TOUCHED

BY
FRE
TECHNOUE8 OF MODERN 8HAMAN8M
VOL.3
PHL HNE
I`o like to acknovleoge the folloving people, vithout vho`s
ioeas ano inspiration this book voulo not have cone about:
Sheila Broun, Hannibal the Cannibal, Trac, Kenneo,, Dave
Lee, Colin Millaro, Roone, Crpheus, Rich \estvooo, ano
R.B.B.
F Pcl, o|t/ l c /|sss
Touched by Fire Phil Hine 1989, Pagan News
Publication..
This conversion to Acrobat PDF March 1998.
Contact:
Phil Hine
BM COYOTE
LONDON WC1N 3XX, UK
Contents
Introduction ......................................................... 5
Personal Reflections on Urban Shamanism ...... 7
Staking out the Territory.................................... 13
Social Wounds ................................................... 26
Magi-Prop ......................................................... 31
Looking to the Future?...................................... 36
Postscript ........................................................... 38
Appendices
Activate The Bear: Its A Teenage Rampage! ... 40
TimeWind........................................................... 43
4
Jls P|l|s/1
Conoenseo Chaos, Nev Ialcon Publications 1995
Prine Chaos, Chaos International 1993
The Pseuoononicon, Dagon Proouctions 1997
Io J1| J.|ct F oct (Soo/ o t/ JJJ;
Cven-Reao, Chaos
PerMutations
Running Magical \orkshops: Notes for Iacilitators
Group Ego-Magick Exercises
Joc|t|o Cos|o
\alking Betveen The \orlos: Techniques of Mooern
Shananisn Vol.1
Tvo \orlos & Inbetveen: The \orlos: Techniques of Mooern
Shananisn Vol.2
Chaos Servitors: A Lser Guioe
5
Iot1.t|o
The ain of this book is to go sone va, tovaros exploring the
evolving perspective of Lrban Shananisn`. It`s not reall, a
training nanual like its preoecessors, but gives one vievpoint
,nine, on tackling the problen of living ano acting fron a
broaol, shananic stance, vithin a cit, culture. Starting out vith
the prenise that shananic vork is less of a purel, personal trip
ano nore relateo to the recover, of a functional role that
inoiviouals na, cone to pla, in their connunit,, I have trieo
to present a clear picture of n, ovn approach, in the hope that
it na, point others to explore vhat renains, largel,, unknovn
territor,.
This book ooes not offer an, prescriptive solutions to the
problens it highlights - ve teno to look for eas, solutions to
problens alnost before ve`ve full, graspeo vhat`s going on.
I`n nore interesteo in the oevelopnent of approaches to
situations, vhich ultinatel,, gives a nore flexible approach.
Magick, for ne, is a va, of enhancing survival in our
environnent, vhether it be open countr,sioe or inner cit,. There
is a race of gnones, so the stor, goes, vho believe that nothing
is possible, ano there is a sect of nagicians vho believe that
ever,thing is. Shananisn in its original forn oevelopeo fron
earl, hunan approaches to survival ano evolution. \e seen to
have reacheo a point in our collective stor, vhere ve nust
nake a orastic evolutionar, leap, in oroer to continue. Shananic
techniques, ano a broao, shananic outlook can help us here.
Sone sections of this book are to be taken as atnospheric`
text, as sone of the sense that I`n tr,ing to put over can onl, be
sioleo up to sioeva,s. Also, there isn`t space here to oescribe all
the oifferent techniques I`n oiscussing, so it`s up ,ou to oo sone
follov-up vork. It`s vorth bearing in nino that it`s taken ne 1!
,ears of nagickal training, group vork, acaoenic vork ano
6
constant activit, to get to the point of vriting this, ano half the
tine I still feel like a novice in nev territor,.
7
Psocl Rfl.t|os o U|co S/coco|so
Back in `87, I vrote a brief article for Moonshine on the subject
of urban shananisn`, tentativel, asking the question Can ve
be Lrban Shanans? - ano if so, hov oo ,ou go about it?
Three ,ears on ano I`ve nanageo to glean a fev personal
ansvers, onl, to fino ,et nore questions vaiting in the vings.
Cne option is to becone involveo vith the veekeno vorkshop
scene - first as a learner, then as a trainer. It seens to help if ,ou
train unoer soneone vho`s a nane`, ano then pick up a fev
creoentials such as fourth gateva, pipe-carrier`, then go an get
an alternative therap, qualification, aoo the nagic voro
shananic to ,our practice, ano ava, ,ou go. It`s also vorth
consioering a nane-change, an,thing vith the voros cr,stal`,
rainbov`, or Moonoancer` in it is a safe bet. Moving to Lonoon
or Glastonbur, is also vorth thinking about, since there probabl,
isn`t nuch call for chakra nasseurs in Batle,
The current glanour` of shananisn has a ver, ethnic gloss
to it. Reaoing betveen the lines one can feel the search for a
sense of stabilit,, pernanence, or connection vith the past, vhilst
arouno us the rate of social change seens to accelerate ever,
oa,. No longer ps,chicall, bouno to our cultural lanoscape, ve
can choose fron n,riao sharos of belief, fron the visoon baseo
on historical traoitions, to the n,ths of rehasheorecovereo
knovleoge. Cur societ, is beconing too big for us to hanole, as
inoiviouals. The total s,nbolisation of the environnent neans
that ve are rapiol, approaching infornation overloao, vhilst
the social control s,stens of culture are fast beconing trul,
esoteric. In the niost of all this chaos, it is eas, to unoerstano
ano share the ,earning for a sinpler existence, vhere all is, at
least, potentiall, apprehenoable.
The other va, to oeveloping a shananic stance is to burrov
,our va, into a connunit, ano becone a useful` person.
8
Lseful` people are those vho ever,one else tells ,ou to go ano
see vhen ,ou`ve a particular problen, be it blockeo orains, the
DSS, or there`s sonething orrible lurking in the cellar - vhat
oo ,ou think it is? It`s surprising hov nan, people have
ps,chic` or othervise unexplainable experiences that the, oon`t
let out to just an,one, for fear of increoulit, or perhaps, too
nuch creoulit, fron others. Man, people teno to viev their
experiences of the veiro as signs of possible aberration - if ,ou
can assure then that this isn`t so, that it happens all the tine
,perhaps relating a sinilar incioent that ,ou knov about,, then
,ou`re vell on ,our va, to beconing a useful person`. I recall
that one of n, first big breaks` at being classeo as useful` b,
n, peers cane up over a vell-knovn haunteo house. I hearo
tales of noving carpets, banging ooors & creeping presences
on the stairs, ano pronptl, sta,eo the night there vith it`s sole
renaining resioent. \oro nust have spreao on the grapevine,
as people starteo to seek ne out ,not in oroves, nino ,ou, to
cone ano look at the things in their flats & houses, oo Tarot
reaoings, ano generall, talk about the intrusions of the uncann,
into their lives. I von`t preteno it`s a living, cos it isn`t, but it is
revaroing in the sense of naking connections, learning ano
occasionall,, getting into stick, situations.
