Astral Magick
Most Common Shamanistic Practices
The Shaman is the spiritual leader of an indigenous people. Shamans in Western culture have rather unkindly and inaccurately been referred to as “Witch Doctors.” And while it is true that the Shaman practices in the healing arts for his followers, the Shaman is doctor, priest and so much more. The Shaman is a spiritual being connected to the deities and the natural world. As such he possesses the ability to heal, but far more significantly the profound ability to work with metaphysical energies, see visions and travel through other states of reality. Shamans have shown mastery of ethereal energies, and posses the ability to use all of The Elements as a medium of transformation.
The fundamental basis of Shamanism is the idea that coexisting with the visible world is an unseen spiritual world that affects all aspects of the physical world. The Shaman and the Shaman alone in a Shamanistic culture has the ability to communicate with these sprits for his people. This is as opposed to certain other Totemic practices such as animism, in which any and all members of a society can comminute with their indivual totem animal spirits.
Shamanism is not one organized belief system, but exists across a variety of cultures and beliefs. However all Shamanistic practices encompass the ability to diagnose and treat disease, or cure or cause human suffering by the Shaman piercing the veil between the physical and spiritual world. The Shaman often does this at great risk to himself, by forming a special relationship with or wrestling control over spirits. Through this traversal of planes, Shamans have the ability to control the weather, and can astral project for divination and the interpretation of dreams.
Shamanistic traditions still exist today and have existed throughout the world since prehistoric times. The word “shaman” today has been used to describe any spiritual leader of a group of people who implores knowledge of magic and folklore for healing, prosperity and divination. Many believe the word itself originated from Sanskrit due to its similarity to the Sanskrit word “shramana.” But the actual etymology is from the Siberian Tungas, and literally translates to “one who knows”. Some peoples most notably Native Americans object to the use of the word Shaman since it really refers to a specific type of practitioner from a specific part of the world, and actually prefer the term Medicine Man.
Interestingly enough there may be a scientific basis for the shaman’s apparent ability to manipulate time and space. Science has proven the existence of an “unseen” world parallel to our own - the microscopic world of microbes and germs, and the subatomic world of quantum mechanics. Can it be that the ability of the shaman to “see” into other “planes” is really some innate ability to see microbes and particles as the doctor and scientist can do with electron microscopes, MRIs and other diagnostic tools? Some say that the “Snakes and Serpents” with many tendrils often described by Shamans when having entranced visions are eerily similar to the DNA helix and electron pathways of molecules.
Shamans are not priests, though the play a priest-like role. Unlike a priest who will seek ordination to become a spiritual leader and is thus ordained by specific ritual or doctrine, the Shaman often has the roll trust upon him her by fate, or happenstance. As famed author of The Power of Myth Joseph Campbell put it “A priest is the socially initiated, ceremonially inducted member of a recognized religious organization - while the shaman is one who, usually as a result of a personal psychological crisis, has gained a certain power of his own.”
Regardless of the culture after experiencing his or her “life-altering event” the Shaman embarks upon a “vision quest” that involves communing with and often the subjugation of spirits. While in the spirit realm the Shaman often describes the experience of becoming initiated as being “broken-down” and transformed or reformed as spiritual entity.
While Shamans employ magic for divination and other purposes, the most important role of the Shaman is not as a caster of spells, but as a healer, hence the term “Medicine Man”. The Caduceus the winged staff of entwined snakes, the symbol of Western Medicine, is considered by many a throwback or homage to Shamanism.
Often the Shaman acquires a spirit guide, a magical assistant to aid him in his practice. This guide usually takes the form of an animal in the physical world, and is akin to the “familiars” of witches. Sometime the sprit helpers are the souls of departed Shamans, or Tribal Elders. Through their contact with the spirits, Shamans have the ability to “speak” to both animals and plants. According to the Shaman, the plants themselves reveal to the Shaman how they can be used for medicinal purposes to treat disease. The use of rocks, crystal and stones such as bezoars and mustika pearls are common to Shamanistic practices.
Some shamanistic societies distinguish shamans who cure from sorcerers, obeah men, or necromancers that cause harm. Others believe that all shamans are extraordinary spiritual beings with great powers to either heal or destroy. The shaman usually enjoys great power and a place of prestige in the community, but depending on the culture, it could be for an equal amount of respect and fear.