The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft
Winner of the Coalition of Visionary Resources Awards
Best Magic/Shamanism Book 2006
THE Temple OF Shamanic Witchcraft
About the Author
Christopher Penczak (Salem, NH) is an award-winning author, teacher, and healing practitioner. As an advocate for the timeless perennial wisdom of the ages, he is rooted firmly in the traditions of modern Witchcraft and Earth-based religions but draws from a wide range of spiritual traditions, including shamanism, alchemy, herbalism, Theosophy, and Hermetic Qabalah, to forge his own magickal traditions and create educational and community opportunities designed to encourage you to do the same. His many books include Magick of Reiki, Spirit Allies, Ascension Magick, and The Mighty Dead. Along with his partners, Steve Kenson and Adam Sartwell, he cofounded the Temple of Witchcraft tradition and religious nonprofit, drawn from the system found in his popular Temple series of books. Together, they support Witchcraft as a spiritual tradition and a means to transform the individual and the world. They also formed Copper Cauldron Publishing, a company dedicated to producing books, recordings, and tools for magickal inspiration and evolution. Christopher maintains a teaching and healing practice in New England while working in the Temple community, but travels extensively, lecturing, offering rituals and intensives, and leading sacred site retreats across the world. For more information about his work and the Temple of Witchcraft community, please visit www.christopherpenczak.com and www.templeofwitchcraft.org.
To Write to the Author
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Christopher Penczak
c⁄o Llewellyn Worldwide
2143 Wooddale Drive Woodbury, MN 55125-2989
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Llewellyn Publications • Woodbury, Minnesota
The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft: Shadows, Spirits, and the Healing Journey Copyright © 2005, Twentieth Anniversary Edition 2024 by Christopher Penczak. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First edition, expanded and revised
First printing, 2024
Fifteenth printing, 2024
Book design by Donna Burch-Brown
Cover design by Kevin R. Brown
Interior Illustrations © 2005 by Mary Ann Zapalac on pages 82, 157–160, 181, 344, 382, 444, 487–488
Other interior art by the Llewellyn Art Department
Llewellyn is a registered trademark of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Penczak, Christopher.
The temple of shamanic witchcraft : shadows, spirits and the healing journey / by Christopher Penczak. p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 13: 978-0-7387-0767-9
ISBN 10: 0-7387-0767-8
1. Witchcraft. 2. Shamanism. I. Title.
BF1566.P468 2005
133.4'3—dc22
2005044099
Llewellyn Worldwide does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business transactions between our authors and the public.
All mail addressed to the author is forwarded but the publisher cannot, unless specifically instructed by the author, give out an address or phone number.
Any internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific location will continue to be maintained. Please refer to the publisher’s website for links to authors’ websites and other sources.
Llewellyn Publications
A Division of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.
2143 Wooddale Drive Woodbury, MN 55125-2989
www.llewellyn.com
Printed in the Unites States of America
Other Works by Christopher Penczak
The Temple Series
The Inner Temple of Witchcraft: Magic Meditation, and Psychic Development (Updated 20th Anniversary Edition, Llewellyn, 2021; 1st Printing, Llewellyn, 2002)
The Outer Temple of Witchcraft: Circles, Spells, and Rituals (Updated 20th Anniversary Edition, Llewellyn, 2022; 1st Printing, Llewellyn, 2004)
The Temple of High Witchcraft: Ceremonies, Spheres, and the Witches’ Qabalah (Llewellyn, 2007)
The Living Temple of Witchcraft, Volume One: The Descent of the Goddess (Llewellyn, 2008)
The Living Temple of Witchcraft, Volume Two: The Journey of the God (Llewellyn, 2009)
Temple Series Audio Recordings by Christopher Penczak
The Inner Temple of Witchcraft CD Companion (Llewellyn, 2002)
The Outer Temple of Witchcraft CD Companion (Llewellyn, 2004)
The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft CD Companion (Llewellyn, 2005)
The Temple of High Witchcraft CD Companion (Llewellyn, 2007)
The Living Temple of Witchcraft, Volume One, CD Companion (Llewellyn, 2008)
The Living Temple of Witchcraft, Volume Two, CD Companion (Llewellyn, 2009)
Other Books by Christopher Penczak City Magick (Samuel Weiser, 2001, 2012)
Spirit Allies (Samuel Weiser, 2002)
Gay Witchcraft (Samuel Weiser, 2003)
The Witch’s Shield (book with CD) (Llewellyn, 2004)
Magick of Reiki (Llewellyn, 2004)
Sons of the Goddess (Llewellyn, 2005)
Instant Magick (Llewellyn, 2006)
The Mystic Foundation (Llewellyn, 2006)
Ascension Magick (Llewellyn, 2007)
The Witch’s Coin (Llewellyn, 2009)
The Three Rays of Witchcraft (Copper Cauldron, 2010)
The Witch’s Heart (Llewellyn, 2011)
The Plant Spirit Familiar (Copper Cauldron, 2011)
The Gates of Witchcraft (Copper Cauldron, 2012) Buddha, Christ, and Merlin (Copper Cauldron, 2012)
The Feast of the Morrighan (Copper Cauldron, 2012)
The Mighty Dead (Copper Cauldron, 2013)
City Witchcraft (Copper Cauldron, 2013)
The Phosphorous Grove (Copper Cauldron, 2013, 2017)
Foundations of the Temple (Copper Cauldron, 2014)
The Casting of Spells (Copper Cauldron, 2016)
The Witch’s Hut (Copper Cauldron, 2021)
The Lighting of Candles (Copper Cauldron, 2021)
Books with Christopher Penczak
Laurie Cabot’s Book of Spells and Enchantments (by Laurie Cabot, with Penny Cabot and Christopher Penczak; Copper Cauldron, 2014)
Laurie Cabot’s Book of Shadows
(by Laurie Cabot, with Penny Cabot and Christopher Penczak; Copper Cauldron, 2015)
Anthologies Edited by Christopher Penczak
The Green Lovers (Copper Cauldron, 2012)
Ancestors of the Craft (Copper Cauldron, 2012)
The Waters and Fires of Avalon (Copper Cauldron, 2013)
Disclaimer
In no way is this material a substitute for trained medical or psychological care. This book is intended to be used by stable, mature adults seeking personal awareness and transformation. Private and personal consultations with a psychological or spiritual counselor can be a great adjunct for those undertaking the course work of this book. If you are not psychologically stable or do not have access to a qualified counselor, then do not undertake the exercises presented in this book.
