Our ‘Personal Practice’ article content focuses on supporting you to create and maintain a daily shamanic practice. You might also be interested in our ‘Personal Practice’ audios.
Winter Solstice/Yule (December 18-January 6) This is the season of religious and cultural celebrations worldwide, including Christmas, New Year, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa. It’s the darkest day of the year, around December 21, yet with that darkness comes the promise of...
For the last several weeks, my days have carried the soundtrack of chainsaws and trucks. The woods behind my house have been undergoing a constant cutting down. The pause of the grating buzz of the chainsaws has stopped only brieflyto give way to crashing thuds as...
We live in a world of increasing disorder, proliferating injury to humankind, accelerating loss of Earth's life forms, and spreading destruction of Mother Earth herself. And yet, I find hope and comfort in ancient wisdom and practices. Shamanic people the world over...
You have a giant question writhing around inside you. For each of us it may be a different question, but we all have one. You’ve been wrestling with it, trying to articulate it your whole life, trying to find an answer. The image comes up for me of the Tarzan TV show...
Several months ago I read about an intriguing idea that I initially dismissed, yet one that continued to dwell in my consciousness. The idea was to write a poem in ten minutes or less without regard to any familiar structures usually associated with poetry. Instead,...
Originally published in the Journal of Contemporary Shamanism, in the Spring 2014, Volume 7, Issue 1 From time immemorial human beings sought the great outdoors for solitude, observation, listening, and learning the ways of nature to enhance their own survival...
The appropriation–-adoption, misuse, fraud, stealing, cheating, annexation–-of Native American cultures and other Indigenous traditions by Westerners in their search for meaningful spirituality has become a topic of increasing controversy and sensitivity in our...
Introduction by SSP Board Member Joan Levergood: The Society for Shamanic Practice is pleased to share Jill Raiguel's lovely article about working with Light Columns. We thank her for sharing the history of the Light Columns and her insights with us. Our Shamanism...
Clients sometimes come to a shamanic healing session with a vague sense that a piece of pain they are experiencing is ancestral. They may have a general awareness that a parent or grandparent struggles with a similar issue. In the diagnostic journey, I ask my helping...
Follow me on a winding journey: 1. Authenticity: People like to argue over what is authentic and what is not. In shamanism, in all religion, in art, in science. In my world of Western-urban-neo-shamanic practice, it’s always “how the indigenous masters do it or did...
The creative process is evident in so many different activities and expressions, yet you can discern a common thread amongst all of these despite their unique characteristics. The examples below of a painter and a shaman provide the contrast and similarities between...
My introduction to the practice of utiseta was purely accidental. I didn’t know I was doing it. As a child in rural Wisconsin, I had the freedom to roam the woodlands and prairies that were my home. Many times I would walk into a place, quietly gathering twigs,...
In the northern hemisphere, as we step into winter, the north on the medicine wheel, we have stepped into the embrace of the Dark Feminine. What is this power, and how can we work with it? I hope this article helps you grasp what is happening in our world right now...
Introductory note by Jaime Meyer, SSP Board President: I’ve been fascinated with how much vitriol is expelled into the world trying to define what shamanism is. When this discussion gets heated, as it often does, I believe we have stopped talking about shamanism, and...
In the melting snow at the very beginning of spring, my eye caught a bright reflection on the ground: chunks of broken glass along a wall. When I looked up, I saw that the outer window of the classroom above my garage had been shattered. The window was double-paned,...
When I first began my shamanic practice, I noticed early on that I had an affinity for ancestral healing. The client’s ancestors would appear in the session and share the story of the original wound in the family. Many of these suffering ancestors brought their pain...
The sustaining tradition of the indigenous heart is being remembered. Our survival as a species may depend upon it. Step forward you, the wild, natural mystic... Buddhism, Reiki, Christianity, Drumming Circles, Islamism, Yoga, Herbalism, Trance Dance, Mindfulness,...
This poem by Rainier Maria Rilke is one of my favorites: I believe in all that has never yet been spoken. I want to free what waits within me so that what no one has dared to wish for may for once spring clear without my contriving. If this is arrogant, God, forgive...
This article was originally published by SSP in the Journal for Shamanic Practice in 2014 I heard fluttering and flopping sounds on the sun porch of my friend’s lake cottage. “It’s the hummingbird,” she said as she gently picked it up from the floor and cradled...
Everyone is doing ‘shrooms. The term “psychedelic wild west” has entered daily lingo. Various cities and states are legalizing them. Medical science sees promise in them and the pharmaceutical industry sees neon dollar signs. The blogosphere sparkles with promises of...
A Note from Jaime Meyer, SSP Board President: Every spiritual path requires some kind of disciplined, regular practice. The practice may be enjoyable and beautiful, and that is why we do it. It may be difficult to summon the discipline to do it, and that is why we do...
I was first trained in Soul Retrieval back in 1993 through the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, and then later through The Four Winds. These organizations formed the foundation of the style of soul retrieval work I do, however, cross culturally, there are many ways of...
The mystical aroma of incense is part of my daily life. I find it especially vital in winter when fragrant plants are slumbering deep in the the frozen earth. My morning ritual includes brewing coffee, tending the fire and praying with sacred smoke. It helps me...
This month of December we are republishing an article that Itzhak Beery, who presented at our conference this past fall, wrote for us in 2012 about the discernment of spirits, particularly what many call “evil spirits.” As Itzhak says, evil energies feed on darkness...
