Shamanism [Resources]

Ifá: A Forest of Mystery

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"Ifá: A Forest of Mystery by Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold is a major study on the cosmology, metaphysics, philosophy and divination system of Ifá, written by a tradition holder and member of the council of elders, known as the Ogboni society, of Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Ifá – an alternative name for its prophet Òrúnmìlà – is a religion, a wisdom tradition and a system of divination encoding the rich and complex oral and material culture of the Yoruba people. The Yoruba culture is grounded in memory, an ancestral repository of wisdom, that generates good counsel, advises appropriate ebo (sacrifice) and opens the way to develop a good character on our journey through life and in our interactions with the visible and invisible worlds.

The work is a presentation of the first sixteen odù of the Ifá corpus of divination verses explained in stories, allegories and proverbs reflecting the practical wisdom of Ifá. The work is both a presentation of Ifá for those with little knowledge of it, and a dynamic presentation of the wealth of its wisdom for those already familiar with Ifá. The deities and key concepts of Ifá metaphysics are discussed, including: Obàtálá, Ònilé, Sàngó, Ògún, Oya, Òsányìn, Yemoja, Èsù, àse(power), egúngún (ancestry), ìwà (character), and orí (head/consciousness/daimon). Notably, Dr Frisvold has created a work which celebrates the Yoruba wisdom tradition and makes a bridge with the Western world. It is of value for the light that it casts on the origins and mysteries of Èsù and òrìsà, and an important source for those practicing Quimbanda, Palo, Santeria, Vodou and the African Diaspora religions. Yet its lessons are universal, for it is the art of developing character, of attracting good fortune and accruing wisdom in life. As Nicholaj writes:

‘…Ifá is a philosophy, a theogony, theology and cosmology rooted in a particular metaphysic that concerns itself with the real and the ideal, the world and its beginning. It is rooted in the constitution of man and the purpose of life and the nature of fate. Ifá is a philosophy of character. The philosophy of Ifá lies at the root of any religious cult or organization involving the veneration of òrìsà. […] Through stories and legends, divinatory verses and proverbs, this philosophy will be revealed piece by piece until the landscape has been laid open before you… ’"
 
Secrets of Siberian Shamanism

...Although Westerners used the generic term ‘shaman’ to describe all the tribal magical practitioners of Siberia and Mongolia, in practice they were divided into several different types, categories or classes with specific magical duties and responsibilities. Using English terminology, these included ‘conjurors’ who summoned and controlled spirits, prophets or psychics who foresaw the future, sorcerers who practised ‘black magic’, trance-workers who travelled in spirit form to the Otherworld, healers who were experts in folk medicine and herbalism, and guides to the dead who laid out corpses and conducted funeral rites.

The shaman-healers were often female and they specialised in health matters connected with human and animal fertility, sexuality and children. They were recognisable by their distinctive skirts made from animal hide and brightly coloured woollen hats. Instead of the ritual drum used by the male shamans, they carried a silk fan and prayer beads. Unfortunately when Buddhism came to Siberia and Mongolia many of these female healers were ruthlessly persecuted and exterminated by the misogynist monks. As a result their extensive knowledge of herbs and plants used for natural healing was either lost completely or taken over by Buddhist healers and only practised in a debased or diluted form.

Another female practitioner was the shaman-midwife, who inherited her power from the maternal line of familial descent. As well as ensuring that babies entered this world safely in a physical sense, she was also responsible for their spiritual protection from evil influences during birth and their well-being as children. In this sense she took on the role of a human fairy godmother. Immediately after a birth the shaman-midwife cut the umbilical cord and then purified the new-born baby with salt water and fire. Any (female only) witnesses to the birth could only be present if they had first been ritually purified by the midwife with fire and water. During the first few weeks of a baby’s life it was very important that the proper rituals were performed to protect the child until its spirit was fully established in the material world. If they were not performed properly then the baby’s spirit might return from whence it had come. These essential rites were the responsibility of the shaman-midwife and her assistants.

