Sacred Dimensions of the Shaman’s Web
Sacred Dimensions of the Shaman’s Web Pat Arneson University of Northern Colorado
Abstract Shamanism is a global spiritual tradition which recognizes the existence of various dimensions of reality. This paper explores the dimensions of consciousness which are the shaman’s web. Shamans generally conceive the universe to be comprised of three levels or worlds (underworld, earth, and sky) with sublevels (e.g., lower world) connected by a central axis. This paper relates shamanic cosmology with Gebser’s (1949/1985) structures of consciousness. The underworld is roughly corresponded with archaic structure, the lower world with magical structure, the middle world with mental structure, and the upper world with integral structure. For each level, Gebser’s discussion of space and time, degree of consciousness, and expression of realization and thought are considered. In addition, the level of consciousness, nature of self, and mode of communication as identified by Native Americans is examined. Although Gebser’s mythic structure of consciousness is not present in a delineation of the shamanic universe, discussion exhibits how mythic consciousness is clearly present in the process of shamanic journey. Recorded shamanic experiences are included throughout the paper to illustrate the dimensions of consciousness in shamanic cosmology.
Sacred Dimensions of the Shaman’s Web 1 People living in contemporary society, influenced by materialistic science and monotheistic religion, have been conditioned to accept the world as three–dimensional. Their experience of reality is guided by the five physical senses, by what can be “proven” through observation, and by what can be concluded through logical thought processes. Shamanism is a global spiritual tradition which recognizes various dimensions of reality. One consistency across shamanic cultures is a remembrance of the “World Myth,” which recalls similar themes from “disparate locales, races, and cultures” (Houston, 1987, p. ix) about a “split” in global consciousness. Westcott (1982) noted this worldwide narrative pattern portrays an archaic sequence of worlds markedly different from those revealed by historians. Most versions of the world myth recall the earliest generally remembered stage of human life as a “golden age of light, abundance, harmony, and tenderness, with perpetual summer” (Houston, 1987, p. ix). A huge, seemingly stationary object of light occupied the sky, honored and adored by humans. The planet was connected with the ball of light “by means of a ladder, tree, mountain, staircase, pillar, pole, or rope, thought to be the axis mundi, the center of the world” (Houston, 1987, pp. ix). Angels or special divine beings and humans were able to maintain familiar relations by descending and ascending this central axis. Most narratives then recount the catastrophic end of the golden age, involving the “disappearance of the great luminary, a worldwide flood or fire, violent earth tremors, boiling seas, deafening sounds, and prolonged darkness, followed by a series of protracted periods of quiescence between disasters, constituting a succession of world ages” (Houston, 1987, p. x). Each world age became more harsh and less supportive of harmonious living. Concurrently, the various levels of “self” disappeared and natural communication across dimensions was lost. Deep communication took extraordinary efforts and was radically interrupted for all persons except those “willing to do the enormous physical, spiritual, and psychological work of preparing themselves to break through the veils in body, mind, and spirit which were laid down so far in the past,” such as mystics and shamans (Houston, 1987, p. xi). 1
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