All herbal formulas are given for historical understanding and references. No herbal formula should be consumed unless specifically stated. Herbs and herbal formulas that are potentially toxic are stated, and the author and publisher assume no responsibility for those who consume such preparations in any dose. People with allergies or sensitive skin should take caution when using herbal remedies. Do not take any herb or herbal preparation without direct consultation from a qualified health care provider. Both the author and the publisher assume no liability for any injuries caused to the reader that may result from the reader’s use of the content contained herein. All readers should use common sense when contemplating the practices described in the work.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to all my friends and students who have walked the path of healing and shared their stories in this book, particularly Wendy Snow Fogg, Chris Giroux, Olivette Aviso, Victoria MacGown, David Boyle, Claire Hart, Christian Medaglia, Christina Colangelo, David Dalton, Carin Baskin, and Laehar.
A special thank-you to Alixaendreai for her input and encouragement.
This work is inspired by and draws upon the work and traditions of many people. It is with great admiration and respect that I thank the following teachers, scholars, and keepers of the way: Michael Harner, Raven Grimassi, Chas S. Clifton, Evan John Jones, R. J. Stewart, John Matthews, Caitlín Matthews, Orion Foxwood, Victor Anderson, Cora Anderson, T. Thorn Coyle, Hugh Mynne, Robert Cochrane, Doreen Valiente, Janet Farrar, Stewart Farrar, Gavin Bone, Tom Cowan, Eliot Cowan, Edred Thorsson, Sharynne M. NicMhacha, Dr. Edward Bach, Sarangerel, Olga Kharitidi, Elizabeth B. Jenkins, Kenneth Johnson, Mircea Eliades, and Carlo Ginzburg.
To my husbands, Steve and Adam, my parents, Ron and Rosalie, the Temple of Witchcraft community and school, and in particular Stevie Grant, and all my spirit allies, guides, and teachers.
Contents
List of Exercises . . . xvii
List of Tables & Figures . . . xix
Foreword to the New Edition by M. Belanger . . . xxiii
Introduction to the New Edition: Called by the Spirits . . . 1
Introduction: What Is the Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft? . . . 11
Chapter One
Witchcraft and Shamanism . . . 17
Chapter Two
Opening the Veil . . . 49
Chapter Three
Making Sacred Space . . . 69
Chapter Four
The Role of the Shamanic Witch . . . 95
Chapter Five
Lesson 1: The Worlds of the Shaman . . . 117
Chapter Six
Lesson 2: The World Aside . . . 167
Chapter Seven
Lesson 3: The Underworld Path . . . 197
Chapter Eight
Lesson 4: The Starry Road . . . 231
Chapter Nine
Lesson 5: Walking with the Spirits . . . 257
Chapter Ten
Lesson 6: The World of Dreams . . . 299
Chapter Eleven
Lesson 7: Rites of the Shaman . . . 319
Chapter Twelve
Lesson 8: Animal Spirit Medicine . . . 337
Chapter Thirteen
Lesson 9: Plant, Stone, and Song Medicine . . . 361
Chapter Fourteen
Lesson 10: Past-Life Healing . . . 407
Chapter Fifteen
Lesson 11: Shamanic Healing . . . 425
Chapter Sixteen
Lesson 12: Mastering the Three Worlds . . . 467
Chapter Seventeen
Lesson 13: Shadow Initiation . . . 483
Bibliography . . . 499
Index . . . 507
Exercises
Exercise 1: Entering a Meditative State . . . 61
Exercise 2: The Inner Temple . . . 63
Exercise 3: Emotional Body Training . . . 110
Exercise 4: Shadow Promise Ritual . . . 115
Exercise 5: Finding Your World Tree . . . 125
Exercise 6: Tree Breathing . . . 147
Exercise 7: Introductory Journey . . . 163
Exercise 8: Building Your Own Witch Bag . . . 185
Exercise 9: Eating Heavy Energy . . . 190
Exercise 10: Earth Mother Journey . . . 192
Exercise 11: Lower World Journey to Meet a Power Animal . . . 212
Exercise 12: Shapeshifting Journey . . . 217
Exercise 13: Faery Contact . . . 224
Exercise 14: Underworld Offering . . . 226
Exercise 15: Upper World Journey . . . 241
Exercise 16: Angelic Journey . . . 244
Exercise 17: Higher Self Connection . . . 249
