Is there any truth/legitimacy to modern Western shamanism?

Maggie McQuaid 1 vote by Quora User I'm hesitant to comment on this. I was born and raised here in the Southwest, and am what's locally called "Anglo", meaning white, not Hispanic, and not Indian. read more

On a very basic level, following a sort of university path towards shamanism is antithetical to what it is. By almost all Western standards, shamanism is a non-qualification, a non-art, a non-practice. It is opposite of everything you might imagine. read more

Modern shamans are still doing the same things shamans have always done. They stand on that bridge between this reality and the next ready to bring back whatever knowledge is needed. Today shamans can help people with the same problems their ancestors suffered with when they were squatting in the dust sixty thousand years ago. read more

transformation of “classical, indigenous shamanism” (if there is such), when native people began to read ethnographic accounts and reacted to anthropological systematization (see Atkinson: 322–23; Vitebsky). 2. From both religious and sociological points of view, modern western shamanism has a lot in common with neopagan groups (see York). read more