The following has been taken from Northern Tradition Shamanism
What do you mean by shamanism? Why do you use that word?
I use the word because it is the closest word my birth language has for what I have experienced, what I am expected to do, and what I have become. It is a word that has been borrowed from the Tungus language, but it fills an important hole in our language. For more information on how I feel about the word and its common uses, see the article Public Horses.
My definition of shamanism is "a spiritual and magical practice that involves working with spirits and is designed to serve a tribe". It's distinct from thaumaturgic magic, which is working magically with directed energy, or theurgic magic, which is working with divinely inspired symbol systems like runes. This is working with Entities, and that's a whole different ball game. Shamanism is also distinct from religion proper, because while it is certainly a spiritual practice, and has always traditionally been embedded in a religious cosmology, it is a practical discipline that serves the people in concrete ways - healing, divining, channeling, and generally enhancing people's lives.
"Shamanism" as a term can be compared to "monasticism"; while it is almost always found embedded in a religious context, it is not a religion per se. It could also be compared to "spiritual scholarship"; which is similar to but distinct from nonreligious scholarship, and also cannot be called "a religion".
In shamanism, it's all about the Entities with whom you have formed relationships. Some of those relationships may be akin to spiritual slavery, in that one deity (it's usually a deity) has grabbed you and made you their tool, while granting you certain powers and protections; as an example, I work for Hela, and she both protects me and forces me to do Her work. Some of these relationships may look like alliances between a superior (deity) and an inferior (mortal), where each agree to provide certain favors in an exchange; as an example, I horse Herne and Frey for the community on one day apiece each year, and in exchange they gift me with certain powers and protections. Some of these relationships may be alliances between equal powers; as an example, I work with many of the Grandparent spirits of herbs and plants for purposes of healing. Some relationships may be the (ideally) consenting use of a smaller spirit in order to borrow some power or trait; as an example, a friend of mine has bad eyesight and "borrows" the vision of her pet rats when she has to go out at night. Regardless of the level of power exchange, it's all about keeping those relationships well-greased and humming along.
Shamanism is also distinct from mysticism in that it is goal-oriented and work-focused. The mystic may share many of the same techniques, especially the altered-state techniques, but his focus is on pure experience. If you ask him, "What good is this? What's it useful for?" he will probably just smile and tell you that it has its own goodness which you have to experience to understand. For the mystic, it's between him and the Universe. For the shaman, the question "What's it useful for?" is all-important. As the servant of a tribe, rather than as a sole quester for oneness with the All, the shaman has to stop short of entirely merging with the Divine Web and instead find ways to make these experiences useful to the betterment of his people. In some ways, it's much more of a bodhisattva than a Buddha path, although the point is not getting everyone off the Wheel of Life and Death. Shamanism is set in a context that values all worlds equally, and sees body and flesh and blood and Earth as sacred; the point is to make things easier for people here and now. Therefore, shamanism is intensely practical, making use of every tool of "ecstasy", as the anthropologists like to call it, in order to make actual change in the world.
(An excellent comparison of the Path of Mystic Quest with the Path of Shamanic Mediation (as the author refers to them) can be found in the book Six Ways Of Being Religious, by Dale Cannon. While the book only uses Christian and Buddhist examples, the projected paths can be easily seen in modern Paganism as well.)
I use the word because it is the closest word my birth language has for what I have experienced, what I am expected to do, and what I have become. It is a word that has been borrowed from the Tungus language, but it fills an important hole in our language. For more information on how I feel about the word and its common uses, see the article Public Horses.
My definition of shamanism is "a spiritual and magical practice that involves working with spirits and is designed to serve a tribe". It's distinct from thaumaturgic magic, which is working magically with directed energy, or theurgic magic, which is working with divinely inspired symbol systems like runes. This is working with Entities, and that's a whole different ball game. Shamanism is also distinct from religion proper, because while it is certainly a spiritual practice, and has always traditionally been embedded in a religious cosmology, it is a practical discipline that serves the people in concrete ways - healing, divining, channeling, and generally enhancing people's lives.
"Shamanism" as a term can be compared to "monasticism"; while it is almost always found embedded in a religious context, it is not a religion per se. It could also be compared to "spiritual scholarship"; which is similar to but distinct from nonreligious scholarship, and also cannot be called "a religion".
In shamanism, it's all about the Entities with whom you have formed relationships. Some of those relationships may be akin to spiritual slavery, in that one deity (it's usually a deity) has grabbed you and made you their tool, while granting you certain powers and protections; as an example, I work for Hela, and she both protects me and forces me to do Her work. Some of these relationships may look like alliances between a superior (deity) and an inferior (mortal), where each agree to provide certain favors in an exchange; as an example, I horse Herne and Frey for the community on one day apiece each year, and in exchange they gift me with certain powers and protections. Some of these relationships may be alliances between equal powers; as an example, I work with many of the Grandparent spirits of herbs and plants for purposes of healing. Some relationships may be the (ideally) consenting use of a smaller spirit in order to borrow some power or trait; as an example, a friend of mine has bad eyesight and "borrows" the vision of her pet rats when she has to go out at night. Regardless of the level of power exchange, it's all about keeping those relationships well-greased and humming along.