Another type of shamanic healer was a bone-setter who called upon spirit guides to help them in their healing work. They mainly repaired broken and dislocated bones and torn ligaments, healed back pain caused by spinal injuries or disease and also skin infections such as boils, rashes, psoriasis and eczema. These gifts were inherited from the paternal side of the family and, because the bones of the human body were considered to be spiritually ‘masculine’ in nature, these shamanic bone-setters were always male.

Most of the shamans worked with what modern New Agers call animal allies or spirit-helpers in animal form. These entities assisted them with their magical work and also taught them. For instance, the shaman-midwives described above worked with an animal spirit in the form of a mountain fox. The first bone-setter is supposed to have been taught his skills by a snake so that creature was sacred to the clan. Other shamanic practitioners were assisted by reindeer or wolves for attacking and destroying evil spirits, and ravens for getting rid of diseases. Other important animal spirit helpers included owls, wild ducks, geese, squirrels, bears, frogs and toads, dogs, seagulls and eagles.

One of the most important and respected types of magical practitioners was the shaman-smith. In all cultures all over the world from Europe to Africa the smith took a central role in tribal society and was regarded as a powerful magician or sorcerer because of his mastery over fire and skill in working with metal. There are many legends about blacksmiths making pacts with demons, gods or the Devil or tricking and outwitting them to acquire their skills. There are also many smith gods in ancient mythology who were magicians, made weapons for the Gods or acted as cultural exemplars by inventing agricultural tools. In Siberia the shaman-smiths made and magically consecrated the ritual metal objects used by other shamans. They were only chosen by the spirits and instead of a drum they used their anvils to communicate with the spiritual realm...
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...In Siberian and especially Mongolian shamanism the yurt, a traditional dwelling constructed from a framework of wooden poles covered with animal skins and with a central smoke-hole in the roof, was a microcosmic symbol or representation of the universe. For this reason all movement inside the yurt was conducted, if at all possible, in a deosil or sunways direction. This also reflected the traditional direction of movement used in shamanic rituals and dances. The centre of the yurt, where a fire burnt in a hearth and was seldom extinguished, was symbolic of the actual centre of the world or universe. The column of smoke that drifted up from the fire and left the yurt through the central smoke-hole in the roof was symbolic of theaxis mundi – the World Mountain, World Pillar or World Tree. This links the underworld below with the heavens above and ends at the North and Pole Star around which all the other stars revolve in the night sky.

The shamans believed in three worlds of existence connected together by the World Tree or Tree of Life. They were the lower world or underworld inhabited by the dead who are awaiting reincarnation, the middle world or Middle Earth, the material plane of existence in which human spirits are incarnated, and the upper world or Heaven, the dwelling place of the Gods. Numerous non-human spirits also inhabit each of these three worlds. The shaman can access these other worlds in trance by means of spirit travel. His soul body ascends the column of smoke from the fire and passes through the aperture in the roof of the yurt. It is interesting to note that in medieval times European witches were supposed to fly to their Sabbats by ascending the chimney on their broomsticks. It is obvious that this was not done physically so they also were practising a shamanic type of spirit flight....
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How does our relationship to the world change if everything is alive?
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Author Erik Davis and historian of shamanism Robert Wallis discuss traditional and contemporary approaches to animism and consider what it means to be an animist in an age when our technologies increasingly take on the semblance of life.

In the second part of the evening, Erik Davis read with a live modular synthesizer accompaniment from The Asterism and MISTY. With live and found sounds sculpted by the application of multiple random voltages, MISTY will be free to express its soul.

Erik Davis is an American cultural critic, scholar and journalist, in his recent catalogue essay Mark Leckey's exhibition The Universal Addressability of Dumb Things he describes a world exploding with technologies, products, and material processes that challenge our conceptual categories with their apparent intelligence and animation. Also author of Nomad Codes, Techgnosis, The Visionary State and Led Zeppelin, Erik Davis' work has appeared in numerous anthologies, journals and magazines.