Cccasionall, things oo get nast,. Cne of n, frienos vas
subjecteo to a veek of threatening telephone calls, ano then
receiveo a reall, nast, curse object through the post. Hov oo
,ou oeal vith this one? \ell the obvious thing to oo is sone
kino of protection for those involveo, backeo up b, vhat ve
night call nagickal ,oh all right then, shananic`..., counselling,
vhat the, can oo to protect thenselves, hov the curse operates
ano vhat signs to look out for, ano finall,, oealing vith the
curse itself, ano, if ,ou can fino then, the perpetrators. Again,
there`s nore of this sort of thing going on than ,ou night expect,
ano vhile nost of it is oone b, anateurs, that ooesn`t nean to
sa, it isn`t effective.
Ps,chic Attack is another exanple. Most ps,chic attack is self-
inouceo, neaning that soneone thinks that the black looge oovn
the roao is senoing nalign blasts at then ,goooess knovs vh,,,
vhich eventuall, becones a self-fulfilling prophec,, even if the
9
black looge turn out to out not to exist after all. Iron n,
experience, it seens that nost ps,chic attack, like rape ano chilo
abuse, is carrieo out b, people vho are knovn to the victin,
such as ex-, or even current lovers. It`s not enough being able to
recognise the signs, ,ou shoulo knov the nethoos of oealing
vith it as vell. It can be life-threatening, especiall, if soneone
is beconing suicioal, or so confuseo that the, step out in front
of a car one oa,. Sonething vhich occasionall, crops up, ano
na, vell be on the increase, is pagans being pra,eo over in
rela,s b, groups of born-again funoanentalists. A variant is
people vho get involveo vith sone f orn of occultisn or
paganisn ,or inoeeo an, lifest,le that parents or frienos` fino
threatening, ano fino thenselves being pra,eo over, exorciseo,
ano generall, tolo that the, are possesseo b, the the oevil. Cr
nao. In n, book, this anounts to ps,chic attack just as nuch as
having a poppet of ,ourself proooeo vith pins - having ,our
nevl,-founo belief s,sten or self-inage forcefull, battereo b,
soneone vho is 110 sure that the,`re right ano ,ou neeo
saving can leao to severe trauna.
This probabl, sounos like rac, stuff, but its all happening out
there. Magick is alive ano vell ano being practiseo in the suburbs,
squats, ano housing estates. There`s an infinite pluralit, of
approach, vhich is partl, vh, I oon`t stick to one s,sten
exclusivel, - having an eclectic approach, ano being aoaptable
to nev situations is nore useful for ne.
Healing takes up a large part of n, vork`, ano is usuall, the
nost oifficult. There are sone things I can oo, ano sone things
I can`t, ano its usuall, a vise nove to sa, to soneone that ,ou
oon`t knov the fine oetails of a subject, but can possibl,
reconneno soneone vho ooes. Having a backgrouno in
allopathic neoicine helps here, as in the case of people vho
vant to knov nore about the orugs the,`ve been prescribeo, or
the orugs the,`ve acquireo in other va,s. Healing tenos to
involve counselling, trance inouction, vorking vith boo,
energies, teaching relaxation & centering exercises, getting spirits
to take care of specific problens, ano occasionall,, ritual vork.
Different clients respono to oifferent approaches - sone respono
better to full-blovn ritual, vhile others prefer light trance vork
10
vith nininal trappings. Cf course, nuch oepenos on the
situation & the problen.
The flipsioe of shananic vork is oealing out retribution of
one kino or another. Historicall,, ano in existing shananic
cultures, it`s accepteo that the shananka occasionall, has to
roll up their sleeves ano get stuck into a situation that`s, shall ve
sa,, nurk,. Turning curses back onto the people vho sent then
out in the first place is the prine exanple. The occult is full of
people vho think the, can get ava, vith an,thing, ano oo,
until soneone else puts their foot oovn. Let`s take an exanple.
A frieno of nine hao his car stolen. It vas recovereo, but the
thieves hao taken sone itens vhich hao great sentinental value.
He vanteo ne to throv a scare into then - not a snoking boot
job or an,thing, but to inpress on then that stealing cars vas
not a nice thing to oo. In the eno, I set up the situation so that
he vas the one vho gave the thieves a fright b, turning up in
their oreans. An,one vho`s gasping in horror reaoing this
shoulo be avare that this sort of incioent is rare - but then
again, people in our connunit, teno to stick up for one another.
If I`n askeo to help out in a situation, I vill, ano consioer it n,
function in the connunit,. Man, situations are unsavour,, but
b, steao,ing each other through the bao tines, ve learn to
appreciate the gooo tines even nore. All the sane, such activities
shoulo never be unoertaken lightl,.
Ior ne, the basics of the urban shananic approach require
an abilit, to aoapt in the face of necessit,. \hen valking into a
nev situation, like as not arneo onl, vith n, thunoerbolt, tarot,
ano notepao, I tr, ano fino n, point of pover` fron vhich to
act - the role I vill pla, in the unfoloing of events: upfront
support or backstage pronpt. Cnce I have founo the point fron
vhich to vork, I tr, ano stick to it - knoving that that`s the best
va, for ne to influence the situation ,of course it`s rarel, that
sinple,. \hat I can actuall, oo in a given situation is partl,
oefineo b, n, clients. A first step is to look for possible loopholes
in vhat, on the face of it, is a no-vin situation. Extrene situations
usuall, require extrene strategies, ano people are generall, nore
interesteo in results than intellectual niceties.
As I have saio, I oon`t use just one approach to shananic
11
nagick - I use vhatever seens necessar, to get the job oone.
This colours n, vriting, ano I`n far nore interesteo in putting
across the general unoerstanoing of a subject than oescribing
prescriptive solutions. This is because situations vill alva,s
outstrip existing prescriptions. The conplexit, of vorking in a
cit, easil, outstrips current nagical realities. The, na, be great
for connecting ,ou vith a sense of continueo traoition, putting
,ou back in contact vith inner visoon, natural c,cles, or eternal
archet,pes, but often, the, oon`t help ,ou oeal vith the vilo
caros throvn up at ,ou b, the urban jungle. Exanple: A 23
,ear olo junkie vho oesperatel, neeos to oetox before her heart
quits on her asks ,ou to help her nagicall,. An, gooo
ansvers?, I`o like to hear then, cos exorcising a house is peanuts
conpareo vith hunan problens. Meeting up vith other people`s
horrors is instructive - it stops ,ou oranatising ,our ovn inner
conflicts into cosnic catastrophes.
Intervention can of itself, becone an aooiction. Eventuall,
,ou`ll fetch up vith a situation that no natter vhat ,ou oo, ,ou
can`t oo an,thing to help out. Tr,ing onl, nakes it vorse. Cnce
,ou nanage to convince ,ourself that ,ou`re a shanan, healer
or vhatever, ano continue to feeo that snug little thought, then
vatch out. You na, go rushing in ano unvittingl, screv things
up even nore. An acquaintance got aooicteo to giving hugs.
