Shamanic offerings are one of the most ancient, most universal, and most misunderstood practices in Earth-based spirituality — yet in modern Western practice they're often reduced to a vague sense of "leaving something nice outside." This complete guide covers the three types of offerings every practitioner should know (gratitude, votive, and feasting), when to make them, what to offer, and a simple practice you can begin today.
Energetic mastery is one of the most essential — and most overlooked — foundations of Shamanic practice. Whether you are a healer, bodyworker, therapist, or someone navigating a spiritual awakening, your ability to work consciously with energy determines your safety, effectiveness, and longevity in this work. Here is the six-layer framework I teach — and why protection comes last, not first.
Ethical Shamanic practice is built on relationship, not technique. Over years of practice and teaching, I've distilled the qualities that make this relationship healthy into three core principles: Context, Consent, and Collaboration. These aren't rules imposed from outside — they are the natural expression of genuine, respectful relationship with the living world.
One of the most common wounds I see in my Shamanic healing and mentorship clients is a deep, unnamed homesickness — not for a place they've lived, but for a way of living in relationship with the land. I believe what's missing is our indigeneity: our original, Earth-rooted belonging. And I believe it can be healed.
Land and nature spirits are among the most important — and most overlooked — allies in Shamanic practice. In animistic traditions worldwide, every tree, stone, watershed and animal carries both a physical and an etheric presence. Here's what land and nature spirits actually are, why these relationships matter, and how to begin building them where you live right now.
The terms "Shaman" and "Shamanic practitioner" are often used interchangeably — but they carry meaningfully different implications around lineage, training, initiation, and accountability. Understanding this distinction matters whether you're exploring Shamanism for the first time, deepening your personal practice, or considering how to describe your own work in the world.
For years, connecting with animals and spirits came easily in my Shamanic practice — but plant mediumship eluded me entirely, no matter how hard I tried. Then in 2019, Stinging Nettle and Hawthorn intervened to wake me up. Here's the story of ancestral remembrance, wildcrafting, and learning to communicate with plant spirits as old, beloved friends.
Before there were temples, before there were texts, before there were organized religions, there was animism: the belief that everything is alive. It is the original worldview of human beings everywhere on Earth, and it is the foundation upon which all Shamanic practice stands. Here's what animism actually is, where it comes from, and why it matters more now than ever.
Practitioners! Healers, coaches, therapists, bodyworkers — Today’s article is personalized for you.
(Non-practitioners — your personalized article went out the other day. Did you see it?)
“I’ve been practicing for a long time but I know there are more intuitive or Shamanic gifts that I need to explore and incorporate into my work.”
“I’ve taken so many trainings, courses and workshops in spirituality and healing modalities, but I feel like there’s something missing. I still don’t feel like I’m fully embodying my personal magic and I need help figuring out what that is.”
“I feel called to be a healer or spiritual practitioner because I want to help people, but I’m not sure where to start.”
These are just a few of the common themes I hear from people coming to me for support.
Do any of these sound like you?
Hi! I’m Michelle Hawk — Shamanic mentor and teacher. I’ve been studying and practicing Shamanism and other modalities since 2003.
There were so many times, particularly during the beginning of my journey, where I felt confused, frustrated and as though I was fumbling around in the dark. I was going through intuitive healership initiations and mediumship awakening. The thing that made the biggest difference for me was the personal guidance and mentorship of powerful teachers and healers.
Instead of feeling lost and alone, I felt seen and supported.
Instead of feeling like I was totally crazy and making things up as I went along, I felt validated and empowered.
I have been so blessed to receive support from some fantastic mentors over the last 20+ years. I know how essential it is to have someone in your corner who understands what it means to go through spiritual initiations and guide you through deep transformation into grounded mastery.
Do you need that kind of support?
Do you want it right now?
I am opening spaces for new clients to come into 1:1 Shamanic mentorship work with me!
***There are no prerequisites for working 1:1 with me. I work with advanced practitioners who have years of training and study and want personalized support for themselves and their work. I also work with new and aspiring healers and practitioners who want support in foundational skill development and processing their awakening.***
You’ve been studying energy healing or various modalities for a long time but it feels like something’s missing. You want to go beyond the certifications and modalities to anchor into your personal gifts and authentic magic.
You have taken lots of online classes, read lots of books and want practical, personal support that goes beyond a generic “Spiritual 101” curriculum.
You have a gift for intuitive practice, channeling and mediumship, and you want to explore it safely with support and guidance to discover the authentic expression of your intuitive gifts.
You feel the presence of spirit guides and you know you are going through powerful spiritual initiations. You want help anchoring the codes and transmissions that you are receiving so you can integrate them fully into your life and your practice.
