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So You Wannabe A Shaman, Huh?
By Joseph Bearwalker Wilson and StarrHawke
Part One -- Today's Society Today many people in the "civilized world" are being drawn to world views that are more in tune with nature and natural cycles, that honor the Earth Mother and Sky Father, and recognize the life and energy and spirit of all things. Much of this started with the beginnings of the pagan/Wiccan movement, which I was instrumental in popularizing, in the 1960s. Since then it has exploded into a movement to be recognized as world changing. I have watched people go through many changes trying to settle into that spiritual calling that is in their hearts, trying to describe themselves by using this name, then that name, then still another. Many people have pulled away from calling themselves Witches and Pagans now, quite likely because subconsciously they were tired of the negative reactions those create in many mainstream people. In the 80s many began adopting the word Wiccan, appropriating it from the specific traditions that had claim to it, thus watering the word down so that it had much less meaning than before. In the 90s the trend has moved so that many people now are calling any natural oriented religion "shamanism" and any member of such a religion a "shaman". Part of this is probably due to a misunderstanding of Michael Harner's work in teaching shamanic techniques, combined with a childish "Gee, this sounds cool!" attitude. That, along with discovering that calling oneself a "shaman" or saying one practiced "shamanism" as a religion didn't raise so many hackles and looks of horror on mom and dad's face like calling oneself a witch did, has most likely made the term newagey popular. Most cultures in which shamanism is practiced by a specialist do not have a "name" for their religion. They simply follow the customs of their village, their parents, their aunts and uncles, their grandmothers and grandfathers. There now seems to be a trend to lable the common religion of the people "shamanism" and ignore the fact that every person in that culture is not a "technician of the sacred". There is also a tendency today to project some kind of aura around a shaman and pretend that he or she is some embodiement of peace and serenity, living totally in harmony with Spirit, doing good for everyone, (and for free of course), and naturally being a wonderful magical healer. This tendency is making many Westerners the laughing stock of real shamanic practitioners throughout the world. In the preface to "Shaman : An Illustrated Guide" by anthropologist Piers Vitebsky is a quote that I find highly amusing, as well as highly reflecting of reality. "A shaman from Nepal met a Westerner who remarked how good it must be to live in harmony with the cosmos. The shaman replied, 'The main part of my job is killing witches and sorcerers.'" Shamanism isn't a religion any more than Lawyerism is a religion, or Physicianism is a religion, or Stockbrokerism is a religion, or Secretaryism is a religion, or Farmerism is a religion, or Preacherism is a religion, or Actorism is a religion, or any other vocation is a religion. The word "shaman" is the title for someone with a particular JOB within a society and "shamanism" is the practices that a person who has that JOB does. If you have a call to shamanize the path will be very difficult. Modern American society is not set up in such a way that we still have cultures or subcultures in which shamanism is recognized and practiced. We really have no foundation in which shamanism is or can be relatively easily understood. As Tori remarked to me this morning, what we in Metista are doing is NOT training shamans. It appears that what we, along with Michael Harner, Sandra Ingerman, and several others (including the general Neo-Pagan movement I suppose), ARE doing is preparing society so that in another five or six generations it really can accept those in the role of a true "shaman." back to top Part Two -- What Identifies A Shaman I was going to start off this part talking about the call to become a shaman. Having had time to think it over, I realized I should talk about what identifies a shaman first. I do want to clarify one thing before we go on. Tori and I use the words "shaman" and "shamanism" in a classical sense. This is not the "Metista" definition because we arbitrarily chose it to be. It is the definition accepted by historical and anthropological scientists and academics to identify a particular type of spiritual practitioner found in different cultures all over the world. It has a precise meaning, not vague generalities. There are certain specific characteristics that identify a shaman that other spiritual practitioners do not have. I'll get into those later. This doesn't make a shaman any better or any worse than any of the other spiritual practitioners that exist. It merely classifies him or her. In any culture there are many different kinds of spiritual vocations. All of them have their own validity and their own honor; and even though there are frauds in each one of them, each of the vocations deserve respect. A practitioner of any of these areas is just as important in their field as is any other practitioner, including a shaman. These include such vocations as priests, ministers, psychic healers, midwives and doctors, medicine men, diviners, spiritual teachers, visionaries, dream interpreters, "psychics", sorcerers, magicians, and other magic workers (use your own term here, but bear with me and don't use the word "shaman" yet.). Since the word "shaman" became emphasized in this current newage fad I've seen it applied in all seriousness, indiscriminately to each one of the practices I mentioned in the above paragraph. That's really sad because