I have been giving some serious consideration to the inclusion of shamanic practices within my interpretation of Druidry. At one point, I was certain there was a link, but as I find myself digging deeper and deeper into shamanism, I wonder how this links back to my original intention. Exploration of a fascinating subject is hardly something to be censored, but I think I’m getting off-topic at this point.
Looking over my library, I find it full of books on shamanism and Celtic shamanism and very little on Druidry. On the other hand, I appear to have a large quantity of books on Celtic myth and legends and a few books on the history of the Celts. I think this is where my research should take me next. Leave Cowan, Matthews and Harner. I have dug out Solitary Druid – it’s ADF, but it might be useful – and Druid Magic – which is Llewellyn but has a bibliography and some interesting exercises at the end of each chapter.
That said, I mustn’t dabble. As I have seen, the Otherworld can be dangerous and there is no room for tourism. Commit to something, achieve it, move on and maintain practice.
There is an interesting essay on Celtic shamanism on the OBOD website – [link] – indicating the adventures of Fionn MacCumhail are plausibly shamanic Otherworld experiences: questing to retrieve mystical artefacts, knowledge or power, being dismembered and returned to wholeness stronger than before and receiving traits that mark him as being definitely outside society. The author also suggests the CS-bashing I’ve been seeing is an academic trend, and – as a classically trained, initiated shaman who has actually attended ISS workshops – doesn’t have an issue with Harner’s definition of a shaman as ‘a man or woman who enters an altered state of consciousness – at will- to contact or utilize an ordinarily hidden reality in order to acquire knowledge, power, and to help other persons. The shaman has at least one, and usually more, “spirits” in his personal service’ (quotes are Harner’s), although there is no evidence to suggest drumming as the aural trigger, the Celts had no shortage of instruments or songs that might be used in this fashion.
The spirits of shamanism are, perhaps, the faeries of British folklore. I’ve always avoided faerie-faith books like the plague, but now it seems they might have something to them beyond pink fluff and sparkles.
So: Celtic shamanism? Yes, but it has it’s own distinct flavour. I mustn’t get distracted by the Celtic-everything trend, attempts to homogenise shamanism or a watering down the faerie-faith (I never thought I’d say that).
Other areas for research:
- Celtic myths and legends (look for shamanic practices)
- Faerie healing (being careful of New Age fluff)
- Biddy Early and canny folk who practice/practised around the British Isles (any from East Anglia? That’d be a nice find)
I haven’t read all your posts, just this one, so I may be saying things that are redundant. I apologize if this is so.
That said: . I have studied Shamanism for a good many years. I’ve not studied modern druidry, and know little about what is taught there. But I know a little about ancient druidry, and have freinds who have studied the modern flavor. Based on what I know about these, I’d say the same as I would about Wicca: that it’s a particular school of shamanism. The difference would seem to be that it’s more structured, with a bit of hiearchy thrown in (hierarchy being the hallmark of religion, and the primary thing that seperates religion from shamainism, in my way of thinking). So it might be most accurate to say that the magical elements within modern druidry are shamanic in nature.
I’m still finding my path, as they say, so I defer to your greated knowledge on the subject of shamanism, but I’m inclined to agree with you when you say that there are elements of shamanic practice within modern Druidry. As Harner suggests, there are elements of shamanism in indiginous cultures across the world, and since modern Druidry draws heavily on what we know of the ancient Druid practices, I don’t find it suprising that it should have similarities.
That said, I’m disinclined to thrown my hand in with any modern Druid group, because I’ve not yet found one that reflects what I’m looking for. Heirachy, grading and prescribed ritual don’t fit my approach to spirituality or religion. I want to be able to form my own relationships with the worlds in my own way.
I suppose that’s either indicative of my status as a member of Generation Y or a commentary on my personality, but I want to be able to think for myself rather than trust others to supply me with the answers.
I’m intrigued by your assessment of Wicca as a school of shamanism. Having explored the religion in the past, I don’t recall anything from my experiences that is comparable with shamanism. Would you care to elaborate?
I couldn’t agree with you more about hierarchy and prescribed ritual (although the latter can provide comfort in times of stress, so long as the prescription is not regarded as an exclisive path to truth), and while I’m not sure where “generation Y” begins and ends, I feel safe in assuming that I predate it by a few decades.
It’s good to find teachers and guides—but they must earn your respect and trust, not assume it to be their due.
Re: Wicca in comparison to shamanism, I’d say two things: first, that I mispoke in calling it a “school.” There are as many flavors of Wicca as there are practitioners. Hardly a school. But what makes Wicca shamanic is its relationship to “magic”— creating new or different realities through thought, focus, and consciousness— and its reverence, if you’ll forgive the word, for the natural world and natural cycles.
The second piece is that I tend to try to expand understandings of the notion of shamanism. I see it as very inclusive (but exclusive of hierarchy, structure, and conventional ideas of morality). One of my teachers described the Shaman as “one who walks the borderland between the worlds,” and who carries communication back and forth between them. As you can see, that interpretation is pretty inclusive. I add to this what I said before: the Shaman is someone who shapes (or reshapes) reality through disciplines of thought, focus, and consciousness.
Still a pretty broad definition. For instance, I view writing as a shamanic art (or at least potentially so). I have a brief essay on this at http://wp.me/PHPdN-5F, if you care to take a look.