You have been “on the path” for a while, but you feel like you’re not growing past a beginner or intermediate level, and you want to source your practice from deep knowing and mastery, and refined spiritual skill development.
You feel stuck or blocked in your continued development, or like you’ve reached a plateau, and you’re looking for some fresh energy and perspective to help you renew your transformation and growth.
You have a professional spiritual or healing practice and you are tired of trying to make it fit in a box that was never meant for you. You want someone to help you structure your programs, offerings and business practices in a way that actually aligns with your sacred work and your lifestyle.
You are a practitioner, healer, therapist, coach or medical provider. You have been “in the closet” about your Shamanic, intuitive or magical self, and you are ready to stop hiding and start sharing this aspect of your practice.
You have a “normal” job or career that is making you miserable and you are finally ready to shift out of it and explore your soul-aligned service.
You want support from a grounded spiritual mentor who has been on this path for a long time, who can help you see what you might be missing and give you specific tools, teachings and guidance that is aligned for you as you grow and transform.
Our sessions together may include some combination of the following:
Shamanic and energy healing work.
Teaching and instruction about specific principles and tools of spiritual practice from Shamanism, Alchemy, and other lineages.
Shamanic journeying, intuitive and mediumship practice to connect with the spirits for guidance and healing.
Personal ritual or ceremony.
Learning and practicing embodiment and movement work, consciousness practices, energetic techniques.
Personal guidance, processing, support and reflection.
Working with your spiritual business or soul-aligned practice, planning and strategy.
With 1:1 Shamanic Mentorship, you get me in your corner for 3 months of personal support. 3 sessions x 3 months = 9 sessions of powerful work.
If you’re ready to work deeply with a mentor who gets it —
If Spirit is beckoning you to step into mastery and you want support while you do —
If you’re aching to express your personal magic and higher service and you want a guide in your corner to help you —
>>>Book a call with me to discuss if this work is right for you!
Many blessings,
Are you going through a deep transformation or healing journey? Are you looking for Shamanic and spiritual support? — Today’s email is personalized for you. (Practitioners — your personalized email is coming on Wednesday. Stay tuned!)
“I feel disconnected from my power, joy and purpose, and I need help finding my way back to myself.”
“I feel like there are energetic blockages and karmic / ancestral / past life wounds I need to heal, but I want someone to guide and support me.”
“I want to connect with my spirit guides for healing and messages — I feel them trying to get my attention but I don’t know where to start.”
“I feel totally alone on this path and I need help from someone who gets it.”
These are just a few of the common themes I hear from people coming to me for support.
Do any of these sound like you?
Hi! I’m Michelle Hawk— healer and Shamanic mentor. I’ve been studying and practicing Shamanism and other modalities since 2003.
There were so many times, particularly during the beginning of my journey, where I felt confused, frustrated and as though I was fumbling around in the dark. I was going through deep healing initiations and underworld transformation cycles. The thing that made the biggest difference for me was the personal guidance and mentorship of powerful teachers and healers.
Instead of feeling lost and alone, I felt seen and supported.
Instead of feeling like I was totally crazy and making things up as I went along, I felt validated and empowered.
I have been so blessed to receive support from some fantastic mentors over the last 20+ years. I know how essential it is to have someone in your corner who understands what it means to go through spiritual initiations and guide you through deep transformation into grounded empowerment.
Do you need that kind of support?
Do you want it right now?
I am opening spaces for new clients to come into 1:1 Shamanic Healing and Mentorship work with me!
***There are no prerequisites for working 1:1 with me. I work with spiritual seekers who want powerful tools for their healing and transformation. I also work with aspiring, new and established spiritual practitioners for their growth and skill development.***
You are committed to your personal growth and development. You want practical spiritual tools in your personal tool kit that are more than guided meditations.
You are going through a big life transformation and you want practical support to help you process, stay grounded and feel present/connected to your inner wisdom through the transition.
You are going through a deep personal healing journey. You want support with trauma healing and nervous system regulation, relationship challenges, childhood wounds, energetic blocks, beliefs and conditioning, or physical symptoms that “don’t make sense.”
You want to reconcile ancestral and karmic wounds in order to heal and clear karma and rewrite soul contracts and patterns.
You want support with soul retrieval, integrating the wisdom and lessons of past lives and coming into full expression of your Higher Self knowing.
You have a gift for intuitive practice, channeling and mediumship, and you want to explore it safely with support and guidance to discover the authentic expression of your intuitive gifts.
