S ha m a n P or t a l Q u a r t e r ly R e v ie w
A Note from the Publisher TABL E OF CO N T E NT
I am delighted to welcome you to our fifth issue of SPQR. I hope you will apply the wisdom of the many shamans’ traditions we gathered on these pages.
ISSUE #5 APRIL 2022
John Lockley Page 4 Dreams & Tracking in the Kalahari Steven McFadden Descansa en paz – R.I.P. Maestro Alberto Taxo
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As the world is changing all around us at an accelerated speed, I feel we must commit to returning to the ways of survival indigenous people of the Earth practiced from the beginning of time. otherwise, we will sure vanish from the face of the Earth.
Linda Star Wolf and Vera Lopez Page 10 Excerpt: Shamanic Mysteries of Peru Imelda Almqvist Ancestral Wisdom Teachings
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Nick Breeze Wood What is Shamanism
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Michael Drake The Descent of Kukulkan
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In Tungus, the language from which the word shaman began, the proper meaning of Saman is “Keeper of the Fire.” The person who keeps the embers in a dying fire alive. The keeper of their community’s mental, spiritual, and physical well-being. The keeper of their stories, songs, lore, history, and medicinal ways for survival. SPQR magazine, Shaman Portal website, social media, and all other projects we are working on are part of my efforts to keep my promise to the spirit I met many years ago in the Amazon. I am thrilled to share it with you, our growing global community members.
Art by Zackery Dean BirdFaraway (See artist’s information on page 30)
Copyright. All rights reserved by each of the authors. No part of this publication or photographs therein may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.
Shungo - From my heart to yours. Itzhak Beery, Founder & publisher
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A Note from the Editor Dear Reader, Speaking about Shamanic Heritage – the term Shaman or Shamanism is used today in a very broad sense – from seeing a squirrel in the local park (what is the meaning of squirrel? Is it my power animal?) to week long plant medicine retreats. Some practices which are labelled “Shamanism” today not even work directly with spirit. Nick Breeze Wood shed some light into that “Shamanic Blackbox” and highlights the difference between animism, spirituality and Shamanism.
Welcome to our fifth issue of the Shaman Portal Quarterly Review. It seems to me that people in Western Societies feel more and more pulled towards in earthbound form of spirituality. The connection to the earth and nature is also at the core of most shamanic cultures. The Shaman is not only a closer observer of the realms of spirit but also a close observer of nature. John Lockley shows this beautifully in his article about the tracking of wildlife and dreams.
Coming back to the theme of nature and Shamanism. Quite often places of power are interwoven with the landscape. A great example of this is Yucatán with its Sacred Sites like Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, Palenque and Tulum. With his article Michael Drake brings us closer to that magical place.
Another example of the strong connection between nature and the spirit world is given by Vera Lopez and Linda Star Wolf’s article about the Shamanic Mysteries of Peru. Here, animals like the Serpent, the Puma or the Condor are archetypes, guardians and representatives of the different Shamanic realms.
I wish you much joy in reading this issue of the Shaman Portal Quarterly Review.
The old traditions of Europe, like the Norse traditions of Scandinavia also had (and have) a strong connection to the nature – to the landscape, the forest and animals like the Stag, Elk or Wolf. In her Imelda Almqvist shares some insight into the rediscovery of the European Shamanic Heritage.
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Dreams & Tracking in the Kalahari By John Lockley
To track an animal effectively requires connecting to
wilderness. As the ancients say, “therein lies the answers to the universe”.
their spirit, to forge an alliance with their soul. This is no easy task and requires love, mindfulness and an ability to listen to the wind moving through us. In order for us to track another living creature we need to learn to track ourselves, connect with our own soul and feel our connection to nature. In our modern technological age, it requires slowing down, listening, breathing deep and opening up all our senses.
I recall a few years ago whilst working with magic mushrooms in Ireland, delving into my own inner wilderness. I was doing a retreat with a few friends camping in a forest. I went for a walk, sat down near a dilapidated old church building from eons ago and was given some mushrooms by a friend. I fell into a deep meditation that lasted hours. Despite the Irish rain and visits by friends asking if I was okay, I meditated.
This is often the hardest thing for people to do because we have to face our own fears, shadows, projections and obstacles. It is much easier to blame others for our problems. But to know we have the power to change the world brings about real FEAR because it speaks of awesome responsibility. To connect with a lion or leopard seems easier in comparison. To track nature means to connect to our own inner wildness and
My inner landscape opened up and I found universes inside of me, untouched and unexplored. Upon awakening later, I realized that there is still so much for us to explore. Of all the worlds, human consciousness is relatively unexplored. It put me in touch with both magic and deep vulnerability. Although we all
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want to feel and explore magic, we have to be brave and courageous to face our own vulnerability. With the poaching epidemic in full force in Africa, those of us who love nature are forced to face our own vulnerabilities and shadows.
to the Great Dreamer. My ten-year Sangoma Xhosa apprenticeship in the Eastern Cape was all about observing the mystery of my dreams and tracking the sacred in all it’s forms from the powerful and subtle presence of uThixo (another word for Great Spirit) to connecting with my Ancestors, nature spirits, plants and animals. Not all dreams were insightful. Some were a jumble of emotions and impressions. The training in dream tracking with my teacher was about filtering the profound from the mundane. One of the ways we did this was to feel the body like a cat.
My book ‘Leopard Warrior’ was born out of the idea that we are all being called by mother nature to become warriors and connect to our own shadows, to face our vulnerabilities and become like the Leopard, connected to our seven senses. For the world is speaking to us in every moment of the day and night. We don’t need to access our smartphones to know what is going on. All we need to do is learn from the leopard and our cat friends, sit up straight, breathe in deeply, listen and taste the world around us.
When I had a profound dream my whole body would be filled with electricity as if I had touched a light socket. I would feel ‘shaken’ from head to toe. I would also sometimes feel either extreme awe, humility or fear in the presence of the mystery beyond words.
The answers we seek are right in front of us, but they are not necessarily in a language we understand. The language of nature is the language of the soul and speaks in images, colours, impressions, smells, feelings and intuitions. To learn about nature and how to track animals we need to uncover the mystery of each moment without looking for a dictionary in the English, French, isiXhosa, Swahili etc languages. To see beyond the veil of nature and learn how to help our four-legged friends who are being poached and slaughtered indiscriminately we need to make peace with the mystery of each moment. If these words are too obtuse or confusing for you then please ask your cat what I am referring to. I am speaking about dreams and making peace with the impressions that full our nightly experience.
During these experiences I would rush off to my teacher’s house in the township over the hill. We would sit together and she would listen to my dreams. A pattern developed. And like all tracking I learnt to watch the patterns. If my dream was a profound or prophetic dream what we call ‘mhlope amapupha;’ (white dream in isiXhosa), my teacher’s presence was unwavering. Children would come and go asking for sweets and she would tell them to go and all I could see was the whites of her eyes staring through me. However, if my dream was mundane with no real meaning, she would half listen to me and have a conversation with people on the streets going past, give children sweets, shout at the local goats eating her plants and a host of other actions. Eventually I would stop talking and she would ask if I wanted some tea. The dream discussion would move to other things like plant work and the next ceremony.
As a traditionally trained sangoma I have been trained to track my dreams, to watch for images of the Great Dreamer or who we call ‘Qamata’ in isiXhosa, meaning the Great One or Great Spirit. Each person receives dreams during the course of their lives that are both prophetic and instructional. Sangomas are taught to help people connect with their dreams in order to connect with the ‘Great Dreamer’, the conductor behind the veil of life. Our Bushmen or Khoi-San culture from Southern Africa is rich in the language of metaphor referring to nature and how to track both the living and spirit worlds.