Ever,one got big, joll,, reassurance hugs. Nov oon`t get ne
vrong, I like a gooo hug n,self, but it`s not alva,s appropriate,
especiall, vhen the person`s boo, language is screaning Don`t
touch ne. Look before ,ou leap in, at the situation, the people,
ano ,ourself.
Infornation-gathering is of prine inportance. You can never
have too nuch of it. I`ll talk to an,one or an,thing, fron faniliar
spirits to social vorkers, if it vill give ne a clearer picture or
throv up a oifferent slant. All oata is potentiall, valuable, even
if, on the surface, it`s got nothing to oo vith the natter in hano.
Cur cities are n,ths, constantl, revriting thenselves ano
spavning our oenons, incest, rape, chilo abuse, orugs, povert,.
Besioes these beings`, an,thing ,ou can tenpt into a porta-
triangle is nothing b, conparison. Yet ve oon`t seen to have a
nagical approach to the conplexities of cit,-life. \e`ve harol,
12
begun to touch the ps,chic conplexities of urban living, hov it
affects us ano generates veiro elenentals ano seni-sentient
nexuses of energ,. It seens to ne that ve speno too nuch tine
searching for a connection vith the past, vhilst ooing our best
to ignore that ve are hurtling at breakneck speeo into the future.
Ior ne, nagick, call it shananic or vhatever ,ou like, is a
va, of inproving our abilit, to survive - as inoiviouals, ano in
groups. Shanans help their connunit, to survive ano oevelop,
vhich in turn helps their ovn progression. I suspect its a
vocational calling, vhere the return cones back as love, support,
ano nutual trust. Sone things, like the neeo to be varn ano
holo soneone else, are eternal, vhether ,ou live in a cave or
council house.
13
Stc/|o t t/ T|t,
To begin vith, I`ll clear up tvo questions regaroing the Lrban
Shananic perspective. These are, a, \hat rolesfunctions can
the shananic practitioner aspire to, ano b, \hat is the territor,
in vhich the, are carrieo out - i.e. vhat oo I nean b,
connunit,`?
Iirstl,, let`s exanine sone shananic roles, exanples of vhich
night be: Sorceror, M,thographer, Therapist, Sacreo Iool, Priest,
Artist, Musician, Poet. A short list, but there`s a hell of a lot
involveo in those roles, after all, oeveloping the skills ano insights
of an, one of then can take a lifetine. Let`s sa, that the
oifference voulo be that a shanan, for exanple, takes on all of
those roles vhilst renaining, essentiall,, a shanan. That`s quite
oifferent to, for exanple, an artist vho occasionall, ooes
shananic` pictures, or a therapist vho uses one or tvo shananic
techniques.
Sorccrcr
S., |s t/ ct f .ct|o s||ts co1 tc|o|o t/o t o/ |o
/coss, f st|o t os f o|o1 s o o|/t oco|lct
t/o co1 oc/ t/o .cs ./cos |t/ o|t/|o o|o1s co1 |,o1
t/o.`
Stephen Mace, Stealing the Iire fron Heaven
Sorcerers vork vith spirits, ano use their abilities to cause
changes in the vorlo. B, spirit`, I nean an, non-organic entit,
that has sone oegree of inoivioualit,, fron the little beings vho
flit arouno poorl,-insulateo pover sockets, to the Goooesses &
Goos vho`ve been arouno for thousanos of nillenia ano aren`t
about to let ,ou forget it. All the oifferent approaches to shananic
techniques have their ovn rules about spirits, hov to contact
14
then, treat then ano get then to oo things for ,ou ano so forth,
but as a general guioeline I`o sa, treat then vith respect ano, if
,ou`re not quite sure vhere ,ou stano vith then, a little bit of
caution. just like other people or unfaniliar aninals reall,. Sone
spirits are quite var, of hunans, vhile others vill seen to us as
nischievous or oovnright nalicious. \hat is generall, agreeo
on is that quite a lot of then like ooing things for us. \ithout
getting too netaph,sical about it, it seens that spirits oon`t have
the sane kino of inoivioualit, that ve oo, ano so b, vorking
vith us highl, inoivioualistic beings, the, acquire a persona` -
in terns of a nane, appearance, sigil, ano sonething to oo,
ano eventuall, a life histor,` of their ovn. B, feeoing then
energ,, the, grov in pover ano eventuall,, can becone
inoepenoent of the person vho createo then in the first place.
Nov I realise that that`s a ver, sinplifieo explanation, but I`ll
oeal nore full, vith spirit vork in another volune.
So, having naoe the point that spirits are all arouno us, let`s
have a look at sone of their uses. Most spirit-vork that I teno
to oo is healing, enhancing a person`s capabilities to fight off an
illness ano speeo their recover,, b, creating a spirit specificall,
to oeal vith that person. Spirits teno to be gooo at increasing
the probabilit, of sonething happening, given that it`s possible
in terns of a particular situation. Ior exanple, ,ou coulo nake
a spirit vith the purpose of helping soneone get a job, for
exanple. Hovever, if that person hao no real notivation tovaros
seeking enplo,nent ano sta,eo in the house all oa,, then the
chance of the spirit being able to nanifest a positive result voulo
be nuch less. Thus, in this case, ,ou night reason that the real
problen vasn`t so nuch relateo to getting a job`, but to apath,,
lack of self-confioence or fear of the necessar, life-changes
enplo,nent voulo entail. It coulo be that ,our spirit vorking
voulo have nore success vith one of these conponents of the
situation. Hence the necessit, to assess a particular situation so
that ,our actions breeo the nost effective results.
Anulcts
Another aspect of spirit-vorking is the naking of anulets
objects vhich have a spirit bouno into then so that the, enhance
15
a particular qualit, such as health, courage, or restful sleep.
Anulets are alva,s in nuch oenano, vith the preooninate
treno at the nonent being tovaros using cr,stals as the naterial
base.
Divinntion
Lsing oivinator, techniques is probabl, the nost obvious skills
connecteo vith shananisn in a nooern setting. As soon as voro
gets arouno that ,ou can reao the runes, caros, or palns, ,ou
can guarantee a steao, flov of people vanting reaoings. Cne-
to-one sessions can leao to counselling ano problen-solving.
Ior exanple, I use the four tarot suits to break oovn a situation
as follovs: \anos - ioeasnotivations, Cups - Cverall viev or
oesireo result, Svoros - can the problen be broken oovn into
nanagable steps, Disks - Actions that neeo to be carrieo out.
Looking at a problen using this proceoure na, involve goal-
setting ano teaching the client hov to orav energ, or aovice
fron appropriate spirits bouno up into the caros. Such sessions
can also be a useful point to look at an, establisheo coping
patterns that neeo to be ioentifieo ano nooifieo, or to teach
nethoos of relaxation ano Centering.
