What form(s) of magic(k) do you practice?

steamboat28 wrote: I don't disagree with Michael Harner's distillation of animistic technique and ritual in The Way of the Shaman, but any time you lump wildly different groups of people together, I get twitchy.

I'm not at odds with your thoughts and feelings on borrowing spiritual ideas from other cultures, but at the same time I am comfortable picking and choosing (re: former chaos magician). I think it's sad that in the case of shamanism people from cultures that traditionally employed shamans and shamanic techniques are hurt by the "appropriation" of their belief systems, though it is an undisputed reality that all forms of shamanism borrow heavily from previous shamanic traditions and (as you noted) shamanic animism is roughly the same across different cultures.

Because I have a tendency to use what works in my magical practices, I occasionally come across people who are upset about that fact. Generally, if I sit down with them and explain how important respect of cultures, people, and their individual practices is to me and that I comprehend the inner workings of particular customs and conventions, they relax quite a bit. I think, for the most part, people simply want their cultures and beliefs to be appreciated and understood.

That said, not everyone is respectful of the roots of their magical or spiritual practices, and that's unfortunate.

There is a marked difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. The latter keeps culture alive, and the former stomps it into the mud for a dollar.

Kamizu wrote: I also want to get into more incense work. I love the way smells can make me feel and I want to ultimately make some of my own stuff.

That sounds excellent. I sometimes feel I am missing out in this area because I have really bad reactions to incense. Find a jar of ghost peppers and inhale and you'll get a similar reaction. Sorry about your seeds.

Reading your post, what I love about you is that you're so creatively driven. People like you and Ryu inspire me to get my hands a little dirty, so to speak.

Whenever you feel like chatting, I'd be interested in hearing more about your experiences with stones, incense, and energy work, as well as your recent shamanic endeavors.

steamboat28 wrote: "Core" shamanism is specifically what I was referring to earlier, as a lot of people got suuuuuuper offended that these completely disparate cultures with disparate (though vaguely similar) concepts and ideologies all got their animism lumped in together with actual shamans (i.e., the Mongolian style, where the word originated), with their term being slapped across every kind of animism but Shinto. I don't disagree with Michael Harner's distillation of animistic technique and ritual in The Way of the Shaman, but any time you lump wildly different groups of people together, I get twitchy.

Also note that " plastic shamanism " is a term that denotes exploitation, either by the "shamans" themselves, or the teachers/authors/etc. they learn from. It's not an across-the-board slur, by any means, but it has broadened slightly to include ignorant "shamans"-- something core shamanism is good at creating if its adherents don't do a little extra homework.

Also also...

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The person responsible for drafting this message was sacked.

...it's worth noting that "shaman" is a title that isn't taken lightly, or bestowed upon oneself. There are a scad of things that make a shaman, and those of us who haven't experienced them should remember that what we do is simply "shamanic"; a step on the same path as they walk.

That Plastic Shaman thing is scary. I'm not lookin' to lead or claim I can heal, it's mostly a tool for me and honestly it's not so far different than what I've been doing a lot of my life, just more focused and easer to hear now that I have direction (and lack of outside opposition)

I am not a Shaman nor will I ever be I asked my guide, because I was curious and wanted to feel special. He told me "No." I was quite disappointed at the time! But I read in one of the books that the title of Shaman was along the lines of Guru/Master. One that others award and not one that you give yourself. It was in one of the first books I read so I've always been very careful to avoid calling myself that...it gets awkward hahahahaha. So use to saying "I'm a Christian" that I have to work hard at restructuring my sentences hehe.

Perhaps "I am studying shamanic principals/ideals/practices" may be a better way to explain where I'm at at the moment By no means do I intend to cheapen the cultures that employ shamanism! Or any of the shamanic systems. Sorry if I came off that way. I'm still bumbling my way through things as I learn

Kamizu wrote: Sorry if I came off that way. I'm still bumbling my way through things as I learn

We all are. I wasn't trying to imply that you were, I just thought it was a good opportunity to expand on that line of thinking for the sake of the audience. The beauty of communication in a forum is that we can take opportunities like that to educate even those who aren't actively participating in the discussion by posting, but are still reading. We're all at different levels of learning here, so I thought it was a nice time to bring up that set of points, even though I know you well enough to know that they don't apply to you.

Thank you Cade for starting this thread! I have practiced a wide variety of systems from Ceremonial to Yoruba Voodoo (the darker kind). I find myself continually returning to Michael W. Ford's style of Luciferianism and Michelle Bellanger's work...

Zenchi wrote: Thank you Cade for starting this thread! I have practiced a wide variety of systems from Ceremonial to Yoruba Voodoo (the darker kind). I find myself continually returning to Michael W. Ford's style of Luciferianism and Michelle Bellanger's work...

No problem. And thanks for being comfortable enough to post about your own practices. I know we've talked a little about the systems that you work with in the past, but just to reiterate I find your path very intriguing.

I've never worked with West African Vodun traditions, but a few local practitioners show up at Haitian Vodou fets occasionally. The form that I work with (re: NOLA voodoo) is largely an American tradition that came out of Haiti, so much of the darker stuff that you mentioned was filtered out along the way. There is still an emphasis on the the balance of dark and light and an acceptance of those who work in the darker fringes, but (from what little I know of the tradition) Vodun can be 49 shades of grey darker, nej?

I've also read a couple of Michael W. Ford's books. Oh man, the editing, but I like his style of Luciferianism as well. When I am over on that end of the spectrum, I tend to reach for Koetting, Karlsson, and a few others in addition to Ford.

One of my friends in the vampire community met Michelle Belanger a few years ago and said she was awesome, but that she "has a mouth like a sailor." I remember really liking her Psychic Energy Codex book.

Yeah, if the members here haven't paid attention yet they're likely not to begin now. My being upfront here has been pretty therapeutic, now if only I can get someone to take confession, that'd be really sweet, lol...

Lol, it's a good thing I've never called myself "shaman"...even though I'm part cheyenne indian "shaman" or "medicine man" are titles I'd never lay claim to...at most I'd call myself a "sage" or more likely "hedge-rider"...if I had to...

In my much younger/darker days I studied darker stuff (voodoo dolls, etc) all in the interest of hurting those that could/would/did hurt me...considering the threefold law perhaps that is why I currently have such horrible runs of misfortune (all that bad karma balancing out)...

Confession? I think we have people capable of that...somewhere around here...

RyuJin wrote: In my much younger/darker days I studied darker stuff (voodoo dolls, etc) all in the interest of hurting those that could/would/did hurt me...considering the threefold law perhaps that is why I currently have such horrible runs of misfortune (all that bad karma balancing out)...

Ouch. Yeah. I can see how that might come back around.

Personally, I use what I refer to as 'dark path spirituality' to enhance my understanding and appreciation of the lighter side of spirit (I'm not fond of using the terms dark and light when describing magic or spirituality, but will use them here for clarity). For me, it has never been about hurting or cursing others. It's always been about acknowledging the darkness and intensifying the light.

That is not to say that one can't learn something from darker paths if they utilize them in the manner that you did, RyuJin. I simply wanted to emphasize that there are different ways of approaching that side of things.