shaman Reports Blog

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1. Quiran says

   The author does name names of sources for the most part. I think that her discussion of traditional shamanisms and shamanistic practices in different cultures is pretty good, and that she does a service in lifting the veil of academic male-centered assessments of shamanism in her work. She has some very good things to say, but overall, I do find her approach rather feelgood. She somewhat downplays the dangers of the shamanic path, though she points out that the death/renewal theme of shamanic initiation seems to arise more from the masculine practice of shamanism, where her view of the feminine practices emphasise birth/midwifery as a metaphor of shamanic initiation in global practices.

   Generally, the book seems reasonably sound. My greatest overall complaint is that there is no bibliography. All her cites are in her footnotes, and the reader is forced to comb through the footnotes to get where her research is coming from, rather than having her sources and readings cited in a more easily accessible bibliography. It’s in looking to these sources that I have some concerns.

   Her chapter on reconstructing shamanisms is where I have my greatest single issue. She seems to hold Michael Harner in high regard, and cites people like Nigel Pennick (whose books are always notably free of source cites), John Matthews, Tom Cowan, and DJ Conway about the shamanic nature of early Celtic religion and Wicca. This in itself is more than enough to make me twitch. I could probably have lived with it if she’d only cited Cowan and Matthews, but Conway’s inclusion really tosses her final chapter off the deep end for me, and makes me wonder about the rest of the scholarship in the book. Her academic mentors, Peter Furst (well known for his work on entheogens and shamanism) and Mihály Hoppál are quite respectable in the field and are generally reliable from what I can discern.

   Overall, I’d say this book is a mixed bag, but worth the read if you want to wait for the trade paperback. Her chapter on reconstruction, if read with Robert J. Wallis’s Shamans/Neo-Shamans: Ecstasy, alternative archaeologies and contemporary Pagans, can be somewhat useful. Wallis’s approach is to take “neoshamanism” as its own thing, unrelated to indigenous shamanism, but useful and workable in its own right. I feel that if we’re going to deal with things like this, it’s how we should approach the field rather than making attempts to claim that New Age and NeoPagan “shamanisms” are the same as indigenous practices. I feel Wallis’s book is more useful to modern practitioners in general, though Tedlock’s work on uncovering the feminine side of shamanism is certainly eye-opening for those exposed only to mainstream academic views of the shamanic complex.

   December 22, 2009, 3:37 pm
2. Orders says

   The Woman in the Shaman’s Body: Reclaiming the Feminine in Religion and Medicine

   Truly an excellent source of history of women practicing/living Shamanism, in explicable terms. Barbara Tedlock unveils the original intension and vision of women in spiritual practices with infinite detail, contributing excellent resources and facts; further educating the reader to a higher level of intellectual value on the subject matter. As an environmentalist, spiritualist, and writer I highly recommend this piece with no reservations.

   December 23, 2009, 3:55 am
3. Ou says

   This is a WOW book for the woman healer who wishes to reconnect to her roots, educate herself AND broaden her mind in regards to earthly ways. Written with personal tales and photographs, this is truly a gift to those who are prepared to reclaim thier purpose. I highly recommend it.

   December 23, 2009, 3:36 pm
4. Sackey says

   Many of my female friends of a “certain age” are spending lots of time and even more $$$ to become shamans or work within the shamanistic tradition. Knowing little about the current work–my background was from my twenties when I read all of the Don Juan/Aldous Huxlery books on this topic–I read several new books at the wishes of my lady friends. This is primarily written as an academic text and so is “lumpy”, hard reading. The obvious point is that much of the documentation comes from PRE-history (before literacy) so interpretations can vary regarding cave paintings, etc. Still this is a valuable book for those folks searching for truth outside of mainstream religiosity.