You feel the presence of spirit guides and you know you are going through powerful spiritual initiations. You want help anchoring the codes and transmissions that you are receiving so you can integrate and live them fully.
You feel stuck or blocked in your continued development, disconnected from your purpose or like you’ve reached a plateau, and you’re looking for some fresh energy and perspective to help you renew your transformation and growth.
You feel alone on your path, you don’t have any spiritual community and you want to be able to talk and process with someone who doesn’t think you’re bonkers.
You are participating in sacred plant medicine work and want help processing, integrating and anchoring your experiences and translating them into aligned shifts and healing in your life.
You want support from a grounded spiritual healer / mentor who has been on this path for a long time, who can help you see what you might be missing and give you specific tools, guidance and healing support that is aligned for you as you grow and transform.
Our sessions together may include some combination of the following:
Shamanic and energy healing work.
Teaching and instruction about specific principles and tools of spiritual practice from Shamanism, Alchemy, and other lineages.
Shamanic journeying, intuitive and mediumship practice to connect with the spirits for guidance and healing.
Personal ritual or ceremony.
Learning and practicing embodiment and movement work, consciousness practices, energetic techniques.
Personal guidance, processing, support and reflection.
With 1:1 Shamanic Healing and Mentorship Work, you get me in your corner for 3 months of personal support. 3 sessions x 3 months = 9 sessions of powerful transformation.
If you’re ready to work deeply with a healer who gets it —
If Spirit is beckoning you to step into your transformational healing journey and you want support while you do —
If you’re aching to resolve old wounds and reconnect with your joyful purpose and you want a guide in your corner to help you —
>>>Book a call with me to discuss if this work is right for you!
Many blessings,
Are you called to develop your intuitive and Shamanic gifts? Do you feel Spirit beckoning you into your soul-aligned path, but you want support from a mentor who gets it?
“I’ve been practicing for a long time but I know there are more intuitive or Shamanic gifts that I need to explore and incorporate into my work.”
“I’ve taken so many trainings, courses and workshops in spirituality and healing modalities, but I feel like there’s something missing. I still don’t feel like I’m connecting to my personal magic and I need help figuring out what that is.”
“I feel called to be a healer or spiritual practitioner because I want to help people, but I’m not sure where to start.”
These are just a few of the common themes I hear from people coming to me for support.
Do any of these sound like you?
If you’re here, you're ready to:
Awaken your authentic gifts and inner knowing.
Release blockages, old structures and everything holding you back.
Develop powerful spiritual skills to transform your life and the world.
I’m pleased to offer you:
After a decade of offering 6-month 1:1 Shamanic mentorship containers, my guidance is nudging me to offer a shorter time commitment.
While 6 months offers extra spaciousness for gradual integration, I’m aware that the time commitment may be a barrier for some, and I want to do my best to help you receive the support you need in a way that fits your lifestyle and capacity.
The world feels like it’s moving extra fast these days. My existing clients are noticing huge shifts from one session to the next and it feels like we’re collectively moving through a very accelerated process.
Are you called to receive Shamanic support from a mentor with 23 years of practice?
With Shamanic Mentorship, you get me in your corner for 3 months of personal support.
If you’re ready to work deeply with a mentor who gets it —
If Spirit is beckoning you to step into transformation and you want support while you do —
If you’re aching to explore your personal magic and sacred path and you want a guide in your corner to help you —
>>>Book a call with me to discuss if this work is right for you!
Many blessings,
I was awake for a long time on Saturday night following the murder of Alex Pretti and the continued escalation of reprehensible violence by ICE.
As I lay there in the middle of the night, I offered prayers for Alex’s crossing, and prayers for healing, liberation and peace for all those who have been murdered, tortured, traumatized or harmed by ICE, and all their loved ones. I cried and cried.
I’ve been thinking a lot about our country’s situation through the lens of Shamanic healing and Alchemical transformation. Not as an escapist light-washing or spiritual bypassing, but from a sincere desire to understand the powerful transpersonal energetic currents at play and how they are rippling out through specific events and the actions of individual people.
It’s been a potent exercise, but this is the Shamanic path — to maintain one foot in both worlds. To feel deeply the suffering and pain and feel my heart break with compassion and anguish for the wrongs inflicted on my brothers and sisters. And simultaneously, to interface with the Spirit world, to see beyond the material reality into the energetic dynamics and to work with the currents of creation itself for healing and transformation.
And what’s going on right now feels just like an extremely amplified Shamanic entity extraction.
I have performed my fair share of Shamanic extraction work over my 22 years of practice, usually with individual people and a handful of times on behalf of a group (<30 people). Shamanic extractions are often intense but go smoothly, and result in the client’s feeling of profound catharsis and relief.