Exercise 18: Upper World Energy . . . 253
Exercise 19: Invocation . . . 274
Exercise 20: Ancestor Ritual . . . 289
Exercise 21: Clearing a Haunting . . . 294
Exercise 22: Dream Ritual . . . 316
Exercise 23: Journeying the Wheel of the Year . . . 325
Exercise 24: Meeting the Spirits of the Seasons . . . 328
Exercise 25: Animal Spirit Medicine Retrieval Journey . . . 355
Exercise 26: Plant Spirit Communication . . . 366
Exercise 27: Plant Spirit Medicine Retrieval Journey . . . 377
Exercise 28: Stone Spirit Medicine Retrieval Journey . . . 397
Exercise 29: Sacred Sound . . . 403
Exercise 30: Ritual to Revoke Past-Life Contracts . . . 416
Exercise 31: Healing Past-Life Regression . . . 421
Exercise 32: Spirit Body Journey . . . 442
Exercise 33: Healing Chambers . . . 443
Exercise 34: Hands-On Healing . . . 446
Exercise 35: Soul Retrieval . . . 457
Exercise 36: Distilling the Shadow . . . 461
Exercise 37: Elemental Journey . . . 470
Exercise 38: Sending . . . 472
Exercise 39: Distant Spirit Medicine Retrieval . . . 472
Exercise 40: Cosmic River and Witch Star Journey . . . 476
Exercise 41: Healing Chamber to Release Unhealthy Spirit Attachments . . . 479
Exercise 42: Journey to the Dark Goddess/God . . . 481
Tables & Figures
Tables
Table 1: Ogham Alphabet Correspondences . . . 120–23
Table 2: Names of the World Tree/World Mountain . . . 124
Table 3: Ogham and the Other Worlds Chart . . . 133
Table 4: Middle World Correspondences . . . 168
Table 5: Middle World Names . . . 169
Table 6: Magickal Correspondences of Wood . . . 181
Table 7: Names for the Earth Goddess . . . 192
Table 8: Underworld Correspondences . . . 198
Table 9: Lower World Names . . . 205
Table 10: Upper World Correspondences . . . 233
Table 11: Upper World Names . . . 237
Table 12: Angels for Each Season in Magickal Traditions . . . 327
Table 13: Celtic Cities . . . 469
Figures
Figure 1: Inhibitory and Exhibitory Techniques . . . 53
Figure 2: Equal-Armed Cross in the Circle . . . 70
Figure 3: Banishing Pentagram . . . 73
Figure 4: Directional Spirit Wheel . . . 79
Figure 5: Smudge Bundles . . . 82
Figure 6: Invoking Pentagram . . . 85
Figure 7: Shamanic World Tree and the Vesica Piscis . . . 127
Figure 8: Fionn’s Window . . . 131
Figure 9: Ogham and the Other Worlds Diagram . . . 132
Figure 10: Norse World Tree . . . 144
Figure 11: Tree Breathing . . . 146
Figure 12: Gundestrup Horned Figure . . . 157
Figure 13: Egyptian Sitting Pose . . . 158
Figure 14: Shaman Lying Facedown . . . 159
Figure 15: Standing Statue Pose . . . 160
Figure 16: Silver Branch . . . 181
Figure 17: Spectrum of Energies . . . 188
Figure 18: Higher Self Contact—Individual and Group . . . 250
Figure 19: Infinity Loop . . . 258
Figure 20: Infinity Loops with the World Tree . . . 260
Figure 21: Invocation of the Horned One . . . 270
Figure 22: Healing Solar Cross . . . 314
Figure 23: The Wheel of the Year and the World Tree . . . 320
Figure 24: Stone Age Dog Image . . . 344
Figure 25: Poem of the Nine Woods . . . 376
Figure 26: Five-Petaled Flowers—Nightshade, Datura, Vinca, Cinquefoil . . . 382
Figure 27: Flower Essence Creation . . . 386
Figure 28: Gundestrup Cauldron—Cauldron of Resurrection . . . 444
Figure 29: Building a Shield . . . 487
Figures 30A and 30B: Shield Design . . . 488
I am the wind that blows across the sea;
I am a wave of the deep;
I am the roar of the ocean;
I am the stag of seven battles;
I am a hawk on the cliff; I am a ray of sunlight;
I am the greenest of plants;
I am the wild boar;
I am a salmon in the river;
I am a lake on the plain;
I am the word of knowledge; I am the point of a spear;
I am the lure beyond the ends of the earth;
I can shift my shape like a god.
—The “Song of Amergin,” Book of Invasions
Foreword to the New Edition
by M. BelangerThis foreword exists because of a spirit. In fact, this spirit is why Christopher and I became colleagues and dear friends. The story of this spirit is one I rarely tell in person, and I have certainly never committed it to print before this moment.
