The Shamanic Meanings of Animals

People are always asking about the shamanic meanings of various animals. The truth is that the meaning depends on the context, the species, the circumstances---and you. 

There is a new Houston Shamanism Examiner post on that topic: http://www.examiner.com/x-16972-Houston-Shamanism-Examiner~y2009m11d4-Shamanic-meanings-of-animals

Know the Native Plants and Wild Animals Where You Live

The foundation for shamanic work is local energy, the energy of the local land, animals, plants, weather, water, and other spirits.

To tap into that land you need to know those energies. Yet most modern people are largely unaware of the native plants and wild animals around us in our own neighborhoods.

Here is a Houston Shamanism Examiner quiz to see how well you know the indigenous plants and animals where you live and help you get started observing and learning about them:

http://www.examiner.com/x-16972-Houston-Shamanism-Examiner~y2009m11d2-How-well-do-you-know-the-plants-and-animals-where-you-live

Take it for fun if you want to. Your answers may surprise you.

New Houston Shamanism Examiner column: "Shamanism: It's not about you!"

 I have jut published another column on Houston Shamanism Examiner. This one was inspired by a post on Meetup.com, touting shamanism as a daily practice for everyday life. Some people will write anything for money.


No matter what the popularizers say, shamanism is not a path of personal growth. It is a path of service---to the spirit world and to this world.


Sure, you will grow spiritually, but....well, please just read the column and let me know what you think.

http://www.examiner.com/x-16972-Houston-Shamanism-Examiner~y2009m10d30-Shamanism-its-not-about-you-or-meArcheologists-estimate-that-among-gatheringhunting-cultures-sh

or if that link is too long for your browser, try this one:

http://bit.ly/4srhFj

Thanks.

White Cranes

P.S. No, it is still not about you.

Animist-Shamanist Terms for Animal Spirits, Totems, Power Animals, Animal Guides

English has few spiritual terms, compared to other languages. It is hard enough to describe completely nonverbal experiences in words in such a way that others can get a sense of what you are describing.

It is impossible if you literally do not have the words for it.

So spiritual terms are precious, and we need to use the same definitions so that they do not lose their usefulness, as many formerly useful words and phrases in English already have.

Taking the time to learn and understand the few spiritual terms that we do have for the fields that you are interested in seems pretty basic to me. So it bothers me that people seldom seem to bother to do that.

In shamanic studies, the constant misuse of the word totem is particularly annoying. And the misunderstanding of the meaning of the term power animal is not far behind.

As I read or listen to (or try to participate in) conversations about shamanism, I often find that people are using the same terms to mean different things. That results in confusion for all concerned.


If people notice the problem, they can agree on terms to use, but generally they do not even seem to notice.  The result can be either arguments or superficial conversations that go nowhere.

That is not totally their fault, since there are plenty of books on the market that misuse the terms and confuse readers as to what they actually mean. That's bad, because it is difficult enough to discuss spiritual experiences in English anyway.

I have just posted a new Houston Shamanism Examiner column on totems, power animals, spirit animals, and animal guides.


http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-16972-Houston-Shamanism-Examiner

I won't recap the whole article here, but please stop by and read it. (It is pretty short.) And then, if you will, please leave a comment.

Let me know what you think.

Learning to Experience Land Spirits

Learning to experience the land spirits wherever you happen to be is sort of basic to shamanism. I wrote a Houston Shamanism Examiner column in August explaining why it is important.

This week someone asked me to explain more about how to learn to experience land spirits, so I have. You will find it at

http://www.examiner.com/x-16972-Houston-Shamanism-Examiner~y2009m10d7-Learning-to-contact-the-land-spirits-in-Houston

In case you have problems with that one, here is a shorter link:
http://bit.ly/1wHzt8

I hope you will stop by, read it, and leave a comment. Or just stop by and say Hi.

Do shamans need psychedelic plants?

Here is my new column at Examiner.com on shamans and psychedelic drugs:

http://www.examiner.com/x-16972-Houston-Shamanism-Examiner~y2009m9d22-Shamans-and-psychedelic-drugs

This is a topic that came up in an interesting discussion Saturday at the World Gratitude Drumming Meetup.

For a list of all the Houston Shamanism Examiner posts so far, see

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-16972-Houston-Shamanism-Examiner

Please stop by and leave comments, questions and/or suggestions for future topics. Or just stop by and say hello. All are welcome.

Altars, masks and fetishes

For shamanic ceremonies, I always build an altar. It is part of the process of recreating the energy of the space and putting up spiritual protection for the participants.

On the altar are always a lot of animal fetishes, both the stone-carved Zuni kind and the ones I have empowered by using them, as described by Hal Zina Bennett in some of his books. I also usually wear several animal fetish necklaces.

People ask me about all those things, and most of them are shocked when I say they are fetishes. Apparently Americans only know of the word fetish from the derivative psychological term, sexual fetish. So they do not know what I'm talking about, but it sounds naughty.

I am always having to explain the meaning of the word fetish. So I wrote an article about masks and fetishes for my Houston Shamanism Examiner column.

African sacred masks are sometimes fetishes, and Europeans and Americans usually completely misinterpret their purpose, so I discussed masks in the article, too.

You can read the two parts of the article here:

Masks and Fetishes in Animism and Shamanism, Part 1

Masks and Fetishes, Part 2, Kachinas and Masked Stilt Dancers

Please stop by, take a look, and tell me what you think. There are photos, illustrations and interesting links, too.