“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
― W.B. Yeats
Shaman’s Apprentice
“I want to be magic. I want to touch the heart of the world and make it smile. I want to be a friend of elves and live in a tree. Or under a hill. I want to marry a moonbeam and hear the stars sing. I don’t want to pretend at magic anymore. I want to be magic.”
― Charles de Lint
“Shamans were the first physicians, diagnosticians, psychotherapists, religious functionaries, magicians, performing artists, and storytellers.
In shamanistic cultures, all adults are responsible for their relationships with spiritual energies, including those of their home environment (geography, animals, and plant life,) their ancestors, their own personal helping spirits, and Spirit, the creator force.
However, the shaman is unique in that he or she not only has increased facility for traveling in non-ordinary realms, but also uses their spirit relationships to create changes that will manifest in the physical world, for the healing of individuals or the community. This definition differentiates shamans from other types of practitioners. For example, mediums use altered states of consciousness, but they do not take action in those altered states. And sorcerers take action in altered states, but not necessarily to heal.
Shamanic healing work requires two distinct phases:
The accurate diagnosis of the seen and unseen energies at the root of the problem.
Carrying out the specific choreography of energies needed to resolve the problem.”
https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/explore-healing-practices/shamanism