But now feels like the right time to share.
Christopher Penczak and I first connected at a Pagan convention in San Jose, California. We were both there as teachers, each representing our personal traditions. This was in the middle 2000s, and Christopher was already quite popular in Pagan and witchcraft circles. He had several books out, and as a reader, I admired his direct and lucid style.
In his books, I also saw echoes of my own practices—echoes that made me curious about how and why our paths intertwined when we had never directly communicated or otherwise met.
At this convention, in between my own presentations, I caught one of Christopher’s guided meditations. The class was packed and I sat near the back to observe, trying to get a handle on who this person was.
There is a certain etiquette to reading people in public spaces, especially people who are fully capable of recognizing when you’re psychically taking a peek at them. Surface
reads of another person’s energy tend to be acceptable, even unavoidable in certain situations, and this is the rule I stick with: surface only. Think of a surface read like the psychic equivalent of reading a person’s facial expressions or body language. You don’t go up and touch them, you don’t press them for information. You are reading nothing more than what is already out there.
Anything deeper than a superficial read should involve the other person’s consent. People have boundaries for a reason.
So there I sat in the back of the conference room as Christopher led this brilliant and heartfelt meditation. Everyone else relaxed with their eyes closed, fully immersed in the experience.
Me, I peeked.
And that was when I saw the spirit: a great form of swirling energy, layered like a nebula of blue and black clouds. Flashes of power like lightning and starbursts rippled through the form. There was a nod to human symmetry, but on a scale that was colossal. As Christopher continued the meditation, the spirit rose above and behind him, a guiding, sheltering form.
And I knew this spirit. Recognized them from my own practice.
Here, then, was the connection.
I had to know more. Certainly, I had my own beliefs about this class of spirit, how they figured in my own tradition, and what all of that meant to my personal theology. But what of Christopher? It’s a beginner’s mistake to assume our interpretations are universal, even when we perceive roughly the same thing. Each tradition, each practitioner, has their own perspective, and, like the proverbial blind men and the elephant, all of us can be equally wrong and right at the same time.
Once the class ended, attendees thronged around Christopher; excitedly they asked questions, expressed gratitude, shared insights gained from the meditation. At the back of the conference room, I waited for the press of people to thin. I also debated whether or not I should approach Christopher with what I’d observed. After all, he had no reason to know me, to trust my perceptions, or to give me any of his precious time.
Just as there is unspoken etiquette about reading people in public spaces, there is a tacit etiquette in how one approaches sharing things like observations about their spirit companions. The simple rule is you don’t simply walk up to someone and blurt things out—
not without preamble. The second part of that rule is you never assume that what you’ve observed is objectively factual or inarguably true. Certainly, you shouldn’t seek to impose your interpretations on someone else, no matter how much you personally believe them, and you should always get their permission before diving into such delicate territory.
Again, boundaries should be held and respected.
In the end, I worked up my courage and asked about what I saw. The resulting conversation not only was welcome but was mutually productive and revelatory. It informs our connection to this day.
I realize that you probably want me to say more, but here is where my own boundary resides. Some mysteries exist in our practice not because sharing would be forbidden but because the mysteries themselves are deeply personal. To that end, I shall only say that we both know the spirit and are in agreement about many aspects of our interpretation.
And we were delighted to realize we shared a mutual friend.
Because of that mutual friend, I have the honor of offering these few words for the anniversary edition of what I believe is one of Christopher’s most groundbreaking books. Clearly I’m biased, because communication with spirits and the traversal of liminal spaces both figure so extensively in my own practice. But I also lived and worked through the same pivotal decades in our communities that Christopher did—we are separated in age by only a single year—so I am uniquely situated to explain how this book changed ideas, attitudes, and practices for Pagans, for witches, and for the many other practitioners where the Venn diagrams of our communities converge.
The entire Temple series is a monument. The scope, the vision, the structure—I honestly cannot praise these books enough. We live in a time where these influential works have existed and shaped practitioners for decades. Some folks in our communities who now write their own books grew up with Christopher’s work—in fact, never existed in a world without them—so it can be easy to forget how many walls Christopher knocked down.
The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft is a foundational work, but there’s an important thing about foundations. Before you can build them, you have to clear the ground. If there are walls in the way, you must overcome them. Perhaps you can reuse some of the stones from previous structures, but for a new system to grow, you must make space for what you seek to build.
When it came to writing a book about the intersection between shamanism and witchcraft—a book that spoke frankly of shadow work, of embracing chthonic journeys—
Christopher had a lot of space to clear. From where we stand now, there is little stigma around practices involving spirits of the dead, shadow work, even necromantic witchcraft. But when Christopher first laid the foundation for the Temple series, a stark dichotomy of “light” versus “dark” magick existed in our communities in reaction to the judgments and pressure of the Satanic panic. That dichotomy excluded a lot of methods on the grounds that they were negative, “dark,” and therefore inherently dangerous. In many cases, practices that did not exuberantly and exclusively embrace life, light, and a very Christian-influenced notion of good were shunned.
This closed folks off to a lot of truly profound teachings.
