To Walk as a Shaman

You sit in front of the blazing fire. It is hot and humid even though it is late harvest time. The dancers whirl and twirl around you chanting and singing praises for the bountiful harvest. The hide drums and turtle shell rattles join the sound of the chanting with their rhythmic sounds. The sparks from the fire spiral upwards to join the twinkling of the stars above in the clear air. Grandmother moon shines her silvery blessings in her round fullness. As you sit and watch the fire, you feel safe in the arms of Mother Earth. You breathe in the smell of the wood smoke as the fire crackles and burns and you smile.

You get up and join in the dance. The harvest was a good one this last hot time. Father Sky cried often in his joy as he watched the plant spirits grow and bloom and the four-leggeds and feathered ones eating and growing in turn with the plant spirits nourishment. Yes, it was a very good time for all.

Sometimes Father Sky was angry. He did not cry often and the plant spirits did not grow strong. Grandfather Sun grew hot and made the ground hard and cracked. We did not always know why Father Sky was angry, so we danced and offered gifts to him. Many times he grew happy and sent us his tears.. sometimes though he stayed angry.. maybe there were bad spirits within him.

When this happened, the harvest was not good. When the dark time of cold came, there was not enough food and many people weakened. The bad spirits came and took those who could no longer fight them. The men of the clan would go and try to hunt the animal spirits they could find, but many of them had been taken by the bad spirits also. It was a hard time when Father Sky did not cry much.

The dark time will be here soon. It is the time when Father Sky's tears turn to white from the cold. Mother Earth will sleep shortly and Father Sky will cover her with a blanket of his white tears.. She has worked hard with the harvest and must now rest. Father Sky cries now because he sees the plant spirits sleeping with the mother, and the animal spirits weakened and hungry. Sometimes if there has been a good harvest he does not cry as often.

In the lodge, the women tend the cooking fire and keep it always burning for the light and warmth it provides. During their moontimes, the men leave so that the women's totems will not join with theirs. This is a time when the women sew moccasins to keep our feet warm and dry.. and use rocks to pound the hides of the four-leggeds so they are soft and comfortable. It is a time for the women to tell stories of the ancestors and to heal and be healed.

As the rhythms of the drums and the chanting increase, you dance faster and let your spirit soar up to meet Grandmother Moon. It is her time of strength and power tonight.. soon her light will start to dim and fade, but she always returns again and again to her fullness. Grandfather Sun is getting smaller and colder now.. Sometimes during the dark time he disappears completely. We sometimes wonder if he will reappear, but he always does.

The chanting starts to slow as do the drums. In the firelight a tall and strong figure appears. It is the Shaman.. He is dressed in the fur and the claws of his totem spirit.. the bear. All voices hush as he raises his staff and starts to speak.. He is both honored and feared by the people. His powers are great. He speaks to the animal spirits, the plant spirits, the ancestors, and to the Creator, the Great Mysterious one.

He helps us when the bad spirits are within us, and helps us to understand those things we do not understand.

He starts to speak to us in the firelight. He tells us stories of the harvest times, of the hunt, and of the brave deeds that were done among our people. He speaks of the crossing of the river at the last harvest time and the long journey to this, the winter lodge of our people. The stories he tells of the gathering of the clans during the first harvest make us smile, as we remember the time we shared with our friends both old and new. Many of our people who had left our clan to join with another met with us again. There were many stories and much food to share. The Shaman gives thanks to the Great Creator for the bounty that was brought to us by this harvest time.

As the fire turns to coals the Shaman leaves us and returns to his own small lodge. He lives alone. He does this so he can hear the spirits that speak to him more clearly. As you watch him walk away, you feel safe and happy knowing that he is watching over and protecting you.

The fire has burned itself out, and you begin to feel the chill in the air. You move toward the lodge with a feeling of happiness. It has been a bountiful harvest and a good dance of thanks.

The roots of all cultures can be traced back to earth-centered spirituality. Before the formalized religions of the world, people lived by the seasons and cycles of the sun, moon and earth, knowing the balance of the earth and the sun, the physical and the spiritual. The physical, earthly plane and the spiritual, etheric plane where both seen as equal expressions of life. Shamans knew how to travel between these two worlds to gather information and bring healing to their communities.

Today, we can begin to reclaim the power of shamanism and incorporate its wisdom into our modern world. By exploring and integrating our shamanic powers, we bring wisdom and magic back into our lives. Shamans honor the four elements of air, fire, water, and earth, and know how to use the essence of each to create a stable foundation for the healing of self and others. Shamans listen to the flow of energy rather than working against it. Shamans are warriors, dedicated to serving the life force.

By stepping back to our roots, we step into a future guided by the principles of nature. We can learn to dance between the crack of the worlds, finding freedom and harmony no matter where we are. Shamanism brings us back to our center, back to our own heartbeat, to the magic of our individual song.

Shamanism is a world view based on the belief that everything in the universe is connected and interdependant. It therefore involves a deep respect for the natural world and its ecosystem. It considers spiritual development to be the most important work we can accomplish and that the world of the spirit is all around us and can be readily and directly accessed by anyone, especially through shamanic rituals and ceremonies.