   December 24, 2009, 3:11 am
5. Shi says

   I work in healing and practicing it for my own benefeit because I had 2 chronic deseases for over 15 years… through my own experience of being treated by a majority of men, I end up realizing that there were things missing in their approach so I can feel completed… I wasn’t sure what… but as it is well documented in this book, women approach healing from a different perspective, a different body… this book was very inspiring for me and still reminded me, in my own practice now, to look at things from my own perspective as a woman and as a person… and from it, I gain some knowledge that I never thought reacheable… thank you again for writhing it Mrs. Tedlock…

   excuse my english, I am french from Montreal (Quebec)

   December 24, 2009, 3:23 pm
6. Unsworth says

   When came to process oriented psychology, I will recomended this book. This is a good book about above subject.

   December 25, 2009, 3:40 am
7. Reid says

   This is one of the best books I’ve found on the subject of shamanism as it might be applied to a modern western person’s life, rather than as a history of shamanism in older societies. It’s fine for beginners as well as those with some background. Both clear and in-depth.

   December 25, 2009, 4:02 pm
8. Oldaker says

   I first read this book a decade ago and at that time I knew that I had just read some of the most deep, profound thoughts that I may ever come acrost. Even if I didn’t completely understand the body of knowledge that the author meant as a whole, I was forever changed by reading of the “Dreaming Body” and by my newfound awareness of hands-on techniques to merge this dreaming body with my actual body. An example in my own words: Imagine in your mind the ‘you’ that is the best ‘you’ to which you can possibly dream up, see yourself as confident, strong, humorous, whatever you’d like to imagine yourself as. And then act out what you imagined in your real life and in real public situations. What do you have to lose by trying it?

   There are books on Shamanism out there that I feel require extensive knowledge of plants in order to understand: Harner’s Way of the Shaman, Castaneda’s first two books, McKenna’s Food of the Gods and True Hallucinations, etc. But this book is different. I recommend The Shaman’s Body to virtually everybody, especially to people who are feeling very depressed and really are in need of some serious transformational change. This book is unique in that it is particularly compatible, i.e. sound in both a Shamanic sense and in a Western psychotherapeutic sense. Rarely have I stumbled upon such deep understandings of the human psyche. A decade since I first read it, and I still turn to it every morning to get a little something that will positively impact my day and how I conduct myself.

   December 26, 2009, 3:42 am
9. Terrance says

   I liked this book. By itself it is probably not the best book if you want to learn shamanic techniques. But it is a good supplement to any learning and practice of shamanism. It is more philosophy then practice, but there are some concrete ideas of how to develop your shamanic abilities.

   December 26, 2009, 3:16 pm
10. Quade says

    This is a good book for someone into psychology and who has not read alot about shamanism before. But it is not a work focusing on the mystical or healing side of shamanism. The language is a bit too academic, even clinical, for shamanic work. The author refers to psychological principles and Carl Jung too many times.

    If you are interested in Shamanism you should first spend lots of time outdoors connecting with nature. The Book of the Shaman by Nicholas Wood is a great overview if you have not read about shamanism before. If you want more advanced information from books then look to Carlos Castenada or Ted Andrews (Animal-speak, but not the other magical stuff he does). Serge Khali King’s Urban Shaman is worth a read as well. Woman Who Glows in the Dark by Elena Avila has some great information.

    I can’t recommend Ingerman or Harner because they are the same school and are a bit rigid related to technique of drumming and are still learning/changing their minds about technique in soul retrieval. I feel that their techiques are dated and not widely influenced by traditional shamanism. I have not found solid ‘advanced’ Toltec information yet including Don Miguel Ruiz or Theun Mares.

    If you are at all interested in Huna (Hawaiin Mysticism) then Fundamentals of Hawaiian Mysticism by Charlotte Berney is the best overview.

    December 27, 2009, 3:56 am
11. Barfoot says

    Hiya all. First, I’m a novice at shamanism and this book was my initiation. That said, I found the book sometimes inspiring, mostly interesting, and often difficult to assimilate. It was recommended by my therapist, who does work in EMDR and who also, I guess, does energy healing (tho she didn’t do that on me).

    I wish I could understand the book better and that it was a little easier to practice on my own for my own benefit, tho i’m not sure that’s the book’s intention (altho the subtitle says “how to heal yourself and others”).