Only once have I ever performed an extraction where I had an “Oh fuck” moment that really scared me — was I capable of helping this person? Was the energy spiraling out of control? Was this entity that much more powerful than my spirit allies?
(In the end, that extraction was successful and one of the most potent healing sessions I have ever offered. The client’s transformation was like night and day. I will remember it for the rest of my life, and I am so humbly grateful to my spirit team for their extraordinary support.)
In the many Shamanic extractions I have offered over the years, there is a consistent pattern that seems to mirror what we’re seeing now on a huge scale. Once an energy or entity is identified for removal, it often begins to vocalize and lash out. This sometimes expresses as hateful/bizarre words and sounds coming out of my mouth (I warn my clients about this ahead of time), sounds expressing through my client, gagging/coughing, twitches and jerky movements, shaking, nausea, chills, strong visions and emotions.
I have had entities speak the most horrible things through my voice while they are on their way out, and create tremendous physical discomfort for myself and my clients.
To anyone who didn’t know what was happening and didn’t have the tools to move through it skillfully, it would no doubt be terrifying.
And when people are terrified, they can behave in irrational, harmful and violent ways to ensure their survival.
In my contemplation about our collective Shamanic extraction process, I’m wondering about the soul contracts and karma of the individual people who are playing out these collective patterns. Are the ICE agents and fascist sociopaths in government playing out their own trauma and inner shadow in a very hateful way? Have they been consumed by the shadow egregore (a collective thought form that takes on a life force of its own through the energy/participation of many people) of our collective wounding and history of oppression and violence? Is this horrible behavior actually part of some dark service, where they’re giving a voice to the collective shadow that is being liberated on its way out?
I don’t pretend to have definitive answers about any of this. All I have is my 22 years of Shamanic practice and spiritual training, my empathy and my own agency to participate in our collective liberation and healing in the best way I can.
You’ve heard the list by now: call your reps, be a menace, take care of yourself and your community, go protest, stay grounded.
And even though I really hate to tie all of this to selling you something, I genuinely believe the Foundations of Shamanism course is must-have knowledge and practice for everyone (especially in this time of our collective Shamanic extraction).
Are you called to Shamanic practice?
In this course, you’ll learn:
Practical skills and easy tools for impeccable energetic hygiene and safety.
Foundational Shamanic practices to connect with Earth and the Spirit realm.
How to anchor your healing, ceremonial or spiritual work into the powerful foundation of your local Earth grid and energetic ecosystem.
Steps and tools to heal and reclaim your own indigeneity.
Shamanic journeying: safety, best practices, tools and instruction.
How to communicate clearly and confidently with Spirit guides and the unseen realms for the purpose of guidance, illumination and healing.
If this work calls to you, email me to get on the First Dibs List and secure the best price for this course!
First Dibs List: $947
Early Bird: $997
Regular Price: $1197 or three payments of $467
First Dibs List is open through February 2. Let me know if your name should be on it.
Many blessings,
Pssssst! Come closer! I have a juicy sneak peek to share with you.
Early Bird enrollment for the Foundations of Shamanism course starts on February 3!
But if you know this work is for you, send me an email and I’ll make sure you’re on the First Dibs list. (First Dibs List gets an even better discount than Early Bird!)
We are almost done with our fall/winter cohort and it has been SO potent. Here are a few of the great things students have to say:
“I have been doing the practices and I am noticing a huge difference in energy at the end of the day!”
“I had a tremendous meditation over the weekend and met a guardian spirit whom I’m excited to get to know better.”
“I did our most recent practice this morning at my meditation spot and a great horned owl came and sang to me right after I finished! What a treat!”
“I love making offerings back to the land. I felt so held and received by the spirits.”
Returning this spring:
In this course, you’ll learn:
Practical skills and easy tools for impeccable energetic hygiene and safety.
Foundational Shamanic practices to connect with Earth and the Spirit realm.
How to anchor your healing, ceremonial or spiritual work into the powerful foundation of your local Earth grid and energetic ecosystem.
Steps and tools to heal and reclaim your own indigeneity.
Shamanic journeying: safety, best practices, tools and instruction.
How to communicate clearly and confidently with Spirit guides and the unseen realms for the purpose of guidance, illumination and healing.
If this work calls to you, send me an email to get on the First Dibs List and secure the best price for this course!
First Dibs List: $947
Early Bird: $997
Regular Price: $1197 or three payments of $ 467
First Dibs List is open through February 2. Let me know if your name should be on it!
Many blessings,
As a child, what superpowers did you wish you had?
Have any of them manifested? Maybe in ways you didn’t anticipate?
