A guide book for exploring spiritual alchemy, magical practice, the cultivation and use of several of the Sacred Teacher Plants, and the constructive application of altered states. Covers such magical applications as conjuring illusions, healing and necromancy, and basic alterations of the Material Plane. This guide also includes a complete break-down of existence itself, with a detailed explanation of the Seven Planes of Existence. It was my wish to disclose the ""secrets"" that others are bound by oath to not reveal, and in so doing, to reinforce and invigorate the magical practices of our day.

With their ability to enter trances, to change into the bodies of other creatures, and to fly through the northern skies, shamans are the subject of both popular and scholarly fascination. In Shamans: Siberian Spirituality and the Western Imagination Ronald Hutton looks at what is really known about both the shamans of Siberia and about others spread throughout the world. He traces the growth of knowledge of shamans in Imperial and Stalinist Russia, descibes local variations and different types of shamanism, and explores more recent western influences on its history and modern practice. This is a challenging book by one of the world's leading authorities on Paganism.

An experiential guide to the wisdom preserved in Europe’s far north • Includes shamanic journeys to connect with deities and your ancestral shamans • Provides step-by-step instructions to prepare for and conduct a seiðr ceremony • Draws on archaeological evidence and surviving written records from Iceland • Reveals the long tradition of female shamans in northern European shamanism Shamanism is humanity’s oldest spiritual tradition. In much of the Western world, the indigenous pre-Christian spiritual practices have been lost. Yet at the northern fringes of Europe, Christianity did not displace the original shamanic practices until the end of the Viking age. Remnants of Norse shamanic spirituality have survived in myths, folk traditions, and written records from Iceland, providing many clues about the ancient European shaman’s world, especially when examined in conjunction with other shamanic cultures in northern Eurasia, such as the Sami and the tribes of Siberia. Reconstructing the shamanic practices of the hunter-gatherers of Scandinavia, Evelyn Rysdyk explores the evolution of Norse shamanism from its earliest female roots to the pre-Christian Viking Age. She explains how to enter Yggdrasil, the World Tree, to travel to other realms and provides shamanic journeys to connect with the ancestral shamans of your family tree, including the Norse goddess Freyja, the very first shaman. She offers exercises to connect with the ancient goddesses of fate, the Norns, and introduces the overnight wilderness quest of útiseta for reconnecting with the powers of nature. She explains the key concepts of Ørlög and Wyrd--the two most powerful forces that shape human lives--and provides exercises for letting go of harmful behavior patterns and transforming simple knowledge into profound wisdom by connecting with Óðinn. Thoroughly examining the shamanic rituals of seiðr, the oracular magic of the Nordic cultures, the author provides step-by-step instructions to prepare for and conduct a seiðr ceremony, including creating your own seiðr staff and hood, and explores the ancestral use of shamanic songs or varðlokur to accompany the ceremony. Woven throughout these exercises, Rysdyk provides archaeological evidence from Neolithic sites supporting the long tradition of venerating wise women, grandmothers, and mothers in ancient cultures and the important role of female shamans at the heart of northern European shamanism. Providing an accessible guide for anyone trying to fulfill their shamanic callings, these powerful rituals can provide personal healing and a clear path for finding our way into a harmonious relationship with the natural world.

In this definitive reference volume, almost fifty leading thinkers and practitioners of autoethnographic research—from four continents and a dozen disciplines—comprehensively cover its vision, opportunities and challenges. Chapters address the theory, history, and ethics of autoethnographic practice, representational and writing issues, the personal and relational concerns of the autoethnographer, and the link between researcher and social justice. A set of 13 exemplars show the use of these principles in action. Autoethnography is one of the most popularly practiced forms of qualitative research over the past 20 years, and this volume captures all its essential elements for graduate students and practicing researchers.

"Just as there are relatively distinct stages that characterize the development of an individual from infancy to early adulthood, so too are there discernible stages in the development of our species as we move toward a planetary-scale civilization. Awakening Earth brings together views from science and spirituality, East and West, the practical and the visionary, to present a compelling new picture of human evolution. Based upon twenty years of research, this book explores the human journey from the initial awakening of hunter-gatherers roughly 35,000 years ago, through the agrarian era and Industrial Revolution, and then goes on to describe three additional stages of development essential for realizing our initial maturity as a global species-civilization." "A disoriented world civilization faced with dwindling resources, mounting pollution, and exploding population is a recipe for ecological collapse and social anarchy. It is imperative that the human family begin to make rapid and profound changes in how we live together on the Earth. To accomplish this, we must now ask ourselves fundamental questions: Who are we? What are we doing here? Where are we going as a species? Awakening Earth provides a catalyst for this conversation with its integrative vision and inspiring map of the journey toward a sustainable, compassionate, and creative future. While not predicting a sudden "new age" of social enlightenment, Awakening Earth does present the promising view that humanity is roughly halfway through seven major transformations in culture and consciousness required to build a planetary civilization that can endure into the deep future."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This accessible study of Northern European shamanistic practice, or seidr, explores the way in which the ancient Norse belief systems evoked in the Icelandic Sagas and Eddas have been rediscovered and reinvented by groups in Europe and North America. The book examines the phenomenon of altered consciousness and the interactions of seid-workers or shamanic practitioners with their spirit worlds. Written by a follower of seidr, it investigates new communities involved in a postmodern quest for spiritual meaning.

Chances are that you've heard of Tantra and Taoist sexual practices. Now, as a result of studying the inner mysteries of alchemy, Donald Tyson presents a Western system of sacred sexuality in Sexual Alchemy. Here you will learn how to have erotic relationships with loving spirits. That means the methods presented here can function as a Western alternative to Eastern sexual practices. They also can be used by a solitary person and need not depend upon the participation of a partner. The first part of this book presents a history of sex with spirits. It also goes into the secrets of Eastern internal alchemy and how the books of Western alchemy often made secretive references to sexual magick. You will also learn how to create a physical representation of the spirit you are going to use as a partner. The second part of the book includes the practices and techniques which the author found to be effective from other sources or developed himself. This includes techniques of diet, exercise, breathwork, banishings, purifications, and finally, an invocation ritual to summon the spirit who is going to be your lover! Then you will learn the previously hidden secrets of having sex with a spirit lover. You'll learn how to prepare and recognize the signs that this is an actual occurrence and not simply a fantasy. And then, when you have accomplished your ritualized mating, you will learn how to collect and use the resulting, highly charged fluids for magical purposes. Everything we are, everything we have, is a gift from the Divine. Doesn't it make sense that we use all of our abilities to honor the source from which they came? That means we can even make use of our sensual natures to honor the Gods. If you want to follow a system based on western traditions, this book can be your guide.

The "thinking person's" approach to Witchcraft, this manual to the theory and practice of Witchcraft is aimed at the serious student: specifically, the practicing Witch. It is written conversationally, taking to the individual as though the student were being trained through the author's coven.

The first practical guide to applying the ancient healing art of Hawaiian shamanism to our modern lives. Uniquely suited for use in today's world, Hawaiian shamanism follows the way of the adventurer, which produces change through love and cooperation—in contrast to the widely known way of the warrior, which emphasizes solitary quests and conquest by power. Now, even if you can't get out into the wilderness or undertake a long apprenticeship with a shaman, you can learn to practice the art of shamanism. You'll learn how to: —Interpret and change your dreams —Heal yourself, your relationships, and the environment —Cast the shaman stones to foretell the future —Design and perform powerful rituals —Shapechange —Make vision quests to other realities And more.

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