    I found the description of the chakras esoteric, difficult to digest, but maybe because i’m a newbie.

    I was also intrigued by a brief mention of how to cleanse one’s chakras in the shower, but I didn’t understand the explanation. Can anyone help? The reference starts on page 54. “Hold your left hand at the base of your spine,…” How? Palm against skin or facing outward? “…and with your right hand three or four inches above the skin feel for you first chakra. Spin the chakra counterclockwise.” How? How do you hold your right hand? Fingers pointed towards my body? And is it counterclockwise as if my “body is the face of the clock” such that it’s actually clockwise from my eye’s perspective looking outward, but counterclockwise looking inward? Then you clean all the chakras and go back to each one and spin in the oppostite direction (clockwise)?

    Anyway, if I could understand how to cleanse, it would seem a bit easier and less time consuming than doing some of the other exercises in part II, the section the author designates for self-helpers.

    About the book as a whole, I felt the author has a lot to offer that wasn’t communicated (at least to me!) in the book. Anyone know where I can learn more?

    Thank you!

    December 27, 2009, 3:26 pm
12. Dennison says

    This book is well-written, well-organized, and is a joy to read! I learned so much about Shamanism, what it is, how it works, etc. I especially loved the personal stories about the author’s experiences studying with the mountain and jungle shamans, describing his personal journey.

    After reading this book, I was inspired to begin taking Alberto’s classes [...]. After finishing my first 1-week course, in which Alberto personally gave some of the lectures, I’d say I am very impressed.

    December 28, 2009, 3:18 am
13. Shonborn says

    Villoldo is clearly no anthropologist, and his methods seem to be largely based on his own synthesis of other systems, rather than South American practices. I personally have come to doubt whether he ever even received the types of training he claims. If he had, I would have expected more discussion of language and the Quechua world-view, and a clearer attempt to discuss their systems rather than merging in material from India, Hermeticism, and contemporary neo-Shamanic traditions.

    On the positive side, I think some of his exercises have some value, but the question is how much value they can have when divorced from a systematic approach.

    I would not recommend this book at all. For those few areas where the work has some value, there are better works to be found elsewhere.

    Instead of bothering with this book, I would recommend starting with either anthropological accounts of tribes one wants to study (including “Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstacy” by Eliade) or picking a more developed tradition which is has more tested roots (Runes, Hermeticism, etc) and studying that.

    December 28, 2009, 3:11 pm
14. Hyde says

    lots of folks have reviewed this book–it’s not new but it’s good and my opinion is just that—mine. that said–it’s interesting that some people are more concerned with analyzing the author than writing about the book itself. ultimately, i read reviews to figure out if i’d like the book enough to buy it. i’m pretty sure that reviewers are motivated to write because they love it or hate it, not so much in-between.

    this book is a good overview of the techniques that are used in Villoldo’s teachings and as taught by The Four Winds. if you are interested enough to pay the money and take the trainings or visit a shaman for healing, reading this book would certainly whet your appetite and give you a pretty fair overview of what you’d be in for. the trainings in the Healing the Light Body school are extensive so there’s no way any single book would cover it in any thorough manner. and i would hesitate to work with a shaman who didn’t have extensive hands-on training that was a lot more than what they got from reading a book (or books.) i would for sure want a shaman who has done very extensive professional training, done lots of hands-on client work and the personal work of their own, much like you’d want a therapist who has at least a master’s degree, clinical supervision, experience and a clear head vs. a boatload of personal baggage. that’s the stuff you get in the training, not from this book. the book gives the average joe or jo the overview of what some shamans do, at least for the Four Winds trained shaman.

    would i buy this book? yes–if you are interested in learning more about healing from a different perspective. is it for everyone? no–and it leaves you wanting more—more information, more technique, etc. then—if you are that hungry, take the trainings, find a qualified shaman of your own to work with and keep searching. this book is going to be something that whets your appetite for more kinds of spiritual and emotional healing.

    December 29, 2009, 3:13 am