Many of us saw that and worked to change it, but Christopher has always had this eloquent gift for building bridges between systems, particularly systems that folks might otherwise perceive as separate from one another (even in competition with one another; humans have a regrettable tendency toward fiefdoms). Instead of compartmentalizing traditions, Christopher has the words, understanding, and compassion to make disparate systems approachable—to show us what these systems have in common rather than what holds them apart.
At the time when the Temple of Witchcraft books were first being written, such a pluralistic approach, embracing as opposed to excluding alternate points of view, was an act of revolution.
This book is one piece of that revolution.
There’s one more thing about building foundations relevant to the work you hold in your hands. Once you clear space to establish what you are building, the resulting structure will have its own walls. Not all walls are meant to be knocked down; some provide structure and support. Those walls give us a sheltering space within which we can safely gather, communicate, and explore. Over time, however, systems change. People change. The society in which we are immersed changes. We may learn to perceive our experiences differently. More information may enlarge our worldview. In these cases, even the walls that once sheltered us may become confining. Over time, even the sturdiest structure will require renovation and repair.
To carry the analogy forward, that’s what anniversary editions are for. An edition like this allows us an opportunity not only to reflect upon a particular system’s legacy but also to assess where and how that system needs to grow as we all move forward.
Revolution and evolution. Death, revelation, and rebirth—a cycle inherently shamanic, as I believe you will come to see as you delve into this book.
Enjoy the journey and the spirits you might meet along the way.
M. Belanger
February 2022
Ohio
Introduction to the New Edition Called by the Spirits
“Called by the spirits” is the hallmark of a person who finds themselves in the position of bridging the worlds between human community and the spirits. Usually it implies that one did not intend or set out to do it, yet spiritual forces and entities have conspired to change the course of fate, or at least personal desire and intention. Often there is some life crisis, typically a life-threatening or extended illness, that is the catalyst for the change and opens the door to the world of spirit to make a new bargain.
I know that was the case for me, though at the time I had no thoughts of shamanism on my mind. While I didn’t experience a medical crisis, I had a crisis of life direction, career, and truly life purpose. Even though I was already a Witch, I had no desire to make it my full-time vocation. I was a trained musician working in the music industry with the hope of greater opportunity for my own personal ambitions as a singer and songwriter. But then I made an agreement. The spirits called, and I answered.
Prior to my crisis, I had repeatedly received the message in my meditations to “teach more” from the goddess I call patron, for she supports me, but in many ways, I answer, at least in part, to her. “Teach more” was a direction that I refused or simply didn’t answer to, bewildered, as I didn’t want to teach more Witchcraft. I had my hands full with a small coven and a book club turned into a study group for which I was the de facto leader.
We offered semipublic Samhain ceremonies and an occasional social gathering with ritual when we felt like it, but I had the important business of becoming a rock star on my mind. Yet I kept getting “teach more.” Finally, one day I said yes, and my life changed, with the loss of my job a few days later. In my crisis, seeking answers in meditation, I simply received the answer “now you can teach more.” And I did.
The spirits, through this goddess, called. The spirits chose. I agreed, but I did some negotiation, and was told I would not want for what I needed and wanted. I would have security as long as I stayed on the path and did this work. Almost twenty-five years later, that has been and continues to be true, no matter how ridiculous the idea of being a full-time Witchcraft teacher was to me at the time. While there have been a few scary moments, everything came through in the end. Many times it felt like I was living quite mythically, with unusual manifestations, both in my prosperity and in my teaching and healing practice, that if I heard about from someone else, I would naturally assume they were at the very least embellishing the story, if not outright lying about it. Yet they happen and continue to do so.
It was only later, through the study of academic sources and popular texts and speaking with diverse spiritual practitioners, that I recognized the pattern associated with the shaman in my own life: to be chosen and called by the spirits. Through these explorations and new influences, I came to a greater understanding that what we call Witchcraft and what we call shamanism have similar roots. When I first started teaching the material that would be The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft, the third volume in the Temple of Witchcraft series, and even when the book was initially published, these commonalities were not openly discussed and expressed in the ways they are today. Yet when we look upon our Craft, it’s impossible not to see the shamanic roots embedded in it as part of the matrix in which our modern Witchcraft traditions are growing.
Many popular Witchcraft books point all the way back to the cave art of the Sorcerer, the horned animal figure found in the Sanctuary cavern at the Cave of the Trois-Frères in Ariège, France, as an emblem of the most ancient art of Witchcraft. Made around 13,000 BCE, it predates our modern ideas of culture and civilization. Likewise, the stone goddess figure known today as the Venus of Willendorf, made around 23,000 BCE and found in Austria in 1908, was used as an example of the Mother Goddess in Witchcraft. While they have no direct link to modern Wicca and Witchcraft today, they are cited as evidence of the spirit of the teachings and traditions harkening back to our most ancient, prehistoric Stone Age ancestors by modern Witches.
While the early public Witchcraft of the mid-twentieth century was certainly of the occult ceremonial tradition of Britain, certain influences, often from North America, encouraged growth in other directions. One of those many directions was the embracing of shamanism.
