What Does a Shaman Do?  Answers May Surprise You

What comes to mind when you hear, “What does a shaman do”?   For me, a picture of a colorfully dressed, elderly indigenous man, doing a ceremony by the fire, comes to mind.  Except I already know that’s just a stereotype. 

Shamanism is humanity’s oldest healing and spiritual practice.  Interest in it continues to grow in the West, both for its healing potential and as an avenue to spiritual growth. It is also becoming increasingly accessible to all of us. 

This post will provide some big answers to the question, “What does a shaman do?”  It will focus on defining shamanism in its current proliferation in the West, to help provide context and discernment in your healing journey.

What Does a Shaman Do?

The origins of shamanism are as old as human history.  A form of it has existed across many indigenous cultures, under different names.  But there are also many commonalities among these different traditions. 

What you may come across as shamanism in Western society, while having its roots in indigenous traditions, may be a thing of its own.  The following information describes what you can expect from shamanism right here in the West. 

First things first, let’s look at what it means to be a shaman. 

Shaman vs. Shamanic Practitioner

According to the Society for Shamanic Practice, the word “shaman” is an Evenki word from Siberia.  It means, “one who ‘sees’ or ‘penetrates to the source.’”  The Society says that shamans are “local leaders who perceive the fundamental nature of the universe and see the big picture.” 

The word shaman has become the global term to describe a certain type of medicine person within indigenous communities.  But the proper term for that role in each community would be different, depending on language and custom, etc. 

In general, a shaman is someone from an indigenous community who has gone through years-long and rigorous training with teachers.  Shamans are typically known and respected in their communities for their abilities to advise, heal, and see the unseen. 

The Society for Shamanic Practice emphasizes that most shamans live in remote places and away from urban centers. This makes them not very accessible to most people in the West. 

But seekers have gone to find and study shamanic cultures in their origins. They have adopted shamanic practices and nature-based ways of being.  Such people are called shamanic practitioners. They are the ones you’re likely to find here in the West. 

Why is this important for you?  If you ever come across someone who calls themselves a shaman, you may want to look elsewhere. 

It may seem like a tiny nuance. But even the renowned Sandra Ingerman doesn’t call herself a shaman.  Rather, she uses the term “teacher of shamanism” on her website. 

A shaman is a humble and powerful advisor and healer to a community.  Such humility helps them stay true to spirit and Light, which in turn makes them more effective.  So, you want a healer, or a spiritual person of any kind, who is connected to as much Light as possible.

Core Beliefs of a Shamanic Practitioner

Interest in shamanism saw a resurgence in the 1970s and ‘80s with the works of Michael Harner, an anthropologist.  A scholar and a trained shamanic practitioner, he identified certain commonalities of shamanism across different cultures and introduced them to the West.  

Harner trained in shamanism with tribes in the Amazon and taught what he learned, calling it “core shamanism.”  It is Harner’s teachings that form the foundation of shamanism in the West today. 

Here are some of the main beliefs of the shamanic tradition.

Everything Has a Spiritual Side

• Shamans live in profound connection with nature and its spirits.  They respect, appreciate, and communicate with the natural world and all its beings.  They believe that we are one with nature and can all learn to tune in to its messages. 

• Everything that exists is alive.  Everything has spirit.

• There are two interconnected worlds, the physical world and the spiritual world.  A shamanic practitioner enters the realm of the unseen through a trance state, or an altered state of consciousness. 

• Shamans acknowledge and respect everyone’s direct experience with the spiritual world.  

• The spirit world is divided into three realms: the Lower World, the Middle World, and the Upper World.  The Lower World is inhabited by spirits of animals, plants, and rocks, who can be your spiritual guides.  The Middle World coexists with our ordinary reality but is unseen.  The Upper World is the celestial realm where spiritual teachers and angels exist. 

Journey to Other Worlds

• Through journeying, shamanic practitioners can gain information about the past, present, and future.  They can use this information to serve their community and seek assistance from helpers in the spirit world. 

• Helpers in the spirit world include your spirit animal or an advanced teacher in the human form.  Your spirit animal can guide you through any of the three realms, while your teacher in human form is only available in the Upper World. 

• Shamanism emphasizes direct revelation from Spirit.  It’s not about hierarchy, dogma, or rituals, but rather one’s personal and first-hand experience of the spirit world. 

Shamanic Techniques

A shaman is an intermediary between the seen and the unseen worlds.  The shaman serves as the messenger from Spirit to the human world, using their skills to counsel, heal, and lead people.  A shamanic practitioner also conducts sacred ceremonies and has the following tools in their toolkit.

• Divination: Uses shamanic journey to achieve trance and obtain information from the spiritual realm. 

• Dreamwork: Actively uses dreams as a pathway to connect with non-ordinary reality, to obtain guidance, and to heal and grow.

• Extraction: Removes sources of harm—energies, objects, or entities—from the body or space to restore balance and promote healing.   

• Pyschopomp: Guides dying or deceased souls out of the Middle World to a better place where they can take the next step on their path of evolution.

• Soul retrieval: Gathers and reintegrates fragments of one’s soul, which is composed of many parts and lost in the process of trauma or significant emotional upheavals.  This process restores one’s wholeness and connection to self.   

A shamanic practitioner may also use these tools to create change in the local or global community, especially in ways to help nature. 

On Ayahuasca Ceremonies, or Plant Medicine

Plant medicine, as a form of achieving altered states of consciousness, has garnered much popularity in the past decade.  Respected teachers of shamanism advise, however, that drums and rattles can just as easily achieve desired outcomes. 

They warn that a very specific set of necessary conditions has to be met for one to have the intended experience. Such conditions include the right dosage, diet, ceremony, and an experienced facilitator. 

They also advise that the growing proliferation may have unintended harmful impacts to the taker.  Without the right conditions, one may open doors to unseen realms only to come back with negative energetic attachments.  So, definitely be aware! 

How Do You Find a Shamanic Practitioner? 

Now that we know what a shaman does, the next question is, how do you find one? 

I am so lucky that my Reiki teacher at Muktinath Holistic Center is also an experienced teacher of shamanism.  She totally embodies all of the beliefs noted earlier.  She is a beautiful role model for how to be with the natural and human worlds around me. 

If you’re looking for a shamanic healing work or a teacher, first set your intention to find the right one for you. Then, start with these resources:

• The Foundation for Shamanic Studies directory

• The Society for Shamanic Practices directory

• Shamanicteachers.com includes a directory of those trained my Sandra Ingerman, a renowned teacher of shamanism

Always choose a practitioner or teacher who makes you feel good and empowered.  One who answers questions and respects your independence.  One who understands the important role of the shaman and whose heart leads their practice, and not the ego.

If you want to learn more about shamanism and its practices, the Foundation for Shamanic Studies lists many workshops, both in-person and online.  You can also take classes with Sandra Ingerman via her website shamanicteachers.com. 

Final Thoughts

Whether you are simply curious or looking for the right energy medicine for your healing needs, modern shamanism offers a rich pool of resources that can help and expand you. 

Shamanism offers a return to our core selves, in their seen and unseen forms, and to connection with nature in ways that might have long been forgotten. 

In my next post, I’ll describe my own experiences in a session to illustrate what a shaman does and how shamanism can help you. 

This post was all about the question, What does a shaman do?  I hope it answered some questions and showed you how accessible and powerful it can be for your well-being and spiritual growth.