Shamanism 101: The World's Oldest Spiritual Practice
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BY NICOLE LAU
Before there were priests, before there were temples, before there were written scripturesβthere were shamans.
For at least 40,000 years, in every corner of the world, humans have practiced shamanism: the art of journeying to non-ordinary reality, communicating with spirits, and bringing back healing, wisdom, and power for the community.
Shamanism is not a religion. It's a practice, a technology, a way of perceiving and interacting with the spirit world that transcends culture, geography, and time.
This is shamanism: the world's oldest spiritual practice, and it's still alive today.
What Is Shamanism?
Shamanism is a spiritual practice in which practitioners (shamans) enter altered states of consciousness to:
- Journey to non-ordinary reality (the spirit world)
- Communicate with spirits, ancestors, and power animals
- Retrieve information, healing, or lost soul parts
- Perform healing work for individuals and the community
- Serve as mediators between the human and spirit worlds
The word "shaman" comes from the Tungus people of Siberia, meaning "one who knows" or "one who sees in the dark."
The Shamanic Worldview
Everything Is Alive
Shamanism is rooted in animismβthe belief that everything has spirit:
- Animals, plants, rocks, rivers, mountains
- Weather, seasons, celestial bodies
- Tools, drums, crystals, sacred objects
- Ancestors, spirits, deities
In the shamanic worldview, you are never alone. You are surrounded by spirits, and you can communicate with them.
Multiple Realities
Shamans recognize at least two realities:
- Ordinary reality: The physical world we experience in waking consciousness
- Non-ordinary reality: The spirit world, accessed through altered states (journey, trance, vision)
Both are equally real. Both affect each other. The shaman moves between them.
The Three Worlds
Most shamanic traditions recognize three realms:
- Upper World: Realm of celestial spirits, teachers, guides, higher consciousness
- Middle World: The spirit aspect of physical reality, nature spirits, land spirits
- Lower World: Realm of power animals, ancestors, earth wisdom, primal forces
The shaman journeys to all three, depending on the need.
What Does a Shaman Do?
1. Healing
Shamans diagnose and treat illness on spiritual, emotional, and physical levels:
- Soul retrieval: Recovering lost soul parts from trauma
- Extraction: Removing spiritual intrusions or negative energies
- Power animal retrieval: Restoring lost power and vitality
- Psychopomp work: Helping spirits of the dead cross over
2. Divination
Shamans journey to the spirit world to receive guidance:
- Answers to questions
- Predictions about weather, hunting, harvests
- Insight into illness or misfortune
- Guidance for the community
3. Mediation
Shamans serve as bridges between worlds:
- Communicating with ancestors
- Negotiating with spirits (land spirits, weather spirits, etc.)
- Maintaining balance between human and spirit realms
- Performing ceremonies to honor spirits
4. Ceremony and Ritual
Shamans lead community rituals:
- Seasonal ceremonies
- Rites of passage (birth, coming of age, death)
- Blessing ceremonies (new home, marriage, harvest)
- Healing ceremonies
How Shamans Journey
The Shamanic State of Consciousness (SSC)
Shamans enter altered states through:
- Drumming: Repetitive rhythm (4-7 beats per second) induces trance
- Rattling: Similar effect to drumming
- Dancing: Ecstatic movement to exhaustion
- Chanting: Repetitive singing or toning
- Fasting: Deprivation to alter consciousness
- Breathwork: Controlled breathing patterns
- Plant medicines: Ayahuasca, peyote, mushrooms, etc. (in some traditions)
The most common method worldwide is drummingβthe "horse" that carries the shaman to the spirit world.
The Journey Process
- Set intention: What do you seek? Healing? Guidance? Power?
- Enter trance: Through drumming, dancing, or other method
- Find the portal: A tree, cave, body of water, or other opening
- Journey to the realm: Upper, Middle, or Lower World
- Meet spirits: Power animals, guides, teachers, ancestors
- Receive teaching or healing: Information, energy, soul parts, etc.
