; sometimes they are specifically requested through occult means--shamans the world over are well familiar with the principles and the processes involved and regularly practice them. The modus operandi of this occult-retrieval, however, is not an exact science, and Nature does not always respond in the manner hoped for--greed, doubt, arrogance, harmfulness, wrong-timing, etc. almost always prevents the psychic-connection and the bonding from being established with Nature. Shamans treating Nature with love and respect while functioning under a magickal-trance and attuning to her life-rhythm are rewarded for their congenial expressions accordingly. This is not to say that just anyone can approach Nature and request pearls from Her and then be given them. It does require a certain degree of mastery and the unfoldment of shamanic/psychic powers aside from the development of purity and a spiritual consciousness--these are cultivated through years of difficult training, discipline and struggle. In Indonesia, the art of acquiring pearls from Nature is a specialized knowledge and not all indigenous shamans of the class called "pawangs" possess this power or know-how; traditionally, the mantras and "Ilmu" (occult-power/knowledge) of this type of work are transmitted from father to son only--one reason why sources for these pearls are scarce.