All children have access to that innocent, unfiltered connection with magic and the Divine. This was me all over. As a kiddo, I knew that animals could talk, and that stones and plants had magic powers. I knew that all the spirits and deities I learned about in mythology were real. The stories I most enjoyed reading were fantastical, magical interpretations of the world, usually told through an epic journey of self-discovery and actualization of the protagonist.
When I was 10, I broke my arm and practiced surrounding the wound in brilliant light so it would heal more quickly. When I was 12, my childhood dog was diagnosed with diabetes, and I practiced putting my hands on her, sending colored light into her body.
Michelle Hawk at age 5 with her first puppy.
I still have an old journal from when I was about 13. On the first page I had written a list of “superpowers” I wanted to have. It included:
Being able to talk to animals (and hear them)
Take on an animal shape
Make plant medicine
Read people’s minds/telepathy
Healing people and animals
Flying
Time travel
Communicating with other worlds
I didn’t grow up learning about healing and magic as part of my everyday awareness, but I was lucky because my parents never told me to stop “making things up” or that the way I saw the world wasn’t real.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for a lot of people. It seems much more common that our young, magical kiddo selves get shut down, told “no,” put into little boxes and forced into the horrible choice between remaining true to our purest essence and being accepted by our families and communities.
But that magical kiddo with a wish list of superpowers is still inside you. That part of you that speaks the language of innocence and Spirit, the part of you that instinctively knows how to make an offering to the Fairies, the part of you that dreams of befriending Dragons and studying with a wizard in the forest. The part of you that communes easily and fluently with the Divine and with your highest self never goes away.
That list of superpowers from your inner magical kiddo isn’t so much a list of “I wish I could”s, but more a list of “I want to remember how to”s, because it comes from that truest part of your pure essence. Your wisdom is trying to guide you home to yourself.
Take a look again at my wish list of superpowers. That list I made as a young teenager is entirely Shamanic and magical practices: energetic communication, shapeshifting, healing, astral travel and channeling. In other words, all of those are practices that I have grown into and studied on my spiritual path since 2003. They were all things that I already knew how to do, and my magical kiddo self was simply reminding me that I could. (Flying and Time Travel are less literal than young Michelle intended, but I think we can count it.)
Maybe you don’t have a list written down from your childhood, but I invite you to revisit the fantastical desires of your magical kiddo self:
What “superpowers” did you wish you had as a child?
As you continue on your spiritual path, how are those “superpowers” manifesting? (It may or may not be obvious.)
Does your inner magical kiddo self have any messages or reminders for you about your abilities and your relationship to magic?
If your magical kiddo self were to direct the course of your practice and training, what would they want you to do next?
Do you want support connecting with your magical self to actualize your own “superpowers?”
If you’re ready to awaken your authentic gifts and inner knowing —
If you want support to release blockages, old structures and everything holding you back —
If you’re called to develop powerful spiritual skills to transform yourself, your life and the world —
I have a few spaces open for 1:1 transformational Shamanic mentorship.
Many blessings,
Happy (belated) Gregorian New Year! I hope you enjoyed a nourishing and peaceful Solstice/holiday corridor. (I took a little extra space for stillness and quiet. Yum!)
As we’re all collectively poking our heads up and looking forward, I would love to remind you of 3+ ways you can work with me in 2026.
Calling all:
Feral mystics
Spiritual seekers
Those in a healing journey who want Shamanic support
Students and stewards of the Mysteries
Medicine people
Animists
Shamanic seekers
Channels and mediums
Those who love, serve and praise Life, Gaia and all her children
This is for you if you are ready for support with:
Awakening your authentic gifts and inner knowing
Personal healing to liberate trauma, dis-ease and stagnation
Karmic, past life and lineage healing
Holistic transformation in your life and in the world
Cultivating a powerful and effective spiritual practice
Honing your intuition and mediumship
Learning potent tools of energetic mastery and embodiment
Developing a complete somatic toolkit
Soul retrieval
Skillfully working with powerful spiritual forces
Studying the ancient wisdom tradition of Shamanism
Receiving direct initiations from spirit-side mentors and etheric guides
Cultivating your transformational facilitation skills
Honing your ritual and ceremony practice
Mastering the practical application of spiritual technology for yourself and others
Developing your professional spiritual or healing practice and crafting your unique offerings
If you read that and thought, “Yes, that’s me! I’m ready!”
Here are your options for support:
6 months of 1:1 support from me. Receive personalized support for your healing and transformation journey. This work draws upon all my lineages of training and practice to support your unique path. Includes training, mentorship, support and personalized spiritual skill development work.