it's taken a perfectly good word with a precise meaning and broadened it's definition out so much that in common usage it's become so vague as to be nearly useless. Of course newage book publishers have found that it's a cool buzzword and that by attaching that word to an otherwise slow selling book it increases sales. That most certainly has added to the confusion. A shaman's job is to perform magical acts such as spiritual healing, divination, interpret dreams, finding lost people or objects, locate animals for the hunt, guide souls of the dead to their appropriate place in the other worlds, drive away or pacify evil spirits, increase fertility and sexual vigor in the herds, community, and individuals, and so forth. Many of these are the same things that various other kinds of spiritual people do in the different societies and cultures. There is a big difference that makes a shaman different from the other kinds of spiritual practitioner. A "shaman" does these things by entering into a profound trance, known as ecstasy (which does not mean joy, or happiness in this sense, but rather a state in which the shaman is oblivious to the outside world), leaving his or her body as a spirit, and having direct contact with the spirits that are causing the troubles, or that can aid in solving the problem. This state of ecstasy is the one characteristic that all shamans have. It is the single prominent identifying factor. back to top Part Three -- The Call To Become A Shaman I refer to the call to become a shaman a curse because, unlike the very strong call many of us have to come "home" to our particular religion or philosophy, or the very strong call that many of us have to become initiated "priestesses and priests", the initial stages of the call to become a shaman are truly life threatening, and refusal to accept that call usually results in very real death. The initial stages of the call to shamanize is usually accompanied by a traumatic, life-threatening, life changing experience, which the potential shaman survives usually largely through his or her own efforts, and sometimes through intervention of the Spirits. This experience may consist of one or more of the following possibilities. There are probably many more than these. Whatever happens it is always an extremely close and unmistakable brush with death.
Part Four -- Elements of Initiation There are many different kinds of "spiritual worker" callings. They are all equally important and equally valuable. In this series I'm focusing on the classical understanding of traditional shamanism throughout the world so that we have a basis to begin understanding what's happening in our modern societies. In an earlier part of this series I wrote about some of the signs of the call to classical or traditional shamanism. I should have mentioned that these signs do not necessarily apply to just a shaman, and they don't necessarily just apply to any of the other callings either. I have found that many of these are also found in many of the other spiritual callings as well, often not as physically severe. Alone they are not an indication of any particular "call," just a "call" in general. I said I'd write something about the shaman's initiation. The trouble is I can't really speak about the physical process of a shaman's initiation(s) in cultures where shamanism is traditionally practiced. The reason for that is simply because most of their ceremonies are quite secret. We have a few scattered fragments of descriptions in some anthropological studies, and of course in Eliade's excellent "religious history" works. Usually a potential shaman experiences the basic elements of initiation in dreams and visions, prior to going through the physical act of initiation by the elder shamans. The particular elements they experience will, of course, be related to the world view of their particular culture. For example an African Bushman's dreams will be about things his people do, different from, but in essence related to the experiences that an Australian Aborigine or a Mongolian would also go through. I do need to point out that the dreams or visions the called person experiences are involuntary, and are intense, feeling as though they are real. It may be that the physical initiation is necessary in order to ground the forces that are there in order to "satisfy the dream" so that the one called can survive. There are cases where the dream/vision type initiation is the only one the shaman experiences. This usually happens only in villages where there is no practicing shaman to initiate and teach, and at that the new shaman is usually considered a "lesser shaman" without the power of one who has gone through the traditional methods. The elements of the initiatory dream (which might just as easily be called an initiatory nightmare) include such things as:
Essentially, though, the initiate comes back a new person, the old life gone and the new life as a shaman there in it's place. There is no turning back. back to top Part Five -- Is Your Calling Real? The last two installments had to do with the "call" to shamanize and the often traumatic initiatory dreams found in classical shamanic supporting cultures. I'm afraid some people may have been thinking that I have been implying that the calling that they feel is not real or something. This is not the case! I think that most of us today, myself included, could not survive the real life as opposed to dream life initiation of a Tungus or Mongolian shaman. Most likely we could not even survive the initiation into adulthood that many so called "primitive" cultures require. My first awareness of my own calling came 44 years ago after a miraculous survival of three separate suicide attempts within a week's period. After the last attempt, when I held the barrel