Today, modern critics of the use of the term shamanism in association with Witchcraft and Paganism are less aware of the living trends and traditions that were occurring in the 1980s and 1990s, as they predate our online records and social media. This has given rise to ideas that practices sprung up recently or were taken from others without them being shared in some context first, without permission. Many erroneously believe that if they can’t find it online, then it didn’t happen, but it did happen in living memory. Sadly, many of those elders are passing from this world, and few are asking them questions and recording their stories, so much of the collective story of the modern Witch may be lost. There was a rich interplay of practitioners and groups back then, as the Witchcraft community was not so large, nor so loud, and seeking connections in a larger conversation. The lack of knowledge creates a lot of erroneous assumptions by those relatively new to Witchcraft and Paganism about our practices and the very organic ways in which they have become entwined over long periods of time. In the days before the ubiquity of online media, most things were shared mouth to ear, in person, at events, gatherings, and classes. Some were learned in books, but most people were looking for in-person connections to put their book knowledge to better use through living contact with actual practitioners.
The current crisis of consciousness, of environment, injustice, and inequity, has been part of the world, and part of the magickal community, for far longer than the last ten or twenty years. Despite the lack of major beneficial changes in the world on these fronts, they have been topics of conversation and concern in many forms since the dawn of the twentieth century, coming into sharper focus with the counterculture movements of the 1960s onward. By the 1980s, wisdom teachers pointed to several places of wisdom for solutions to make changes within ourselves and within our society. They encouraged us to seek the wisdom of wise women, Indigenous people, ethical science, natural healing, entheogenic explorers, visionary artists, and progressive interpretations of classical traditions and academics. Experts, teachers, and leaders in those fields often came together, or members of various groups sought them out. Philosophies, techniques, myths, and practices were shared in many diverse settings.
One of my earliest memories of being introduced to these ideas by my teachers, despite my entry point in the Craft being much later, was the documentary work of
Donna Read. In her three one-hour films named Goddess Remembered, The Burning Times, and Full Circle, known collectively as the Goddess Trilogy, diverse speakers share about the divine feminine in our cultures, history, and myth. This trilogy represented a spirit of the times, and the recordings captured that spirit to be transmitted through later generations, despite falling out of fashion among modern Witches as being too dated culturally or academically. There was a desire to seek wisdom in cultures that had unbroken traditions of the Goddess, or at least the divine feminine, looking to India, Tibet, Africa, and the Americas. There was a time when anything that was considered non-Abrahamic was considered Witchcraft by those in the patriarchy, so Witches sought wisdom wherever they could find it, investigated all things non-Abrahamic, and found many willing to share.
Through this documentary trilogy and other events, it was not uncommon to have practitioners, covens, and traditions integrating ideas, teachings, and practices of Witches, Pagans, and Goddess feminists with those of philosophical scientists, Hindu gurus, African Traditional Religion teachers, Buddhist teachers, and liberal Christian theologians. This included diverse figures such as Starhawk, Matthew Fox, Laurie Cabot, Chögyam Trungpa, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Susan Griffin, Carol Christ, Hunbatz Men, Rupert Sheldrake, Luisah Teish, Michael Harner, Selena Fox, John O’Donohue, Merlin Stone, Malidoma Patrice Somé, Terence McKenna, Ram Dass, Shekinah Mountainwater, Sun Bear, Sandra Ingerman, Leo Martello, Marija Gimbutas, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, Alex Grey, Fritjof Capra, Pema Chödrön, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, and Grandmother Twylah Hurd Nitsch. These are the more “famous” figures, but similar sharing and dialogues were happening with less public figures and teachers, often through the hub of local metaphysical and occult shops. Local to me was a Mohawk teacher, now passed, who was very generous with his knowledge and teachings to those in the metaphysical and Pagan communities, and understood the difference between common cultural ideas of the word witch and his Neopagan and Wiccan friends’ use of the word Witch. He shared the material without any particular restrictions and felt there were things that were fundamental to the human experience, things mainstream white culture had forgotten and lost, and I know he was only one example of many among different communities. Depending on the location, an esoteric shop might service a wide range of magickal communities, and in places with more diverse shops, there was overlap in clientele between the occult shop, metaphysical gifts shop, Eastern imports store, natural medicine store, and botanica. They formed the environment for a growing metaphysical ecology. Were the spirits calling us all together?
Some think so. Some think the gods, and ancestors and spirits, are all conspiring to bring us together into a new world.
Common ground was being built in looking at the crisis of modern society and religion. Many Eastern teachers were coming west because of the damage the Western worldview was doing globally. Indigenous elders were often traveling and sharing lore, urging others to take the fundamental ideas and make their own way with them to restore connection to the Earth. So in an effort to keep the traditions alive, they were being shared, written, and talked about more widely. The question of why teach white people of European descent, the ancestors of colonizers and oppressors, came up often in such workshop settings, and this impetus to keep the traditions alive through sharing was the common answer in the 1990s, at least in my experience at the Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine events I attended. Wisdom teachers I met were willing to teach those who wished to learn, and no restriction was placed on how the information was to be used or incorporated into your life, something I am grateful for today. Many involved became active in the causes of environmentalism, protests of the government, and supporting Indigenous causes and organizations. My mother and I, in a coven together, found ourselves attending local powwows and visiting far-off reservations in our travels, culminating in visits to the Diné (Navajo) and Hopi reservations in Arizona to deepen our understanding and extend our support.
