The Shamanic practices of today ranges from those trained in the paths of traditional societies such as the Native American tribes, to those reconstructing Shamanic practice from historical accounts and from their own experience. Joan Halifax, Shamanic Voices, E P Dutton, NY, 1979. Above all, however, shamans are technicians of the sacred and masters of ecstasy.’ They are psychologists, entertainers, and food finders. they are familiar with cosmic as well as physical geography the ways of plants, animals, and the elements are known to them. Their bodies can be left behind while they fly to unearthly realms. they are in communication with the world of gods and spirits.

‘Shamans are healers, seers, and visionaries.

Through contact with the spirits, the Shaman may work acts of healing, divination and magic – revealing by way of vision, poetry and myth the deeper reaches of the human spirit. He or she may also guide others to experience the spirit world for themselves and so deepen their spiritual lives. The Shaman acts as an intermediary between the spirit world and the everyday lives of men and women. The Shaman, through training or calling, is one who is able to enter that world and work with the unseen powers. Shamanism is an ecstatic religion with an essential belief in the reality of the spirit world. Shamanic practice is characterised by seeking vision in solitude and is deeply rooted in the mysteries of nature. Shamans may sometimes work together in groups, but the ethos of this way of working is more of a solitary path. Those who see themselves as Shamans place great emphasis upon individual experience. Bearing this in mind, there are, however, a growing number of men and women who see themselves on a specifically Shamanic path and follow a traditional form of shamanism. Shamanic practices are an underlying aspect of expressions of most religions and there are those who would even describe themselves as Wiccan, Druidic or Women’s Mystery Shamans. Modern Shamanism is perhaps the most diverse of all the forms of pagan practice and is less clearly defined in religious terms than many other pagan religions.

Shamanic Voices by Joan Halifax