Shamanism is an ancient practice that has been around for most of human history. This traditional practice links humans to the spirit world via higher levels of consciousness. The purpose of this practice can be healing, weather control, future prediction, spiritual guidance, and so on. Essentially, a Shaman is a spiritual guide that walks you through various experiences with the motive to heal both your physical and metaphysical self. Although Shamans can be found across the globe, many of them share similar beliefs, traditions, rituals, etc.
In more recent dates, Shamans have managed to continue their teachings and practices in modern times. It is safe to say they have evolved, yet their roots have remained strong and their traditions still stand today. This article will take you through the basics of Shamanism as well as famous Shamanic spots to discover for those interested.
Origins of Shamanism
The word ‘Shaman’ originates from Tungusian languages, where it was originally known as ‘Suman’ or ‘Saman’. Other sources claim that the word ‘shamanism’ originates from the Manchu-Tungus tribe in Siberia. In this tribe, it means “no one knows”. Scholars share thoughts that other tribes around the world adopted the word after traveling through Siberia and Tungusia. Shamans do not have any particular God they follow, instead, they look to the spirits of their ancestors and animals for guidance. Shamanism requires an expanded state of consciousness; a journey to reach beyond the physical body and dive into the depths of the spirit world. Shamanism has been practiced in many tribes around the world for thousands of years. Many Shamans have a general belief that there’s a spirit attached to everything around us. This is known as animism.
Different Shamanic Regions
Asia’s Shamanism
This sect of Shamans and their followers have come a long way in time. It is believed by many that Asia may be where Shamanism came from. These Shamanic traditions believe in reaching out to animal spirits for guidance as animal spirits host great power for healing. These Shamans also make use of different instruments like the drums, bells, and more to perform their ancient rituals. Since this is the origin of Shamanism, many of the Shamans in Asia are known as some of the most spiritually gifted humans on the planet! This is a great place to visit if you are seeking out an extremely authentic experience that can only be gifted where it was originated.
America’s Shamanism
America’s regions cover North America, South America, and Mesoamerica. There are different tribes with different Shaman practices in America. For example, North America has slightly different practices. They do not even refer to their spiritual healers as ‘shamans’, despite the fact that they perform and practice similar rituals as Shamans in other areas of America. In South America, the use of a psychoactive tree bark known as Ayahuasca is prevalent, just as many other places where Shamanism is practiced. Many people believe that this psychedelic bark directly links you to the spiritual realm. In this other realm, you will encounter spirits from the ‘beyond’ that can offer you ancient and cosmic wisdom , providing you with spiritual advancements that you may otherwise miss out on during your human experience. Shamans in these regions tend to serve as a guide to spiritual knowledge through healing.
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Oceania’s Shamanism
In Oceania, a Shaman is often viewed as a spiritual ‘priest’ who can communicate with the spirit world and exercises this gift to benefit the locals in need of physical and spiritual assistance. In this region, Shamans primarily deal with evil spirits who are believed to appear in form of diseases and affliction. They also are known to learn to control the weather through metaphysical manipulation to suit the condition of the people.
Africa’s Shamanism
Africans mainly practice their own religions in this day and age, however, there are a few that still believe in their ancient spiritual teachings. Shamans in Africa believe that evil spirits are responsible for all illnesses and diseases found in any individual, just as many Shamans across the globe believe. African Shamans help to ward off any evil spirit(s) that has attached themselves to a local via ancient spiritual rituals and assistance from their ancestors.
Europe’s Shamanism
Shamanism was brought to Europe by Asian and Siberian travelers. Since then, Shamans have added their spiritual teachings to western culture, offering a new sense of spirituality in Europe through the ancient teachings of Shamans, despite religion playing its deep-rooted role in European history.
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The Shamanic state: unravelling consciousness
Shamans enter different states of consciousness in order to communicate directly with spiritual entities and ancestors. Many of these states of consciousness are exercised with the help of alteration and amplification, whether that be through practices such as meditation or Ayahuasca ceremonies. These rituals can help guide a Shaman to the spirit realm, where they can meet their guides, tapping into ancient knowledge. Rituals used to reach the spirit realm are often very precise and specific. A lot of planning goes into their ceremonies before they embark on a journey into the unknown depths of consciousness, seeking out answers from universal spirits.
Thanks to ancient storytelling, markings/recordings, etc, we know that psychedelics have played an important role in accessing these sacred states of consciousness. Shamans may be some of the earliest humans to use psychedelics as spiritual tools for consciousness expansion. We have been using psychedelics for a shocking chunk of human history. In today’s Shamanic practices, psychedelics still play a vital role, especially for non-locals seeking out a Shamanic experience. The most popular/common ceremonies for non-locals apply the use of Ayahuasca with the motive of tuning into various states of higher consciousness, revealing the truth to those who dare to wander beyond the horizons of consciousness.
Final Thoughts
Even with the current state of the world, there is a lot we can learn from Shamans and their teachings of the past. The effectiveness of their rituals is shocking when considering how ancient they are! The human experience has changed so much over time. We used to only focus on two things: survival and reproduction. In the grand scheme of things, it didn’t take very long for spirituality to become the third priority for humans. With the direction of daily societies, we have taken a 360 turn. Many of us are completely disconnected from our souls. In return, we commonly live out lives that don’t highlight our own significance whatsoever. We are becoming more and more distant from the magic that lies within existence.
Nowadays, we are so caught up with our careers, social media accounts, schooling, material belongings, fashion trends, bank accounts, general status, and more… the fact that Shamanic teachings and practices still live on is beyond beautiful and truly speaks volumes. After the constant change of the world being pulled into the direction of consumerism, status, materialism, greed, etc, it is a miracle that Shamans have stayed true to their roots despite the world in which they live.
Are you ready to take the spiritual leap, visit a Shaman, and travel to other worlds that lay past the ‘limits’ of consciousness?
