Shamans Out of the Lime Light?

[CrystalArianhod]

I’ve been noticing that amongst the internet, the media and available information resources I find a lot on the various denominations of paganism except Shamanism. I have found vast quantities of druidic, Wiccan and even Asatru sites but few large and active sites on shamanism, the same applies to magazine and organisations if you compare. Even in organisations which supposedly take in account to all the branches of neopagan faith (i.e. the Pagan federation) Shamanasim appears to take a back seat.

So I put forward is shamanism out of the ‘lime light’ compared to the other pagan paths? And why is this so? Is Shamanism less popular or this simply because it is more of a introverted path.
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The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes their way

[Ravenari]

So I put forward is shamanism out of the ‘lime light’ compared to the other pagan paths? And why is this so? Is Shamanism less popular or this simply because it is more of a introverted path.

I believe that shamanism is less popular - especially online - because it is a much harder path to practice and learn and therefore tends to exclude many students who would fall back on less complicated neopagan paths. All pagan paths can be complicated, but I don't believe you'd find many devout Gardnerian covenbound Wiccans online either, and the paths that tend to require more secrecy / initiation / mystery and high-ceremonial magic are less likely to be found on 'big' forums and websites, and more likely to be found in small and often local communities.

Many of those who practice the type of shamanism which requires years of training are often too busy living their spiritual lives to have time to come online when they could be helping animals or practicing soul retrieval instead.

The most common forms of shamanism found online is neoshamanism or plastic shamanism.

Neoshamanism is the more contemporary practice where people tend to blend a number of cultures and often don't know which cultures they're pulling from (I'm not sure how many people who practice 'shamanism' on most forums can actually tell you what culture the word 'totem' comes from, or for that matter, where the word 'shaman' comes from). It is often practiced on the idea that there are shamanic 'techniques' that can be learnt, and so reaches a wider audience.

Authors like Michael Harner have helped to ground neoshamanism, but it is still a flightly, disconnected and sometimes disrespectful path. Many neoshamans have very few ideas of what they're actually doing, because shamanic elders are so rare, and neoshamanic elders often regurgitate what they have learnt from books and websites, and not through their own practice.

Plastic shamanism is the practice of actually telling others that you are part Ojibwe or Navajo, or part Aboriginal, or that you are a legitimate custodian of Australian Koori tales, when in all truths you are not. It is also the practice of sharing customs, laws, rules, stories and tales of other indigenous cultures without their permission. This is deeply offensive. Even the act of calling a Native American spiritual elder a 'shaman' can be deeply offensive. They do not consider themselves 'shamans,' they have their own words and cultures to describe what they do.

There are thankfully many sites these days about plastic shamanism, which also point out authors considered 'disrespectful' and 'offensive' by the Indigenous community which created 'shamanism' and similar practices. Authors like Jamie Sams, Sunbear, and Lynn Andrews are those who have claimed NA ancestry, only to have many Native Americans question and disprove the validity of such ancestry.

I recommend this site:

http://newagefraud.org/#

As an introduction to plastic shamanism, if you are thinking about practicing this sacred and beautiful and diverse variety of religions, it is worth going here first.