For you my reader friend, in order to connect deeply to the Great Dreamer inside of you, learn to feel your dream with your whole body. Ask yourself ‘how is the dream calling you?’ Not all dreams have meaning, some are like exhaust fumes from the car and have a function to release psychic or emotional tension. Keep going; meditate, breath. Ask yourself the question; ‘where is the Great Dreamer right now’ Or ‘How is the Great Dreamer directing my life?’ Keep your question simple. As we say in Zen; ‘meditate like a cat staring at a mouse trap, about to pounce!’ Keep your concentration and focus. Don’t expect anything from life or your dreams, but rather offer your entire body to each moment. When you meditate offer your body
Bushmen people say that this world is a dream being dreamt by the Great Dreamer. All any of us need to do is see beyond the veil of illusion and confusion in our dreams to one clear image that points directly
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to the cushion and the world around you. When you sleep offer your body to the bed. Let go. Surrender. This is the key to receiving visions and glimpses of ‘uThixo’ (The Great Dreamer). And when you receive a powerful dream always say ‘thank you’. Light a white candle and some incense and give thanks with the entirety of your being.
word out to friends who did nature conservation work. Most importantly I prayed and listened to my dreams. One day whilst on a book tour in Montréal, Canada a tracker and safari guide from Botswana sent me a WhatsApp message and said he needed to speak to me urgently. His name is Alwyn Myburgh and was educated by the bushmen culture from a young age. He was put in touch with me by a mutual friend.
Your question changes as you change, and it goes deeper, like penetrating the labyrinth of our inner landscape. As we follow the pattern of truth inside, we are led deeper with a myriad of interchanging tapestries and experiences. After I became a senior sangoma in 2007 I asked the question of how to help people connect more with their inner nature. I was led to write my book ‘Leopard Warrior’. As I was finishing Leopard Warrior, I had a number of profound dreams and my question changed slightly to how to help people connect more deeply to the wild ones in their dreams and in the world outside. I was met in the waking state with people inviting me to observe leopards in various forms from people’s dreams of leopards to leopard encounters in rural and semi-rural environments. I was tracking my dreams and my waking synchronicities.
Alwyn recounted an incredible experience he had a with a wild leopard, a leopard he had befriended over 13 years ago. He was tracking the leopard into a particularly rocky and impenetrable environment. He decided to sit down and wait for her. She stopped too and they had the most remarkable encounter. She told Alwyn that he needed to connect with me and bring me to Botswana as soon as possible, that she needed to download special information to me about the wilderness. Alwyn is a down to earth person and not prone to flights of fancy or metaphorical language. He told me that his leopard friend was called ‘Matsebe’ and had a very special way about her. She seemed to convey the intelligence of the natural world to the human and acted as a bridge between animal and man. He mentioned that Matsebe was getting old and didn’t have long to live. My trip to Botswana was urgent and the spirit of Matsebe was calling me. He was excited on the phone and asked when I could get to Botswana. I said the earliest would-be February 2019. He said he would be waiting. I later learnt that Alwyn is an animal communication specialist and my journey only got more interesting when I flew in to meet him in Maun
A powerful question immerged in my mind. “How to help modern man connect with the wilderness inside so they can help save the outer wilderness from species extinction to environmental abuse?” The answer arrived so clearly, ‘people need to connect more deeply to their inner wilderness and allow the animals to guide them like teachers to the home of their spirit’. I started looking for a game farm in South Africa that would host my specialised form of retreats. I put the
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the following year. I relived my first leopard encounter when I was 16 years old whilst travelling on the back of a land rover through the Kalahari in Botswana in the 1980’s. I did the same over a decade later. We searched everywhere for Matsebe and as the sun was setting, I saw a glimmer of black and gold stripes in the distance, it was her daughter, a young leopard cub, carving out a new territory for herself. I didn’t meet Matsebe, but I met the wilderness and my question of how to help modern man reconnect to the wilderness became very clear.
returned …” He recounted his dream from the previous night where Matsebe was leading two younger leopards through the Kalahari bush. Alwyn said he knew the area; it was close to where we were camped. After breakfast we jumped into the jeep and drove to the place of Alwyn’s dream. As we got closer, he said “this is the place” and he pointed down towards the tracks in the sand. We got out of the jeep and walked. Alwyn pointed next to the jeep and showed me two distinct tracks of two young leopards. He said they were in the exact same location as his dream. The third set of leopard tracks was Matsebe, watching out over us.
As Alwyn and I sat down in a Maun café over coffee he asked me what my plans were about a retreat together. And I saw it in a flash. I said why don’t we call it ‘Dreams and tracking in the Kalahari Desert’? He agreed. We would teach people how to navigate their dreams and track the wilderness. I would help people to track their spirits in their dreams and he would help people to track the animals in the wilderness; teach animal communication and interspecies dialogue.
John Lockley is one of the first white men, in recent history, to become a fully initiated sangoma in the Xhosa lineage of South Africa. John’s teacher Mum Ngwevu, a well-known Xhosa sangoma medicine woman, gave him the initiated name Ucingolwendaba, meaning messenger or connector between people and cultures. John now splits his time between South Africa, Europe, Canada and the U.S.
A few months after being with Alwyn I received a message from him to say that Matsebe had died. She was found near a watering hole in a remote area. She had died from natural causes. He dedicated his company to her calling it ‘Matsebe safaris’ and renewed his vision of educating people about the natural world.
For more information about John’s work you can read his book ‘Leopard Warrior’, listen to his audio course ‘Way of the Leopard’, both produced by Sounds True or visit his website www.johnlockley.com
Our first retreat kicked off in 2020 in a desolate and remote part of the Kalahari Desert. We created a tented camp village and invited people to join us. As we were setting up on our first night in camp before the retreatants arrived, we had a moment to reflect about Matsebe and this wild leopard that brought us together from thousands of miles away. It was also the vision of uniting man to nature that inspired our guests to fly in from far away places in Europe and the United States. We had people from diverse backgrounds including a well-known cardiologist from Seattle and a two-time Pulitzer prize winning journalist. They too felt the call of the Leopard Warrior to reconnect to nature through observing their Dreams and tracking the wind. I turned to Alwyn as the sun set and asked him if he had experienced any dreams of Matsebe recently. He said no, but he was ready. I gave him some sangoma herbs to burn and pray with.
Don Alberto Taxo crossed into spirit on the crossquarter day, February 2, 2022. That’s the day each year when the Sun crosses the point in time and space that dwells halfway between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. In passing Taxo left a legacy of kindness,
The next morning, I awoke to a smiling and glowing Alwyn. As we drank our coffee he said “Matsebe
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Descansa en paz – R.I.P. Maestro Alberto Taxo By Steven McFadden
respect, and spiritual intelligence. He also left illustrious teachings for all of The Americas. To acknowledge Maestro Taxo’s death, and to honor him for all he gave to the world through his years of life, I offer a story. It’s the story of the day that Taxo walked upon on the great plaza that sprawls before the entrance to the House of Mica (United Nations Headquarters) on the island of Manhattan. A man of respect, gratitude, and natural grace, don Alberto generously helped bring those qualities forward through an important ceremonial day. It was Wednesday, August 9, 1995. I remember it vividly. It was the 48th day of the Sunbow 5 Walk for the Earth, a dedicated band of travelers on foot from the Atlantic toward the Pacific. I was among a small group of those Sunbow pilgrims that day. We journeyed to the UN specifically for ceremonies marking the first annual occasion where member nations of the UN would—at least on paper—formally recognize and honor the indigenous peoples of the world.