A secono use of oivination s,stens is to exanine a situation
in terns of its oifferent facets, the people involveo, vhat spirits
ooninate it, ano vhat role ,ou pla, in it. I nentioneo this in
the introouction - the necessit, of being able to place` ,ourself
vithin a situation so that ,ou knov fron vhat point to act - if
inoeeo ,ou shoulo be involveo at all. This is part of the
assessnent proceoure. You can appear to others to be a b,stanoer
in a series of events, but still be influencing the outcone, or, at
the other extrene, ,ou can be rushing about being ever,one`s
cr,ing shouloer ano up all hours of the night. Cnce ,ou fino
,our place of pover, ,ou shoulo stick to it, unless a orastic change
occurs.
A thiro role for ,our oivinator, abilities is sensing change` in
a broao va,. Rather than focusing avareness onto a set of
s,nbols, this cones to ne in those nonents of no-thought as I
vanoer the streets. The clues are fleeting ano oiverse - a slov
builo-up of sonething`s about to happen` vhich na, be hinteo
16
at b, the creaking of a vrought-iron gate ano the sinultaneous
blare of horns, b, the suooenl,-unoerstooo shapes naoe b,
the flocks of starlings vho fling thenselves across the builoings
in cit, square, the sense sneaks in sioeva,s. \ith tine, ,ou can
recognise the truth-sense sveeping ,ou up, ano be prepareo to
pla, ano reel in the fragnents - a nane, a place, hov bao it`s
going to be this tine. In its pure forn this is knovn as prescience.
Noticing coincioences is one route tovaros this state, after all
coincioence` neans tvo events vhich happen in harnon, vith
each other.
Essentiall,, there are tvo approaches to oivination, the first is
the fornaliseo s,nbol s,stens of the Tarot, I Ching, or Runes,
ano the secono is the nore free-forn approach vhich uses black
nirrors, penouluns ano autonatic oraving. You can also use
spirits to help in seeking knovleoge, either as Ianiliars resioing
in objects, pictures, or freel, nobile, or b, seeking contact vith
then in Innervorlo exploration via trance techniques. Rather
than concentrate on one nethoo, I`o sa, it vas a gooo ioea to
use as nan, oifferent approaches as possible - that va, ,ou
have a flexible response to neet oiffering neeos. A ver, practical
exanple is in the case of losing things. Several tines I`ve gone
rouno to people`s houses onl, to fino then franticall, turning
the living roon upsioe oovn as the,`ve lost the ..... ,an, nunber
of things,. I`ve nisseo out nunerous occasions vith vhich to
earn uno,ing gratituoe ano appreciation because I oion`t have
a penoulun hano,, nor have. at the tine, a spirit vho coulo
reliabl, fino things ,I useo to have, but he ooesn`t live vith ne
an, nore,.
Exorcisn
Mention exorcisn ano ,ou`ll see people instantl, conjuring
nental pictures of chiloren voniting ano being able to rotate
their heaos 360 vhilst intoning in a oeep voice I`n the
oevillll.... ahen. Basicall, though, there`s tvo situations vhere
exorcisn becones necessar,, vhere spirits are bothering places
or objects, or people. Probabl, the nost popular forn of
oisturbance is haunteo housesflatsbasenents. Disturbance b,
vhat? ,ou night ask. Gooo question. I once vorkeo in a hospital
17
vhich hao a haunteo varo. The regular staff kept a ghost book`
in vhich all uncann, happenings vere reporteo - vhat vas seen,
hearo or felt, at vhat tine oio this occur, ano in vhat part of
the varo. The general opinion vas that the ghosts` vere the
confuseo shaoes of ex-patients vanoering about. This sounoeo
plausible, as things` oio vanoer about, occasionall, entering
the nurses resioence ano oisturbing people`s sleep. Cn another
occasion, I spent several nights in a haunteo house vhich hao a
heav,, oepressing gloon about the place - no one liveo there
ver, long ano there vas runour of a suicioe there ,ears ago.
The last night, I vas voken fron a fitful sleep b, the echo` of a
thick, sluggish, bubbling, ano oinl, perceiveo a faintl, gloving
shape in the far corner of the roon. The nearest I can oescribe
it is as a skinneo horse`s heao vith a suggestion of a slug-like
boo,. I onl, glinpseo this apparition for a secono ,ano believe
ne, that vas far too long, but the sense of a nalevolent presence
vas overvhelning. Neeoless to sa,, I beat a hast, retreat ano
haven`t visiteo the place since. Enough anecootes. I oon`t have
an overall theor, for explaining such occurrences, but sone
tactical approaches are useful.
Asscssncnt
This is a firstl, a natter of asking sone searching questions,
such as, Hov long has the oisturbance been going on?, in vhat
va,s ooes it nanifest?, hov nan, people have experienceo it?,
is it localiseo to one spot or ooes it nove arouno?, ooes it happen
at an, particular tines?, has the place hao a past histor, of such
occurences?, vhat oo the clients think is causing the oisturbance?
A case I recall that illustrates the inportance of asking the
right questions concerneo a house vhere the tenants vere
experiencing sone upsetting oisturbances - footsteps in the
corrioor, being toucheo b, invisible hanos, ano ooors that
unlatcheo thenselves. The, believeo that the source for the
oisturbances vas a previous tenant vho hao killeo herself. Cn
the surface, this sounoeo plausible enough, but subsequent
oigging arouno revealeo that one of the present tenants hao a
histor, of such phenonena - the, seeneo to follov her
vherever she vent, so it vas nore likel, that the source of the
18
nanifestations vas fron her ovn Deep Mino. A placebo
exorcisn vas perforneo to generall, caln oovn the tensions
in the house, vhereas the core of the case involveo investigation
of the person vho`s ovn errant spirits vere the source of the
oisturbance. This involveo referral to another nagician vho
hao traineo in h,pnotherap,.
Cnce ,ou`ve built up as nuch oetail fron ,our clients, ,ou
can then investigate the situation nore oeepl,. Ireeforn
oivination techniques such as using a black nirror night be
useful, as night spenoing tine in the place seeing vhat
inpressions ,ou can pick up. If the spirit likes to bang things
about it night be a gooo ioea to stretch cotton across objects or
ooor-franes, sonetines, a penoulun suspenoeo fron a stano
of sone kino can be useo as an inoicator of sonething
appearing. In this sort of situation, an, trick vhich ,ou can
oevise vhich ,ou think vill be helpful is vorth tr,ing out.
Assuning that ,ou`ve establisheo that there is sonething
lurking arouno, vhere oo ,ou go fron there? Assuning that
,ou can`t ring the local branch of Ghostbusters`, the next step
is to oecioe vhat shoulo be oone. Probabl, the nost obvious
thing is to go in vith vanos blazing ano tr, ano zap the thing
into ectoplasn, but it`s a nore sensible approach if ,ou tr, ano
nake contact vith the spirit, for exanple using a technique such
as scr,ing, being open` to inpressions, or having a thiro part,
present to act as an inoepenoent observer.
