What is it with shamanism?

[Le Fanu]

I ask this question seriously, but what is it with shamanism all of a sudden?

Shamanism seems to be the new divination theme. There are so many tarot decks with a shamanistic theme. Was the Greenwood the first? The controversial LoS Shaman Tarot certainly won't be the last. Plus the Ironwing (can anyone offer a definitive list?) Then there is - strictly Oracle so not relevant here - the new John Mathews Oracle. All variations on a shamanistic theme. I picked up a book on divination in a bookshop yesterday and there was a whole chapter on shamanism. You didn't use to see that. I'm intrigued and believe that there is always a reason for these upsurges. Why this sudden tying up of shamanism with tarot?

The connection has perhaps always been there (I'm guessing here...), altered states of consciousness, journey's with spirit guides and of course shamanism is infinitely older than tarot is. But I always think there's some socio-cultural reason behind these things. It's interesting to observe these tarot trends...

I really don't have a theory on this one and I'm intrigued to hear others' thoughts.

Why is it suddenly so relevant?

 

[zan_chan]

Why is it suddenly so relevant?

Two ideas:

1. We all spend far too much time on this forum, so these things seem to reflect off of us like a flashlight in a fun house. "Wait-- are people doing Shamanism? Ok, sure. I can do that, too."

2. The previous decade was the pits. Between 9/11, wars, Bush, the economy, etc., etc., etc., the idea of something which claims to allow you to leave this reality and discover new ones full of animal helpers and dancing fairies does sound pretty appealing.

Meanwhile, who am I to talk? I'm literally only posting here because I put down my copy of "Singing the Soul Back Home" long enough to see if anything new was going on, having just finished a dinner I spent the equivalent of $2 on because my bank account is still in Greenwood/Ironwing shock

 

[Lysh]

I don't know if I have the answer either, but I can give feedback as to my own experience.
I never knew much about Shamanism until about a year ago. I was introduced to Shamanism through a spiritual mentor of mine. I attended an Introduction to Shamanism class and since then began studying, journeying, and connecting to my animal guides.
To me, the appeal is the deeper connection back to nature and our Earth. In general there is a shift occurring around us all right now. For most of human-kind, we have become very separate from our Earth and nature. And who can blame anyone? With technology, cars, clocks etc. we no longer had to focus our attentions on the planet, the cycles of the seasons, the moon and the sun.....instead the weather just gets in our way, we look at the time and get upset that there are not enough hours in the day,we go to stores to get what we need and life goes on.
But like I said before, there is a shift occurring...a vibrational shift. I really believe in the theory that the veil is lifting in many ways and people are starting to rethink spirituality. And part of that rethinking is our connection to the planet Earth. We are realizing that we are not separate. And honestly, through Shamanism I have developed a deeper sense of connection back with our mother Earth that I have not felt before.
So in summary....my experience and ideas about this is that it is not just a new 'bandwagon' people are jumping onto....I really think it is something that people are being drawn back into because it reminds them of the connection our ancestors has...it brings US back to the connection and through that we become more one with the planet Earth.

Lysh

 

[Le Fanu]

Glad you piped up; as I know you are currently interested in this theme. But is shamanism some greater theme out there which tarot - clued into the zeitgeist - dutifully reflects?

1. We all spend far too much time on this forum, so these things seem to reflect off of us like a flashlight in a fun house. "Wait-- are people doing Shamanism? Ok, sure. I can do that, too."

But it must be the manifestation of some greater tendency. I find it interesting. So what you're saying is that it is the shamanistic excape from the reality around us which is so attractive and symptomatic of our times? Tarot decks tie it up with the whole journeying elsewhere/within yourself thing? Is it just the lastest of many themes (Druids, Herbs, Wicca, Arthur...) or have I been living under a rock and it's always been a part of our lives?

How far can we - in an industrialised urban society (I speak for myself) - armed with a shaman-based tarot deck make headway into shamanism?

I ask this question as one who is genuinely curious...