This era was the same time period in which the Parliament of the World’s Religions was being formed as an organization, with a diverse gathering of global faiths. While the first event with this name was held in 1893, the organization was formed in 1988, with the next gathering, the first in a series of regular gatherings, being held in 1993. While Indigenous, African, Pagan, and Earth-centered traditions that were featured as part of the initial proceedings were perhaps not warmly welcomed, they have become a stronger voice in subsequent gatherings, with organizations such as Circle Sanctuary, Covenant of the Goddess, the Church of All Worlds, Pagan Federation International, Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF), the Aquarian Tabernacle Church, the Troth, the Correllian Nativist Tradition, and Earth Spirit having representation and a voice there, building bridges with mainstream faiths, lesser-known religions, and Indigenous leaders.
Appropriation was generally not the issue when sharing techniques and philosophies and building common ground. Little was shared of specific language and rites. When Indigenous teachers made practices and teachings more available publicly, Witches attended, seeking out an Earth-based wisdom that they felt was not clearly articulated in their own ceremonial
traditions. These experiences did not come with restrictions in use, and they didn’t confer endorsement by the Native teachers upon the participants, or any authority or standing in Indigenous community. Witches were hungry for the fundamental practices that speak to something ancient in our souls, and in many ways we still are. Occultists used this lens to better see and explain traditions in European cultures, leading to practices such as Celtic shamanism and Norse shamanism. These weren’t Witchcraft in the way Witches of the time recognized it. Concepts of reconstructionism were just starting to become popular, so they were not a part of “religion” as people recognized it. They were a modern expression of core shamanism rooted in a cultural and mythic matrix. Other writers and teachers used the academic shamanic lens as part of a comparative process, looking at different wisdom practices and philosophies much like one might compare religions, myths, or literary themes. It is a way of examining what was developing in the modern resurgence of Witchcraft and Paganism and what is developing now in our current communities. Shamanism as a lens to see what is common among people gives us a way to continue to build connections between diverse magickal and spiritual groups.
The core issue was more in what was termed “plastic” shamanism, where someone was claiming a lineage, authority, or culture that was not theirs to claim, share, or profit from. This was usually in the form of people with no direct connection or endorsement claiming to have the credentials to offer events and workshops in Indigenous traditions. What they were presenting was not a part of such traditions, and was often at the expense of authentic speakers and teachers seeking to share their knowledge but not packing it in the consumable way of these plastic shamans. Sometimes it was difficult to get agreement as to who was simply sharing too much, according to some, as sharing material at all was not universally agreed upon by all Native people, and who was a charlatan or misrepresenting themselves. Charlatans by their very nature are good at presenting the right image, and some, even with greedy intent, started practices that were basically sound and effective despite their deceptions. These practices continued on in well-functioning groups, without those groups understanding the origin of their practices in deceptive figures. Techniques that are effective get passed on, no matter their origin. Many people’s claims of ancestry or experience could not be easily verified, yet people looked to the heart of the technique and teaching, and whether it was helpful or healing.
Modern Witchcraft, the branch that would later be popularized as Traditional Wicca and then released into the world as eclectic and solitary forms of Wicca, was already subtly shamanic. One cannot look at the work of the credited founder of Wicca, Gerald
Gardner, and not see the multicultural influence in his journey, even if the word shamanic wasn’t used. In fact, in looking at Gardner’s entire life, we can see almost all the influences, shamanic and otherwise, that would become more prominent as Witchcraft and Wicca evolved. One might argue that Gardner’s exposure to them was part of the fertile matrix in which modern Witchcraft as we know it grew.
Despite being British and sharing what is considered a British occult form of Witchcraft, Gardner himself spent much of his life traveling and living abroad, as a child into adulthood, and was exposed to other cultures and spiritual traditions, including those of the Canary Islands, the Gold Coast of Africa, the colony of Madeira, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Singapore, Borneo, Malaya (now part of Malaysia), Palestine (where he saw an ancient altar dedicated to the goddess Astaroth), Cypress (influencing his novel A Goddess Arrives), and the United States, and possibly New Orleans, Louisiana, the home of New Orleans Voodou.
In Borneo, Gardner met with the Dyaks and was exposed to their spiritual practices, which, it could be argued, are a form of shamanism. He also had contact with the Buddhist population, learning their theology on reincarnation. In Malaya, he met with members of the Senoi/Sakai indigenous population in a quest to learn more about their spiritual practices and customs, including their ritual knives. This contributed to Gardner’s eventual first book on knives, Keris and Other Malay Weapons, published in 1936. He was exposed to Islam in Malaya and later had a connection with Sufi teacher Idries Shah, who is controversially said to have written Gardner’s biography but did not take credit for it publicly. In the writings of the High Priestess of Gardner’s coven, Doreen Valiente, we find conjecture of the influence of the Sufis upon European Witchcraft in its tools and customs.