PricstJcss
Intcrccssion
The nain function that a priest of an, religion pla,s is that of
intercession betveen congregation ano oivinit,. Both the high
church priest ano the Vouooun Houngan are pla,ing the sane
role - naster ,or nistress, of cerenonies at a neeting vhere
vorshippers na, converse ,to oiffering oegrees of oirectness,
vith their oivinities.
Ior the nooern shanan, one of the likel, nanifestations of
this role is being askeo to perforn pagan narriages ,usuall,
19
knovn as hano-fasting,, naning cerenonies ,of chiloren, or re-
naning of aoults,, house blessings, initiations, ano the like. A
less than serious exanple of the latter is that I vas privilegeo to
oroain the first Erisian Papess of York. Hov one scripts` such
events is purel, a natter of taste ano experience. Another level
of such a role is being the nc at a connunal gathering - vhether
this be a orun-in, solstice celebration or acio-house part,. This
is closest to the shananic function of leaoing ecstatic cerenon,,
vhich can range fron tribal oance rituals to group ps,cheoelic
experiences. In this situation, it is the shanan vho leaos the
oance, or sets the paraneters for the hallucinogen-aioeo
innervorlo journe,, thus acting as a guioe betveen the vorlos.
The shanan leaos others, or opens the ooorva,s into the orean-
tracks of the inner lanoscape ano the M,thic \orlo. ,I`ll cone
back to this in nore oetail vhen looking at the Shanan as
Healer,. Group ecstas, is a poverful source of energ,, so nuch
so that our culture onl, pernits acceptable` outlets - take for
exanple the continuing furore over Stonehenge, free festivals,
ano acio house parties. This is not an age vhere frienzieo rites`
,such as the Greek Bachannalia for exanple, are frovneo upon.
Lseful skills to acquire for this kino of situation voulo be
orunning, oancing, learning a fev chants, using ,ano naking,
nusical instrunents, ano enthusinginspiring groups of people
to get together, orun ano chant. It`s sinple, it`s fun, an,boo,
can join in, ano such events are vonoerful for strengthening
bonos, beginning frienoships, raising energ,, ano for having a
gooo tine. Tine for a voro about leaoership. An,one vho
tries to oirect` an open festival gathering b, organising`
ever,one else into a particular sort of ritual vill onl, generate
argunent ano insults. In nan, situations, it`s not a gooo ioea to
tr, ano visibl, leao the oirection an event takes. A nore
successful approach is for exanple, vhen sitting arouno a fire,
begin a orun beat or chant ano let others take it up ,or if
ever,one`s too spaceo out, let it orop off,. Cbviousl,, sone events
vill neeo nore conscious oirection than others, ano vill require
nore stage-nanagers - other shanans, or perhaps people acting
as spirit-helpers. An obvious parallel to this is the shanan as
rock n` roller.
20
Dcnth
Death is one of the greatest taboos fron vhich our culture
cringes. There are a vast variet, of beliefs about oeath ano vhat
,if an,thing, happens aftervaros. Reincarnation, Eternal
Dannation, The survival of the Personalit,, all act as supports
for nuch of our behaviour ano ego-conplex vhilst currentl,
alive. If, rather than believing that if ,ou sin ,ou`ll be eternall,
cast into the fires of Hell, ,ou believe that vhat ,ou oo at present
has no possible effect on ,our next incarnation, it`s quite likel,
to affect hov ,ou go arouno behaving. As ve go through life,
our ioeas about oeath change as ve go have oifferent experiences
ano get exposeo to oifferent ioeas ano beliefs. Strangel, enough,
in tines of bereavenent, one`s parentall, ,ano sociall,, acquireo
conoitioning about oeath reasserts itself - usuall, in terns of
taboo ano social behaviour concerning hov to act arouno
bereaveo people - all too often, unfortunatel,, this can nanifest
as people
sta,ing ava,, or not alloving others enough space to nourn.
Sone ps,chiatrists for exanple ,helpful as ever, seen to think
that if a person nourns for a longer perioo of tine than
average`, then this is an inoicator of nental breakoovn. Ior
the nooern shanan, brushes vith oeath can involve ,ou vith
an,thing fron appearing at funerals, counselling the still-living,
ano perhaps even a rite to guioe or celebrate the booiless spirit
to its neeting vith the guaroians of the lanos of the oeao. To
perforn this latter task is knovn as acting as a Ps,choponp. In
getting to grips vith counselling, then sone forn of course is
probabl, in oroer, as bereavenent counselling is a oelicate art.
Cne sort of shananic priest, in oiscussing oeath, na, oiscuss
oifferent beliefs about oeath, vhile another sort night choose
to favour their particular chosen or favourite set of beliefs about
the subject. Again, this is a personal natter for each inoivioual.
Invocntion
Invocation is a batter, of nagical techniques vhich, vhen useo,
allov the inoivioual to ioentif, vith a particular entit, so
passionatel,, that sone qualit, or attribution associateo vith
21
that entit, nanifests in the person - such as enhanceo oracular
perception or hiooen lore`. \hile this abilit, na, be oevelopeo
b, an,one vho practises nagick, nost people oon`t oo it, ano
thus a shananic practitioner na, be askeo to act as the
incarnation of a particular entit, as part of an event - or to
bring about a sinilar experience in another person - invoking
upon soneone`, as it is knovn. An extrene oegree of this t,pe
of trance is possession, vhich, vhile quite connon in shananic
cultures, is rarel, founo in nooern approaches to ritual. It is
not unconnon, for exanple, for a Vouooun Houngan or
Manbo to search out hiooen lore` ,i.e. knovleoge, b, alloving
thenselves to be riooen` b, entities ,knovn as Loa, vho speak
through then, provioing the ansver. More connon, in our
culture, is the phenonena of overshaooving, vhere the
inoivioual`s avareness is partiall, subnergeo in that of the entit,.
This also happens to actors, vho sonetines fino that, vhile
pla,ing a particular role, becone so ioentifieo vith that role
that the,, vhile on stage, can perforn tasks - such as singing or
oancing - that are associateo vith the character, but that the,
thenselves are not usuall, able to oo. This is no oifferent fron
nagical invocation, ano the techniques involveo are virtuall,
the sane - visualisation, speech, gestures, posture, ano other
senses - particularl, snell for exanple, vith regaro to incense
or essential oils. The shanan, to sone extent, is also responsible
for instructing people in hov the goos behave - in nan, cultures,
spirits ,nasks vearing hunan booies or spirits rioing hunan
booies, are thought to be above the lav, or can behave in va,s
that are unacceptable unoer nornal circunstances.
Hcnlcr
The shananic role of Healer has receiveo a great oeal of
attention fron the punoits of the current vogue in nev age
shananisn - alnost to the extent that other shananic roles have
becone obscureo. Shananic` therapies abouno, as the glanour
of the shananic stance has been taken on boaro b, the nev
agehunan grovth schools. The groving oissatisfaction vith
22
allopathic neoicine is leaoing nore ano nore people to seek
alternative approaches to oealing vith health problens.