sky for over 90 minutes, the entire duration of the ceremony. Altogether about 250 human beings—representing all nations, all ways—gathered on the UN’s plaza. But note: not one official from any of the world’s incorporated, industrialized nation states showed up to acknowledge, to listen, to engage. Chief Oren Lyons, Onondaga Faithkeeper and professor at the State University of New York-Buffalo, served as master of ceremonies. He offered a gracious welcome. “For many hundreds of years,” Chief Lyons remarked, “it has been a daily struggle for the indigenous peoples of the Earth to survive. So we are happy to be here. We are happy to have survived.” Delphine Red Shirt, Lakota, Chairperson of the NGO Committee on the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People, led a moving pipe ceremony. As she stood on the plaza before the UN and under the rainbow hoop around the Sun, she lifted her pipe high to honor everything, all relations, the sacred hoop of life. Then Maestro Alberto Taxo came forward. He was a middle-aged then, about 40, hailing from the Andes Mountains of South America, a master Iachak of the Atis (Kichwa) people in the Cotopaxi region of Ecuador. An Iachak is someone who embodies and shares the wisdom of his tradition for the benefit of others, a leader for the community. On the broad UN plaza, singing in Spanish, Taxo lifted a lilting, enchanting song honoring all Creation. As his final
As the ceremony began mid-day, the murky Manhattan sky above the gleaming facade of the House of Mica, brought forth a sunbow, the rare, natural phenomenon of a circular rainbow hoop around the Sun. The whirling rainbow held its form and presence in the
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notes faded, everything became deeply still, a moment of grace. Then Taxo began a brief oration. He spoke of the condor of the south and the eagle of the north, a reference to the widely-known teaching that one day the great sacred birds of both North and South America would fly together, cooperate, and establish a healthy, sustainable future that merges high intelligence with full, open hearts. Often it is said, “when the eagle flies with the condor a lasting peace will reign in the Americas. It will spread throughout the world to unite humanity.” As author Michelle Adam notes on her blog, “…like many native elders, he (Taxo) carried a 500-year-old teaching of his indigenous ancestors to prepare for an immense change for the earth and humanity, a ‘Pachacuti,’ that would occur at this time in history.” The eagle and the condor would unite, some elders say, through the agency of the ethereally beautiful Central American quetzal bird. “Those of the center will unite the north and the south,” Mayan elder don Alejandro Cirilo Perez has proclaimed for decades. He also has worked to make this particular vision real. The teaching foretells the coming together of two great powers:agle (the power of the mind as exemplified in the industrialized nations of the North) and Condor (the power of the heart, and connection with nature as expressed in indigenous ways). Heart and mind. Standing before the House of Mica in August 1995, don Alberto said the condor and the eagle have already met. The time for the fulfillment of this teaching is now. He said the eagles of the north cannot be fully realized without the condors of the south, nor can the condors ascend without the eagles. Taxo commented directly on the relationship between the technology-based cultures of the world (yang, or masculine, eagle in character), and the earth-based, or native, cultures (yin, or feminine, condor in character). As he succinctly explained, profound social, political, and spiritual currents are at work in indigenous
nations all around the globe. These dynamic currents parallel the vividly obvious dynamic currents in the technology-based cultures. The currents parallel, but do not generally intersect. Mass, corporate media shuns this knowledge and these parallels, don Alberto said. Consequently, the public remains deprived of information about these crucial parallel developments, and thus the two sacred cultural currents of North and South America (eagle and condor) have difficulty finding each other to fly together. But, Taxo said, they will find each other. In time eagle and condor will fly together in cooperation and peace. A few weeks before Taxo’s death, in concert with natural rhythms on the Winter Solstice of December 2021, anthropologist Shirley Blancke published her book, The Way of Abundance and Joy: The Shamanic Teachings of don Alberto Taxo (Destiny Books). In her new book Blancke writes, “The Condor gift that don Alberto (brought) to the lands of the Eagle is Sumak Kausay, which means Abundant Life in Kichwa. It is the indigenous Andes’ basic principle of living. It requires a kind of awareness, a living in the moment that entails a deep ability to feel connected to what is around us and appreciate the gifts nature and life bestow on us constantly.” We all have that ability, Taxo taught. We need not behave automatically, like robots. Kaypimi kani, kaypimi kanchik, elder Taxo taught: here I am, here we are. Fully present. Fully awake. Fully connected. Through the example of his life, through circles and books, and through Shaman’s Portal and other communication vehicles, Maestro Alberto Taxo shared his teachings for many years. He encouraged all people, all nations, all spiritual pathways to cultivate a high level of awareness, respect, and gratitude. He taught that what is necessary for now and for our future is an authentic and graceful connection with the whole, the great hoop of which we all are part. Now don Alberto Taxo has crossed to spirit. He rests. Descansa en paz. May he rest in peace.
Reprinted with permission - Visit Chiron Communications https://chiron-communications.com/descansa-en-paz-r-i-p-maestro-alberto-taxo/
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Photo: Carl Austin Hyatt
Excerpt:
Shamanic Mysteries of Peru By Linda Star Wolf and Vera Lopez
In traditions all around the world we see the beliefs
associated with different realms of existence—different worlds of life and consciousness.
to look at these different worlds as literal worlds of existence or metaphoric representations of the psyche, it is the experience of consciousness that makes them real.
In the Christian tradition, there is the framework of heaven, hell, and earth. In various shamanic traditions, there are the lower, upper, and middle worlds. Today in our modern-day consciousness we have the awareness of multidimensionality or otherworlds of existence outside of our physical time and space. We are even discovering the various worlds within our own body— our emotional body, our mental body, and even the microbiomes inside of our gut.
These various worlds, levels, and dimensions provide human beings with the ability to create morals, laws, and codes of ethics. Through the exploration of the lower worlds and the upper worlds, and the integration of the two in our present-day middle world, we are able to develop and discern an awareness about what actions and behaviors are “right’ and which ones are “wrong.”
Tapping into the Peruvian cosmology we can see a The main point is to understand that human beings have long been aware of and contemplated the different variation of the three worlds illustrated in the Ukhu Pacha, the Kay Pacha, and the Hanan Pacha. These layers and levels of existence. Whether you choose three worlds are represented by Serpent, Puma, and
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Condor. Each of these animals, of course, represents and personifies the energies of these three different worlds of existence, or levels of consciousness. Serpent, or Snake, representing the Ukhu Pacha, is the same serpentine energy represented throughout time and prevalent in the cosmology of many other cultures around the world. It is the same serpent found in the Garden of Eden; it is the same energy as our kundalini life-force energy, and it is the same Serpent who is also known as the Great Wisdom Serpent in indigenous cultures. An older symbol of the serpent shares how it is an archetype for transformation and the process of becoming a new creature by shedding one’s skin. Whether Serpent has been cast as a demon or a god, this serpentine force runs throughout each of our bodies. It speaks to and rep- resents our lower base chakra energies of survival, sexuality, and power. The serpent represents our innate human drives that keep us alive and physically present on our planet. Working with Serpent energy provides us with the energy to create life, generate transformation, and discover ourselves as human beings. Condor symbolizes the energies of the upper world— the Hanan Pacha in Peru. Condor is the energy that can rise high above the Andes. It is the highest-flying bird so it has the association and connection with the unseen worlds above. Condor is also a bird that eats death, thus some of Condor’s energies involve learning how to take death and digest it into life. In the Andes, it’s believed that when we shed our physical bodies and journey into the other world, it is Condor who greets us and takes us to the land of the dead. Outside of these associations, Condor reminds us to always look to the Great Above and connect to the beings living in these unseen dimensions of the upper worlds and in the Great Star Nation. In so doing, we connect with these beings and bring down the wisdom of their larger vision, their higher intelligence, onto Earth, thereby informing the serpent. Serpent and Condor are in constant dialogue with one another. They support and feed off one another, and according to the cosmology of the Andes people, the early Inca felt it was necessary to have a third world, a world that integrates and unifies the energies of the