of a pistol to my temple and pulled the trigger and the gun misfired (it fired immediately after when I pointed it into the ground to test it) I had a sudden overwhelming flash that there was something I had to do and that I would not be allowed to die until that something was fulfilled. As a 12 year old boy (about the age of the "initiation into adulthood" mentioned above) I had no idea what it was. Afterwards I felt compelled to read mythology of many different peoples, was subject to heavy daydreams and nightmares, and vaguely stumbled around trying to find out what was going on. It wasn't until 8 years later that I finally "bumped into someone" who was able to give me some direction, resulting in a real world initiation. This was not a classical "shamanic" initiation, by the way, and certainly wasn't a "Wiccan" initiation since "Wicca" (by that name) did not arrive in the United States until brought here by Ray and Rosemary Buckland in 1964 or so. Since that time I have been aware of a great many people having a strong compelling calling of one kind or another; and feeling extremely uncomfortable unless they followed it. Those who are within the Neo-Pagan/Wiccan movement in particular are usually struck by the strong sense of "coming home" that one feels when one finally connects. During the past 20 years or so more and more people have been identifying their calling with the call to shamanize. I strongly suspect that they are confused about it, probably frightened by parts of it, unable to identify it, until they finally put a label on it. People have a need to know what is happening to them. Our minds simply can't grasp things very easily without putting SOME kind of a label on it to grab hold of. So it looks like we grab whatever it is that our deep selves feel is the most similar to what is happening to us even though that "symbol" we grab may not really be accurate, it satisfies that need at least a little. So many of these calls today have shamanic elements to them. That does not make the calls themselves shamanic, but it does mean they have shamanic elements. Something is happening, something is growing, something is developing that is different from the classical shamanism of Siberia, or Africa, or South America, or Australia. It's powerful, it has elements found in some shamanic oriented societies, but lacks many of the physically dangerous aspects of those societies, and it lacks the ONE thing found in ALL classical shamanism -- the ecstatic trance (which most closely resembles an epileptic seizure.) Regardless of the methods used, the particular spiritual orientation of the individual or group, the tools and implements used, or the particular task being done, it's that ecstatic trance that separates the shaman from other types of spiritual healers or technicians of the sacred. I think that Spirit is creating something new in our modern society, a new kind of spiritual practitioner, not a shaman, but something different, with elements from the old shamanic practices, but something fitting for today's "civilized" world -- something that will not does not have the physical rigors of the old ways, but still is deep, and powerful, and effective. It's something reincarnated from the old ways, like iron heated white hot in a forge and tortured, hammered ruthlessly, and heated again and again until it emerges as a fine new steel blade ready for the new task that is set before it. I don't know what to call it. It's not classical shamanism. It is something new, and special. I don't know what to call me, other than "that Crazy old Coot on the Hill". back to top Part Six -- Types of Trance As I said before, it's the ecstatic trance that separates the shaman from other types of spiritual healers or technicians of the sacred. Trance has many different forms, and of those many are, or can be, used in spiritual matters. I'll try to explain a few of them here. The *pure* "shamanic trance" is one in which the shaman is unconscious to the ordinary world. Usually this is accompanied by a rigidity of the body not unlike rigormortis in appearance. It may be accompanied by the shaman's tongue retracting so that he or she nearly swallows it, or protruding from the side of the mouth, in danger of being bitten. Sometimes it will last for hours. During that trance the shaman's spirit will travel to whatever different places he or she needs to go to find the solution to the problem at hand. Upon return to the body the shaman is usually exhausted from the very real struggles he or she went through. This trance is extremely rare, even in purely shamanic oriented cultures. Even in those cultures a person who cannot do that is considered a "lesser shaman" no where near as powerful as the "shamans of old." In some cultures "lesser shamans" will produce an artificial trance which may appear similar to the "pure shamanic trance" with the aid of drugs such as those derived from the amanita muscaria mushroom (Fly Agaric), ayacahusa, jimson weed and other varieties of datura. Often the creation of both kinds of trance listed above is aided by such things as drumming in certain different rhythms, rattling rattles, using other percussion instruments, dancing to exhaustion, singing songs or chants similar to singing or reciting a mantra, and other means. These aids may be, and often are, used in creating other kinds of trances as well. As we move away form *pure* shamanism we move into different practices, and different forms of trance and vision. Most of these are available to everyone, and not just a *called* shaman. None of these indicate that the person using them is a "shaman." That doesn't mean that a shaman wouldn't use them either. It simply means that they are not exclusively shamanic. I think it's these trances that are really most important to us in our modern explorations, and which most people experience. One of these trances is a sort of hypnogogic state in which the person may seem to be a "trance medium," acting somewhat like Edgar Case, giving advice, readings, and predictions while in that state, and being able to respond to questions asked, but being unable to remember the experience after returning to ordinary consciousness. Most people are not able to enter a trance state like this without years of training or practice. Another of the more spectacular trances is that which appears to the practitioner to be similar to a vivid dream -- a lucid dream -- in which they are able to travel on journeys from one place to another, visit intense landscapes, interact with spirits, and go and come much as they please. Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference between this clear trance experience and an actual dream. The means of doing so are beyond the scope of this paper. Much more common, and one which everyone can (and probably does) experience, is that which appears to be like a vivid daydream. We all enter into this kind of a trance from time to time. In some ways it's similar to being engrossed in a movie, or in a television show, or in a fascinating book. We are unaware of our surroundings because our attention is directed to the daydream, but are still able to interact with those surroundings, respond to people or events that happen in real life, and so forth. It's usually in this state that people on a spiritual path have experiences with spirits, ancestors, divinities, and so forth. That particular trance ranges from very mild "staring off into space" to very intense. It's the state that the vast majority of psychics are in when they give readings, whether by cards, or psychometry, other means of divination. It's also the state that psychic healers use. In other words, anyone with any knowledge of spiritual states at all uses those trances either intentionally or unintentionally. Some of them call them *shamanism.* It's not, but that doesn't make them any less valid or valuable. back to top Part Seven -- Patterns of Shamanism As we've seen shamanic practices vary from culture to culture. The influences on shamanic practices and orietation come from the world views of individual nation, tribe, clan, family history, and religion each of which shape the way the "shaman" works, the spirits he or she works with and encounters, the dieties he or she worships, and the cultural symbols used, encountered, and interpreted. There is no way around that because each nation, each tribe, each clan, each family, each language, each religion, and the land on which they live all have their own unique spirits which are inseperable from the practice. This is why none of us will ever become a Siberian, Mongolian, Arunta, Kakundu, Ojibwa, Dine', Yoruba, or whatever "shaman" unless we ARE Siberian, Mongolian, Arunta, Kakundu, Ojibwa, Dine', or Yoruba. This does not mean that your and my patterns may not be similar to those of the peoples I just mentioned. The patterns of shamanism are archetypal. They are found all over the world but with different cultural identifications and orientations. I'd suggest checking out the cultural, spiritual, and shamanic patterns found in "A Course in Mongolian Shamanism - Introduction 101" at http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/2146/mongolia/cms.htm and comparing those with other patterns found throughout the world, and comparing them with the patterns you discover by your own practice, work, and journeys. This is not an easy task. The temptation to simply adopt something from that culture, and the others, is strong. However if you do so you are setting your personal pattern to be that of a much lesser practitioner than you are capable of becomming. Before I go much further I do want to clarify that I do not call myself a "shaman" for several reasons, most of these being that I don't fit the criteria of my own specific and strict standards as outlined earlier in this series. Although I've gone through the initiatory experiences, and am subject to going into trances of various intensities, both at will, and at spirit's will, and do "journey" into the otherworlds, I do not go into that intense "estatic trance" that is the essential criteria. I did that once in my life only, a very long time ago. Also there is one other essential, and that is being a member of a culture, community, or society that recognizes me as being a "shaman" (unless you count Metista as being that society, and then I'm not sure). That outside recognition is essential all over the world. I rather prefer being called that "Crazy old Coot on the Hill" or an Owit-towit-tai-at. (Which translates to "One Who Intentionally Travels To Other Worlds In Trance And Isn't A Twinkie.") back to top Part Eight -- Something About Symbols My own practices have come about by a combination of traditional and non-traditional ways. In the traditional manner they include such things as my cultural and religious upbringing which lasted to adulthood. Then there was my association, initiation, and instruction from my "Craft" lineage which is separate from my upbringing, but fits the keyhole of my soul. My primary training included specific things from three separate but strongly spiritually related "Craft" traditions, each of which seemed to lack something by themselves, but become complete when put together, like a three legged stool which cannot stand without all of them. I had agreement that it was okay to fit the philosophies and generalities of these three together for my personal and family use by each of my original teachers. The resulting philosophy is that which is the roots, the foundation, the framework, for Metista (as it was for