what is a shaman?
By Jordan MacLire
In one sentence? A healer who enters altered states of consciousness in order to interact with the spirit world. But so much more than that…
Why was it forgotten and why it is becoming increasingly popular once more? There are many questions and many books full of insightful answers. I will try to stick to the facts and keep it short and bloggy!
The word "shaman" comes from the Tungusic word samān, which may have originated from the Evenki or Manchu language. It originates from Eastern and Central Siberia and was the word used by visiting Russians who interacted with the indigenous peoples of Siberia. The word translates to ‘the one who sees’, as the Russians believed that these healers could quite literally see spirits and other realms.
The word ‘shaman’ has now evolved to describe anyone who practices a similar form of spiritual healing. Many call this cultural appropriation; I feel that it is more innocent than this. Certainly for the Neo-shamanic or core practitioners of the Western World. It has become a metonymic phrase that encompasses a broad range of spiritual practices. I have come across ‘Shamanic Practitioners’ within the United Kingdom that are clearly focussed on Druidism or Wicca but offer certain healing tools that are indistinguishable from say the practice of a typically Shamanic ‘Soul Retrieval’.
I will re-iterate a quote I have found on a forum doing research. Such a treasure to find wisdom amongst so much misleading information. It is a shame I cannot quote the author (I am working on this) but this is to me, what the noun ‘Shaman’ should or could mean. A Shaman is far more than just a mid-life crisis (trigger alert) who does a weekend workshop and believes they are ready to heal people. I do not wish to be critical but if I have learnt anything at all about my spiritual practice… it cannot be done over a ‘zoom’ call. It can only be done in a ‘sacred space’ when a client is with you in person. This is not Reiki, this is not a Universal healing modality. It is a calling. A calling that usually comes from a place of deep darkness and suffering. It is not a quick fix for the healer or the client, it is a practice not a perfection and a channelling of energy for the betterment of land and community:
‘A shaman may use magical means to act, but a shaman is a cultural role not a magical title. They are the culturally sanctioned outside perspective, the one who can see beyond the structures of the society and so help the people to live together in spite of and within their culture. The shaman is a mediator: Between the self and the other, the people and the world, the seen and the unseen. They act to dissolve boundaries and do so safely, helping to guide others in their development within their roles. The shaman can freely reflect whatever is needed for the person who seeks their help, and shift between many personas and roles that may or may not exist within their society. They heal, and they teach, and they question, and they manipulate for the good of the people, with the consent of those in their tribe. Most shamans use some kind of entheogenic substance or practice to help their activities, and all shaman's alter their state of consciousness to access alternate ideas and points of view.’ - Anon.
On paper Shamanism looks like a selfless and beautiful community driven spiritual practice, so why has it been forgotten by so many of us?
I have been down this rabbit hole for years. There is so much confirmation bias within the information available so I will do my best to ‘sit on the fence’. I have compassion for all of humanity but not for all religious practices. The fact remains that there is no empirical evidence for Shamanic practice within the Celtic tribes. There is however an abundance of evidence for trance state healing, herbalism, magik, animism and most significantly; seasonal and daily rituals revolving around nature.
N.B.This is a blog not a historical paper. I have spent a lot of time reading (actual books!) and browsing for answers; please do your own research because much of what I have learnt has the potential to upset stout Christians and many other religious practices that have removed ‘Nature’ from their worship (or arguably risen above Nature) to worship an unseen, inaccessible, off-world monotheistic deity. I would suggest research or learning how to do a ‘journey’ to find and build relationships with spirits and guides that will help you to remember who and what you are.
Perhaps we should find new nouns to describe our practices? While it is bonding to bring a community of healers together under the same terms, we are all uniquely different and practice our healings subjectively. Many healers I have met have other jobs, other roles in society. When I ask them what they do for a living they find it difficult to give a clear answer. Perhaps they do not want to be bound to one role just for the sake of conversation and polite nosiness!
My mentors (and I have been beyond fortunate to have some great ones), without necessarily knowing each other have had one thing in common; Whilst under their care, whilst in their bubble of training, the work is done exactly as they have taught it. Until this work is practiced proficiently by the student there is no deviation whatsoever… Once they are happy that the wisdom has been passed on safely, in all cases they have said ‘go out and heal and see how your healing methods change to become your own’. There is a lineage of course, but it seems to be flexible. Within months of using a new healing tool they do not look, feel or sound exactly the same as the method taught under close observation. You could argue that as a Western Practitioner I am being trained from a soup of knowledge taken from cultures all over the World. This would be correct. Years of research have led me to believe that Shamanic principles of the Celtic world have been hidden so well by religious dogma that you are better of researching Druidism, Wicca or Herbalism to get an idea of how our ancestors would have put their wisdom into practice.
Are you a ‘Shaman’ or a ‘Shamanic Practitioner’? Are you a ‘Spiritual Healer’ or simply an ‘Energy Worker/Mover’? We have normalised appropriation in our culture and forgotten how our ancestors practice. If I had to answer honestly I am an Animystic who can heal and is fluid in my practice. I rather like saying I study ‘Animysticism’ but I think that may be something to do with my ego (and not yet a registered word)!
It is time to move on, dig deep and reawaken. Let us stop punishing ourselves for the past and start working for our future.
Whatever you are and whatever you practice, keep up the good work. It is your intention behind your actions that is most important whether it upsets people or not. On our website we call ourselves ‘Shamanic Practitioners’, it is a common term that is becoming comfortable within our society; trust is being regained after so many years of suppression and many people are beginning to ‘see’ that spiritual practices do not have to be tribalistic and rigid, they can be fluid and subjective and so can we all.
My dream is that one day there will be so many healers on this planet that the saturation tips the balance and allows for a spiritual and psychological evolution for humanity that is well overdue…