My shamanic training is rooted in Peruvian curanderismo, specifically in the use of the spiritual altar called a mesa. A mesa is the shaman’s gateway into the soul realm. In Spanish, mesa literally means “table,” which is fitting because it is the place where the...
As we watch Russian armies create havoc in Ukraine, our hearts and minds are drawn to the widespread suffering of the Ukrainians and their land, the latest chapter in a long history of repeated invasions and destruction. SSP board member Ana Larramendi's article on...
By Stephanie Rutt with a postscript by Tom Cowan. Then one day I knew if I cut a tree, my arm would bleed. God is everywhere. —Alice Walker from The Color Purple Some thirty years ago, my husband took me deep into the Maine woods to introduce me to wilderness...
This year, February 3rd marked the celestial midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, and for the Celts, this is "Brigid time." It is called Imbolc (pronounced IM-olk), one of the cross-quarter days on the Celtic Medicine wheel. Brigid is arguably...
Malidoma was a West African writer, diviner, and teacher. Born in a Dagara community in Dano, Burkina Faso, as a child he was taken from his home, “literally kidnapped,” he said, by Jesuit priests in a nearby colonial town. He was placed in a Catholic boarding school,...
The strongest component of the winter season is light. Throughout the year, there is the dance of light and dark, and at the winter solstice, this dance is at its most intense and pronounced, with the longest period of darkness and the shortest period of light. Our...
Many cultures have identified energy centers that both affect the body and mediate between the physical and spiritual worlds. The Irish were no exception. In old Irish manuscripts, three “Cauldrons of Poesy” are described. Although originally focused on the...
As contemporary Shamanic practitioners, we may find ourselves exploring and investigating a variety of contemporary and traditional spiritual and healing practices. After a period of time and practice, we might choose to focus our energy on just one or two that feel...
(Jose Stevens is the author of How To Pray The Shaman’s Way: Ancient Techniques For Extraordinary Results, Hierophant Publishing, 2021.) Aside from eating, sleeping, and the basic activities of survival there is perhaps no more universal human activity than the act of...
Our colleague Hank Wesselman died peacefully near his home in Hawaii on February 15 of this year after a short illness, with his beloved wife, Jill Kuykendall, at his side. Together they led shamanic training workshops and divided their time between northern...
As shamanic practitioners, our work is ever-evolving. Relationships with spirit allies grow and change as we develop and nurture our personal medicine. Perhaps a few spirit allies from our initial years in shamanism have come and gone, or perhaps the ones who have...
Tribute to Jamie Sams 1951-2020 In the beginning stages of my work in shamanism I was introduced to the Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson. I didn’t really click with the more traditional tarot cards at the time so when these came along I was immediately...
As shamanic energy medicine practitioners, we are called to serve. We are stewards of the earth, bringing beauty and healing to all life. We serve as a bridge between the visible world of form and the invisible world of energy and spirits. Particularly during this...
What should I journey about? It can be one of the most common questions a shamanic practitioner faces as they sit down with their drum. The fact that the landscape of the spirit world is truly limitless only serves to complicate the issue. There are many reasons to...
Our property on the Bay of Quinte is home to several species of native trees. In one area we call the glen, we’ve been witnessing an ongoing onslaught by invasive insects. Over a period of three to four years we watched helplessly as a group of ash trees slowly lost...
When the first wind breathed life upon planet earth, no one was there to listen. As the planet evolved, people settled in places where the wind already lived. Wind was here before any of us, and informed all of life with the sublime wisdom of the ages. Wind is the...
MICHAEL HARNER 1929-2018 Michael Harner began his personal journey into shamanism in 1956-57 working as an anthropologist among the Shuar (Jívaro) and Conibo peoples of the Amazon. In time he became recognized as a shaman by many indigenous people in North and South...
The local community here in Glastonbury was saddened to hear of the death of Elsa Malpas, who passed peacefully into spirit on the 18th November 2018. Elsa, along with her partner Howard, contributed significantly to the shamanic community in the UK, and particularly...
Ayahuasca: A Brief Helpful Manual Currently tens of thousands of people are exploring the visionary medicine known as ayahuasca, huasca, yaje, (and many other names) both in South America and around the world. Many seek the experience out of curiosity and sometimes...
“I received a letter containing an account of a recent suicide: ‘My friend jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge two months ago. She had been terribly depressed for years. There was no help for her. None that she could find that was sufficient. She was trying to get from...
In Loving Memory Bonnie became SSP's first executive director when the organization was founded as the Society for Shamanic Practitioners. If not for her organizational skills and passion, we as a society would not exist. We are sad to announce that Bonnie Horrigan...
In the Beginning, There Was the Beat When you came into this life, your first felt experience was the sensation of rhythm. Not the sound, but the sensation of rhythm. Before you could hear, see, or think, you were unadulterated physicality—pure instinctual and primal...
In this piece I delve a little into my personal journey to shamanic practice and why I see shamanism as an antidote to much of the malaise we feel. At the end of this piece I offer you the most concise list of "shamanic core values" I've ever come across, and a...
There is a type of fairy encounter often dismissed as less authentic and less significant than other types, and yet possibly the most common encounter and one with the most positive, uplifting effects on the human spirit. This is what I call encountering the “faerie...