Robert Wallis is an author, art historian and academic specialising in contemporary and historical shamanic practices. He is the author of 'Shamans / neo-Shamans:Ecstasy, Alternative Archaeologies and Contemporary Pagans' and has contributed to and edited numerous books and journals on the subject.
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P. Sufenas Virius Lupus (his spiritual name) is a practicing polytheist and scholar. He is author of A Serpent Path Primer, Ephesia Grammata: Ancient History and Modern Practice, The Phillupic Hymns, The Syncretisms of Antinous, and other devotional books. Under his legal name of Phillip Bernhardt-House, he is author of Werewolves, Magical Hounds, and Dog-Headed Men in Celtic Literature. He is on the social science faculty at Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon, Washington.

Here he notes that the Orphic and Eleusinian mystery traditions of ancient Greece were influenced by earlier Egyptian initiation rituals. The mythologies of these cults all refer to a journey into the underworld. In ancient Greece, virtually all persons of status in society were initiated into these cults. The rituals are not fully known, as they were protected by solemn oaths of secrecy. However, it seems clear from accounts that are available that the initiates found them to be a source of inspiration. Often initiates reported that they no longer feared death. He suggests that the rituals may have been a rehearsal, of sorts, for actual death. While some ancient traditions involved spiritualistic communication with the deceased, the mystery traditions seemed, instead, to entail communication with higher consciousness or deities.
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Sciborg_S_Patel said:
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A really good case that a "journey to the underworld" is roughly equivalent to an OBE journey could be made. Especially after reading stuff like "In the Dark Places of Wisdom", (which I'm sure you have.) See passages in ITDPOW where Kingsley specifically points to regions between sleep and waking as well as vibrations and whistling sounds. I contacted Kingsley, I think, and of course he was reluctant to make this connection so concretely. Actually I think I just e-mail with P. Harpur about Kinglsey. And he thought it was interesting but tenuous. It makes a lot of sense though. I've often wanted to do a literature review of all the times when characters have gone to the underworld and look for OBE indicators.
 
Santa, the 
Reindeer Shaman

“But how does shamanism work?” Julie asked.

Seeing a puzzled look on Julie’s face, I searched for an analogy.

“Imagine yourself,” I replied, “as a Koryak reindeer herder living a nomadic existence in the endless boreal forest belt of Siberia. You live in a world without maps, compasses, or clocks and certainly without GPS. Season upon season you travel with your clan and reindeer herd through a seamless landscape of green and brown forests sometimes interrupted by the blues and grays of lakes and rivers. Then one day you watch your favorite reindeer nibble on a bright red-and-white mushroom that popped up out of the moist ground overnight. Suddenly, the reindeer begins to cavort about in a very un-reindeer-like fashion. You try the mushroom and soon find yourself transported through magical landscapes filled with talking spirits who instruct you how to live well and prosper.”

Julie was listening intently as I asked her, “So what would you think about this world?”

“That it was showing me a spirit world that could help me thrive in the natural world,” Julie replied.

“Precisely,” I agreed, “and that’s the point. For tribal peoples, these supernatural realms were accessed through the shamanic flight of the soul. It’s only within the context of shamanism that we can understand the true origins of Santa Claus.”
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Our Relationship to the Great Mother

The following is excerpted from Baldr’s Magic: The Power of Norse Shamanism and Ecstatic Trance by Nicholas E. Brink, PhD, published by Inner Traditions.

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The earliest matriarchal society of the North, which venerated the Great Mother, Moðir, and her progeny, the Vanir, was a peace-loving and nurturing society. One of her daughters, Idunn, watched over Mother Earth’s garden—the Garden of Idunn—and she taught us to pick the fruit, nuts, vegetables, and herbs of her garden for our health and sustenance.

According to linguist and anthropologist Felicitas Goodman, the hunter-gatherers arrived on the scene no earlier than 200,000 years ago. She explains...
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BLACK MIRRORS AND SHAMANIC EYE GAZING

In this episode I talk about my experiences with Black Mirrors And Shamanic Eye Gazing. Can we see our own and other people’s past lives using eye-gazing? Odd visions certainly do occur at times using the process, but what are they?

Also mentions a related strange event that occurred when I was at a Stuart Wilde Lecture in Glastonbury.
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