Among his British experiences, Gardner had encounters in Spiritualism, joined the Freemasons, worked with archeologists at dig sites, became a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, became a member of the Folk-Lore Society, and joined the Ancient Druid Order. He also met Aleister Crowley and was initiated into his O.T.O., or Ordo Templi Orientis, leaving with an unactivated charter to start his own group. Most famously, Gardner joined the First Rosicrucian Theatre as his entry into the Witchcraft world. I can think of no better life weaving together the threads of what Witchcraft was, is, and will be; and deeply entwined with it all, there are direct connections to Eastern forms of what we would consider shamanistic practices and cultures.
One of Gardner’s greatest critics, Robert Cochrane, Magister of the Clan of Tubal Cain, likewise wouldn’t have used the word shamanism to describe his practices at the time, but
today we see them as such, more so than in the more formal Gardnerian Wicca practices, being more deeply rooted in both the land and spirits. Cochrane, in death, has become to the growing Trad Craft (Traditional Craft) movement of Witchcraft what Gardner is to Wicca. Both were not as far from each other as some would think, though Cochrane was more firmly rooted in the British folk soul, while Gardner had a more cosmopolitan experience.
Today, when we look at the European Witchcraft trial transcripts, we can’t help but see hidden in the horrors of it bits of myth, practice, and cosmology that academics would label “shamanic.” The lore of the Witchcraft trials has been absorbed into a growing Trad Craft movement. Key images of Trad Craft are drawn from the times and places of the trials, using European village folklore and folk magick, Devil figures, and anti-Christian folklore. The hidden wisdom of the Witchcraft trials has become synonymous with Trad Craft teachings, but many modern Witches have been peeling back the layers, looking at the common points found both in the trials and in shamanic practices, and experimenting with ways to incorporate them into our practices.
Critics say that we, as Witches, should abandon terms such as shamanism and shamanic journey in favor of the more Traditional Craft terms spirit flight, faring forth, and hedgeriding. I disagree, for the simple fact that I think it erases the roots of where we learned these techniques in modern Paganism. While I’d love to claim some long Trad Craft lineage, most of us learned these techniques from core shamanism workshops and books and then applied them to Witchcraft. Later, we understood their context in light of medieval sabbat lore and the growing body of modern Traditional Craft. While our Wiccan and Pagan ancestors with roots in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s practiced forms of visualization, astral travel, and rising on the planes, there was far less how-to material on the axis mundi and the three worlds above, below, and between, despite that being a part of most IndoEuropean mythology in one form or another. The emphasis on spirit healing was certainly not there. To pretend that the Trad Craft teachings and lexicon alone were the basis of modern Witchcraft’s integration of these ideas and techniques by erasing the terminology most of us originally learned dishonors our own messy history and dishonors the sources from which we learned. The history of modern Witchcraft is filled with the slow addition of new concepts that are organically added to our practices, slowing integrating with what has come before. This process results in the rich cultural mix of modern Witchcraft found at the end of the twentieth century. We have a wide range of information, practices, and
choices because of those who reached out and made those connections, integrated them into their Craft, and shared them, creating new ways for the next century.
I remember teaching a workshop on shamanic Witchcraft for a large gathering of practitioners at Witchfest International in England and receiving such a wonderful response from the modern British Witches, who appreciated the context of what bridged the old Witchcraft with our modern understanding of healing and wisdom. Someone at that event told me that it had taken an American with a drum to help them see what we have always had in Witchcraft: a tradition that included ecstatic spirit contact and a focus on healing. At that event, we were exploring the common ground of spiritual practices that reach all the way back to the picture of the Sorcerer in the Cave of the Trois-Frères and buried Venuses found in many lands. This prehistoric art is often cited in the history of Witchcraft, but now we were actively seeking techniques from those ancient times.
Ultimately, these practices are between you and the spirits who choose to work with you—the land, animals, plants, and ancestors with whom you build relationships. Philosophy, art, and ideas are transmitted, and once received, they influence what you perceive and do. Everything, when looked back upon deeply enough, is a collective of things. Nothing is independent and wholly without other influences. Everything is interdependent and interconnected, even when such connections seem to be invisible. While today it is popular to divide and separate culture from other aspects of life, and perceive strong walls between different cultures, the Witch, practicing the art, science, and religion of the Craft, knows that everything is interconnected and everything is interwoven with the spirits. Nothing is separate and everything influences everything else. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t address the history of cultural appropriation in our communities, something we will look at in this new edition.
Whether we call these magickal practices shamanism, Witchcraft, or something else entirely, the spirits will continue to call and to choose, and there will be those who answer. Agreements continue to be made to bridge the gap between humanity, nature, and the spirits. In my own life and community, we were called by a realm of faerie spirits who offered us a deal. In exchange for providing them with a voice, veneration, and a connection with the growing community of Witches, they would procure for us the perfect land and space to build community. After doing a long weekend festival gathering where this Underworld faerie court was featured prominently, we came upon the perfect property for our new community on the last day. Within four months, we had obtained the financing
and moved in, planting roots for the Temple of Witchcraft. When you listen to the call of the spirits with an open heart, when you think about the cooperation union between the worlds, all things are possible, and your life will take off in an amazing direction you never could have anticipated. You simply have to answer the call.
In Love, Will, and Wisdom, Christopher Penczak Salem, New Hampshire, 2021
