The Shamanic Witch: Spiritual Practice Rooted in the Earth and Other Realms

by Gail Wood, Kristin Madden (Foreword by)

Overview

Shamanic practice seeks healing and wisdom from realms that overlap the everyday world. The use of plant and animal medicines, vision quests, trance work, and ceremonies to heal one's self and others are the foundations of shamanism. So too, Wicca and witchcraft use the magic and medicine of plants, animals, and other realms. By learning to incorporate the practices of shamanism, the witch can enhance his or her natural abilities as healer and creator of positive change. The Shamanic Witch outlines the many similarities between the art of shamanism and the craft of the Witch and explores how the overlapping of these two traditions can be used to enhance one's practice. Where witchcraft brings the belief and religion, Shamanism brings the skills. Sections include: Understanding the World of the shaman, Creatures and Spirits of Other Realms, Developing a Shamanic Practice, The Toolkit of the Shamanic Practitioner, The Realms of the Witch, and Melding Worlds: Becoming the WitchShaman.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781578634309
Publisher:	Red Wheel/Weiser
Publication date:	11/01/2008
Pages:	264
Sales rank:	891,211
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Gail Wood, a witch and Wiccan priestess who has been practicing a shamanic path celebrating the Dark Moon for more than twenty years, has written for numerous articles in a variety of Pagan publications, and is the author of Dark Moon: Thirteen Lunar Rites for Magical Path. Visit her on the web at www.witchesinprint.com or read her blog at www.rowdygoddess.blogspot.com.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Foreword xiii

Chapter 1 The Dance of Ecstasy: First Steps on the Path of Shamanic Wicca 1

The Journey of Shamanism into Popular Culture and Spiritual Life 4

Definitions of Modern Shamanism 8

Chapter 2 The Realms of the Shamanic Practitioner: Understanding the World of the Shaman 11

The Shamanic Cosmos 12

States of Consciousness and the Experience of Shamanic Journeywork 16

Becoming a Shamanic Practitioner 23

Preparing for Your Journey 27

Connecting to the Rhythm of the Universe 33

The Magic of the Drum and the Rattle 36

Chapter 3 Walking between the Worlds: Developing a Shamanic Practice 49

Ceremony and Ritual 51

Basic Journeys for the Shamanic Student 56

Creatures and Spirits of the Other Realms 60

Journeying to the Lower World 68

Journey One: Journey to the Lower World to Familiarize Yourself with the Landscape 71

Journey Two: Journey to the Lower World to Find a Power Animal 73

Journey Three: Dancing Your Power Animal 76

Journey Four: Journey to the Upper World to Find Your Teacher 78

Journey Five: Journey to the Middle World 81

Practice, Practice, Practice 84

Power Objects: The Tool Kit of the Shamanic Practitioner 90

Power Songs and Dances 100

Giving Thanks and the Energy of Connection 107

Merging with the Universe: The Dance of Ecstasy 109

Answering the Call of the Drum 112

Chapter 4 The Realms of the Witch: Entwining the Ecstasies of the Shaman and the Witch 115

Embodying the Goddess and the God 118

Melding with the Goddess and the God 140

Drawing Down the Moon 154

Standing in the Body of the Goddess and the God: Trance Posture Meditations 162

Ritualsin Shamanic Wicca: The Sacred Space and Time 169

Ritual Consecration of Your Magical Tools 204

Shamanic Journeying within the Circle of the Witch 215

Conclusion and Initiation: The Neverending Circle 227

Glossary 229

Notes 239

Bibliography 241

About the Author 245