Spirit · Journey · Healing · Ancient

Shamanism

The world's oldest spiritual practice — the shamanic tradition of entering non-ordinary states of consciousness to serve as intermediary between the human community and the spirit world.

Shamanism is not a single religion or tradition — it is a cross-cultural technology: a set of techniques for entering non-ordinary reality found independently in Siberia, Central Asia, the Americas, Africa, Australia and across the ancient world. The word "shaman" comes from the Evenki language of Siberia (šaman) and was adopted by anthropologists in the 18th century to describe similar practitioners across cultures. Despite their diversity, shamanic traditions share a remarkably consistent core: the ability to enter altered states and travel to non-ordinary reality for the purposes of healing, divination and community service.

Section 01

What Shamanism Is

The shaman is the specialist in non-ordinary reality — the trained practitioner who can deliberately enter altered states of consciousness and travel to the spirit world to retrieve information, power and healing for individuals and the community. This role is found in virtually every pre-agricultural and indigenous culture in human history, making it arguably our species' oldest spiritual technology.

The core shamanic understanding is that reality has multiple layers — an ordinary reality of physical existence and a non-ordinary reality of spirit, where different laws apply and where the roots of both illness and healing can be found. The shaman's ability to move between these realities — and to bring back useful knowledge and power from the journey — is the defining feature of the tradition.

Historian of religions Mircea Eliade, in his landmark 1951 study "Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy," identified the core techniques as remarkably consistent across cultures: the shamanic journey induced by percussion (primarily drumming), the concept of spirit helpers or allies, the three-world cosmology (upper, middle, lower) and the shaman's role as intermediary between the human and spirit worlds.

What distinguishes the shaman from other spiritual practitioners is the deliberate, controlled entry into altered states for specific purposes — unlike the mystic who seeks union with the divine, the shaman travels to the spirit world, completes a task and returns with the results. The shaman's ecstasy is purposeful and disciplined.

Section 02

The Three Worlds

The three-world cosmology — Upper World, Middle World and Lower World — appears across shamanic traditions worldwide with remarkable consistency, suggesting either a universal structure of non-ordinary reality or a universal feature of human consciousness when in certain states. These are not to be confused with "heaven" and "hell" in the moral sense — both upper and lower worlds are inhabited by compassionate helping spirits.

☀️
Upper World
Sky · Teachers · Spirit guides
The Upper World is reached by travelling upward — through clouds, into light, beyond ordinary sky. It is typically experienced as luminous, crystalline or cloud-like in quality. Inhabited by spirit teachers, ancestors who have completed their earthly lessons, guides in human or light-being form. The Upper World is the realm of cosmic perspective, teaching and guidance. Shamans journey here for wisdom, knowledge and contact with personal spirit teachers.
🌍
Middle World
Earth · Nature spirits · Ordinary reality
The Middle World is the spirit dimension of ordinary reality — the non-ordinary aspect of the world we inhabit physically. It contains the spirits of plants, animals, stones, rivers, weather and the land. In many traditions, the Middle World also contains disembodied human spirits who have not yet moved on after death, and various other non-human entities. Shamans journey in the Middle World for healing work with the natural world, for communication with the spirits of the land and for locating lost or wandering souls.
🌑
Lower World
Earth's depths · Power animals · Roots
The Lower World is reached by travelling downward — through a hole in the earth, down a tree root, through water. Despite its name and direction, it is not a dark or dangerous place — it is experienced as richly alive, earthy and often beautiful. Inhabited primarily by power animals and nature spirits in animal form. The Lower World is the realm of instinctual wisdom, primal power and the deep roots of individual and collective experience. The retrieval of power animals happens here.

The World Tree / Axis Mundi

Connecting all three worlds is the World Tree (Yggdrasil in Norse tradition, the Cosmic Tree in Siberian shamanism, the Ceiba in Mayan tradition) or the Axis Mundi — the central axis around which reality is organised. The shaman travels along this axis — down through the roots to the Lower World, through the trunk in the Middle World, up through the branches to the Upper World. This cosmological structure appears across virtually every shamanic tradition in the world.

Section 03

The Shamanic Journey

The shamanic journey is the core technique of shamanism — the deliberate entry into non-ordinary reality for a specific purpose, facilitated by sustained rhythmic percussion (typically drumming at 4–7 beats per second) that drives the brain into theta wave states (4–7 Hz). This is not imagination in the ordinary sense — experienced journeyers consistently report that the journey feels more real than waking life, and that the content of journeys from different people to the same spirit territory shows consistent features.

