Ive been thinking a lot about the thorny subject of initiation over the last few weeks. I have been practicing shamanism for 30 years and been taught so much, both from the spirits and my human teachers, and yet I have never been initiated as a shaman within a tradition. I see pros and cons about that. But its a big thorny subject. I have a friend who is off to Mongolia to do a Shanar in a few weeks time, that is an official shamanic initiation...old school style. But I live here I the west, I have no Mongolian DNA, It seems a bit weird me doing something like that. We dont have any shaman societies like they do in Mongolia and Tuva, but I feel we should have, we need them. I have been part of several circles that have met to look at eldership in the UK, forming some sort of elders circle, to be of service to the shamanic community. But its embers have glowed but never caught alight. I have a bundle for this, a seed, on my altar and have had for years. When I talk of initiation I dont of course mean any kind of paper certificate, there is only one use for such bits of paper and they are kept in the bathroom. But if I am honest I have a part of me - that I know is probably illogical and a bit silly - that wants a shamanic initiation in front of my peers .... As Ive said Ive been doing this for 30 years, and I have had it proved to me time and again the work the spirits do through me is effective, but I still have a voice at the back of my head telling me Ive gatecrashed the party. And I bet,if you are honest, half (or more) of you feel like gate crashes too. So what do we do about that? Who the hell initiates the first shamans of a culture? I know I am not the only one thinking this. We have all these people running workshops making shamanism into a commodity, half the people teaching are barely out of shamanic kindergarten themselves. We need elders, we need structure, we need initiation.......or do we? Is this just my neurosis And yes I know the spirits initiate and make the shamans, of course they do, but we need peers too, human brothers and sisters These are big thorny subjects that I have sat with for 20 years. Sometimes they raise their heads and my pot gets stirred. They are being stirred at the moment because my spirits have been on my case to make this new iron framed drum and now after yesterday to get a new iron orgay (shamans antlers) and I am being honest and sincere about my spirits request that I do......but that bloody voice in the back of my head still mutters the words gatecrasher and initiation I am really interested to hear peoples comments, especially those of traditional initiated shamans like Baramasta Nepalese Shaman and others. What is our way forward?
Posted on: Tue, 27 May 2014 18:49:25 +0000
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