How I was called to the Shamanic Path
Today I want to share with you my story about how I was called to the shamanic path. I hope that my story serves all those that are considering walking the path themselves, or any who don’t feel called themselves, but are curious about what would draw someone down this path. I practice both Contemporary Earth Shamanism and Star Shamanism. So my training and work is sometimes focused on the earth's energies (plants, animals, energies anchored on Earth, etc.). But, I also do a lot of shamanic work out in other dimensions and on other planets, which is Star Shamanism. I practice contemporary shamanism. This means that I am trained in traditional Celtic and some Nordic shamanism, but it has been upgraded to function in our modern world. We don’t live in the same world that we did when these traditions were created thousands of years ago. So contemporary shamanism integrates the ancient techniques in the modern world, with our modern consciousnesses and lives.
Shamanism is one of the most ancient spiritual healing paths. There are stories of shamans and shamanic techniques going back thousands of years. When I first started looking into shamanic studies, I wasn’t sure what word to use. I did not want to appropriate any words from Native American peoples. But, in my research, I discovered that the word “shaman” has European roots, which is my lineage.
It was a calling for me. I just had this feeling for a few years that I needed to do shamanic work, but I had no idea what that meant. The calling came through past life experiences that I had, where I could see myself working as a shaman in many past lives. I sat on this knowing for a few years, not sure what to do with it. Then, I started my business, but the sole focus was on Akashic work. However, a few months into having begun my business, I began to hear the shamanic call so deeply. I would dream about it and channel about it. So, knowing nothing, I just googled Celtic Shamanic Training. There were a lot of self-guided courses, but I knew this was wrong. This is not simply a self-guided journey, shamanism is passed down from teacher to student. You can’t learn these things in a silo. It’s a gift from teacher to apprentice. So I found a teacher, and when I saw her picture, I just knew it was her.
In our first Zoom calls, she shared with me a bit about what a shamanic apprenticeship looks like, but she could only share so much. It’s hard to describe how deep a shamanic apprenticeship is, so I went into it a little blind. But, for me, there wasn’t even a choice. I just knew this is where I needed to be, and what I needed to be doing. I was in a phase of my life where everything was falling away and falling apart (which is a major part of the shamanic initiation, though I didn’t know it at the time.) I didn’t even know how I was going to pay for this apprenticeship, but I trusted the guidance and said yes to it. And, miraculously, every single month, I always ended up with enough money to pay for the apprenticeship.
It was such an intense experience at the beginning of the apprenticeship. So many things in my life began to fall away. A shamanic initiation always comes with death in some form or another. More traditionally, a shaman was initiated through a near-death experience. I had had a similar experience when I nearly lost my life to Lyme’s disease, though I didn’t know it at the time. But this death can be a physical death like a near-death experience, or the death of a loved one. It can also just be death to various aspects of your life and personality. I thought I was meant to live in Europe for the rest of my life, but I ended up back in America, on a totally different path. My relationship ended. I had a few family members pass away and my dearly beloved childhood cat passed away, as well. The world was thrust into a pandemic at the same time. Plus, the multitude of ego deaths that I faced as who I thought I was was got totally re-worked. I had to re-learn who I was and what my life was now about and deal with the grief of so many different kinds of losses. My whole life shifted and so many things fell away. But even through all that, I knew I was in the right place. It was right for me.
My shamanic work was able to deepen my Akashic work, and that’s how Earth Akashic Healing was born. I also do a lot of womb work. There is ancient womb shamanism wisdom that I have been tapping into and learning to teach and use. All of my many modalities are weaving together beautifully with my shamanic training. And a few months ago, I was asked by Spirit to begin to teach, which is crazy fast on a human level. But, I have been doing this work for many lifetimes, so I was called to step into the teaching role quite quickly.
If you’re feeling called to the shamanic path, or if you have questions, please reach out! Send me an email, comment, or find me on Instagram. I am so happy to talk about it, answer questions and help you in any way!
And, click the image below to be taken to a video of me diving in a little deeper about my entry onto this path.
Love,
Shannon