Spaces open now. Book a call now and let’s talk about it.
Packages of 3 Shamanic healing sessions. Receive support with releasing blockages, clearing stuck energies, nervous system regulation, past life and lineage healing, soul retrieval and guidance through big life shifts.
Spaces open now. Book a call now and let’s talk about it.
11 week training. Learn foundational principles of Universal Shamanism for your spiritual practice, ceremonial and healing work. Develop practical skills for energetic hygiene and safety that will allow you to confidently navigate the unseen realms, and learn how to purposefully work with spirit guides and Shamanic allies.
Begins this spring. Already know this course is for you? Send me an email to get on the “First Dibs List” and receive the biggest course discount!
Plus one more bonus way to work with me to support your beloved animal family:
Psychic readings to communicate with your animals. Support for health and behavior challenges, help your pets through life changes such as moving or adopting a new animal. Support through the death and dying process, and after your beloved animal has crossed over.
Sessions available online worldwide or in-person in the Portland, OR area. Schedule your session here.
I am grateful to offer this work and look forward to supporting you in 2026 and beyond!
Many blessings,
I took my very first Shamanic class in 2003, at age 15.
And one of my strongest memories of this experience was my feeling of profound relief —
Relief that I was finally given a vocabulary to explain the concepts that my heart already knew to be true.
Relief that I wasn’t “just making things up” and that other people shared my connection with nature and the spirit realm.
Relief that I wasn’t alone in my psychic abilities and reverence for life.
Relief that there were practical tools and skills I could develop to shape and strengthen the intuitive and energy work I was already doing naturally.
This day-long class in Shamanic journeying changed my life. In addition to giving me skills and tools that began my Shamanic practice, it gave me a sense of belonging and trust that I didn’t have before.
This introduction to Shamanism opened my eyes to humanity’s ancient and powerful animistic origins. It helped me understand why I felt so alien and clumsy in “normal” teenage pursuits and helped me feel at home in myself. It gave me refuge during university when my peers literally laughed in my face for talking about energy, consciousness and the spiritual aspect of nature in connection with biological research and medicine.
This same sense of relief and belonging is something I often hear from incoming clients and students:
“I don’t have anyone else to talk to about this, I’m so glad I found this [Shamanism] course.”
“I feel so isolated and I’m so grateful for community with other people who get it.”
“Thank you so much for telling me I’m not making this up/crazy!”
Are you called to Shamanism and longing for a like-hearted community?
Do you feel relief and excitement at the idea of not only gaining Shamanic tools, but also connecting with other people who get it?
Is your inner teenager jumping up and down at the opportunity to make friends as weird as you are while also learning powerful Shamanic practices?
If you are ready for that kind of relief and belonging —
The Foundations of Shamanism course begins on November 17!
Classes are live, on Zoom, Monday evenings, 5 - 6:30pm PT. (No class on December 22.) All classes will be recorded. No prior experience is necessary for this course.
>>>Check out all the details and register here.
Practice Shamanic journeys to connect with spirit allies and learn how to integrate their medicine into your life and spiritual practice.
Anchor your healing, ceremonial or spiritual work into the powerful foundation of your local Earth grid and energetic ecosystem, for the purpose of grounding, protection and amplification.
Learn how to clear, ground and protect your energy so you can confidently and safely navigating the unseen realms.
Make offerings and prayers to connect with spirit guides and Shamanic allies, and build your connection with these guides.
Learn how to communicate with the spirit realm so that you may receive their messages, signs and teachings.
Master basic concepts of ecology so that your Earth-based spiritual practice is informed by a practical understanding of your local ecosystem.
Take steps to heal and reclaim your own indigeneity as you connect to Gaia in a new way.
Connect with like-hearted seekers and build community with others who get it.
The Foundations of Shamanism course begins on Monday, so if you’ve been thinking about signing up, now is the time!
Are you ready to answer your Shamanic calling?
Today, my Shamanic practice looks like foraging for chanterelles in the forest near my house.
It looks like staring in joyful appreciation at the golden maple leaves against the soaring blue sky.
It looks like sitting outside in the winter sunshine with my dog and 19 year old cat, singing silly songs and drinking hot chocolate.
Sometimes, “Shamanic practice” gets a conflated with heavy work and deep healing. And it can certainly include that — sometimes my Shamanic practice looks like entity extractions, past life healing, hours-long ritual and incorporation mediumship.
But Shamanic practice is also nourishing, peaceful and fun. It is interacting with playful spirits, sharing breath with a guardian tree, and singing with moving water.