TOTEG). My practices are unique to me and to the training and influences I've had throughout my life. In all likelihood there is no one in the world who practices in quite the same way I do. The closest would be Tori, who is my partner and spiritual heir, and to whom I have given and am giving everything I possibly can in the two or three years that I have left in this body. My palms have been sweating while I've been trying to sort through those things that are specific to my lineage and should not be shared outside of it, and those things that are available to everyone with hard work. Some of this in the rest of this series is going to turn out to be a combination of the two, I'm sure, since I won't be able to explain without an illustration of some sort. I'm avoiding beginning. I hate writing about myself, and exposing myself, just as much as everyone else does. But I'm going to just begin, and choose the subjects "symbols, tools, and costumes" since they are all closely related. Symbols are a whole lot of different things. They depend on that which is common in one's culture, things that are given by the physical Elders or passed down in a specific lineage, those things that are given by spirits during dreams and visions, and those things that have some meaning that is specifically related to the practitioner's life. All of them have specific meanings, both obvious and hidden. They also have power connections, depending on what they are and how they are used, somewhat similar to being a storage battery. For this reason I hesitate to be too specific about the ones that have been given to me through my lineage's and even through spiritual revelation. Perhaps a vague and somewhat inaccurate description of some of a few of them that I have been given will serve the purpose for now. At my first acceptance into "the family" I was given a stoneware tool, about 8 inches long and an inch to an inch and a half in diameter. On one side of this tool was an image composed primarily of spirals done in a particular manner, and obviously representing primordial femininity. On the other side was an etching that represented the other half, a stag mask with a certain number of tines on the antlers, all drawn in a particularly stylistic manner. These symbols, as well as the tool itself, have special meaning that can only be fully discovered by meditation on their meanings coupled with a combination of "real world" guidance and explanations derived from what you realized during the mediations. This not only can take years, but is actually never finished. Other symbols, similar but quite different, were given to me by both of my other lineage's. Interestingly enough they are to be used the same way. In addition to that kind, individual special symbols might be used. For example if a part of your call to "shamanize" included being hit by lightning, a lightning bolt would be an ideal symbol. For myself the bullet I have in my right arm acts as a symbol, since that near death experience happened after 5 years of ignoring my spiritual call. The bullet hit in line with my heart, and only 1/4 inch away from a major artery. If it had hit that artery I would have died of internal bleeding before the paramedics got there. That too is an important symbol to me, and an internal talisman reminding me of Spirit's watchfulness over me. Often a person practicing shamanic techniques will decorate his or her drum and other tools with symbols that represent a tree with branches and roots. This is the World Tree which reaches into the Upperworld with it's branches and into the Lowerworld with it's roots. Sometimes with symbols which indicate events in his or her initiation are also used in the same way as are stylized symbols representing the male and female sex organs -- since there is great power in them. Some of the symbols used by shamanic practitioners are also hieroglyphs of some sort, representing immense meaning in a small space. Often an individual's symbols will include something that evokes the image of their personal Tutelary spirit. Sometimes these symbols will be a part of the decoration on a practitioner's "costume," as well as being painted on the his or her drum. back to top Part Nine -- Something About Tools Earlier I wrote that I would talk about tools in this installment. Actually symbols, tools, and costume are closely related because each contains the other. A symbol itself is a tool, which may be used in conjunction with other tools and costume. Likewise both tools and costume are symbols themselves. These all have deep meanings to a practitioner. The tools I use bear little resemblance to those used by Ceremonial Magicians, Wiccans, and Neo-Pagans. Examples of these include such things as:
I could teach some people how to use some of these items, in a limited manner. By doing so, however, I would be limited to teaching by dogma, and that which I taught would, by it's very nature, consist of both truth and falsehood, since dogma itself is limited and hides the essence of truth even more than it reveals it. For example the use of the drum and rattle (both of which are universal shamanic tools) is one that is all too often limited by the teachings given in books and seminars. These teachings state that those tools are used to provide rhythmic sounds as an aid in getting into a trance state. While this has an element of truth in it, in some cases, it is not the whole of their use. Because of those teachings many people who are experimenting with shamanic techniques today assume that they have to have someone drum for them, or that they have to get a tape recording of drumming to play for the duration of their experiment. Yes, those things can be aids. No, they are not necessary. Although I have had people drum and rattle for me, as some people