The Drum
The shamanic drum is called "the horse" in many traditions — the vehicle that carries the shaman into non-ordinary reality. The steady beat at 4–7 Hz (theta frequency) produces the altered state necessary for the journey. Research confirms that sustained shamanic drumming drives the EEG into theta states associated with deep meditation, hypnagogic experience and creative insight.
The Entry Point
Every shamanic journey begins at a specific entry point — a hole in the earth, a tree hollow, a cave mouth, a body of water — through which the journeyer descends to the Lower World or ascends to the Upper World. This entry point is typically a real or imagined location that feels personally resonant. The same entry point is used consistently, creating a well-worn path between the worlds.
The Intention
A shamanic journey is always undertaken with a specific intention — a question, a task, a healing purpose. "What do I need to know about [situation]?" "Please help me find a power animal." "I journey to retrieve the soul part of [person]." The intention focuses the journey and ensures it serves a specific purpose rather than drifting.
The Return
The journey ends with a callback signal — typically a rapid drumbeat pattern. The journeyer returns via the same entry point, thanks their helping spirits and returns fully to ordinary reality. The experiences are then recorded or shared. Integration — making meaning of what was received — is as important as the journey itself.
Section 04

Core Shamanic Practices

Power Animal Retrieval
Spirit helpers · Foundational practice
Every person is understood in shamanic tradition to have one or more power animals — spirit helpers in animal form that provide power, protection and guidance. Power animals may be lost through trauma, chronic stress or disconnection from the natural world, leaving the person feeling depleted, unprotected and ungrounded. A shamanic practitioner journeys to the Lower World to find and retrieve the power animal of another person — bringing it back and "blowing" it into the client's heart and crown chakra. This is the most foundational shamanic healing technique and is often the starting point for learning to journey.
Soul Retrieval
Healing fragmentation · Advanced practice
The most important shamanic healing practice — based on the understanding that in response to trauma, abuse, overwhelming loss or shock, part of the soul "flees" or dissociates — splitting off to protect itself. This can leave a person feeling incomplete, chronically depleted, unable to move forward or suffering from what Western psychology calls dissociation. The shamanic healer journeys to find the missing soul part — wherever it has gone in non-ordinary reality — and negotiates its return. Soul retrieval is closely related to the psychological concept of dissociation and has been extensively explored by Sandra Ingerman in Soul Retrieval (1991).
Extraction Healing
Removing intrusions · Energy clearing
The complementary practice to soul retrieval — while soul retrieval addresses what has been lost, extraction addresses what is present that should not be. In shamanic understanding, illness can be caused by "intrusions" — misplaced energy or spiritual matter that has lodged in the body and disrupts normal functioning. The shamanic healer identifies and removes these intrusions — working in non-ordinary reality while the client lies relaxed. Not to be understood literally in all cases; the metaphor of "removing what doesn't belong" translates directly to many forms of psychological and energetic healing.
Psychopomp Work
Death rites · Assisting the dying and dead
One of the shaman's oldest roles — helping souls transition at death and assisting those who have become "stuck" between the worlds after death. Psychopomp (from the Greek "guide of souls") work involves journeying to find and assist souls who have not fully transitioned — helping them move toward the light or the afterlife in whatever form that takes for them. This work is relevant for the dying (helping them approach death with less fear), the bereaved (providing certainty that the departed have transitioned) and communities dealing with violent or traumatic deaths.
Section 05

Contemporary Shamanism

Michael Harner & Core Shamanism
Anthropologist Michael Harner developed "core shamanism" — a distillation of universal shamanic techniques available to contemporary Westerners regardless of cultural background. His Foundation for Shamanic Studies has trained thousands of practitioners worldwide. His book The Way of the Shaman (1980) is the foundational modern text.
Sandra Ingerman
The most important contemporary shamanic teacher for healing applications — her work on soul retrieval, shamanic healing and the integration of shamanic practice with modern psychology has been enormously influential. Soul Retrieval (1991) and Medicine for the Earth (2000) are essential reading.
Cultural Appropriation
The adoption of shamanic practices by non-indigenous Westerners raises genuine questions about cultural appropriation — particularly where living traditions are commercialised or stripped of context. Core shamanism attempts to address this by drawing on universal principles rather than specific cultural forms. Working with one's own ancestral traditions where possible is a respectful approach.
Essential Reading
The Way of the Shaman by Michael Harner. Soul Retrieval by Sandra Ingerman. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy by Mircea Eliade (academic foundation). Plant Spirit Medicine by Eliot Cowan.