Shamanism is an ancient Spiritual practice engaged in all over the world. Every tribe
throughout the world had a Shamanic healer who purpose was to maintain a balance within
the tribe. The methods used by Shamans were to interact with Spirit by travelling to the
various Spirit realms that co-exist alongside us. Shaman’s have the ability to travel to these
realms to interact with Spirit guides and Spirit animals to gain information, insight, wisdom,
direction and healing to benefit others and the community and the world in general.

There are three realms that Shaman’s travel to, the Lower World, The Middle World and the
Upper World. In these worlds we meet our Spirit helpers. “A shaman is 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.” Michael Harner
(1980) goes on to say, “To this I would add that, in his trance, he commonly works to restore
a patient by restoring beneficial or vital power, or by extracting harmful power.

Although there is no universally accepted definition for the roles of a Shaman, it is often
seen as including:

• The Shaman’s soul or spirit can leave the body to enter the world of spirit to search for
information and healing.
• The Shaman interacts with the energy of the earth’s eco-system regarding this energy as
elements of divine energy
• The Shaman evokes animal images as spirit guides, omens, and message-bearers.
• The Shaman employs trance-inducing techniques to incite visionary ecstasy, usually
carried out by drumming, dance, breathing techniques or chanting, but in some cultures,
can include the use of natural psychedelic substances.
• The Shaman treats sickness caused by negative spirits or energies.
• The Shaman journeys to the spirit world to retrieve elements of an individual’s
fragmented soul
• The Shaman can work with the future and perform other varied forms of divination • The
Shaman can journey to release spirits who have become ‘stuck’ during the process of their
return to the spirit world following death. Fundamentally, Shamanism is a very personal
experience and the interpretation of the role of a Shaman is informed by spirit and cannot
be characterized by the understandings of this realm. Remember all is guided by Spirit.
The Shaman can assist spirits, who have left their earthly bodies but have not been able to pass on to the other side, to pass over.