on this list can confirm, I also and often use those tools without outside help. When I do so I use rhythms and patterns that are unlike the ones taught, are often irregular, and have purposes way beyond aiding in establishing a trance state. It's important to remember that everything in the physical world has spirit/soul. This is especially important when thinking about and using tools in your work. When you use them in the physical world, you are also using them in the Otherworlds, in manners which are appropriate to their individual spirits. I will often carry my physical tools with me, and use them as their spiritual counterparts, during my journeys to the Otherworlds. For example I'll often take my miniature bow and arrow along in order to shoot nasty spirits to kill/drive them away if that becomes necessary. The most important way you will learn what tools are for and how to consecrate them, and how to use them is by both instruction from the spirit that gave them to you, and by instruction from the spirit of the tool itself. This will take a lot of practice and journeys on your part, and a great deal of trial and error to find out which instruction actually comes from the spirits, and which is coming from your subconscious mind trying to please you. There is no easy way to accomplish that. Perhaps that discernment will be the subject of another article. back to top Part Ten -- Spirits In previous parts of this series I mentioned that all items have spirits, or souls. This is an important thing to remember when doing any kind of spiritual work, especially shamanic practices. Before I write a little bit about costume I feel like I need to explain a little more about spirits. Just like other entities on this globe there are billions of spirits. Naturally those that have the most influence on us as individuals are those that are closest to us, in the land, the air, our personal belongings or tools; and our spiritual, cultural, and genetic ancestors. The trouble is that just like other entities some spirits become our friends, some our enemies, some indifferent to us, some are simply unwilling to be involved with us at all. Just as in physical reality, some are more powerful than us, and some are less powerful than us. Some you can make friends with, some you may have to bribe or placate in some way. Some spirits, due to their very nature, are killers intent on destroying and devouring the unwary prey that strays into their range. Some kill out of a self preservation instinct, like a cobra striking. It is as dangerous for a trained shamanic practitioner to go into those uncharted territories as it is for a trained warrior to go into the middle of a war zone. For a beginner in these practices the dangers are proportionately higher. There are also many many spirits, just like people in the ordinary reality that you are most familiar with, that are pathological liars; con-artists out to deceive and take advantage of you and me for their own purposes. Now, here's the kicker. In order to practice effective shamanic techniques you have to trust some spirits. You have to listen to their advice and instruction, in order to know what to do, and then do what is necessary to accomplish task at hands, realizing both the dangers involved, and the price that must be paid. The question is, which ones can you really trust? My answers to this will probably not put you at ease. Just like in physical life the safest entities to you are probably those that have been introduced to you by your family; those that are a part of the religion you were raised in. After that are those spirits you have been introduced to and put in contact with by other people in your life. These are usually such entities as the "secret" spirits introduced and taught to you during your initiation and training by your physical life teachers and Elders. Examples of these might be something similar to the angels and archangels of certain ceremonial magic lodges or other secret societies. .These are spirits who have been introduced to you by "family" they've been vouched for by people you know and trust, and you have been vouched for by those same people to them. Just like in physical life, the spirits you meet in that way are generally safer to know than spirits you meet in random situations. And, just like in physical life just meeting them is not sufficient. You have to get to know them over a period of time and establish a mutual understanding and trust. That will be easier since you've been "introduced" but it is still just as delicate a situation as meeting strangers in the physical world. I might as well take this opportunity to point out that just as in your own genetic family where all members don't get along with you all of a time, even those spirits you have been introduced to this way won't get along with you all of the time. Even though you may not have physical Elders to pass spirits and information about them down to you there is still hope. Starting these practices alone, with only "spirit guidance" or "spirit initiation" is much like suddenly waking up in a strange city where you know no one. You can survive, and you can thrive, but you are going to have to be very careful. Here are some guidelines to help you evaluate the spirits you come in contact with. Spirits that are trustworthy as guides, helpers, and teachers are normally naturally receptive and fond of humans, and fond of you in particular. Often they exist in the physical world in something that aids you, such as horses, cows, boars, metals, fire, foods, bows and arrows, and even automobiles. They will not try to impress you by claiming to be all knowing or all powerful -- any spirit that does claim that is lying and therefore by definition untrustworthy. A trustworthy spirit will not