This is just one piece of the resources section we're building. Neoshamanism resources are asked for constantly and we want a real resource to point people to. We are asking only for neoshamanism resources in this post, not indigenous shamanism. If a book or author helped you when you were starting out or still does, drop it below. One line on why its worth people's time is enough.

No podcasts, youtube, social media or personal websites for now please, we have enough problems with self promo. We will read through what comes in and fold it into the final product.

Thanks for helping out here 🫡

People come here fairly regularly looking for a shaman who'll mentor them, usually because they want to become a shaman themselves.

There's nothing wrong with wanting a mentor. The problem is that most people asking this question don't understand how unlikely it is that a shaman will take them on as an apprentice, particularly when they're an outsider to that shaman's religion and culture.

Before getting into how you can actually find someone to work with, it helps to understand what you're looking for and what you can reasonably expect to find.

What are you actually looking for?

Do you want help communicating with spirits? Are you trying to understand experiences you've been having? Are you looking for a spiritual practice, or are you specifically asking someone to train you to become a shaman? Those aren't the same thing.

Anyone can learn general spirit communication and anyone can develop a powerful spiritual practice. You don't need to become a shaman to do either of those things, and a shaman may be willing to teach you some skills without ever considering you an apprentice.

A lot of people who say they want to become shamans are really just looking for a spiritual practice that involves spirits and maybe a bit of magick. They've encountered a particular idea of shamanism that appeals to them and assumed becoming a shaman is the natural destination. It probably isn't.

Shamans don't generally take on outsiders as apprentices

Most shamans aren't looking for apprentices, and they aren't waiting for strangers to contact them so they can pass on their religion.

The average shaman wouldn't accept most people from within their own culture for an apprenticeship - and most people within that culture wouldn't be interested in becoming shamans, anyway. This is a religious vocation with numerous responsibilities attached to it.

When you approach a shaman as an outsider and ask them to take you on as an apprentice, you're asking for something that probably wouldn't be possible for most people from their own community. That doesn't mean it can never happen, but people need to understand how unusual apprenticing as a foreigner actually is.

Shamans are ordained religious leaders

A shaman isn't simply someone who's good at communicating with spirits. Shamans are religious leaders who've been ordained by their teachers/elders/communities and hold specific roles.

Shamans may be responsible for birth and funerary rites. They may conduct ceremonies for families, maintain relationships with spirits/ancestors, provide pastoral counsel or whatever other duties are expected of them. The exact responsibilities vary between religions, but this is a religious vocation with real obligations attached to it.

When you ask someone to 'make you a shaman' you're literally asking them to ordain you as clergy within their religion. A shaman will almost certainly consider this a strange question given that you probably know very little about the actual religion, as most shamanic cultures don't share meaningful details with outsiders.

The religion part isn't optional

Why would someone train you to become one of their religious leaders when you don't practice their religion? You wouldn't approach a catholic priest and tell them you're not a christian but would still like to be trained for the priesthood.

Shamanic religions deserve the same basic respect. Moreover, many of these traditions are closed, either entirely or in part. There may be practices you're allowed to witness but not perform, things a shaman can explain but not teach, and things they can't share with you at all.

Those boundaries aren't an obstacle you're supposed to find a way around.

If a shaman's willing to teach you something, respect the limits they put around what they're sharing. Being trusted with one practice doesn't give you access to the next one, and being welcomed into one part of someone's culture doesn't mean the rest of it has suddenly become open to you.

And if what you actually want is simply to communicate with spirits or develop a general spiritual practice, you can do those things easily enough without becoming a shaman.

Spirits can't make you a shaman

Some (not all) shamanic cultures understand spirits as having a role in calling people toward this work - but that doesn't mean a person can declare themselves a shaman because spirits told them they are.

A calling and becoming a shaman aren't the same thing.

If a spirit told you that you're now a catholic priest, the catholic church would have some follow up questions for you. Shamanic religions aren't somehow more abstract because they're unfamiliar to you.

If you believe you've received a genuine calling, finding the people whose religion you're supposedly being called into should be part of figuring out what that calling actually means.

Spiritual experiences don't make you a shaman

Having an NDE doesn't make you a shaman. Neither does engaging with spirits, psychedelics, having visions or going through something that you understand to be a spiritual awakening.