lower realms and the upper realms; a world that is fit for humankind. The Kay Pacha, or this world, really has to do with being human. The Kay Pacha is represented by Puma. Even though the puma is a four-legged creature, it still relates to and symbolizes the journey of the human. If humans bend down and walk, they are doing so on all fours. Some researchers even say that humans moved around on all fours before we stood up and became human. So, this warm-blooded, four-legged creature that walks upon the Earth—this mammal— is connected to the human being, and we find this connection throughout many cultures around the world. In some cultures, this animal is the lion and in others it is the wolf. The shared commonality is that the creature who represents humanity and this physical existence of consciousness is commonly represented as a predator species. We can learn a lot by examining this symbolic representation, for the predator of any species does not kill for sport; it only kills for safety and survival. This apex preda- tor lives by some code of ethics—some awareness—that brings the consciousness of the lower world (our survival needs and instincts) and merges them with the wisdom and knowledge found in the upper worlds. This predator lives its life by a sort of standard of awareness and it knows that what happens to the world around it—the whole— directly affects every individual. So to me, Puma is really an integration or unification of the upper and lower worlds. Puma embodies the wisdom and needs of the serpent in the Ukhu Pacha and it listens to and acknowledges the wisdom of the upper world—the Hanan Pacha and Condor. This warm-blooded, four-legged creature of the heart brings the energies of both of these worlds and walks with them in its daily life. To walk with the energies of Puma is to really learn how to walk with the energies and consciousness of both worlds and integrate them within the heart. In the Wolf Clan Teachings of Grandmother Twylah, the wolf embodies these same energies. Wolf looks to the stars and calls these energies from the Great Above, and at the same time it can be a fierce warrior when it needs to protect, when it needs to defend, and when it needs to hunt. Wolf, like Puma, can pull up and
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catalyze all of the base chakra (survival) energies. Looking at the cosmology of Peru, we can examine how these different worlds or levels of consciousness can influence our everyday life. We know how to walk with our human needs and desires, and we are able to embody and integrate the love and wisdom of Puma as well as of Snake and Condor. In merging these three worlds, the As Above, the So Below, and the Great Within, and connecting them in the heart, we can walk our path and journey in balance with these energies and with the worlds around us. SHAMANIC JOURNEY THROUGH THE THREE WORLDS Guided by Star Wolf
Great Below, rumpling beneath the Earth and rising up to its surface. Powerful and strong, undulating through the tall grass amongst the rocks, winding itself to the river to take a drink to fill itself to quench its thirst. We remember that this great being reminds us of our connection to our bodies and to this Earth; that we are hungry, that we are thirsty, that we need to co-create, to shed our old ways, our old skins— how to renew ourselves each day on our earthly walk upon this Earth. How to tend to the most basic drives and needs; how to let that powerful energy rise up within us, and to find our creativity; creating perhaps pottery in the ancient ways from the clay found beside the river and the among the stones, painting arrows, painting carves, painting our bodies. The Great Serpent reminds us when it’s time to keep moving, to keep transforming, to not overstay in any place too long, any place in our consciousness that is. We are reminded that the great wheel turns on a spiral dance, and just as the serpent coils up on the warm rocks by the river to sun itself, perhaps dreaming a new dream, we too follow the coiling serpentine energy.
Take a deep breath. Exhale fully and begin a journey that’s been calling you for a long time—a journey that’s leading you to an ancient time and an ancient wisdom. Breathing in and breathing out fully, feel your heart beating and your bare feet walking on a path through the jungle; through the lower lands. You hear thunder and a gentle rain begins.
We do this to remember where we’ve been, where we’re going, and to recognize the path on our spiral journey. We then move into the energy that unites the Great Condor and the Great Serpent, the energy of the powerful, graceful Puma. Some call the jaguar the great cat, the four-legged one, the one that is perhaps more closely related to the human. Warm-blooded, with the need to care for its young; to care for its land, for its home. The human can contemplate and imagine the two worlds—Above and Below—that unite and live within itself.
Condor flies overhead; broad wings flying upward, over the distant mountains. As it flies, it flies into the clouds and the rain—disappearing out of sight— disappearing perhaps into other dimensions. It is gathering the wisdom of the Great Mystery, the Great Spirit, from the Unseen Ones that live in the heaven worlds and sending back inspiration, messages, for how to live our lives; how to live in harmony, in peace. It is relaying knowledge about how to know when to grow the crops, to build homes, and to move to higher ground when the rains are coming. All these things Condor tells us from the Great Above if we know how to listen.
Puma has wise eyes; heightened senses of smell, taste, and hearing; a strong heart beating in its chest; a muscular body, in this case still covered with fur, replaced by clothing in human beings perhaps. This great one knows how to keep the balance between the worlds . . . How to Acknowledge its own boundaries and territories, and balance that with acknowledging others . . . How to find shelter from the storm. The powerful Puma listens to his brother and sister, Condor and Serpent, but walks his/her own path and discovers new truths about what it means to be one who walks upon this Earth, seeking the balance of the Above and the Below and in the Within.
And when it’s times to lay our bodies down, our spirits are called home; carried by the great ones—the Great Condors—back to the heavenly realms to join our brothers and sisters, and become the ancestors; sending our wisdom back to Earth to those who remain below. Winding around the path moving through the jungle, past the Urubamba River, the Great Serpent appears, snaking its way through the Andes. We remember the energies of the Great Serpent itself—the one from the
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And so we learn from these creatures. We learn from these dimensions and we know that as human beings we are all three. And when any of these worlds are out of balance, we are out of balance, and we must seek to restore the three worlds within us, honoring the Above, the Below, and the Within. Take a moment to feel that restoration within yourself, just breathing in and breathing out. And if there’s a message, let it come now. Perhaps only one speaks to you, or two or all three, but listen and receive the message, the message intended for you to restore the balance of your own oath. Take a deep breath and exhale fully, and bring that message into full consciousness and awareness as you return to the present moment.
Vera Lopez is the founder of Spirits of the Earth, a travel company specializing in spiritual journeys to sacred sites. She is a transformation teacher, shamanic minister, and Andean priestess, who has received direct initiation from shamanic elders in several traditions, including the Q’eros of Peru. She lives in Sedona, Arizona. https://www.spiritsoftheearth.com/ Linda Star Wolf, Ph.D., is the founding director and president of Venus Rising Association for Transformation and Venus Rising University. The creator of the Shamanic Breathwork process, she has led countless workshops and certified hundreds of Shamanic Breathwork facilitators around the world. She is the author of several books, including Soul Whispering and Shamanic Breathwork. Star Wolf lives in western North Carolina. www.shamanicbreathwork.org/
Ancestral Wisdom Teachings By Imelda Almqvist
I remember yet | the giants of yore, Who gave me bread | in the days gone by; Nine worlds I knew, | the nine in the tree With mighty roots | beneath the mold - Voluspá , St. 2
There is a common proverb in English: the devil is in the details. It is derived from a German idiom: “Der liebe Gott steckt im detail”, which I would translate as ‘The dear God lurks in the detail’). We immediately observe a remarkable flip in one detail, in the transmission between German and English somehow the god becomes a devil!