lie to you, mislead you, or allow you to be mislead into a misinterpretation. Trustworthy spirits rarely make specific predictions. Nor will trustworthy spirits build up your ego by insisting that you are the all-powerful future ruler of the universe, or whatever. And lastly a trustworthy spirit will not threaten to leave if you don't do as it says; if you err in some practice on the side of caution. I probably should have written this part before the one on symbols. It's pretty dangerous to take a symbol, or tool, or name of spirit, from some culture and put it to use in your own circles. The spirit connected to it is likely to be just as upset with you as you would be with an uninvited stranger. You might be a great chef, but you would be angry, resentful and suspicious if some stranger stomped into your home and ordered you to produce a meal for him. So, get to know your spirits very well, as well as you do your best friend or anyone you would trust with your life. back to top Part Eleven -- What and Why of Costume Now that I've concluded my diversionary but necessary rant about spirits I feel like I can go on and talk about costume a bit. As I indicated in the parts about symbols and tools, the costume is another tool, and as such is related to symbols. Making a tool, or costume, or any other kind of symbol is a form of sacrifice. The word "sacrifice" literally means "to make sacred". Just as we gain from our spirits efforts on our behalf, our spirits gain from what we do, from our sacrifices to them. Whether we realize it or not, our spirits are going to take something from us in return for their information, or aid, or help. These sacrifices can be many different things, wearing or not wearing certain types of costume, or items on a costume, or symbols, the sweat from our effort, the pouring of liquids, donating money or clothing to someone who needs it, or as many other things as your imagination can devise. It is much better for us if we ask what they require first, and then decide whether or not we are willing to give that or not. If they ask for something that we are extremely uncomfortable about giving or doing we can negotiate with them, suggest something else and ask if it will do instead. If the alternate will not do it is wise to thank the spirit, and leave the operation till later after giving it more thought. Costume, and special tools, and special symbols is not about wearing something so much as it is about being able to do what is necessary to accomplish the results you have to accomplish -- of giving the sacrifice your spirit requires. If Spirit says you have to do it in a big bag, or spirit says you have to do it standing naked under the full moon with lightning bolts painted on your arms and legs then you do it that way. If you don't have the mental strength to do it the way Spirit says you should re-evaluate what you are doing, and why you are doing it. Neither of those two examples are something that everyone might be told to do. They are something that someone might be told to do. Neither are "unreasonable" since they don't demand harm or yourself or someone else. Still, it's up to you personally to agree to do what is asked of you, or to thank the spirit and back away from that operation. I heard a story about a shaman in a particular African tribe who was to do a divination ritual the following morning. He was prepared, everything was set, and he went to bed to sleep in the morning. The spirits told him not to sleep, and would not allow him to sleep even though he wanted to do so. He stayed awake, never discovering the reason for it, and not questioning it because "my life is not my own, it is Spirits." This is a perfect example. It's the same way with costume. You wear what your Spirits tell you to wear, and put the symbols on it they want you to put on it -- sometimes the symbols representing a specific spirit. Spirits wear these symbols as we wear our bodies; it gives them substance. Sometimes what you wear is an aid for you to travel in certain regions of the Otherworlds in order to pass as a spirit of that region. For myself I've quit second guessing Spirit entirely. I always have something on my person that is in effect a costume. Often this is simply a special symbol that is personal to me and my tradition drawn on paper and pinned to my street clothes. Sometimes though my spirits tell me something else is needed. I take words that were given to me in my training and initiation seriously. I was taught "Do not what you desire, do what is necessary." At one workshop I was conducting in the second half of the 80s I was demonstrating an "extraction" technique on a volunteer. She had been having strong pains in her upper abdominal region for some time and nothing the doctors did seemed to relieve them. I put on my normal working garments, including a leather cord used as a belt on which to hang my small bag of special items. We laid her down on a folded blanket near the fire pit, and the other 20 or so attendees sat around in a circle around us and began drumming and rattling for me. As I began my usual opening ceremony, making prayers, calling my spirits, asking for assistance and such I got a very clear message from those spirits. I could not continue and be successful unless all I wore was that leather cord belt and "medicine bag". And so, with only a little hesitation I complied and removed my shirt, pants, and underwear. I was already barefoot. I then continued the operation in my normal manner with no further problems or demands -- went into my deep trance, and performed an extraction of the little spirit that was causing her problems. After I was finished and thanked the spirits in my usual way I got dressed again and discussed what had happened with the group. Was it embarrassing? Well, yes