You don’t become a shaman overnight. It is a vocation and you are chosen for it by another shaman, followed by rigorous training. The shaman is the spiritual leader of a tribe or people. These men and women are tasked with healing people and maintaining the connection with the spirits.

Shamanism is thousands of years old. It is also possibly the oldest spiritual movement, from which all other religions originated. It is found everywhere on earth, from South America to China. It is not called shamanism everywhere, which is just a term that encompasses all forms of this nature religion. What is striking is that no matter where in the world you study shamans, everywhere they use the same attributes and describe the same experiences.

Shamans also perform rituals. These can serve as celebrations, such as at the passing of the season (spring, summer, fall, winter) or at a death or birth. Rituals are very important; they mark changes in life and allow us to reflect on them consciously. Nature peoples, of course, live closer to nature anyway. However, the shaman’s task is to ensure that man lives in balance with nature and the Gods and Goddesses as much as possible. He is in close contact with them. He acts as a messenger, so to speak, between the worlds. He also tries to help and heal people.