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There are so many diverse descriptions of what shamanism is and what it does, that I am hesitant to even put a description on here. But I'll give it a very brief shot. For "tribal shamanism," a tribe member (Shaman) becomes the person who intercedes with the world of Spirit on behalf of the tribe or on behalf of a tribe member who is having health problems or bad luck, or seems to be on Spirit's "bad side" (seems cursed) for some reason. A variety of techniques might be employed to request relief or healing from Spirit for the tribe or the tribal member. The Shaman might be asked to foretell the future, or bring the rain back to a parched land, or to intercede with ancestors who fail to move on after death, or to generally guide the tribe in "right living" with Spirit so that all exist in harmony and abundance. For ancient cultures, the recognition of the tribe's interconnection with the Earth and all aspects of Earth-based life, including: the plants, rocks, animals, weather, winds, water, fire, etc.. were the basis for their belief system that enabled them to function with confidence and assuredness in their world. It explained life and death, and how everything was influenced by every other aspect all around them--meaning if harmony existed in their world, the crops would produce abundance, the rains would always show when needed, and the sun would provide constancy and warmth. When the energies moved out of balance in the world for whatever reason, the Shaman would need to try and rebalance the energies to make things "right" again. This "imbalanced state of world affairs" may be providing the present resurgence of interest in Shamanism, and if that is the case, then it's a "good thing" to view such world chaos in that way--to view it as "fixable" if enough Shamans put their minds and energies to fixing it. That's an excellent reason to study Shamanism, and probably one of the reasons that I am doing so. I want to change this world for the better. I want to do anything and everything I can to help make this a better place--to bring balance and harmony back to this chaotic state of affairs we endure daily. That is a very good reason to study shamanism, because it means that we are willing to take matters, including our own lives, into our own hands and change this world to be what we want it to be. So there you have my brief definition of Shamanism. There are more extensive versions of it elsewhere, but that's what it means to me--learning the philosophy and energy techniques of the ancient wisdom keepers, and helping to spread the word that the world is fixable if enough of us are willing to focus our energies on doing so. Check out the classes offered locally, and learn more about what Shamanism might mean to you. Becky
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What is Shamanism?