This article is just a little introduction to the world of the shaman....the Celtic shaman, in particular. Hopefully, we will be able to add more to it over time, but please enjoy what is offered here now.

Shamanic Misconceptions

However, there are and were shamans of different cultures too. There are many different cultures of people who have a shaman in their clans. Some even dating back to the Celtic peoples of the European countries. The Celts were not just into druidism although everyone associates them with that phrase or label. There were also Celtic shamans in their clans as well. Some scholars such as "Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone" feel that modern Witchcraft has in fact stemmed from paleolithic shamanism. Which would put the shamans even further back in time. I can agree with this thought as it is very possible. Considering the artifacts that have been discovered and the cave paintings that have been left for us to rediscover.

About the Shaman

The shaman person was a healer, a medicine man or woman so to speak. They knew of herbs and its medicinal properties. They were also considered the wisest person of the group. In that I mean they (shaman) was the one who would heal the sick, remove hexes or bad luck. They could communicate with spirits, animals and other worldly beings. They also used divination techniques to read the omens that he might have seen as a threat to their group. They could travel into the other worlds for many reasons. One reason is that they would have had to deal with the ancestors of their peoples spirits. If a member of the clan had fallen ill, the shaman could effectivly connect with that persons soul in a dream-like state and repair the illness in the astral realm. Therefore healing the person in the mundane physical world. There can be much said about the shamans.

Totem Animals

Most shamans were in touch with a certain animal of power. Each shaman could have a different animal totem than the next clans shaman. One might be connected with a bear, a wolf, a snake or an eagle. Another could be connected with a horse, frog or a hawk. Sometimes their "craft name" would be reflected by their totem such as, "Johnny Bearclaw Thornbush" for instance. The totem animal could be be viewed as a familiar or a spirit guide to them. These totem animals could be invoked into the shaman much like invoking deities in Witchcraft or Wicca. More notable though is the idea that shaman could shapeshift into this animal of power at will. Though not physically like you might think of it. It is more mentally. You might not actually see the animal, but the person may show characteristics of that animal.

Shamanic Journeys

The celtic Healer would journey to the otherworld to retrieve fragments of a lost soul and then bring them back to the person who was lost. Or otherwise known as a coma.

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