 

[Le Fanu]

Interesting comments Lysh, and I can identify with exactly what you' re saying and think that I probably feel the same way. But didn't people cite exactly those reasons for the upsurge of interest (and subsequent tarot decks) in wicca and druidry? Wasn't that all about reconnecting with the earth/nature?

 

[zan_chan]

To me it would seem that being part of such a heavily urbanized society is exactly why we seem to be searching for some kind of outlet. I wonder if the world we live in now is truly not a landscape that humanity was built to cope with. To me, when I gaze into the Haindl, or the Greenwood, or, perhaps most of all, the Ironwing, I find myself in a landscape that, rather than foreign or frightening, seems much more acceptable than the world we've created for ourselves.

Here I am living smack dab in the center of the world's largest urban sprawl and all I really want to do is get home, turn the lights off, listen to the beat of a buffalo drum, and walk around Hermann Haindl's cracked and crumbling landscapes. To this extent, I think the reason that (and I don't want to start this again, but...) some of us can't see the merit behind some of the choices made in the LS Shaman Tarot is that it depicts a lot of the places that we're using both tarot and Shamanism to escape from. When you stare into Ironwing, you're visiting a world that is primal, wild, and somehow, authentic-- far more authentic and real than the world we all actually live in.

So I've just talked myself into a paradox: Shamanism allows us to escape the ills of reality by taking us to a world more real than that around us.

Does that make any sort of sense?

 

[zan_chan]

But didn't people cite exactly those reasons for the upsurge of interest (and subsequent tarot decks) in wicca and druidry? Wasn't that all about reconnecting with the earth/nature?

Every book I've read thus far on Shamanism starts by telling you that Shamanism, in some form or another, has existed (so say these books) just about everywhere in the world. If you aren't British in the least, druidry, wicca, all that Celtic stuff-- it all feels very false. Shamanism seems, if all these books aren't a crock of &$%#, wonderfully inclusive.

 

[Lysh]

How far can we - in an industrialised urban society (I speak for myself) - armed with a shaman-based tarot deck make headway into shamanism?

I ask this question as one who is genuinely curious...

Good question....I could be wrong in this...but many shamanistic ideals are tied into many earth based religions, ideals etc. and really has been around for centuries.

The tie of Shamanism into Tarot could just be that creators are picking up on the return of Shamanism and incorporating that into the art of Tarot...just like you mentioned with many other themes such as Wicca, Faerie, etc.

As far as shaman-based Tarot decks helping someone in urban society make headway into Shamanism....I don't believe a Tarot deck can make that leap for us, we have to take that leap ourselves first. However, Tarot can certainly deepen the ties for those who are studying Shamanism or open the curiosity and doors to others who may want to go on that journey.

Hope I am making sense with my ramblings! lol I have not even finished my first cup of coffee.

 

[Lysh]

Interesting comments Lysh, and I can identify with exactly what you' re saying and think that I probably feel the same way. But didn't people cite exactly those reasons for the upsurge of interest (and subsequent tarot decks) in wicca and druidry? Wasn't that all about reconnecting with the earth/nature?

Yes....it is all a part of the same goal I guess. Wicca, Druidry, Shamanism...each brings a different aspect to our connection with Earth and nature. I know for me, I am a practicing Pagan and my connection with the Earth was intensified when I began practicing. However, Shamanism is a different aspect of that and brings a different connection. I tend to think of it as different paths leading to the same source....each path brings a different learning curve and connection.

 

[baba-prague]

I don't know. But our Siberian cat is the only one around here that practices Shamanism (you think I jest - honestly, she really does do weirdly Shamanistic things, I think it must be in her blood) and I am afraid to let her loose on my Greenwood.

I do know that one of my only serious-ish experiences was being taught how to get inside the spirit of an acacia tree by my (real thing, from an ashram) yoga teacher when I was thirteen (I had an odd teenager-hood) and it didn't really work for me. I did like the spell-casting though.