“Practicing Shamanism” does not mean you ever need to take on clients, do healing work or host community rituals.
(I mean, you can if you want to. If your Shamanic practice wants to express itself in a public-facing way.)
I have this conversation with many of my clients who are not already professional practitioners. They say things like:
“Why am I doing this if I’m not using it to help anybody?”
“I keep getting intuitive messages that I’m supposed to practice Shamanism but I don’t really want to work with other people.”
“I want to make my ancestors proud.”
“I love my practice as it is and I feel like if I turned it into a business that would suck all the joy out of it.”
“I feel like I need this for my own healing and people tell me I’m really great at [leading meditations, bodywork, having a healing energy presence] but I don’t feel like I’m ready.”
Ooooof. Talk about pressure. Where does that come from?
Let’s start with:
What is Shamanism? What does it mean to “have a Shamanic practice?”
Shamanism is the original, most ancient spiritual practice of humanity, and is ubiquitous in cultures all over the world (but expresses differently according to culture and ecosystem). It is an Earth-based, animistic practice (animism is the belief that all things are alive, and connected through that unifying life force). Shamanism is also a mediumistic practice. (Mediumship means communication and collaboration with the spirit or noncorporeal realm. All Shamans and Shamanic practitioners are mediums.)
It is possible to study and practice Shamanism as a personal devotion and lifestyle without offering this work to others. This person would not be considered a Shaman, but would have a personal Shamanic practice.
Let’s look at this in the context of a very popular organized religion. There are many people who practice Christianity as a personal devotion and lifestyle. They have a practice of prayer, reflection, and community gathering that is meaningful to them.
A small subset of people who practice Christianity step into deeper commitment of offering this service to their community. They are the ministers, preachers, reverends and chaplains. They host gatherings, lead prayers and facilitate ceremonial rites.
Not everyone who practices Christianity needs to become a minister. Most people don’t.
So why do people feel this weird pressure to turn their Shamanic practice into a public-facing service/ business?
I’ve found it’s usually some combination of the following:
Gig economy / hustle culture. If you like to make art, people tell you to sell it on Etsy. If you like to practice Shamanic journeying, people ask if you can journey for them. Monetize your hobbies! Side hustles!
Justifying value / productivity shaming. It’s only worthwhile if it provides a tangible benefit. Especially for womxn, who are socialized to prioritize others’ needs, something is only valuable if it benefits others. Why do something simply because you enjoy it, when you could “be productive” and make money at it?
Pressure to save the world / make a difference. This one starts young — how many people as kids internalized the unrealistic and inappropriate responsibility of “I have to save the world,” only to have it distort inside them and create unbearable pressure later in life?
Capitalism and the inherent challenges of working with a Shaman in the modern, western world. This one deserves its own article, but for now I’ll just say that the models for “how to have a Shamanic practice” vary widely, and some people (including me) have a business that offers Shamanic healing, mentorship and training as a professional service in exchange for money. Since some practitioners (including me) have a business that offers Shamanic services, this includes marketing, videos, sales and other business activities, and that’s a lot of what people see online, which creates a distorted image of what it looks like to have a Shamanic practice.
And that’s one of the most important distinctions right there:
Having a Shamanic practice and having a business that offers Shamanic services are not the same thing. They are actually two completely distinct things.
For someone like me, it looks like a Venn diagram:
I practice Shamanism as a personal devotion and lifestyle because I enjoy it and find it meaningful. This is the blue section of the diagram. It includes my daily personal practice, building altars in my home and on the land, making offerings, wildcrafting and medicine making, Shamanic journeys and meditation, personal healing work and communication with my spirit team.
The purple section is the Shamanic work that I do with clients: putting people on the table for healing work, teaching practices, facilitating a ritual or ceremony, channeling messages and offering guidance.
The pink section is all the parts of my business that are not the Shamanic work itself: recording podcast episodes, writing articles like this, website maintenance, promotion and marketing, accounting and graphic design.
I do the stuff in the blue section because it is fundamental to my well-being and happiness. My personal Shamanic practice is part of who I am.
I do the stuff in the purple section because I enjoy supporting other people with Shamanic tools. They find it helpful and I find it fulfilling.
I do the stuff in the pink section mostly because I have to (I do enjoy some things about running a business but this is the “job” part of my career).
But regardless of whether or not I’m offering Shamanic services to other people, my own practice is fundamental to everything else. It’s the non-negotiable constant that makes the professional part possible.
So when my clients start saying things like:
“I feel guilty doing all of this just for me.”
“If I don’t offer Shamanic work to other people, am I somehow not fulfilling my purpose?”
“Is it okay if I don’t want to work with clients?”
I remind them that Shamanic practice is first and foremost a personal devotion. It is a relationship between you and Earth, you and Spirit, you and Life itself.
Your Shamanic practice is a reservoir of devotion that you fill with your prayers, practices and aliveness. You do not ever need to include anyone else in your practice in order for it to be meaningful, aligned and true.
And if you ever decide that you want to share your Shamanic practice with others, it will be because that reservoir of devotion is overflowing and you receive the unmistakable beckoning from Spirit to step forward in your service. If that invitation comes, you will recognize it clearly.
Are you called to explore and develop your Shamanic practice?
Do you want to learn practical skills for Earth-based spiritual practice and energetic mastery?
Then this course is for you:
The Foundations of Shamanism
11 week online course, November 17 - February 2, 2026
Register now!
This course is live, on Zoom, and all modules will be recorded.
Classes are on Monday evenings, 5-6:30pm PT (every Monday except December 22).