How is your Shamanic practice inviting you to play, relax and enjoy? Where is your practice asking you to learn and develop skill, not only for the deep work, but also for the beauty and fun?
If you want to lean into the skill and the joy in your Shamanic practice —
The Foundations of Shamanism course begins on November 17!
Classes are live, on Zoom, Monday evenings, 5 - 6:30pm PT. (No class on December 22.) All classes will be recorded. No prior experience is necessary for this course.
Are you called to this work, and wondering if it’s right for you?
Practice Shamanic journeys to connect with spirit allies and learn how to integrate their medicine into your life and spiritual practice.
Anchor your healing, ceremonial or spiritual work into the powerful foundation of your local Earth grid and energetic ecosystem, for the purpose of grounding, protection and amplification.
Learn how to clear, ground and protect your energy so you can confidently and safely navigating the unseen realms.
Make offerings and prayers to connect with spirit guides and Shamanic allies, and build your connection with these guides.
Learn how to communicate with the spirit realm so that you may receive their messages, signs and teachings.
Master basic concepts of ecology so that your Earth-based spiritual practice is informed by a practical understanding of your local ecosystem.
Take steps to heal and reclaim your own indigeneity as you connect to Gaia in a new way.
Are you called to this work, and wondering if it’s right for you?
Do you have questions about the course?
Do you want to meet me for a brief call and make sure I’m the right teacher for you at this time?
Limited availability, this week only:
You’re invited to book a free call with me to talk about if the Foundations of Shamanism course is right for you!
***Talking to me is not a requirement to register for this course, this is if you have questions or want to discuss anything before registering.***
The Foundations of Shamanism course begins next week, so if you’ve been thinking about signing up, now is the time!
Are you ready to answer your Shamanic calling?
Many blessings,
What’s your Death Plan? Mine used to be wolves and vultures, but it has evolved a bit since then.
Death is a consistent presence in my Shamanic practice. In fact, we spend the first 4 months of the year-long Alchemy apprenticeship in the Death Phase, working with practices for letting go, surrendering and allowing those old, no-longer-needed parts of ourselves to die. I also support a lot of animals through their final crossing in my animal communication practice.
In the year-long program I’m participating in (Rewilding Leadership and Community Resilience), we’ve also been working with Death. One of the assignments is to write a Death Plan — directives for loved ones to follow, including closing bank accounts, celebration of life and final care for the Earthsuit.
I can’t help but remember a conversation I had with my mom when I was around 12 years old. This is how I remember the conversation (as a non-sequitur, completely out of nowhere):
Me: “When I die, I’d like my body to be left out in the woods so animals can eat me.”
Mom: “I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.”
I remember even then the desire for my body to return to Earth, knowing that I belong in this gorgeous cycle of life nourishing life. The desire to become part of the forest and the animals that I love so much.
I vividly remember a part in one of my favorite books I read around that age (maybe this is where I got the idea). One human character died, and his friend, an enormous bear, did him the honor of receiving this final gift, and ate his body.
There are some cultures that observe adjacent practices. In Tibetan Buddhism “sky burials,” bodies are brought into the mountains, dissected and joyfully fed to the vultures so that the spirit may be fully liberated from the Earth plane.
Here is a poem I love by Jarod K. Anderson (The CryptoNaturalist):
Vultures are holy creatures.
Tending the dead.
Bowing low.
Bared head.
Whispers to cold flesh,
“Your old name is not your king.
I rename you ‘Everything.’”
This concept of joyfully returning the body to Earth has appeared in my own songwriting. To me, it is so beautiful and harmonious and humbling and ecstatic — giving the miraculous gift of the bioform back to the Great Mother, to compost and become part of new life.
So to me, the idea of the modern funeral industry and practices is so fucked up.
Having strangers inject your body full of preservative chemicals, cover you with makeup and bury you in a box with plastic and metal in a cemetery full of fertilizer sounds like the plot of a horror movie.
But practices like that can only possibly come from a society that is disconnected from Earth and true participation in the full cycle of Life.
Being stuffed full of chemicals and buried in a fancy box only sounds good if you are under the spell of fear and illusion that we are not part of Earth — that we are somehow separate from nature.
Modern funeral practices only sound like a comforting option to those who have not taken their place of belonging to Earth and to Life.
We belong to Earth. We belong to Life, and Life loves us.
This is the Shamanic worldview. This is the original view of humanity in cultures all over the world. This is the belief that all things are alive, and connected through that universal aliveness. And also connected through our Death.
My Death plan has evolved in the past 25 years from my body being left in the woods. Now my plan is to have a “green burial” where my body composts with the help of mushrooms and turns into soil. I would like to be planted with some young trees, especially cedar.
