Blue Crow: Shamanism (real)

Week 37

Shamanism

Oh this one has been brewing since I started this blog in the new year. But now I have come to write it, I have to think about what it is that I want to convey.... without ranting and foaming at the mouth. I think I will fail but hey, welcome to the SOAPBOX blog lol

IRAB

You don't decide to become a shaman. It's as simple and clear as that. Sure, you can do shamanic drumming and all the workshops you can find but that will NOT make you a shaman. Just like having a vagina doesn't make you a gynecologist. A shaman is chosen, you do not chose to be one. It is said that if you deny this, you become ill until you either accept that is your duty, or die. It is also said that shamans have a near death experience before being able to do the job. Where does it say this, I hear you ask? I'm glad you asked! Somewhere in the big fat book called 'Shamans through time, 500 years on the path to knowledge' by Jeremy Narby and Francis Huxley. If you're going to read any book on shamanism, read this book. It doesn't tell you how to be a shaman, no, not in the slightest, instead it gives you a world wide insight of 500 years of study from observers from all disciplines. That's the early missionaries who thought it was devil worship, to anthropologists, botanists, ethnographers and psychologists, all their written reports, published in one volume. Writings from Claude Levi-Strauss, Black Elk, Franz Boas and Carlos Casteneda and many many others give you a decent, cross sectioned view of the study of shamanism throughout the world.

A few years ago, I was publicly crucified on a pagan forum for saying I was told I was a shaman.
25 posts per page, at least 15 pages of hate and derision thrown at me, for what... I hadn't made any claims or boasts, it was part of an honest discussion about what path I was on and I had said I didn't know what this meant but I was working it out as I went. This is why I've have advised in my blogs, many times over, to be wary of what you share because people, even those friendly faces on those forums, will shoot you down. Their main battle cry is that you cannot call yourself a shaman unless you are from a Tungus speaking tribe of people in Eastern Siberia, where the name originates from. Like many words, the original meaning has changed over the centuries. Whilst a shaman is called many things in many cultures throughout the world, they all embody the same ideal. So that argument people throw at you, falls flat on it's face... and I thought they were scholars hmmmm!

Having read the study from cover to cover, I have come to the conclusion that these main characters appear in every shaman culture studied from Siberia to the Amazon to Austrailia.

Altered state induced through a local herb, funghi, vine or 'poison'. Music, often the drum is used to further this altered state. This allows them to walk between the worlds, to connect with spirit and to heal or harm. Dancing and dressing up is also a big factor.
There is a great deal of trickery involved in their 'act' of healing. One such theme is a concealed bag of blood being held in their hand and burst when healing their patient, showing that the badness being taken away. Small bones or stones being shown as the badness being removed. People need a show to believe - that is true of most things. No show, no payment for healing or ceremonial work. And it was a job, they had to eat, they had to provide a good show to prove they were powerful. Cunning man, Tricky man (Australia), magicians, jugglers, sorcerers, wizards.. all words used throughout the world and time, to describe a shaman.
There is a dark side. "Shamanism affirms life but also spawns violence and death" - Michael Brown (anthropologist). Power is ambiguous, knowledge collected to be used for healing, can easily be abused and used to harm people. Indeed, having read Bruce Parry's book 'Tribe', he details how some of the Amazon tribes he spent time with, would shoot psychic arrows at their enemies, which caused harm and sometimes death. The tribe had ways of dealing with these arrows and those found to be sending them.
Work with nature, are seen as wise council and healers. Also feared.
Interestingly, there are no shamans in Africa. There's witch doctors but not shamans. You'd think they were the same thing but they aren't, according to the extensive studies in the book.

What's in a word?

So the meaning of what is, transcends the word. Shaman may have started off as a Siberian word but it encompasses a whole world of people who practice shamanism. Another interesting observation is that if you say shaman to someone, they pretty much talk about Native Americans. Siberia is a long way from the Americas. Why do people relate more to Native American culture than say a tribe of Indians in the Amazon? Fantasy? Perhaps.... I think it's because it's fashionable. You only have to talk to people about spirit guides and every single one (and I mean EVERYONE I've ever spoken to about it) have all said they have a 'red Indian' guide. Hahahahahaaha makes me howl! Not saying they don't but there's a serious lack of imagination going on here. Or maybe that's all people know and that's what they perceive as the origins of that guide? Who knows. That said, I must confess I have worked with a Native American spirit guide before but he wasn't and isn't my only guide.

Thinking more on the different Indian tribes throughout the world, they aren't really that different from each other. They live off the land, they give thanks for what they take, they don't take more than they need, they care for the land and all have a community of looking after each other. Like all things, there are good and bad aspects to everything. Those lovely art pictures of a Native American sitting with a wolf around the fire, holding feathers and crystals are pure fantasy, nothing wrong with that but don't base them on fact. There were a fair few tribes that were utterly savage! True of all tribes, in all countries. Bruce Parry describes how the tribe of Indians he was staying with, warned him of the neighbouring tribe that did all these horrific things. Tribal wars weren't over who's wolf it was and peace and love. People are bastards in all walks of life, where ever you go.