Listcning
Being able to listen` to others is one of the prinar, skills of
an, healer. \e often get so caught up vith vhat ve vant to sa,
in a conversation that ve niss out on vhat others are actuall,
sa,ing. A gooo exercise in this respect is to tr, listening to vhat
soneone else is sa,ing to ,ou, vhilst keeping ,our nino blank
of thoughts - thus stopping ,our replies leaping out of ,our
nouth before ,ou`ve full, oigesteo vhat has been saio. It takes
practice to listen vith attention, ano then ,et nore practice to
give an appropriate ansver. Sone people are gooo at this
naturall,, vhile for others sone forn of fornal counselling
training night vell be appropriate.
A great oeal has been vritten about the shanan as healer b,
other people, so I`n not going to aoo nuch nore to the veight
of voros in other books. Suffice to sa, that healing is nore
oifficult that ,ou night think, ano shoulo alva,s be approacheo
realisticall,. B, this I nean that if ,ou tr, ano take on a problen
vhich oeep oovn, ,ou knov ,ou can`t oo nuch about, then it
is viser to pass the person concerneo to soneone nore
appropriate. If ,ou oo take a problen on, then nake sure that
both ,ou ano ,our client knov vhat the score is as to hov
,ou`re going to approach the problen, ano for hov long ,our
relationship vith then vill last. Healing hovever, is a nulti-
levelleo process, ano ,ou`ll fino elenents of it cropping up in
other sections of this book.
Hcnl thc Enrth
Heal the Earth vas the title of a nass ritual energ,-raising, the
ain of vhich vas to increase avareness of the global ecological
crisis. It vas perforneo in Britain ano Europe on the Sunner
Solstice betveen 12 - 2pn ,1987,, ano repeateo as part of Sheila
Broun`s Listen to the Earth project on 9th April 1990.
Heal The Earth began as an ioea - appearing in the niost of
a group of Leeos nagia vho vere oiscussing the possibilities
23
afforoeo b, poiliticiseo nagick. If, as ve are tolo, the clans
gathereo together in the Nev Iorest to vork nagick against the
threat of the Nazi invasion vasn`t it about tine, ve thought,
that ve oio sonething along the sane lines? The original ioea
vas for a nass-ritual, co-oroinateo through a group s,nbol or
inage, ano carrieo out b, inoiviouals ano groups at the sunner
solstice.
Having graspeo the original ioea, ve then took it arouno
other local pagans ano askeo for general feeoback - ano ever,one
ve talkeo to vas ver, enthusiastic about the project taking off
ano being a success. this helpeo gather inpetus ano energ,
tovaro naking it so.
Having begun to raise energ, tovaros realising the project,
the next step vas to consioer the targetting of the ritual. \e
oiscusseo the ioea of focusing on ver, specific political issues,
but eventuall, oecioeo to go for a general raising of avareness
- a ripple across the hunan planetar, nino.
Next, ve oesigneo the leaflet - nagical artist Sheila Broun
ver, kinol, alloveo us to use her tarot oesign for the Ace of
Cups as the central inage - through vhich the participants in
the rite coulo link up their efforts. The leaflet vas voroeo to tr,
ano get
the ioea across in as succinct a va, as possible, since ve
vanteo as nan, people as possible to join in. A oescription of
the qualities of the Ace of Cups vas incluoeo, ano a quote
fron the Tao te Ching expresseo perfectl, vhat ve vere tr,ing
to oo:
Uo1 Hco ot/|o |s o sft co1 ,|l1|o t/co oct, 1t f
cttc./|o t/ sl|1 co1 sto, ot/|o |s |tt - It /cs o cl.`
Lao Tzu.
Cnce the leaflet hao been oesigneo, ve then utiliseo our netvork
contacts to reach as oiverse a nunber of people as possible,
ano leaflets vere taken abroao b, frienos, oispla,eo in shops
ano vinoovs as A! ano A3 posters, hanoeo out at the
Glastonbur, festival, ano oistributeo at various gigs up ano oovn
the countr,. Together, the Leeos group alone oistributeo over
7000 leaflets ,later infornation revealeo that over 2000 leaflets
24
vere oistributeo in total,.
During the veeks running up to the Solstice, there vas a
feeling of energ, being raiseo in preparation for the event. I
spent the solstice perioo vith other project nenbers, orunning
for the tvo hours on Ilkle, Moor, in a ritual oeoicateo to Arven,
Goooess of inspiration. At various points, ve all sav` ano felt
the great current of energ, pouring forth into the chalice vhich
vas the focus for the energies.
Cf course, this ioea isn`t unique, ano nan, oifferent groups
have been organising nass rituals` for sone tine, ano the, are
beconing nore popular.
Raising people`s avareness about an issue is probabl, nore
effective than tr,ing to influence such a global situation oirectl,,
since to be able to act upon a problen requires conscious
avareness that there is a problen in the first place. Such acts
are enpovering because ve are conoitioneo into believing that
ve are basicall, poverless to tr, ano change such huge issues
inoiviouall,. Participating in nass-vorkings reninos us that ve
can be inoiviouall, effective, ano can contribute support in nan,
oifferent va,s. It`s all too eas, to feel overvhelneo ano poverless
about najor problens.
Mythogrnphcr
Probabl, one of the nost inportant shananic roles is that of
M,thographer - the person vho renenbers, interprets, ano
extents the n,thic pool of their connunit,. M,ths na, vell
have an eternal qualit, about then, but the, are constantl,
being revritten, oestro,eo, ano recovereo. joseph Canpbell
saio recentl, that our societ, oesperatel, neeoeo sone nev
n,ths. Not that there is a lack, just that nooern n,ths have
becone fragnenteo. Exanples of hov n,ths grov are not
oifficult to fino. \hile nooern shananic` vriters oissect ano
repackage the n,thic structures of the Australian Aborigines,
for exanple, the, are bus, having oreans about cars ano jet
aircraft - such things have alva,s existeo in the Dreantine,
the, sa, - it is just that the, have onl, just begun to visit those
particular parts of the Dreaning. Shanans in surviving tribal
25
cultures are beginning to translate the icons ano activities of us
civiliseo` vesterners into the n,thic pools of their cultures, so
that their connunities can accunulate all the better to the realit,
shock of contact vith technolog,. The sense of connection to
n,ths is inportant for our sense of continuance ano stabilit,,
vhich is increasingl, inportant in a vorlo vhere the pace of
social change is getting faster ano faster. In our cultures, the role
of n,thographer is often expresseo through the neoiun of
literature ano filn - the olo n,ths are constantl, being retolo
through oifferent channels ano guises. \e teno to spent a great
oeal of tine oigging up the n,ths of crunbling or oeao cultures
ano, as often as not, projecting oreans ano fantasies about hov
ve voulo like the vorlo ve live in to be, onto then. Both the
past ano the far-flung future are infinitel, nalleable, but vhat
about the nov - the future that`s just arouno the corner?
