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Shamanism
Spirit Voices : The Mysteries and Magic of North Asian Shamanism by David Shi
£20.00 £22.00
“A shaman is someone chose by the spirits [typically at/before birth] and who can go into a controlled and repeatable deliberate trance state, during which they:
A) experience ‘spirit flight,’ where they go to meet the spirit worlds and meet spirits, who they either fight with, negotiate with, or trick, in order to create change in this physical world, or B) are often taken over/possessed by the spirits (normally ancestral shaman spirits, or local land spirits) while in this physical world—the spirits using the shaman’s voice and body to heal, or give advice to members of the shaman’s community. Without the spirits, and their blessing, a shaman can not exist or function. Without the trance state, it is not shamanism.”
Author David Shi, for whom these are family traditions, explores the history and practice of shamanism.
What is it? Where is it from? How does one become a shaman? Shi guides readers through unfamiliar territory—the landscape of North Asia—and through what are largely hidden and unfamiliar traditions. SPIRIT VOICES takes and in-depth look at three main cultural shamanic traditions: Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungus.
SPIRIT VOICES features history, first-hand experiential reports, mythology, and folklore to explore the spirits, spirituality, and practices of true shamanism. In addition to history and analysis of North Asian shamanism, Shi also provides practical information for those readers seeking to implement practices that are appropriate to non-initiates and outsiders to the culture.
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Born of Blood and Fire (hardback) by Richard Ward
£45.99
Limited hardback edition.
Richard Ward’s Born of Blood and Fire is a study of the origins, history, practices, evolution and influence of the Petwo rite that was pivotal in the Haitian slave revolts and subsequent revolution.
Petwo is concerned as much with magic and sorcery as it is with religious devotion; thus it continues to be perceived as dark, even evil, by many Haitians, as well as outsiders. Lurid tales of zombi, cannibalism and human sacrifice abound in the early literature. But the truth is complex and ambiguous; Petwo is neither black nor white. The Petwo rite is uncompromising and aggressive, particularly when contrasted with the gentler Rada, but as Richard Ward shows, this is for good reason:
In comparison with the Rada rite, Petwo only truly comes alive at night. That was the time when it forged its path in Haitian history, cutting the air like the crack of a rawhide whip accompanied by the ignition of gunpowder, as powerful spirits were called to help free the enslaved. Petwo is and always will be an incendiary rite.
Ward draws on over 20 years of contact with Vodou initiates to cut through the sensationalism, and carefully addresses the misconceptions of Western practitioners to tell the story of Petwo as the unifying spiritual and magical impetus to the establishment of the first Black Republic in the Western hemisphere. From that time onward, Vodou and the fate of Haiti, both culturally and politically, would be intertwined.
Petwo shares the same West African roots as the Palo traditions in Cuba and the Kimbanda lineages of Brazil, but aspects of Roman Catholicism, European Freemasonry, grimoire and Kabbalistic traditions, as well as the magic of the indigenous Taino people, have all been incorporated into the rite.
Richard Ward examines the origins, character and syncretism of the principal Petwo lwa, and discusses the figures of the oungan, manbo and bòkò, and the semi-legendary founders of Petwo. The book also covers initiation rites; secret societies; the Rara and Kanaval festivals; the lougawou (werewolf) and animal transformation; zombi; vèvè, of which 32 are illustrated; pwen; the magic of the paket; the sorcery of wanga, and traditional songs for the lwa.
The rites, pantheon and influence of Petwo now extend far beyond the island of its birth, and Ward’s study gives an account of the cult from its origins to the wild esoteric Vodou of Michael Bertiaux and the quantum Vodou of Dr Reginald Crosley; but also shows that the rites responsible for Petwo still exist in their original form in parts of rural Haiti.
Ancestral Medicine by Daniel Foor
£15.29 £17.00
Offering a practical guide to understanding and navigating relationships with the spirits of those who have passed, Daniel Foor, PhD, details how to relate safely and effectively with your ancestors for personal, family, and cultural healing. He provides exercises and rituals, grounded in ancient wisdom traditions, to help you initiate contact with your ancestors, find supportive ancestral guides, cultivate forgiveness and gratitude, harmonize your bloodlines, and assist the dead who are not yet at peace. He explains how to safely engage in lineage repair work by connecting with your more ancient ancestors before relating with the recently deceased.
He shows how, by working with spiritually vibrant ancestors, individuals and families can understand and transform intergenerational patterns of pain and abuse and reclaim the full blessings and gifts of their bloodlines. By learning the fundamentals of ancestor reverence and ritual, you will discover how to draw on the wisdom of supportive ancestral guides, heal family troubles, maintain connections with beloved family after their death, and better understand the complex and interconnected relationship between the living and the dead.
Bo and Bon by Dmitry Ermakov
£34.99
Bѳ and Bön: Ancient Shamanic Traditions of Siberia and Tibet in their Relation to the Teachings of a Central Asian Buddha.
Hailed as a fascinating and unique book, this is the first in-depth study of its kind comparing the ancient Bon religion with the Siberian shamanic tradition of Lake Baikal. Combining scholarly research with spiritual insight and with over 200 illustrations, maps and diagrams, the information is presented in a clear and lively way, enabling the reader to navigate easily through the various topics dealt with and to follow the threads of the intricate tapestry which is woven as the parallels between the ancient shamanic traditions of Tibet and Siberia unfold.
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