Books on Shamanism

[Estelle]

I'm looking for a beginners books on shamanism. Does anyone have any suggestions?



I have The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft, however I haven't read the two books before it (The Inner Temple of Witchcraft, and The Outer Temple of Witchcraft) so I'm working on that too.

But I was wondering if there was anything else out there. Thanks!

[Rob]

I'm looking for a beginners books on shamanism. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I have The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft, however I haven't read the two books before it (The Inner Temple of Witchcraft, and The Outer Temple of Witchcraft) so I'm working on that too.

But I was wondering if there was anything else out there. Thanks!

I don't think I can help you but I do have a question that might help. Are you interested in any particular kind of Shamanism? Are there any particular types/areas that you want to look at (e.g: Native American Shamanism)?

[Estelle]

I don't think I can help you but I do have a question that might help. Are you interested in any particular kind of Shamanism? Are there any particular types/areas that you want to look at (e.g: Native American Shamanism)?

I'm not really sure because I don't know much about it. Just what I've learned from skimming that one book The Template of Shamanic Witchcraft. Also there is another reference in another of Christopher Penczak's books about traditions of Witchcraft, with Wiccan Shamanism being listed as one of them. Where the path combines Wicca with shamanic techniques.

[Aine Llewellyn]

I'm not really sure because I don't know much about it. Just what I've learned from skimming that one book The Template of Shamanic Witchcraft. Also there is another reference in another of Christopher Penczak's books about traditions of Witchcraft, with Wiccan Shamanism being listed as one of them. Where the path combines Wicca with shamanic techniques.

Gede Parma's By Land, Sky, and Sea might be of interest to you, if you are looking for information about shamanic witchcraft or Wiccish shamanism. Apart from that I don't have any recommendations, especially not for cultural-specific shamanism instead of core shamanism.

[monsnoleedra]

I'm looking for a beginners books on shamanism. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I have The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft, however I haven't read the two books before it (The Inner Temple of Witchcraft, and The Outer Temple of Witchcraft) so I'm working on that too.

But I was wondering if there was anything else out there. Thanks!

Well I can tell you with about 99.9 percent certanity that if it has Shaman or Shamanism in the title and is not about a certain Siberian tribe then its either Neo-Shamanism or a New Age slant on supposed Shamanic practices not core or traditional shamanic practices. That with the same amount of certanity it will discuss how to find one's Spirit Guide, Totem, perhaps animal guide, Journey work and travelling the plains, a very corrupted notion of what a Vision Quest is (many saying it can be done in an afternoon vice the traditinal 7 days and purification ceremonies (Sweat Lodge for instance) that goes with it) and with a certian degree of certanity lifted from either Lakota or Cherokee spiritual practices while ignoring that Shamanism is a method and manner of living but not a spiritual practice. Especially given that those peoples who still have traditional shamanic practitioners follow the spiritual / religious practices of their people.

Shamanism is a difficult thing to research today in that it as a title has moved from being an academic descriptor for certian animistic practices to a corrupted concept of a supposed spiritual practice. In many ways as corrupted as the very terms Pagan and Paganism has become.

In most instances I would say its more of the corruption of idea's that says Pagan things are acutally about nature worship and balance with nature. Well that and how to be a Shaman also means your a healer when only a small portion of Shamanic practitioners were actually involved in healing.

Even the very notion of it is offensive to many first nation and aboriginal peoples because of things like the statement above about Native American Shamanism. Native American's never have had shaman in their culture's and find the word offensive. They have Medicine People or what ever specific name the individual nation has for those who read the signs of nature and determine what is going on and call upon their allies to help, heal or identify the "Why" of a situation. Well that and the fact most peoples who had shamanic type practitioners are also very much animistic in their social and spiritual beliefs and relationship with the earth.

[cigfran]

I'm looking for a beginners books on shamanism. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I have The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft, however I haven't read the two books before it (The Inner Temple of Witchcraft, and The Outer Temple of Witchcraft) so I'm working on that too.

But I was wondering if there was anything else out there. Thanks!

Skip the witchy mishmash and go to the source:

Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, Mircea Eliade
The Way of the Shaman, Michael Harner

[Ula]

I'm looking for a beginners books on shamanism. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I have The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft, however I haven't read the two books before it (The Inner Temple of Witchcraft, and The Outer Temple of Witchcraft) so I'm working on that too.

But I was wondering if there was anything else out there. Thanks!

I just read Raven Kaldera's series on shamanism but he's focused on the Norse pantheon. If you are not into those gods/goddesses then I would recommend the third book, Wyrdwalkers: Techniques of Northern-Tradition Shamanism. It covers getting started and practices more then the others do.

[Michael]

[QUOTE=Estelle;54397]I'm looking for a beginners books on shamanism. Does anyone have any suggestions?

"Witches, Werewolves, and Fairies: Shapeshifters and Astral Doubles in the Middle Ages" by Claude Lecouteux is a good place to start on European shamanism. It goes into some very interesting topics and is much more...cohesive than some of that author's other works(he tends to jump wildly from one subject to another within the same paragraph or page,particularly in "Phantom Armies of the Night" which can make paying attention difficult).

For something a little more "new world" shamanism "Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small" by Ted Andrews is EXCELLENT. Though it focuses on Native American traditions(North and South) and communicating with animal spirits it does venture in to other veins of shamanism. And communicating with or calling upon animal spirits is something any aspiring shaman should learn.

Finally "The way of Wyrd" by Brian Bates,though told as a work of fiction, is full of accurate information on European,particularly Norse/"Northern Wisdom" shamanism. It is also extremely entertaining and a fun break from the purely information-centered style of "Witches,Werewolves and Fairies" or the purely teaching intentions of "Animal Speak". All three are great sources of knowledge,but "The Way of Wyrd" is the only one of the three I keep picking up just for an entertaining read.

Hope these suggestions help and I'm always open to suggestions on the subject myself.

[Michael]

Skip the witchy mishmash and go to the source:

Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, Mircea Eliade
The Way of the Shaman, Michael Harner

I would say this is good advice;the books I named above are geared toward those who have little prior knowledge of shamanism,or no distinction between shamanism and more "ceremonial" magic traditions like Wicca. "Archaic Techniques of Ecstacy" is more serious and assumes at least some prior knowledge or experience in my opinion. "The Way of the Shaman" was one of my favorites to leaf through while killing time reading a friend's personal collection,and it's almost a "one-stop-shop" for pretty much anything shamanic. Both very good if perhaps not the most entertaining for those of us with short attention-spans.

[fjfritz]

I'm looking for a beginners books on shamanism. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Michael Harner's The Way of the Shaman is an great book and I also found Tom Cowan's Shamanism as a Spiritual Practice for Daily Life to be excellent reading.