I was born in the Netherlands and raised in a Churchgoing Roman Catholic family. At age 19 I met a
Swedish man (who became my husband). I visited Sweden for the first time and eagerly taught myself Swedish. Walking the snowy streets of Stockholm, in December 1986, the Norse Gods seized me and they have stayed. They have directed and inspired many projects and decisions in my life. However, their arrival brought an obvious clash between the spirituality of my birth family (organised religion, directed by the Church and the Pope) and an ancient ancestral spirituality: the Northern Tradition, the indigenous wisdom teachings of Northern Europe. I was a ‘spiritual child’. I have always been able to see spirits and dead people. I often did work in the other world at night, helping people cross over (psycho pomp work). My first book: Natural Born Shamans (2016), describes the journey in detail. It puts focus on nourishing the innate spirituality of children, without
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imposing doctrine or dogma on them. At the time of writing that book I had trained with several excellent teachers of core shamanism and I was teaching the material myself. The publication of my first book coincided with our family buying a house in Sweden, situated in the Forest, in a remote location by the Baltic Sea. Here I opened a school, focussed on Seiðr and Old Norse Traditions. I did exhaustive research, taught myself Old Norse (so I could read sources in the original language and work from my own translations) and eventually extended that process to learning Finnish (to access even more material from the Nordic region, sometimes called the ‘The Song Lands’). Swedish and Old Norse belong to completely different linguistic families and they are in no way mutually intelligible. By then it had dawned on me: I could not call myself a shamanic practitioner any longer and I closed the door on core shamanism (both practising and teaching the material). It was DONE! This move does not reflect on other people or indeed my own brilliant teachers. I had reached a fork in the road and the Norse gods demanded a decision, an undivided commitment. On my journey Home, I have indeed observed that the gods inhabit the details. They seek expression through coincidences, they cloak themselves in clues. They leave trails. They scatter bread crumbs and bird seeds in the Forest. By practicing an old ancestral tradition, we plug into countless (and timeless) clusters of meaning. For indigenous peoples this has always been the way: “an animal species has certain qualities, also reflected by the star constellation sharing its name, which rises high in the night sky when that animal species starts its mating season – and so forth. Our ancestors were often named for features in the land while rivers and places were frequently named for gods. Therefore every piece of information is always a starting point for further discoveries and unpacking additional layers of meaning. Synchronicity is the grammar of the gods and symbolism is their syntax! “Going ancestral” (and inevitably a bit feral) one soon discovers that there is no clear line between gods and demons. Our word demon is derived from the Greek word daimōn and originally it means tutelary spirit. The Norse gods are formidable, harsh, accident-prone and in no way omniscient or omnipotent. Having said
that, their exploits (described in sources such as the Poetic Edda) provide road maps for navigating human experiences: honour, pain, sexual fidelity, hubris, how to meet death etc. The myths map courses of action and also teach us about the consequences of bad choices and moral failures. In Norse cosmology the map from core shamanism doesn’t hold up: it teaches (rather conveniently) that there are three worlds: the Upper World, the Lower World and the Middle World. We often hear that Old Norse mythology counts nine worlds, but that is a lingering misperception from the Romantic Period. The Poetic Edda states quite clearly that there are 12 worlds. Many similar misperceptions are perpetuated in blogs, popular books and movies. In the actual sources, the nine worlds are only ever mentioned as nine universes before the present one (Völuspá) or else as the number of worlds in which Hel - mortality - rules. There are more worlds in which Hel (mortality, death) does not rule, the worlds of the immortals, such as light elves. The 12 worlds are listed in Grimnismál, the Poetic Edda, and are referred to also by Snorri. Freyia rules the ninth world, and then there are three upper heavens for the light elves, who are immortal and made of light. The nine worlds are also referred to in stories of the death journey, which means that there may be nine underworlds ruled by Hel. -Maria Kvilhaug, (private correspondence) I have even observed people try to weld the two cosmologies together by claiming that Norse mythology has “three clusters consisting of three realms each, still corresponding neatly to the three worlds of core shamanism”, but this is simply not correct. The information we have doesn’t fit. The way to resolve this conundrum, I believe, is to acknowledge that “the map is not the territory”, so both models are (only) conceptualizations. This also means that both models work just fine, meaning that they facilitate successful navigation of other worlds, but there is little point arguing about “which one is right”! Both are and neither are, in equal measure. One could use Aztec or Australian aboriginal cosmology (etc.) for soul quests – and they would work too, as long as one committed wholeheartedly to the journey and it mirrored key aspects of our own
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psyche. (And only if one was invited to so do by the Elders of those traditions!) The world tree in Norse cosmology (described in the quote at the start of this article) is called Yggdrasil. It is a conceptual map in its own right. We use the tree to access the twelve worlds. In today’s global village we observe the phenomenon of elective spirituality. Courtesy of the internet we now have access to a vast amount of spiritual material from every possible location and tradition. It is tempting to take what we like, leaving the rest. This can, at least in part, be explained by people feeling that any native or indigenous material in their country of origin is “long lost”, therefore many people turn to Native American teachings or take a trip to Peru. Taking a tourist trip to “meet shamans” has become a rite of passage for many ‘spiritual people’. However, the spiritual heritage of other cultures is not a Smörgåsbord for us to pick and mix from (a phenomenon known as cultural appropriation). For people of Northern European heritage there is plenty of indigenous material to work with! What has “going ancestral” brought me? By practicing and sharing the wisdom teachings of my ancestors, I repay a debt: they gave me life and in return I honour their gifts, they sing in my blood and live on through my actions and choices. In the past most Old Norse people did not have a strong personal relationship with the Norse gods (as we know them from e.g. the movies). Instead ordinary people worked closely with the Landvættir, the spirits of the land. When one respects those beings, one does not pollute one’s environment or waste resources. Not only that, in our Tradition there is a close relationship between the male ancestors (the Álfar) and the Landvættir. We are told that they often stayed involved with events on Earth, after death, to watch over the land, family members, animals and crops. The world Álfr means “Elf ”! In a similar way the female ancestors had the option of becoming Disir: deified or compassionate ancestors, who watched over the living and their descendants. Essentially these two Old Norse words (Álfar and Disir) contain a vast body of wisdom teachings. It
would take many articles (or classes) to highlight and discuss them all. However, the best course of action is always direct experience: start honouring the Álfar and Disir and they will honour you back by entering into a relationship with you. They will also help you reflect on “post-death career options”, as it were. Scandinavia has a harsh climate and sacred reciprocity is at the very heart of this Tradition. Lack of reciprocity is dishonourable. This means that no one expects to “get something for nothing”, either from the gods or from other “beings” (humans, land, animals, otherworld citizens) or indeed the gods. To me this is very refreshing and life-affirming, after the “selfsacrifice modelled on martyrs” of my childhood faith or a common belief in core shamanism that “most spirits are benevolent and altruistic, overjoyed at the privilege of working with human beings” (possessing spirits excepted, I guess!) What we focus on and support, will sustain us in return. And many beings described in the Old Norse sources are not very interested in human beings at all. Their outlook simply is not anthropocentric. We have a rich body of material but there are many gaps and contradictions. It can be frustrating, yes, but it prevents dogma creeping in and people claiming “the one and only correct way” of living and practicing the Old Ways. The relative abundance of material attracts many scholars. This is brilliant, because so much meticulous research is done and interpretations are often shared publicly. I myself make liberal use of this source. However, we sometimes need to remember that ‘most academics are not believers’, the research is done as a career, or work-out for the human brain. “Shamanic practitioner no more”, what do I call myself? The most obvious option is Seiðkona (a woman who practices Seiðr) but I prefer calling myself a Forest Witch and in doing so I honour my Witch Ancestors who died during the Witch Hunts in Northern Europe. I join them every Winter, when I ride out with the Wild Hunt. I was fortunate to experience two very different other traditions, before finding my true path. As a child my psyche was wired for spirituality. There is such a thing as being “spiritually bilingual or trilingual”! But ultimately I don’t think we choose – the gods choose us! And then you walk into the Forest and cross paths
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then other people report “dream visits” from us. I will never “know it all”, even if I study every waking hour until I die and join the Disir, but I never look back.