- Return: Come back through the portal
- Ground and integrate: Record the journey, apply the teaching
Spirit Allies
Power Animals
Animal spirits that lend their power, protection, and medicine to the shaman:
- Everyone has at least one power animal from birth
- You can have multiple power animals for different purposes
- They appear in journeys, dreams, and waking life
- Each animal brings specific gifts (wolf = loyalty, eagle = vision, bear = strength)
Spirit Guides and Teachers
Non-animal spirits who offer wisdom and guidance:
- Ancestors
- Ascended masters or enlightened beings
- Nature spirits (tree spirits, river spirits, mountain spirits)
- Deities or archetypal forces
Helping Spirits
Spirits who assist in specific tasks:
- Healing spirits
- Teaching spirits
- Protective spirits
- Spirits of place
Shamanism Across Cultures
Shamanic practices appear in every inhabited continent:
Siberia and Mongolia
The origin of the word "shaman." Practices include:
- Drumming journeys
- Elaborate costumes with mirrors and bells
- Bone divination
- Ancestor veneration
Native American
Diverse practices across hundreds of tribes:
- Vision quests
- Sweat lodges
- Medicine wheels
- Pipe ceremonies
- Animal totems and clan systems
South American
Particularly in the Amazon:
- Ayahuasca ceremonies
- Plant spirit medicine
- Icaros (healing songs)
- Tobacco and mapacho use
African
Sangomas, medicine people, and diviners:
- Ancestor communication
- Bone throwing divination
- Trance dancing
- Herbal medicine
Australian Aboriginal
The Dreamtime and walkabout:
- Songlines (paths of creation)
- Dreamtime journeys
- Connection to land and ancestors
- Initiation through ordeal
Celtic and European
Druids, seers, and cunning folk:
- Tree wisdom
- Ogham divination
- Hedge riding (journeying)
- Working with land spirits
Core Shamanism
In the 1960s-80s, anthropologist Michael Harner developed Core Shamanismβa distillation of universal shamanic techniques that can be practiced outside of specific cultural contexts:
- Drumming journeys to the three worlds
- Working with power animals and spirit guides
- Soul retrieval and extraction
- Divination through journeying
Core Shamanism is controversial (some see it as cultural appropriation, others as a valid modern adaptation). We'll explore this in a later article.
The Shamanic Calling
How does one become a shaman?
The Shamanic Wound
Many shamans are "called" through crisis:
- Serious illness or near-death experience
- Mental health crisis or "shamanic illness"
- Profound loss or trauma
- Visions or spirit encounters
The wound becomes the gift. The healer is the wounded healer.
Hereditary Shamans
In some cultures, shamanic power is inherited:
- Passed down through family lines
- Recognized in childhood through signs
- Trained by elder shamans
Chosen by Spirits
Some are directly called by spirits:
- Persistent dreams or visions
- Spirit encounters in waking life
- Undeniable pull toward the work
Shamanism Today
Shamanism is experiencing a global revival:
- Indigenous resurgence: Native peoples reclaiming and revitalizing their traditions
- Neo-shamanism: Modern practitioners adapting shamanic techniques
- Integration with therapy: Shamanic counseling, soul retrieval therapy
- Plant medicine ceremonies: Ayahuasca, peyote, mushroom ceremonies (legal in some places)
- Workshops and training: Foundation for Shamanic Studies and other organizations
Is Shamanism Right for You?
Consider shamanic practice if you:
- Feel called to work with spirits and non-ordinary reality
- Are drawn to nature-based spirituality
- Want direct spiritual experience (not just belief)
- Feel called to healing work
- Resonate with animism and the living world
- Are willing to do deep personal work
Shamanism is not escapism. It's demanding, transformative, and requires courage.
Getting Started
- Read: "The Way of the Shaman" by Michael Harner, "Shamanic Journeying" by Sandra Ingerman
- Find a teacher: Look for reputable shamanic practitioners or training programs
- Start journeying: Use drumming recordings to practice
- Build relationship with nature: Spend time outdoors, observe, listen
- Keep a journal: Record journeys, dreams, synchronicities
- Respect indigenous traditions: Learn with humility, avoid appropriation
Final Thoughts
Shamanism is humanity's oldest spiritual technology. It predates all organized religions. It's the original direct path to the divine, the spirits, the ancestors, the living world.
In a time when many feel disconnected from nature, from spirit, from meaningβshamanism offers a way back. A way to remember that we are not separate from the web of life, that we can communicate with the more-than-human world, that healing is possible.
The drum is beating. The spirits are calling. Will you answer?
Ready to explore shamanic practice? Discover our collection of shamanic drums, rattles, journey recordings, and tools to begin your path as a walker between worlds.
As you walk this ancient path of shamanic wisdom, remember that every journey begins with a single step into the unseen, and sometimes the tools we carry can help illuminate the wayβlike the Sacred Space Cleanse Printable Energy Clearing Ritual Kit to purify your ceremonial grounds, the Void Whisper Subconscious Drift audio to guide you into deeper trance states, or the Archangel Michael Tapestry to weave protective energies into your sacred space. Let these sacred companions support your soul's return to the heartbeat of the earth.