But until I’m ready to make my final offering in this life, I’ll continue to make offerings every day — offerings of songs, prayers, water, flowers, dancing, food and tears.
Offerings of gratitude to Earth. Gratitude for my belonging in this wild and gorgeous web of Life. Gratitude for the cycles of Death and Rebirth and nourishment and radiant aliveness. Gratitude for this ecstatic miracle that we all get to participate in, and become part of Everything.
Are you called to Shamanic practice?
Do you want to learn how to make offerings and prayers to connect with spirit guides and Shamanic allies, and build your connection with these guides?
Are you ready to learn how to communicate with the spirit realm so that you may receive their messages, signs and teachings?
Are you drawn to Earth-based spiritual practice and want to take your place of belonging with Life?
Are you ready to answer your Shamanic calling?
I am delighted to invite you to:
Classes are live, on Zoom, Monday evenings, 5 - 6:30pm PT. (No class on December 22.) All classes will be recorded. No prior experience is necessary for this course.
Through this course, you will:
Practice Shamanic journeys to connect with spirit allies and learn how to integrate their medicine into your life and spiritual practice.
Anchor your healing, ceremonial or spiritual work into the powerful foundation of your local Earth grid and energetic ecosystem, for the purpose of grounding, protection and amplification.
Learn how to clear, ground and protect your energy so you can confidently and safely navigating the unseen realms.
Make offerings and prayers to connect with spirit guides and Shamanic allies, and build your connection with these guides.
Learn how to communicate with the spirit realm so that you may receive their messages, signs and teachings.
Master basic concepts of ecology so that your Earth-based spiritual practice is informed by a practical understanding of your local ecosystem.
Take steps to heal and reclaim your own indigeneity as you connect to Gaia in a new way.
We are the living, breathing, answered prayers of our ancestors.
Their histories inform our cells.
Their life stories are etched in our bones.
Their hopes and dreams for their children come alive in our actions.
Here in the Northern hemisphere, we are entering the Samhain portal—one of the High Holy days of the year in the Gaian/Solar calendar.
Samhain is the third and final harvest festival. It marks laying the fields to rest for the winter.
It is the portal of the Tomb, the thinning of the veil, and the celebration of ancestors and lineage.
Not only the ancestors of our bloodlines, but also the ancestors of our spiritual lineages and all the teachers who came before, who carried the torch of knowledge through the ages.
And also the ancestors who walked the land before us — those ancient people whose footsteps are still remembered by the Earth.
And our non-human ancestors — the stones, the mountains, the fossilized forests. The dinosaurs, woolly mammoths and all the ancient creatures whose bones hum with the magic of time and timelessness.
This is a wonderful time to make offerings to those who walked this Earth before us.
To celebrate their songs, their lives and the stories told around the fire.
To acknowledge their pains and hurts and suffering.
To honor their efforts on our behalf.
As the living, breathing, manifestation of those who came before, let us learn from their lives, receive their blessings and grow from their challenges.
Let us receive the teachings and wisdom from our ancestors who are whole and healed.
Let us offer generosity, forgiveness and compassion to our ancestors who may be in the realm of suffering souls.
But always, let us celebrate the legacy of family that lives in our hearts. The legacy of our blood family, our spiritual family and our Gaian family.
Let us celebrate those we love that have made their crossing to other realms, and ourselves as their living legacy of love.
Blessed Samhain!
If you know that you are here on Earth to develop a deep, functional allyship with Gaia and Earth-based spiritual practice —
If you want to refine, cultivate and ground your intuition in a safe and healthy way so you can confidently communicate with and invoke ancestors and spiritual forces for healing and guidance —
If you are ready to collaborate with ancient and powerful spirit guides and Shamanic allies —
If you are ready to answer your Shamanic calling —
Join me in this powerful course:
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).
Through this course, you will:
Practice Shamanic journeys to connect with spirit allies and learn how to integrate their medicine into your life and spiritual practice.
Anchor your healing, ceremonial or spiritual work into the powerful foundation of your local Earth grid and energetic ecosystem, for the purpose of grounding, protection and amplification.
Learn how to clear, ground and protect your energy so you can confidently and safely navigating the unseen realms.
Make offerings and prayers to connect with spirit guides and Shamanic allies, and build your connection with these guides.
Learn how to communicate with the spirit realm so that you may receive their messages, signs and teachings.
Master basic concepts of ecology so that your Earth-based spiritual practice is informed by a practical understanding of your local ecosystem.
Take steps to heal and reclaim your own indigeneity as you connect to Gaia in a new way.
“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:
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.
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:
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:
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).