with an Elk. A Horned God awaits by the Ash Tree, a child of Yggdrasil. The Mother of Wolves is never far off. Neither is the Deer Mother. The learning is never done and the written sources aren’t always correct. However, the deer trods still crisscross the land and act as song lines, connecting all twelve worlds. This is just one manifestation of the Norns carving the fate of all beings (not just human beings, also the gods, the animals, the trees and so forth). I have made myself an antlered headdress and painted the runes of the Elder Futhark on my drum. I have secret altars in the Forest that only I visit and where fly agaric mushrooms sprout in abundance. (Did you know that the Vikings laced their mead with fly agaric mushrooms?) Walking an ancestral path constantly re-wilds my life, my heart and my soul. Doing this invigorates and honours my Ancestors, who walked the same land before me. The work is never done. With me walks my fyljga, my dedicated ‘following spirit’, who is really a part of my own soul and connected to my ancestral field. Together she and I often shapeshift into bears and
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Imelda Almqvist is an international teacher of shamanism and sacred art. She has published three books and presented her work on both The Shift Network and Sounds True. She appears in a TV program titled Ice Age Shaman, made for the Smithsonian Museum, in the series Mystic Britain talking about Neolithic arctic deer shamanism. She is currently working on her fourth book, about the pre-Christian spirituality of The Netherlands. Or in her own words: North Sea Water in my Veins: a reconstruction of the pre-Christian spirituality of The Netherlands and surrounding areas. www.shaman-healer-painter.co.uk
What is Shamanism By Nick Breeze Wood
You undoubtedly have medicine people, sorcerers,
healers, ritualists, shamans or wisdom-keepers in your ancestral line; just as you have kings, queens, beggars, thieves, murderers and victims as ancestors too. You also have a hard-wired understanding of the sacred, as humans have an innate desire to create patterns from random events, which makes us naturally animistic. We tend to anthropomorphise things at the drop of a hat; be it a furry animal, or a car that won’t start. We attribute personalities to things - animals, trees, the weather, technology – it’s our nature, we seem to want things to have personalities, temperaments and emotions; and this anthropomorphism is, as I see it, our ancient animistic hardwiring.
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Animism is the understanding that all things around us – seen and unseen - are alive and with a spirit; from a flower to a star, a concept to a cyclone, a microbe to a mountain. An animist sees the whole interconnected web of creation as sentient and full of life and spirit. Every single culture on earth has been animistic at some point, and of course cultures who still live close to the land and hold their traditions - such as tribal cultures – generally still are. If we hold that everything is alive and sentient, and act in a respectful way, we have a ‘moral compass’ which will steer us in a sacred manner through life. To live like this, we don’t need to employ magic or ritual, and it’s the simplest, most heartful spiritual practice of understanding, tolerance and respect, a path of living, and letting live. But animism can be deeper than just a respectful walk through life, it can be a powerful
magical practice, where the spirits are interacted with, in order to make physical changes in the world. Shamanism is an animistic practice, but not all animistic practices are shamanic. Shamanism is a very popular and ill-used word within the New Age industry. The ‘S’ word is used to ‘sexup’ books, workshops, card decks, skin and hair care products, spiritual practices, rock music, and a great deal more besides. If you put ‘shamanic’ before another word and Google it, chances are you’ll find an entry – try it, it’s a good game; ‘shamanic car,’ ‘shamanic gardening,’ ‘shamanic yoga,’ ‘shamanic chocolate,’ ‘shamanic haircare’… The word is derived from the Siberian Evenk/Manchu word šamán or samaan, which is hard to directly translate into English, but means something like a mix of ‘to heat up,’ ‘get excited’ and ‘have sacred knowledge.’ The word ‘shaman’ has no relationship to Sanskrit. There’s a persistent idea, created by ill-informed early linguists - that it comes from samāne, the Sanskrit word for a Buddhist monk, but this has long been discredited, although it still often gets repeated. A shaman is someone chosen by the spirits who can go into a controlled and repeatable, deliberate trance state, during which they: [A] Experience ‘spirit flight,’ where they go to the spirit worlds and meet spirits, who they either work with in alliance, or fight with, negotiate with, or trick in order to create change in this physical world. [B] Are often taken over by the spirits (normally ancestral shaman spirits, or local land spirits) while in this physical world - the spirits using the shaman’s voice and body to heal, or give advice to members of the shaman’s community. [C] In addition to [A] and [B] they also need to engage in ritualised magic or ceremony - which is based on an animistic understanding of Creation - while not in a trance state. However, practicing [C] alone does not make someone a shaman, as the trance aspect is essential. Without the spirits and their blessing, a shaman cannot exist or function, and without the trance state what is
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happening is not shamanism. A shaman being chosen by the spirits is important. This is nicely explained by an old Evenk saying that, before someone’s born, their soul sits like a bird on a branch of the ‘World Tree’, the great central tree of Creation, whose roots are in the Lower World beneath us, whose trunk is in the Middle World we live within, and whose branches are in the Upper World of the Heavens. The Evenk say the souls of ‘ordinary’ people sit on one branch, and the souls of shamans sit on another. This is not to say that shamans are better than ‘ordinary people’, but that they are different, because they are chosen to be shamans by the spirits. Another common myth to stick a pin into is the belief that a shaman never calls themselves a shaman. In the West it’s probably good to give any self-proclaimed shaman a wide birth, as people who call themselves shamans probably won’t – in all truth – know a real shaman if one bit them on the bottom. But in traditional cultures a shaman, who actually is one, will generally admit to it, as it’s quite normal, like someone here calling themselves a dentist or a doctor if that’s what they are. It is also good to note that šaman is a male word, and that women are not called shamans. The proper Evenk word for a woman ‘shaman’ is udigan. If early Russian scholars had not been so typically patriarchal, and had spoken to the women instead of the men, perhaps we’d be discussing ‘udiganism’ not shamanism. Udigan is the standard word across a wide geographic area, so linguists know it’s much older than the many names for male shamans that different Siberian tribal groups use. This shows the first ‘shamans’ were women, and further evidence for this can be seen in the ritual clothes of many male shamans, which are ritualised forms of traditional female dress. The word ‘shamanka’ is Russian. The suffix ‘ka’ means ‘smaller - lesser female,’ like the word vodka – ‘little water;’ vod means water, and ka means ‘female’ or ‘little.’ It is a pejorative word, best avoided. There’s archaeological evidence of ancient ritual from as far back as 300,000 years ago, in places across the world, and this forms an enduring myth that shamanism is the ‘root of all world religions.’ It isn’t, the root of all religions is animism.
People jump to conclusions about these ancient remains, and say they’re evidence of shamanism, but no material evidence can ever tell us anything for sure – we can only ever make educated guesses about what was going on, as we weren’t there, didn’t witness the events, didn’t interview the participants to ask what they experienced, or experience the events ourselves. The first actual written account we have of shamanism is from China, from about 2,000 years ago - before that it is all conjecture. The best we can do with these ancient remains is make guesses about the long dead people we’ve uncovered, but calling these remains ‘evidence of shamanism’ is a giant leap too far. The modern theory is that shamanism arose out of preexisting animism in Mongolia, around 10,000-15,000 years ago. From there it spread, via migrations and cultural contact, to other regions including: Korea, SE Asia, Finland, Hungary, Alaska, Greenland, the Pacific North West coast of North America, and amongst some other Northern North American peoples – such as the Cree and Ojibwa. There are other places which have traditions similar to shamanism - but these probably arose independently, like in the Amazon where it arose most likely because of contact with psychoactive plants. When the peoples of Central Asia set out on their long migrations, and eventually crossed the land bridge into America, they did so before shamanism had evolved in Central Asia, so they couldn’t carry it with them. Instead they carried their pre-shamanistic animism, and this developed into all of the different Native American medicine traditions. It’s only the last people into the Americas from Central Asia who carried shamanism proper with them, because by then it had developed out of animism. That is why groups in the very North of North America – the last ones in - have shamanism as a part of their culture. Many other cultures around the world employ trance in sacred traditions, but whether these traditions should be classified as shamanic is hotly debated. I personally think the word shamanism is problematic, and I’d rather we had a broader overview word for all the traditions which use trance, and then the term ‘shamanism’ could be kept for traditions from Siberia and Central Asia. But we only have the words we have, and things are not perfect.
