‘What is Shamanism?’ within the Series ‘The Shamanic Quest’ is an opening essay for understanding what shamanism is and which role it plays today in Western society and culture.The article proceeds empirically by clearly demonstrating in which ways shamanism is different from:—Animism—Paganism—Humanism—Parapsychology—Theosophy—Daoism—ZenThe purpose of the article was to show that shamanism really is a science, which becomes clear after comparing it with what seems to be similar movements in society. The article prepares a more thorough study of shamanism as a science, which is entitled ‘The Shamanic Method’ and part of the same series.
What Is
Shamanism?
The Shamanic Quest
By Peter Fritz Walter
Contents
Introduction
3
Shamanism and Animism
16
Shamanism and Paganism
18
Shamanism and Humanism
23
Shamanism and Parapsychology
26
Shamanism and Theosophy
31
Shamanism and Daoism
32
Shamanism and Zen
36
Bibliography
38
— —
2
Introduction
Why should we learn anything about shamanism,
the reader may ask, as it’s after all an outlandish
business, not grown in our culture, and barely affili-
ated with our traditional scientific method?
Another may argue that it’s something laid away
for ‘wild, primitive peoples,’ and still another may
come up with: ‘That may be normal and even neces-
sary when you live in the forest, but not when you
live in a civilized modern society.’
Yet, despite these reservations, not only is the in-
terest in shamanism growing in modern society, but a
number of people actually practice shamanic rituals
without feeling estranged by their seeming archaic
otherworldliness. Others may have adopted shaman-
ism as a lifestyle that has something poetic and soul-
— —
3
ful about it, speaking in a metaphorical language
thereby giving soul to even the most ordinary things
and behaviors in everyday life. While shamanism has
to be distinguished from animism and paganism, as
we shall see further on, it is true for all natural reli-
gions that they affirm the ensouled nature of life, of
trees, animals, lakes, planets—and humans. And fur-
ther, they see the unity of life rather than, as our sci-
ence for the last four hundred years, a universe clut-
tered with unrelated things or objects.
What attracts many people to shamanism rather
than quantum physics is that our science, while it
now acknowledges the existence of a unified super-
string field, is way more theoretical—and perhaps
even soulless—than the shamanic method that deals
with the ‘spirits of nature.’
— —
4
Shamanism researchers such as Terence McKen-
na or Ralph Metzner have recognized that when na-
tives speak about spirits, they ac