a bit when I started, but when my working and trance started it was as though I was alone and not embarrassing at all. Did it work? Yes. She didn't have that problem for the rest of the time she was there, and two months later told me she was still free of it. Would it have worked if I hadn't done as requested and stripped off? I don't know. But why take a chance? I do what my spirits tell me to do. They are the ones that any "magic" comes from, not me. back to top Part Twelve -- Getting Started Classical or Historical shamanic cultures are usually those found in societies that rely on hunting-gathering and/or herding for their subsistence. There are other civilizations (called "post-shamanic" by anthropological researchers) that have shamanic themes, however in them the actual shamans role is of a much lesser nature. Other specialists take on the tasks of prophecy, divination, healing, counseling, and religious rituals and ceremonies such as the escorting the souls of the dead to their place in the Otherworlds. Although the shaman may still use the ecstatic trance, lighter trances such as those I described earlier are also used. Post-shamanic cultures may be found among some native peoples of North American, Asia, Africa, and Indo-Europe. There are societies today in which many of the trappings and symbols of the shaman are used, however the ecstatic trance is not used, and soul travel to the Otherworlds when it happens is accidental. These cultures still have visionary traditions, however the visions come from dreams, or from establishment of a lighter trance much more closely akin to the various levels of hypnotic trance rather than to ecstasy. In addition the use, and even encouragement, of visions is not limited to a specialist but is found in the general population as well. This is properly called "Pseudo-shamanism" (false or near shamanism) and may be found in many of the Indian nations of North America. Many people call the visible spiritual specialist, or "Medicine Man," of these nations a shaman even though he does not use the ecstatic trance. In their own languages these cultures call the person in that role something that usually translates much more closely to "Holy Man" or "Holy Woman." The misuse of the word "shaman" when applied to that specialist causes a great deal of confusion. Unfortunately there are no clear cut divisions and some peoples will have different combinations of the two types practicing at the same time. One unifying factor in both of those areas is that their traditions are intact as an unbroken line passed on from teacher to apprentice, whether it be from shaman to apprentice or from "Holy Person" to apprentice. This teaching consists of a specialized understanding of the knowledge of the community being served; recognizing the presence of guiding, helping, ancestor and teaching spirits; blessings, charms, wards and ceremonies; methods of divination; the means for creating the costume and equipment necessary for the performance of spiritual responsibilities; initiatory rites; and other related areas. All of those teachings are specific to the culture in which they are found. Although those general categories can be found in Asia, North America, Africa and such, the specific teachings in each of them relates only to the People and the Land in which they live. The teachings are in context with the cosmology and world view of the people. Out of context the vast majority of them cannot be understood. Attempting to adopt and practice them without being a part of those societies, a part of the Land where they belong, is disrespectful; a mockery of the honor they deserve. So what can we do? Many people today are being lead by Spirit into a form of spirituality and practice that has pseudo-shamanic elements. In response to this call a kind of non-traditional, contemporary shamanism is developing in both the Americas and elsewhere in the "civilized" world. Unfortunately this non-traditional "shamanism" has no continuity of tradition. Instead the practitioners adopt a crossbreed of trance techniques, astral projection, often oriental derived spirituality and mysticism, and often neo-pagan and Wiccan ritualism. In some cases, such as my own, certain ancient trance techniques have been added to an existing spiritual tradition to fill in some missing elements. The resulting systems and practices are something that can no longer be properly called "shamanism." This does not devalue the developments that we are making and discovering. It does put us into a new category for which there is no appropriately descriptive word or term. Thanks to the efforts of such anthropologists as Michael Harner and Felicitas D. Goodman, even a person without a continuity of tradition can learn and use various shamanic techniques, obtain good results, and satisfy that demanding spirit within them. These writers and teachers have taken the essence of shamanic practices, stripped them of their culturally specific elements, and presented them as a bare bones foundation on which to build. The following books will take you step by step through some shamanic techniques and exercises. They won't make you a shaman. If you are already working within a particular spiritual orientation you'll find that adoption of some of these techniques and applying them to that orientation will help you to understand it more thoroughly. If you are not, the will help you to understand your own place, to develop your own practice and spiritual orientation, in much the same way as we do in Metista. It is important to remember NOT to take symbols and practices from any culture but your own unless you are being taught by a legitimate teacher authorized by that culture to do so.
Copyright 1998, 2002 by Joseph B Wilson and Victoria A McElroy. |