The edge of where shamanism starts and ends is blurred, and around the edges it’s hard to say what’s in, and what’s out. This is because all shamans do things which are technically not shamanic – i.e. they do practices which don’t require trance or possession. There’s lots of things a Native American medicine person, a Mongolian shaman and an Australian Aboriginal healer do which look similar; but the shaman does something the others don’t – they shamanise - go to the spirits while in trance, at will, repeatably. In recent years shamanism has become synonymous with the use of psychoactive plants, but this practice is actually a fairly minority one, mostly – but not entirely – confined to the Amazon. It’s true some shamans in Siberia work with fly agaric mushrooms etc, but this is the exception, not the rule. Lots of traditional cultures, in addition to saying a shaman is chosen by the spirits, say the tradition runs in families; and while this is not absolutely always the case, it’s very common. This is because most shamanic cultures have a system of ancestral spirits, and these are the main spirits a shaman interacts with. In the West, the shamanism most people come across is ‘Core Shamanism,’ established by Michael Harner, based upon practices distilled from several forms of shamanism, but with their cultural references taken out, so there is no ‘cultural baggage’ that a student needs to subscribe to, beyond the ‘core’ one of ‘there are spirits, and it is possible to go and visit them.’ Core shamanism often talks about spirits in terms of power animals.’ These are the spirits one is introduced to, and these spirits then teach and guide the fledgling practitioner. But in Traditional Shamanism, the spirits are generally not animal-shaped, but instead are more often in human form, and very often the ancestors of former shamans, who remain close to the living to help their shaman descendants. In Core Shamanism a practitioner generally has their own unique spirit helpers too, but in Traditional Shamanism, because the spirits are ancestral, the same spirits turn up and work with lots of different shamans, who will all be part of one clan or lineage. Because these spirits can be ancient, information about them is passed down across generations, so they are known,
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and when a spirit comes, it will be recognised by those in the ceremony. Can you study and practice shamanism? Some traditional shamans say “No,” and others say “Yes.” I think there are people born with a potential to be shamans all over the world, but it’s good to remember that old Evenk saying about the souls of shamans sitting on another branch. Not everyone is capable of being a shaman, or is chosen by the spirits. But then, not everyone can be a brain surgeon either, but that doesn’t mean they can’t learn first aid. It’s the same with shamanism – there are many levels. It’s like going to the ocean. Some people sit in the car park, watching the waves from there. Other’s walk on the sand, but keep away from the water; others splash around where the waves break, just getting their toes wet, and the more adventurous wade, some swim, and a few dive. For me, shamanism is like that. You may not become a great shaman - swim or dive - but you might practice a little ‘shamanic first aid’ - walk on the beach or splash about in the shallows. In most shamanistic cultures people do not want to be shamans, they even try to get out of it if they are called,
and they find the idea of Westerners actively seeking to try to become shamans both funny and disturbing, because they see shamanism as dangerous. But the chances are, your shamanic adventures will be pretty safe, just as walking on a beach where the waves break is pretty safe – but not totally without risk, as a freak wave may come and grab you. All things have their risks. So, can you study and practice shamanism? Yes, if you want to, and if the spirits want you they will come and claim you, and then they will take you off for adventures… and you might well be late home for tea. Nicholas Breeze Wood is the editor of Sacred Hoop Magazine, a magazine about shamanism and animism which has been published since 1993. He has researched and practiced shamanism for over 35 years and lives in West Wales. www.sacredhoop.org ____________________________________________________ The text is an edited extract from Nicholas’ new book ‘Walking with the Tiger’
The Descent of Kukulkan By Michael Drake I made my first pilgrimage to the Maya pyramids
and ceremonial centers of Mexico in March of 1995. It was an empowering, transformational journey of self-discovery—the culmination of a lifelong dream to explore the pyramidal temples found at Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, Palenque and Tulum. On Thursday, March 16, 1995, I boarded a plane from Portland, Oregon to Cancún, a Mexican city on the Yucatán Peninsula bordering the Caribbean Sea. Upon arrival in Cancún, I traveled four hours by bus to Mérida, the vibrant capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán. I stayed three nights in Mérida, using it as a base to explore the ruins of Uxmal, the greatest metropolitan and ceremonial center in the Yucatán during the Maya Late Classic Period. On Sunday morning, I traveled five hours by bus to
Playa del Carmen, a coastal resort town along the Yucatán Peninsula’s Riviera Maya strip of Caribbean shoreline in the state of Quintana Roo. The Riviera Maya is known for its palm-lined beaches and one of the largest coral reefs in the world. My plan was to meet up with my old friend Albert Argüello and his new girlfriend Janine. Albert had quit his job with the Forest Service and was traveling with Janine, exploring the exotic beaches and the great stone cities of the Maya in Central America. Prior to my departure for Mexico, Albert and I agreed to meet up in Playa del Carmen before the vernal equinox so that we could make a pilgrimage to Chichén Itzá for the famous descent of the feathered serpent down the steps of the Pyramid of Kukulkan. Every spring, thousands of people gather in the Grand Plaza of the Pyramid of Kukulkan, where at
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approximately 3:45 p.m., the sun casts shadows that slither like a snake and seem to descend the structure’s stairway.
at the car rental office. I paid for the car rental with my credit card and we split the cost. We agreed to leave at 3:30 the following morning, and I drove the car back to my hotel. That evening, I walked Quinta Avenida and purchased food, bottled water and supplies for the trip. I had dinner, packed my day pack and went to bed early.
I arrived in the afternoon and got a room in a modest hotel near Playa’s main square, El Zócalo. I took a siesta, then strolled around the plaza lined with shops selling local crafts. I enjoyed a long walk on the picturesque beach before having an early dinner in one of Playa’s beachside restaurants. After dinner, I walked along Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue), a pedestrianonly walkway that runs parallel to the ocean in downtown Playa del Carmen. Quinta Avenida is a popular tourist attraction with bars, restaurants, shops and street entertainment.