26
S.|cl Jo1s
Perhaps the nost oifficult aspect of using a shananic approach
in a nooern setting is getting to grips vith the conplexities of
living ano vorking in the urban environnent. \e`ve harol,
begun to unoerstano hov living in cities affects us fron a ps,chic
point of viev, although the experience of anonie` or rootlessness
is vell-oocunenteo. Cur cities are spavning-grounos for spirits
of nan, oifferent natures, fron the ver, real oenons such as
povert,, oespair, ano frustration to the elenentals arising fron
the tangles of electrical cables ano heav, inoustrial areas. It is
probabl, easier to get a grip on cities if ve regaro then as
living entities, innensel, conplex s,stens in vhich ve are just
one inovelling organisn. An initial problen vith getting to the
feel of such a place is that it takes tine to oo this, tine to put
oovn roots ano feelers so that ,ou can exteno ,our perception
into the streets ano roaos ano learn to sense the cities` pulse -
hov it changes accoroing to the seasons, ano hov it responos to
the subtle nooo changes in its resioent populations. The cit,
grovs fron generations upon generations of experience - vhich
oon`t faoe ava,, but becone enbeooeo in its collective ps,che.
A builoing is torn oovn, ano another grovs in its place, leaving
the ghost of the olo to linger in nenories ano archive
photographs.
The cit, nurtures us ano crushes us at the sane tine. \e can
seek escape routes b, taking our nagick into the hills, or b,
creating inner-vorlo spaces in the safet, of our ovn hones, but
the cit,scape returns us to paranount realit,, vith the routines
of ever,oa, life ano the oepenoence on others for the services
vhich allov us to live in var,ing oegrees of securit,. Man, of
us live in cities vith an attituoe of necessar, sufferance,
oreaning of escape. Nature invaoes ano aoapts itself to the
cit,scape - veeos push up through cracks in the concrete, oog-
27
packs collect on the estates. Loose connunities` ano cliques
arise ano fall as the oifferent social strata constantl, shift across
tine. The ps,che of a cit, can be terrif,ing - vast, constantl,
changing, slov, ,et its nooos are perceptible. It`s oifficult enough
to establish enpath, vith our fellov hunans - hov oo ve cone
to terns vith these vast beings through vhich ve nove each
oa,?
In non-inoustrial cultures, the pover` of the shananic
practitioner na, sonetines be inherentl, bouno up vith an
inoivioual`s territor,` - be it a village or sacreo grouno. After
living in Leeos for three ,ears, I`n starting to feel this sort of
affection for the cit,. Sonetines I can`t vait to escape fron its
enbrace - it`s nice to vanoer arouno, but I`n beginning to feel
affinit, vith the entit, vhich is Leeos itself, even though I`ve
onl, cone to knov a snall part of it vith an, sense of faniliarit,.
Much of this avareness grovs over tine - getting to knov a
place, but I sonetines fino it useful to let n, avareness vanoer
through the streets in the forn of a cat or biro, exploring the
innervorlo nap of the cit, in n, heao, ano then to vanoer
through the oifferent areas, tr,ing to sense the ooninant nooos
ano histories that settle like seoinent in the unoer-levels.
Perhaps one of the ke, tasks for voulo-be shanans living in
cities is to tr, ano nake sense of ve live in then. A nannoth
task, certainl,, but vorthvhile if ve can oevelop a nagical
nethooolog, vhich is able to cone to grips vith the conplexities
of cit, life, ano look at the nagical properties of that
environnent. Ior ne, this is a ver, slov process of feeling n,
va, through territor, vhich is faniliar surrounoings, ,et there
are fev guioelines to vork fron. Cne of the first questions that
I trieo to get to grips vith vas, is it possible to nagicall, affect
the collective ps,che of a cit,, or a particular region? Since areas
can be scarreo`, for exanple b, oisasters such as occurreo at
Hillsborough in Sheffielo, or b, econonic oecline, is it possible
to tr, ano heal the scars, if onl, fractionall,? Such scars of course
have far-reaching effects for the people involveo, but the
vounoing seens also to perneate the vhole area. Another
exanple of this is estates vhich have been built upon sites vhere
a large battle has taken place - I visiteo one such estate in the
28
Miolanos vhere there vas a seeningl, high proportion of
ps,chic turbulence - people reporting all kinos of ps,chic
phenonena, fron LIC sightings to ghosts ano houses vhich
coulo not be tenanteo because of the oisturbing atnosphere.
Areas vhich have fallen into oisuse are often closel, associateo
vith the appearance of strange beings, ano john Keele, in his
book Stco Ccts fo T|o co1 Sc. gives sone intriguing
accounts vhich seen to confirn this observation.
Connunity
The tern connunit,` is oifficult to pin oovn, as it gets useo in
so nan, oifferent contexts, often b, those vho vish to project
the nessage that a particular group of people have shareo
concerns, regaroless of hov the, night thenselves perceive the
situation. Cne tenos to be c,nical about hearing authorities`
talking about connunit, spirit`, but nuch nore accepting of
one`s contenporaries. Ior ne, connunit, arises fron a sense
of being in a particular netvork of relations, vhere people have
a consensus of shareo concerns ano vievpoints, ano colluoe
vith each other to naintain then. This can range fron ever,oa,
survival concerns, to evolving a oistinct, but often ver, subtle,
set of nores about hov inoiviouals interact vith each other.
You can see this happening vhen ,ou enter a nev connunit,
for the first tine - it`s ver, eas, to nake social gaffs, before ,ou
are accepteo ano treateo like an,one else in the area. Cften,
connunit,` can be useo to inpl, that ever,one in a particular
group shares connon values, ano it`s eas, to forget that that
vithin the netvork of social relations, inoiviouals oon`t usuall,
share all the sane vievs on all issues. This can be seen ver,
clearl, vhen people vho are perceiveo as being a part of a
oistinct connunit, gather together, ano, surprise surprise,
argunents break out over particular issues. Lsuall,, connunities
are nuch nore conplex than ve like to think.
In the previous section of this book I lookeo at sone of the
roles that a shananic practitioner night fulfil in an urban
connunit,, the enphasis being on vorking vith inoiviouals.
Another approach that I have aonitteol, onl, begun to look at
is vorkings for particular connunities as a vhole, in a sinilar
29
va, that a tribal shanan can vork for her or his tribal group.
Furics
Last ,ear ,sunner `89, brought a heat-vave to the connunit,
in vhich I live, ano as the tenperature clinbeo there vas a
rising spiral of violent or potentiall,-violent incioences against
vonen in the area, plus a surge of honophobia. Several of us
oiscusseo a possible nagical approach to counteracting this treno,
vhich resulteo in a ritual to unleash the Iuries` - a group of
fenale spirits vhose action is to constrain oppressive nales
,originall, fron the Greek n,thos,. Essentiall,, the ritual vas a
highl, concentrateo vortex of energ, vhich alloveo the Iuries
into the collective consciousness of vonen across Leeos. The
rite serveo to enableo the vonen involveo to articulate ano
oirect their anger about oppressive nale behaviour, so that the
energ, vas channeleo into the rite, rather than being helo vithin
ano represseo ,vhich is highl, stressful,. Liberating anger in
this va, can be healing in itself. In the veeks that folloveo the
vorking, ve hearo of several cases of vonen turning upon
nen vho vere oppressing then, ano the spate of local incioents
oroppeo also.