Not in a book

You will not find a single book telling you how to be a shaman, sure it might say it on the title but that's the authors version of how to be a shaman. It's their own path, not yours. You will find books that give you ways of harnessing certain skills though. Learning these do not make you a shaman. Learning them helps you obtain a shamanic state of meditation. Having a drum and hitting it in a rhythmic beat doesn't make you a shaman. It makes you a drumer, someone who enhances the atmosphere. Not that I'm knocking the power of the drum because it's a powerful tool, but it really gets on my nerves when I see people saying they are a shaman because they've been to a shamanic workshop. I went to Caitlin Matthews talk on Singing your soul back home at a pagan festival... sitting there and listening does not mean I suddenly achieved all the years of knowledge that Caitlin had obtained. It's like going to Sunday school and then claiming you're a vicar.... or saying that because you have a Book of Shadows you're a Wiccian or putting on a white robe and calling yourself a druid. You have to work at these things. You have to earn the name. It is an insult to those who have done. The Universe doesn't work that way. The fluffy new age shamans already stopped reading this after the first paragraph, so I really don't care if this offends them.

I do not tell people I am a shaman. I do not need to boast a label to obtain acceptance. I know what I am, I do not need fuckwits to validate me. I sought a teacher many times and found none. I have found many who taught me lessons along the way but ultimately, the path of the shaman is a lonely one and one you must walk along at your own pace. The Universe has given me knowledge as and when I needed it. I do things that I have not been consciously taught and when I have discussed this with people who have studied magic etc, it transpires I'm doing things correctly. It's old knowledge, filtered down through my many lifetimes, that's my honest opinion. I'm only given what I need to know at that time... and I've had to work it all out for myself. I am my own teacher.

Just thinking about my search for a teacher. The first person I thought 'yes, he can teach me' was Dylan, a member of the Warband. It was about ten years ago and there was a news story on the Warband site about Dylan and things he'd done. I remember thinking 'yes, I'm going to contact him' as I read on, I started crying halfway through the article. He's dead, I thought... and indeed, he had passed suddenly a few months earlier and his ashes had been scattered at Stonehenge and other places he loved. That was when I joined the Warband forum. Years later, I felt brave enough to talk to his girlfriend about this and we had a good chat about it. I felt so connected to him and he was dead before I even knew about him... saying this out loud, makes me sound like a nutter, which is why I don't divulge this information often. I am an open book though, I stand by what I write, these are my thoughts and opinions, if you chose not to believe them, fine.

Once, twice, three times...

I have been told by three shamans, that I am one. I wasn't sure what to believe at the time. None of them were after anything and had nothing to gain by telling me this. All three, I instinctively trusted. I've had a clairvoyant reading telling me I have been a shaman in every lifetime too, of which there has been many. So I began to think about what shamanism was and tried to find information on it... I found a lot of fluff and nonsense - you know when you open a book and think 'bleh' and put it back down, even though there's no reason to, other than instict. Then I found the 500 years book and I learnt more. There is another book I recommend, Caitlin Matthews - Singing the soul back home. I haven't finished reading it all yet (I've had it ten years lol) but the theme is self discovery, self love, SELF... the power of song and advice on how complete yourself. There is more to it than that but as it's gone 5am (yes I did it again!) I cannot think of the rest and my friend has the book, so I can't look it up. Caitlin is no stranger in our pagan world, her and her husband John are seen as well respected authors. I was gifted a set of Celtic Shamanism cards by John Matthews and Chesca Potter (illustrated). I wasn't sure about it at the time but they combine my favourite Celtic mythology stories with ways to explore challenging questions etc. I don't use them very often, maybe I should. I would like to add that I didn't seek out these books, they turned up in various ways.

When I started thinking about my path, I realised that I have nearly died three times. Once as a baby aged two days old; I nearly drowned when I was 17, still can't believe we were saved and in 2002. Some may find no relevance in this but I have. And that is the point isn't it, it's MY path to walk. It's quite obvious now that my teachers are the people and places around me. I still don't know what it all means but I understand it more than I did ten years ago.

Tricksters

Whilst that word has been used historically to describe shamans, it's a word I use today to describe the charlatans 'practicing' shamanism. By practice, I mean charging lots of money for workshops, most you find are Native American based. There are shamanic drumming workshops and sweat lodges.. you name it. It's big money and money brings tricksters. If you want to part ways with lots of money to learn something they read off the internet, more power to you. Best bet, do your research, go to these workshops from actual shamans. They won't be people with silly names like Ruby SilverEagle either (yes I made it up but I bet there's one out there lol). Shamanism isn't Native American culture... it transcends these Nations and goes out to every country on Earth, even the Artic. By all means, embrace the ideals of Native American teachings but know that it is not the All. It is the most commericalised way of life now and more accessible than say Amazonian shamanism.

Witches v's Shamans

Is there any difference? If people ask me what I 'am' and I don't want to tell them I'm a shaman, I say I'm a witch. 'what a white witch?' NO cos there's no such thing (woooosaaaaaaaaaaah Naomi, wooooooooosaaaaaaa). It's just easier and I don't have to explain it too much. But is there a difference? Depends on the type of witchcraft you're comparing it to really. Grass roots witchcraft like what Terry Pratchett writes about - yes, definitely. Wicca man type - no. Witches walk between worlds, most do spirit work of some description, many are healers, many practice natural medicines, many use 'headology' .... so basically if it's fluffy witchcraft it's so far from what shamanism is, it's polar opposites.

Shamanism isn't pretty work. It's the core being of who you are, helping people, putting others before you, always being there to help. Helping when people haven't asked you to. Healing and helping. Working with spirit, whether you ask or not. You can't switch it on and off either. You're always on call. I don't practice shamanism... it's who I am, it is my core, my purpose of being.

Ask me again in another ten years I may know a bit more.