By Will Hall Crash course in Urban Shamanism Shamans are the
magician spirit healers in tribal, non-technological societies
around the world. Anthropologists use the word “shamanism,” from
the Tungus people of Siberia, to mean the commonalities between
different traditions. Shamans find their calling through a life-
threatening initiatory illness or crisis, go into visioning and
trance to connect to other realities, shapeshift out of their
regular identity to identify with animals, spirits, and even
illnesses, and return to the ordinary world to share skills of
healing and creativity. Living at the edge of society and
defying conventional norms, conduct, and even gender, shamans
are respected as a powerful community link to the divine.
Traditional shamanism means being part of a living tribal
society, apprenticing in it and learning its ways. To take this
approach, you need to be accepted by teachers who are part of
that culture. If you’re an outsider, don’t be racist: never use
a culture’s spirituality withou