Shamanic Journeys as Archetypal Integration Work

BY NICOLE LAU

Shamanic journeying is not primitive superstition—it's sophisticated depth psychology in action. When a shaman journeys to retrieve a lost soul part, encounters a power animal, or receives guidance from a spirit teacher, they're doing the same work Jung called individuation: integrating unconscious content, confronting archetypes, and becoming whole. Understanding this reveals shamanism as the ancestor of all depth psychology.

What Is Archetypal Integration?

Archetypal integration is the process of:

• Encountering archetypes: Universal patterns in the collective unconscious
• Integrating shadow: Reclaiming rejected parts of self
• Retrieving projections: Taking back what you've projected onto others
• Becoming whole: Unifying fragmented aspects of psyche
• Realizing the Self: Connecting to the organizing center beyond ego

This is exactly what shamanic journeying accomplishes, using different language and imagery.

Soul Retrieval as Shadow Integration

Soul retrieval is the shamanic practice of recovering lost soul parts:

The Shamanic View

• Trauma causes soul parts to split off and hide
• These parts remain in the Lower World
• The shaman journeys to find and retrieve them
• The parts are returned and integrated

The Psychological View

• Trauma causes dissociation and repression
• These parts remain in the unconscious
• Therapy helps access and integrate them
• The person becomes more whole

Same process, different language. The "lost soul part" is the dissociated aspect of self, the repressed memory, the shadow fragment.

Power Animals as Archetypal Allies

Power animals are not literal animals but archetypal forces:

The Bear as Archetype

• Shamanic: Bear spirit lends strength and healing power
• Psychological: The Bear archetype (strength, introspection, mothering) is activated
• Integration: You embody bear qualities you've denied or need

The Wolf as Archetype

• Shamanic: Wolf spirit teaches loyalty and pathfinding
• Psychological: The Wolf archetype (pack, instinct, wildness) is integrated
• Integration: You reclaim wolf qualities (instinct, loyalty, wildness)

The power animal is the archetype personified, made accessible through relationship rather than abstract concept.

Spirit Guides as Aspects of the Self

Spirit guides encountered in journeys are often aspects of your own psyche:

The Wise Old Man/Woman

• Shamanic: An elder teacher in the Upper World
• Jungian: The Wise Old Man/Woman archetype
• Integration: Accessing your own inner wisdom

The Divine Child

• Shamanic: A child guide offering innocence and joy
• Jungian: The Divine Child archetype
• Integration: Reconnecting with wonder and potential

The Shadow Figure

• Shamanic: A dark or frightening being in the Lower World
• Jungian: The Shadow archetype
• Integration: Confronting and integrating rejected darkness

These aren't external entities—they're autonomous complexes in your psyche, personified for relationship and integration.

The Three Worlds as Psychic Structure

The shamanic three worlds map precisely onto the psyche:

Shamanic	Jungian	Freudian
Upper World	Superconscious/Self	Superego (idealized)
Middle World	Ego/Consciousness	Ego
Lower World	Personal/Collective Unconscious	Id/Unconscious

Journeying between worlds is navigating between levels of consciousness.

The Shamanic Journey as Active Imagination

Jung's active imagination is remarkably similar to shamanic journeying:

Active Imagination (Jung)

• Enter a meditative state
• Allow images to arise from the unconscious
• Engage with the images as autonomous beings
• Dialogue, interact, receive teachings
• Integrate what you've learned

Shamanic Journey

• Enter trance through drumming
• Journey to Upper or Lower World
• Encounter spirits, animals, guides
• Receive healing, power, or wisdom
• Return and integrate

The methods are nearly identical—both are techniques for accessing and integrating unconscious content.

Dismemberment as Ego Death

Shamanic initiation often involves dismemberment:

The Shamanic Experience

• The initiate is torn apart by spirits
• Bones are cleaned, organs removed
• The body is reassembled with new parts
• The shaman is reborn with new powers

The Psychological Meaning

• The ego structure is dissolved
• Old identity is destroyed
• The psyche is reorganized around the Self
• The person is reborn with integrated wholeness

This is ego death and rebirth—the same process described in mystical traditions and psychedelic therapy.

The Axis Mundi as the Self

The World Tree or axis mundi that shamans climb is the Self:

• The organizing center: Around which the psyche revolves
• The connection: Between conscious, unconscious, and superconscious
• The path: Of individuation and integration
• The goal: Realizing your wholeness

Finding your axis mundi is finding your Self—your core, your center, your organizing principle.

Why Shamanism Works

Shamanic techniques are effective because they:

1. Bypass the rational mind: Access the unconscious directly
2. Use imagery: The language the unconscious speaks
3. Create relationship: With autonomous complexes (spirits, animals)
4. Embody experience: Not just intellectual understanding
5. Integrate through action: Bringing back and applying what's received

This is more effective than talk therapy alone for many people.

Modern Applications

Contemporary therapies use shamanic principles:

• Internal Family Systems (IFS): Working with "parts" (like soul retrieval)
• Gestalt therapy: Dialoguing with aspects of self (like spirit guides)
• Psychodrama: Embodying and integrating roles (like power animals)
• EMDR: Processing trauma (like soul retrieval)
• Psychedelic therapy: Journeying to non-ordinary states (like shamanic trance)

All are rediscovering what shamans have known for millennia.

Practical Application: Shamanic Journey as Integration Work

To use shamanic journeying for integration:

1. Identify what needs integration: Shadow, trauma, lost potential
2. Set clear intention: What are you seeking to retrieve or integrate?
3. Journey to the appropriate world: Lower for power/shadow, Upper for guidance
4. Encounter the archetype: As spirit, animal, or guide
5. Receive the gift: Healing, power, wisdom, or soul part
6. Return and integrate: Embody what you've received in daily life
7. Repeat as needed: Integration is a process, not a one-time event

Shamanic journeying is not primitive—it's sophisticated depth psychology using imagery instead of concepts, relationship instead of analysis, embodiment instead of intellectualization. When you journey to retrieve a soul part, you're integrating shadow. When you meet a power animal, you're activating an archetype. When you climb the World Tree, you're realizing the Self. Same work, different language. And often, more effective.