The opening of sacred space for ceremony or spiritual work is essentially an invocation, calling in the spiritual energies of the seven directions: East, South, West, North, Above, Below, and Within. Calling the spirits is an ancient shamanic rite that is practiced cross-culturally to access and honor the powers of creation. Inviting their presence, participation, and assistance not only aligns ..read more

American poet Henry Van Dyke once said, "Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse." Celebrating a bountiful harvest once a year is a wonderful tradition. But giving thanks should be more than just a yearly event. Rather, the expression of gratitude ought to be a daily practice ..read more

Shamanic initiation is a rite of passage, connecting the apprentice shaman intimately to Spirit. It is probably the most powerful and least understood of all forms of spiritual awakening. It is not achieved by having mastered a body of knowledge or having completed some long-term training program. Though it may be set in motion by an apprentice's human teachers as part of an ordered training ..read more

The drum, often called the shaman's horse, provides the shamanic practitioner a relatively easy means of controlled transcendence. Researchers have found that if a drum beat frequency of around three to four beats per second is sustained for at least 15 minutes, it will induce significant trance states in most people, even on their first attempt. The drum becomes the practitioner's mount, and the ..read more

Samhain, or Halloween as it is now called, is a celebration observed in many countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. The origins of Halloween customs are typically linked to the ..read more

More than 100 new designs discovered in and around Peru's Nazca plain and surrounding areas could bring new information to light about the ancient artworks that have intrigued scientists and visitors for decades. Following two years of field surveys with aerial photos and drones, Peruvian and Japanese researches from Yamagata University reported the discovery of 168 new designs at the Unesco ..read more

The following is excerpted from Sky Shamans of Mongolia: Meetings with Remarkable Healers by Kevin Turner. For thousands of years, Mongolia has been a nexus of Eurasian shamanisms that competed, mixed, and meshed across our planet's largest continent. Shamanism appears to have emerged with the very dawn of human consciousness, but archeologists can probably speak with confidence about only the ..read more

Psychedelic psychotherapy is the process of taking a psychedelic substance within a therapeutic setting, which typically includes psychotherapy. In clinical studies, psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and MDMA are two compounds that are being investigated for their therapeutic use in treating certain mental health conditions, like depression and PTSD, and improve overall mental health. Most of the ..read more

At the Autumnal Equinox, we begin a new cycle on the Medicine Wheel of Life, entering the West -- the home of autumn, twilight, Bear, introspection, emotions, flow, the moon, death, endings, and the element of Water. From the West flows the energy of transformation. In the West we assimilate our life experiences. Experience is the only baggage we carry with us from this Earth walk. From the West ..read more

An almost perfectly preserved shaman burial site dating back to the 18th century has been discovered in remote Siberia. In only the second-ever archaeological study in the Yakutia area of Siberia, Russian researchers at the Institute for Humanitarian Research and North Indigenous Peoples Problems discovered the mummified remains of a fully-clothed man inside a sarcophagus. Shamans are spiritual ..read more