Shamanism is also distinct from mysticism in that it is goal-oriented and work-focused. The mystic may share many of the same techniques, especially the altered-state techniques, but his focus is on pure experience. If you ask him, "What good is this? What's it useful for?" he will probably just smile and tell you that it has its own goodness which you have to experience to understand. For the mystic, it's between him and the Universe. For the shaman, the question "What's it useful for?" is all-important. As the servant of a tribe, rather than as a sole quester for oneness with the All, the shaman has to stop short of entirely merging with the Divine Web and instead find ways to make these experiences useful to the betterment of his people. In some ways, it's much more of a bodhisattva than a Buddha path, although the point is not getting everyone off the Wheel of Life and Death. Shamanism is set in a context that values all worlds equally, and sees body and flesh and blood and Earth as sacred; the point is to make things easier for people here and now. Therefore, shamanism is intensely practical, making use of every tool of "ecstasy", as the anthropologists like to call it, in order to make actual change in the world.
(An excellent comparison of the Path of Mystic Quest with the Path of Shamanic Mediation (as the author refers to them) can be found in the book Six Ways Of Being Religious, by Dale Cannon. While the book only uses Christian and Buddhist examples, the projected paths can be easily seen in modern Paganism as well.)
What do you mean by northern-tradition? Where do these traditions come from?
They come from many sources - Germanic (and Anglo-Saxon, which is part of that); Norse; a little bit of Saami; and a little bit of Siberian. They are from the circumpolar peoples of the western Eurasian continent. Some seem to go back as far as the Mesolithic or Neolithic pre-Indo-European people of northern Europe. Some comes from books, lore, research, but most of it comes from the Gods and spirits that are training me and others like me. Occasionally, some will come from that source and then later I discover them in books.
They come from many sources - Germanic (and Anglo-Saxon, which is part of that); Norse; a little bit of Saami; and a little bit of Siberian. They are from the circumpolar peoples of the western Eurasian continent. Some seem to go back as far as the Mesolithic or Neolithic pre-Indo-European people of northern Europe. Some comes from books, lore, research, but most of it comes from the Gods and spirits that are training me and others like me. Occasionally, some will come from that source and then later I discover them in books.
Is this part of the religions referred to as Asatru, Vanatru, Heathenry, etc.?
No, it is not. Those are reconstructionist religions of the beliefs of the Viking-Age Scandinavian people. They are generally based mostly or entirely on the surviving lore about that religion. While this tradition shares many of the same deities and myths, it is different in that it is a spiritual practice, not a religion (as is all shamanism), and it is not based on written records, nor is it technically reconstructionist. If it falls within any religious demographic, one could loosely say that it might be a part of northern-tradition Paganism, which is still a vague term generally referring to reconstructionist-derived northern-European Neo-Paganism, but as those borders are still being defined, we'll just say that northern-tradition shamanism is not part of reconstructionist Heathenry, by their own definition, and leave it at that.
Is this stuff like seidhr?
Seidhr is the term for one of the magical practices that was still in use during the Viking era, the time that is used by religious reconstructionists. It is likely that it has strong shamanic roots, and that many of its tools are a holdover from earlier shamanism, and/or learned from the Saami noaidi. There has been a lot of argument and debate over that, among academics and practitioners of seidhr alike, as well as argument over whether the word seidhr should be restricted to the sort of oracular performance that the volva does in Eiriks saga Raude, or whether it should extend to other sorts of magic too, and which sorts.
I choose not to enter that debate. Yes, what you'll find here has some things in common with what some seidhr-practitioners are doing, and in fact some of them contributed generously to this work. On the other hand, some practices written here are not found anywhere in the lore as being concretely and beyond a shadow of a doubt part of the seidhr complex of magic, as they likely died out centuries or millennia previously. So I do not claim the word, any more than I would claim the words Asatru, Heathen, or reconstructionist. This is a form of wight-taught ancient shamanism, and that's all.
No, it is not. Those are reconstructionist religions of the beliefs of the Viking-Age Scandinavian people. They are generally based mostly or entirely on the surviving lore about that religion. While this tradition shares many of the same deities and myths, it is different in that it is a spiritual practice, not a religion (as is all shamanism), and it is not based on written records, nor is it technically reconstructionist. If it falls within any religious demographic, one could loosely say that it might be a part of northern-tradition Paganism, which is still a vague term generally referring to reconstructionist-derived northern-European Neo-Paganism, but as those borders are still being defined, we'll just say that northern-tradition shamanism is not part of reconstructionist Heathenry, by their own definition, and leave it at that.
Is this stuff like seidhr?
Seidhr is the term for one of the magical practices that was still in use during the Viking era, the time that is used by religious reconstructionists. It is likely that it has strong shamanic roots, and that many of its tools are a holdover from earlier shamanism, and/or learned from the Saami noaidi. There has been a lot of argument and debate over that, among academics and practitioners of seidhr alike, as well as argument over whether the word seidhr should be restricted to the sort of oracular performance that the volva does in Eiriks saga Raude, or whether it should extend to other sorts of magic too, and which sorts.
I choose not to enter that debate. Yes, what you'll find here has some things in common with what some seidhr-practitioners are doing, and in fact some of them contributed generously to this work. On the other hand, some practices written here are not found anywhere in the lore as being concretely and beyond a shadow of a doubt part of the seidhr complex of magic, as they likely died out centuries or millennia previously. So I do not claim the word, any more than I would claim the words Asatru, Heathen, or reconstructionist. This is a form of wight-taught ancient shamanism, and that's all.