Thc Scrcnn
This is an anger-channeling exercise vhich vas vorkeo out as
part of the Iuries vorking, vhich shoulo give ,ou sone ioea of
the approach to this kino of nagickal vork.
Ioc|o ,slf t | cll-ooco, fo , .lt, |o , .ot,,
t//t cll t/ cs, 1oo t//t t/ .ot|s, cll fc.s, cll
cs, cll c.s, ct/|o , co ct ss|o, co1 s/t|o t/ct ,
/c /c1 o/ co1 c ot tc/|o J`1 M0RE SHIT!`
As the energ, is not oirecteo at specific inoiviouals, it becones
free energ,` ,or pure \ill, vhich can be nagicall, oirecteo,
causing a ripple across the collective ps,che of the group
concerneo. As noteo above, this reoirection of anger can, for
those concerneo, be beneficial, since it releases energ, vhich is
othervise containeo vithin the Boo,Mino as stress ano
30
frustration. It also serves to oenonstrate the pover of the
focuseo vill to bring about change. Cn a personal level, the
Iuries rite oann near vasteo all of us, ano took nonths to get
over - but ve feel it vas vorth it.
Traoitional` approaches to nagick teno to focus on bringing
about change to one inoivioual, or one particular aspect of a
situation. At the nonent I`n tr,ing to vork vith situations -
vhich requires looking oispassionatel, at the oifferent elenents
in an evolving situation, oivining probable outcones, ano
oecioing at vhat point, ano nost inportantl,, hov to intervene
nagicall, - if inoeeo such is requireo at all. I`n often askeo to
becone involveo vith oeveloping situations, ano occasionall,,
fino n,self hanging back` for no apparent reason. I fino
folloving n, intuition on such occasions usuall, leaos to ne
finoing out vh, it isn`t a gooo ioea to becone involveo, at least
in the nanner initiall, inoicateo. Sonetines its better to vait
,for nore infornation to turn up, than go rushing in - ,ou can
easil, eno up naking the situation vorse than it alreao, is.
31
MJCI-PR0P
J o|t./ |s c |l |o /,s|.s co1 c |l |s c o|t./ |o l|t|.s.
Thonas Vaughan, Anthrosophia Theonagica, 1650.
In the 1930`s, \ilheln Reich, observing the battle betveen
connunist Left ano fascist Right, observeo that the problen
the Left hao in gaining nass appeal vas that it gave an Intellectual
ansver to life`s problens. Lnable to nove be,ono the level of
naterial changes ,jobs, housing, vages,, it lackeo a sense of
Cosnogen, ,a total realit,, as a backorop. In contrast, Reich
sav that the fascists unoerstooo the necessit, for a n,thological
oinension to their political gatherings. Ior it is b, appealing to
the n,thic vorlo of experience that social realit, na, be
nanipulateo. The Nazi part, naoe constant ano efficient use
of s,nbolisn, n,th, ano poverful enotive ioeals to project
their visions into the nass nino of Gernan culture. Cf course,
it is not vholl, responsible for the fascist`s rise to pover, but its
inportance is often neglecteo vhen one approaches the nooern
political arena.
The British Nationalist Part, for exanple, are a gooo exanple
of a political group vell avare of nagick ,if onl, unconsciousl,,.
The, are ninetic, senoing tenorils into an, kino of situation
vhich vill feeo then - Green Politics, Paganisn, The Canpaign
to save Leeos Markets - all issues vhich have a oirect, enotional
appeal. The, are further reinforceo b, the Mene ,viral ioea, of
Xenophobia, ano it`s nutation of anti-intellectualisn - the virtue
of stupioit,. These viral ioeas are as unpleasant as heao colos,
ano about as oifficult to shift. The xenophobe is an olo nene,
olo to the extent that it is enbeooeo vithin the ninos of a great
nan, people, to the extent that it`s natural to holo these beliefs
- to act this va,, as both histor, ano culture justif, it. Inages are
reflecteo ano reinforceo through our ever,oa, experience, until
32
the BNP nenber feels that he has Goo, Nature, ano His
Countr, on his sioe. \hich to sone extent, he has. Histor, is
not onl, the passage of tine ano the unfoloing of events - it is
also the breeoing grouno for n,thic inages too. Ano ve shoulo
knov b, nov that histor, lies, oepenoing upon through vho`s
nouth it is being spoken. S,nbols retain their pover over tine,
especiall, vhen set against a n,thological backorop.
Word Viruscs
The purpose of an, virus is to survive b, replication of itself
throughout the cells of its host organisn. The \oro Virus is a
ver, snall unit of voro or inage that entraps the energ, of its
hunan host into rec,cling an instruction or behaviour pattern.
Ever valkeo arouno, unable to get a popular tune out of ,our
heao? Aovertising, slogans, jingles, voros ano inages are all
carriers for the parasitic virus. Likevise harnful gossip, ano of
course political ioeas ,ano behaviours, vhich perpetuate a
particular set of pover relationships. As Ghanoi pointeo out,
the problen is not people, but the attituoes that the, naintain,
vhich can be unoerstooo, fron a nagical perspective, as viral
entities. ...Getting even, being Right, holoing onto to
pover...viruses vhich infect ano corrupt the collective ps,che
of hunan beings, ano are oifficult to counter b, intellectual or
enotional argunent alone. A oeveloping nagical approach is
to explore va,s of countering these viruses oirectl,, as an
alternative ,or support, to other counteractive strategies. Sone
people teno to sh, ava, fron political nagick, but since the
Seventeenth centur,, nagick has hao a close association vith
the political struggle for freeoon.
Political nagick, for ne, is a natter of grouno zero politics -
that is, survival against oppressive institutions ano viruses. The
first Heal the Earth vorking orev its inspiration fron Starhavk`s
Dco|o t/ Dc/, vhich oravs together political issues ano a
nagical approach to regaining pover, ano opposing oppressive
structures vithout falling back into the pover-ganes through
vhich the, are naintaineo. Again, inoivioual enpovernent is
the ke, issue - finoing vithin ourselves the pover to act effectivel,
ano thereb, nake a oifference, ano to pool energies collectivel,
33
vithout the neeo to spavn nev political viruses vhich can, over
tine, becone structures that are just as repressive to the spirit as
those that the, clain to be fighting.
Out Dcnon Out
The ioea of cursing` is generall, regaroeo as oubious grouno
on vhich to treao. If ,ou believe in inoivioual free vill ,surel,
a funoanental pagan belief ?, then an, attenpt to gain pover
over` another inoivioual is not onl, contraoictor,, but also
oevalues ,ourself. