words Archives - Shaman's Way

How now brown cow?

How Now Brown Cow is a nonsensical phrase, the origin of which is up for debate. Was it really used in Scotland as a way to order a beer, or/and to teach elocution? Whatever the origin, the phrase is outdated and by many, forgotten.

Language is constantly growing and shifting, picking up new words and letting go of others. Shamanism is on a similar trajectory. The language and words used to describe it have shifted and changed, dropping some things and adding others. The origin of the word is often referred to in an off handed manner, with little, or no, meaning attributed to it. [Read more…]

Words are Powerful

WORDS are powerful forms of expression and powerful energies. When words are combined with intense emotion, the emotion acts as a fuel for the word; the greater the emotion, the greater the fuel.

An intention puts things into motion universally. Life force is also fuel. Throughout history and culture, sacrifices have been done to add extreme power to an intention. We don’t live in a culture such as this and as such, the thought of it is foreign and primitive. However there are many cultures that still use a form of sacrifice to ensure the power of a ceremony. Chickens in Africa are often used in ceremonial practice and then used to feed the community. Even the church refers to the blood of Christ and the body of Christ in their sacraments, and Jesus is referred as sacrificing himself to save others.

I bring up this topic; that words are powerful, because I find myself often dealing with these issues in during shamanic healing work of Soul Retrieval. Sometimes a person has tried everything to heal. They have read the books, done the workshops, gone to both [Read more…]

The Shamanic Language

Language can really complicate simple matters. A few years ago I had a wonderful opportunity to spend time with three long time students of Jungian ideology, and analysis. We went to meet a Jungian analyst specializing in Alchemy.

Sounds interesting, and it was… what was even more interesting to me was the fact that we spent a good deal of the two hours we had together trying to come up with a common language to understand each others experiences and thoughts. No simple task, but a very interesting one.

Language: When I first started to study shamanism there were few books published regarding the practices of shamans. I looked high and low for how-to books but they did not exist. The books that I did find are considerably different than the books I read today. The basic language of shamanism speaks of the three worlds, Upper, Lower and Middle. The Lower World is where you meet your Power Animal. [Read more…]