Obituary John Sacelli

By Chris Small and Malena Reid

How to capture John Sacelli in 700 words? Singer, songwriter, poet, prophet, mentor, magician, writer, storyteller, shaman, sage, astrologer, spiritual leader, co-creator of a divination deck, inventor of a language called Angelish. Need we say more?

A graduate of Yale University with a B.A. in philosophy, John spent his life exploring alternative therapies, spiritual paths, body work, and shamanism. After working as a community organizer in Chicago, he headed to Alabama to help defend civil rights, escaping death twice. He then ventured west, enrolling in Berkeley Free University, taking classes in Aikido, Polarity, Gestalt Therapy, Reichian Energetics, Tae Kwon Do, Kundalini Yoga, Deep Tissue Massage, and “anything that sounded weird, oriental or exotic”. He worked and studied with gurus, yogis, Zen masters, kahunas, sages, witches, and medicine people of all persuasions.

“John sought and brought out the best of us, writes fellow poet Ron Janoff, his generosity only exceeded by his humility.” That being said, the most direct way to describe John is to let him speak for himself.

“I was born in December of 1942. I had the Lynx Dream in Chicago, 41 years later. This last December (2024), I hit 82, another 41 years. I have heart disease and I can feel myself weakening. If I’m going to tell my story, the story of the Lynx, the story of totems, the story of shamans, witches, muses, madmen, fairies, angels, it is time to tell it now.” Thus begat Lynx in Time, published in 2025.

Angelish came to John during a series of Shamanic dreams in the early 1980s. The Lynx that appeared became his guide, his totem, and links to otherworldly dimensions. Hidden within ordinary language lie the keys to this deeper consciousness: Angels are Angles • Lynx are Links • Radius: Ray Dius (Ray of God) • Archetypes: Our Key Types. • Pray (ask): Prey (take) • Tuition (pay to learn in school): Intuition (play to learn in self) • Cynical: Sin I Call. • And much more to be found in his online Angelish Dictionary.

“People used to know they were magical, that everything was alchemy, that everyone was ‘all key me’. You think alchemists were trying to change lead into gold? They were changing ‘led’ into ‘goaled’. Changing passive lives controlled by others into purposeful lives in which people set their own goals. Alchemy: All key me.”

Brian Allemana, his long-time friend and fellow astrologer writes: “John’s shamanic dreaming circles in Chicago were legendary, connecting people from all walks of life through meditation and story. He demonstrated the value of being in community without sacrificing self-reliance. And he loved everyone he could, toughly and tenderly…”

“I have been fortunate to have several special teachers along the way who have put me back on my path. They taught me to honor the truth, to open my heart, to recognize the gifts of others, to understand ‘Original Mind’, to reach across the dimensions, to hear the voices of people, animals, totems, spirits. To find my own path, and in doing so, become part of something greater than myself. It has become my work to share these teachings, messages, and experiences in encouraging others to find their own unique and creative soul missions. As well as the collective missions we share.”

“Each of us enters this life with a unique and special task we seek to accomplish in our lifetime. A purpose that uses and tests and pushes us to the edge of our creativity, our compassion, our courage and spirit. When we are on task, life opens to us, each day holds new possibilities. When we ‘lose our ‘path’, and try to live according to other people’s values, fail to take risks, exaggerate or minimize our abilities, blame or attempt to use or control others, become greedy or fearful or lazy – then life appears flat, dull, painful and pointless. Finding our Soul Purpose brings us alive again.”

“Learning to control my own energy field, through death, through the tangle of attachments my choices have created, appeals to something in me which may just be my own sense of humor.”

And somewhere beyond the dimensions he spent a lifetime exploring, one suspects John is still roaming. And still laughing.