Chichén Itzá
It wasn’t long before I met Albert walking with his girlfriend Janine and another travel companion, Linda. It was great to see Albert again. We spent the evening getting reacquainted and sharing travel stories. Janine, an attractive 30-something artist from Chicago, spoke fluent Spanish and travelled solo for a month before meeting Albert in Flores, Guatemala. Linda, a 40-year-old television producer from Baltimore, was an old friend of Albert’s. Linda and Albert were both looking into starting some kind of business in Playa del Carmen. They were hoping to get in on the ground floor of development in this fast-growing community. In the mid-1990s, Playa was still a quaint fishing village in the early stages of development. There were a few small hotels, but family-run inns, thatched cabanas and rustic beach bars were more prevalent. On Monday morning, the four of us met for breakfast. We decided that we would rent a car and drive to Chichén Itzá early on Tuesday morning for the vernal equinox celebration. Albert recommended a quiet, less expensive hotel farther from the bustling plaza, so I checked out of my room and into the budget accommodations. We met on the playa (beach) after lunch to swim and sunbathe. The beaches of Playa del Carmen are widely known for their white powdery sand and crystal clear turquoise waters. The beach is the centre of Playa’s activity and there are endless ways to occupy yourself, from people-watching to snorkeling. When the sun starts to set, the crowds move to Quinta Avenida for dinner and join up again for some beachfront nightlife. After enjoying the beach, we took a siesta and then met
I awoke at 2:30 in the morning, showered, dressed and ate breakfast. Albert, Janine and Linda arrived at my hotel room at 3:30. Albert knew the route, so he drove the car to Chichén Itzá. We arrived at the archaeological site around 7:30 and parked along the side of the road near the entrance. There were already hundreds of vehicles parked along the narrow road. When the gates opened at eight o’clock, we made our way into the ruins along with hundreds of other visitors. Upon entering the Great Plaza, we found Yucatec Maya shaman and Daykeeper (calendar keeper) Hunbatz Men leading hundreds of white-clad pilgrims in a “solar initiation” ceremony to mark the end of a 520-year cycle of darkness brought by the Spaniards to the Maya land of the Sun. Hunbatz perceived this auspicious event as an initiation into cosmic consciousness that will reawaken humanity into the Age of Knowledge. The light of knowledge will lift the veil of illusion. At the time, Maya people were forbidden to perform rituals within the archaeological sites. Treading a thin legal line and often hassled by government officials, Hunbatz performed rituals at Chichén Itzá and other Maya ruins. In fact, as I later learned, Hunbatz and his entourage had been harassed by the police earlier that morning before the gates opened. Hunbatz teaches that we can all become Kukulkan. To be Kukulkan is to know the seven forces that govern our body and to also use them. The Sacred Tree gave us seven powers to become Quetzalcoatl or Kukulkan. Humans are sons and daughters of the Tree of Life. The seven powers or chakras are represented by the serpent. On the vernal equinox, Kukulkan descends the steps of the pyramid to imbue those present with the cosmic energy of awakened consciousness. According to Hunbatz, we should kneel on the equinox before the presence of Kukulkan in order to awaken
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our cosmic consciousness—to become authentic human beings. In this moment when we receive the teaching, we enter the mouth of the serpent. We become Kukulkan.1 We joined the rest of the pilgrims forming a circle around the Temple of Kukulkan. Hunbatz directed us to join hands in a “snake dance” that wound its serpentine way around the pyramid three times. Albert knew the ceremonial leader and introduced us to the shaman as we danced past him in our circuit around the sacred mountain. At times, it was extremely difficult to maintain our grip because of the tremendous forces running through the undulating human chain. Hunbatz admonished us to not lose our grip or we would break the power of the circle. Hunbatz closed the ceremony by having us lift our arms to the sky in a salutation to the sun, and then place our palms on the ground, thereby releasing the energy of the circle into the Earth. In a shamanic circle, there is a raising of group energy with clear intention and direction. The circle will contain, focus and amplify the energy until you are ready to release it to accomplish what you set out to do. After closing the circle, Hunbatz stood on the steps of the pyramid and addressed the crowd: “The waves of awakening and change have begun to roll. Nothing can stop it now. This is a movement to reclaim the great ceremonial centres of the world. To rescue them from
museums and tourists, and to return them to the uses for which they were intended. The Maya ceremonial centres are now activated and they will continue to emit solar vibrations to other centres around the world to activate them so that they might be used in the ways they were designed. It is time now to live out our true solar destinies in good relation with the whole circle of life.”2 The remainder of the day was filled with wonder: Tibetan lamas and leaders of the Supreme Maya Council stood on the steps of the pyramid and bestowed blessings upon attendees; the pilgrims climbed en masse to the summit of the pyramid; Maya music and dance was performed on stage. Albert and I celebrated by drumming in the Great Ball Court. Everyone was rejoicing the end of darkness and the dawn of awakening. Everybody was on a natural high, including me. This is the effect such a ceremonial gathering can have on you. By the time the sun cast its shadow serpent on the pyramid, the energy was palpable. The event came to a climax late in the afternoon when the shadow image of a snake appeared on the Pyramid of Kukulkan. As the equinox sun set, a play of light and shadow created the appearance of a serpent that gradually undulated downward to the stone snake head at the base of the stairway. The looming diamondback snake was composed of seven triangular shadows cast
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by the stepped terraces of the pyramid. The seven triangles represented the awakening of our seven chakras by the kundalini power of Kukulkan, known as koyopa or “lightning in the blood.” The assembled crowd responded with awe and celebration. I kneeled to the ground and bowed to receive the lightning blessings of Kukulkan—to enter the mouth of the snake and become the Plumed Serpent. Rapt in the ecstasy of the moment, I saw a rainbow of light arch high over the Great Plaza. I saw the World Tree rise up from the Earth to touch the heavens. Monarch butterflies arose by the thousands from out of the Earth. The earthbound souls of all who were ritually sacrificed on the pyramid were free at last, rising up on fluttering wings to branches high in paradise. I wept tears of joy for their deliverance. But then the moment of enlightenment passed as quickly as it came. It was as if a bell had sounded and the pilgrims all started migrating towards the exits. After a long day of festivities, we were weary and ready to get back to Playa del Carmen. Albert drove about halfway back, and then I took over the rest of the way. After returning the rental car, we celebrated with a late dinner. The following day was a rest day for everyone. I had some laundry done, took a siesta in my hammock, and then joined my travel companions for a relaxing afternoon of snorkeling and sunbathing. We were contemplating and processing the experiences of our pilgrimage together. In fact, I am still processing my pilgrimage to Mexico. It was a surreal and dreamlike experience that mystifies me to this day.
Michael Drake is an internationally regarded writer and recording artist. He is the author of The Shamanic Drum: A Guide to Sacred Drumming, I Ching: The Tao of Drumming, Shamanic Drumming: Calling the Spirits, Shamanic Drumming Circles Guide, The Great Shift and Riding Spirit Horse: A Journey into Shamanism. He is a contributor to the book, Shamanic Transformations: True Stories of the Moment of Awakening. His musical albums include Shamanic Journey Drumming and Power Animal Drumming. His articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Awareness, Sacred Hoop and Mother Earth News. Raised in a conservative Baptist church, Michael had his first ecstatic experience as a youth at a church revival, an evangelistic meeting intended to reawaken interest in religion. This state of rapture and trancelike elation inspired his spiritual quest for meaning and fulfilment. At a crucial point in his search, Michael came in touch with the transforming power of shamanic drumming and discovered his true calling. Inspired by his research and experiences, Michael founded Talking Drum Publications in 1991 in order to share the healing power of rhythm with the global drumming community. For the past 30 years, he has been facilitating drum circles and workshops nationwide. Please visit Michael’s website at http://ShamanicDrumming.com. ________________________________ The text is an excerpt from Michael’s new book Riding Spirit Horse: A Journey into Shamanism
Footnotes 1. Hunbatz Men, Secrets of Mayan Science/Religion (Bear & Company, 1989). 2. Father Sun Speaks: Cosmic Mayan Message for the 21st Century. VHS tape. Footage of Hunbatz Men facilitating the 1995 solar initiation at Chichén Itzá. Produced by Baird Bryant, a Beat Generation writer, documentary filmmaker and cinematographer
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ShamanPortal.org is dedicated to creating a vibrant global community of people striving to teach and learn about the rich heritage of Earth and Spirit honoring practiced by all shamanic traditions. We believe that the wisdom of these traditions is essential to maintaining spiritual, mental and physical balance in our modern world. Shaman Portal welcomes visitors to post upcoming activities; find opportunities to interact with members of our community; join discussions on various shamanic topics through the Talking Stick Forum; browse through our comprehensive multimedia Shamanic Library and send suggestions for additions;
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About our 5th SPQR Magazine featured artist: Zackery Dean BirdFaraway is a contemporary Native American Artist. He is a member of the Crow Tribe and has been an artist since an early age. He currently travels with his partner Cassie Chapin and their wandering gallery. Feel free to look up his beutiful art page Faraway Fine Art. www.facebook.com/Geenss.Archenti www.facebook.com/zackery.d.birdfaraway
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INTRODUCING A NEW WAY TO EXPAND YOUR SHAMANIC KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES. We are committed to expanding shamanic knowledge and practices while promoting sustainable wisdom and harmony worldwide. We are offering inspiring ongoing teaching of respected teachers in thought-provoking and experiential webinars. For questions or suggestions, email shamanportal.wisdomwebinars@gmail.com to See a full upcoming schedule go to http://www.itzhakbeery.com/sp-wisdom-webinars.html
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S ha m a n P or t a l Q ua r t e r ly R e v ie w PAST ISSUES OF SPQR MAGAZINE
The SPQR is an advertising free quarterly online publication of articles by leading Shamanic practitioners and teachers about Shamanism Ceremonies, Rituals, Traditions, Techniques and more.
Each issue contains 4-7 articles and featured art work. If you like to contribute your artical, artwork, photography, and poetry send Christian Thurow a request with samples. Email to: info@shamanportal.org
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