by Shaman Chad
You ever notice that in all the movies and books, the shaman or witch living at the edge of the village is fucking nuts? A total loner from society? There’s a reason for that. And if you think we’ve somehow matured as a society to be more accepting of loners and outsiders, think again. Part of the shaman’s role in a society is to be the fucking weirdo that questions and challenges things. Not just to be an asshole, but to invite you to solidify your convictions and question your assumptions. They are the ultimate non-conformists. If they aren’t a little fuckin’ weird, they aren’t doing their job. Like a court jester, the shaman points out the absurd and contradictions of polite, acceptable, norms. It doesn’t necessarily mean those norms should be changed, but to be made aware of.
Shamans believe they are interacting with a ‘spirit world.’ If you’ve ever tripped before, you know that your immediate environment becomes animated with the demons of your psyche. These are ‘spirits.’ They’re both ‘not real’ but ‘more real’ than you want them to be. They are your own mind’s ‘meanings’ given shape. Given personality. Made explicit. Now imagine trying to function on a daily basis in polite society with these guys.
Rough example: Heath Ledger’s Joker. The dude literally conjured up this guy and then had to share his head with him. What do you do now? How do you get rid of this guy when you made him up? That would be called an attempted ‘banishing’ by my fellow pagans. But you can’t really erase him, just lock him up in a closet in your mind.
Anyway, just go watch some Terence McKenna videos on YouTube.
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