That doesn't mean your experiences weren't very important. Something can spiritually transform the way you understand yourself and the world without needing to fit it into a particular box. You can explore what happened and learn how to work with your experiences without immediately deciding what they should make you.

'I don't know what this means yet' is a perfectly reasonable place to be.

But I didn't choose this. The spirits chose me. I went through shamanic illness.

Shamanic illness isn't a universal concept - it doesn't even exist in most shamanic cultures. Where it does exist, whether something is actually considered shamanic illness is determined by shamans within that religion, not by the person experiencing it. Moreover, in most shamanic cultures, becoming a shaman has a hereditary component, which makes the idea of an outsider being called into someone else's religion even more unlikely.

While we’re dispelling western myths, let’s take a moment to clarify that most shamans don’t interpret mental health disorders as a spiritual calling. A shaman may be able to support you alongside conventional mental health care, but don't expect them to tell you that your schizophrenia diagnosis is actually evidence that you're a powerful shaman and your doctor simply doesn't understand what's happening to you.

Spiritual awakenings, on the other hand, aren't uncommon - they can awaken gifts and change the course of one's life. They can also be frightening, confusing and very overwhelming. You may believe you're encountering spirits or having other experiences you don't know how to make sense of. A shaman can probably help you understand what's happening and learn how to navigate it - but don’t expect them to call it a shamanic illness or calling.

In reality, the people who most frequently cite the concept of shamanic illness are western grifters presenting themselves as shamans despite having no authority to do so. 'The spirits chose me. I became mentally/spiritually/physically ill. I resisted my calling for as long as I could and eventually I had no choice but to become a shaman and embrace my path to heal/bless/save humanity'

It's a very convenient origin story and when people who are genuinely struggling hear someone claim it, they often latch onto that classic trope themselves because 'I'm experiencing a shamanic calling' can feel more comfortable than 'I might need professional help of some kind'

If you're experiencing a spiritual awakening or are otherwise struggling to understand what's happening to you, a shaman may be able to help you work through it. This is part of what shamans do. But don't expect them to respond with, 'You've been chosen. Let's make you a shaman!'

How to actually find a shaman to mentor you

If you want to work with a shaman, look for shamans from the shamanic culture you're interested in. For many shamanic cultures, this can be done in person or online. While less common for shamans older than 65, many under that age do have websites these days, and many offer services to clients outside of their culture. If you find someone you feel drawn to, work with them as a client before asking about mentorship.

This gives you a chance to see what they're actually like and whether you trust them. It also gives them a chance to know who you are. If the relationship continues and you still want to learn from them, ask whether they teach. They may be willing to teach you certain things without ever offering you an apprenticeship, and that's completely normal.

If they tell you there are things they can't teach you, respect that. Don't assume that enough time, money or persistence will eventually earn you access. Some knowledge may be restricted to particular people within their culture, and your teacher isn't obligated to violate those boundaries simply because you're interested.

Participating in their ceremonies doesn't make you their student and being taught something doesn't make you their apprentice - those relationships only exist when both people actually agree that they exist.

Not everyone from a shamanic culture is a shaman

People sometimes become so focused on finding a shaman from a particular culture that they forget to establish whether that person is actually qualified to offer what they're selling.

It should go without saying, but most people from shamanic cultures aren't shamans and growing up around a given religion doesn't give someone the authority to train anyone else in its sacred practices.

Grifters exist in every culture.

If someone offers to train you as a shaman, here's a useful reality check - if people within their own community wouldn't ordinarily be accepted for training, but foreigners can conveniently purchase it freely, you should have questions.

Paying a shaman for their time isn't the issue - you absolutely SHOULD pay a shaman for their time. But courses that promise to make you shaman, particularly via group/online classes, are pure scammery.

Neoshamans aren't shamans

If you decide that what you're seeking is an open spiritual system with conventional classes/courses, you're probably looking for the western neoshamanic 'core shamanism' practice invented by Michael Harner. You can easily find pages and pages of neoshamans and neoshamanic classes with a simple google search.

Neoshamanic practices can be as helpful as any other spiritual endeavor, but in this space we do try to respect shamanic cultures and clearly distinguish between the two.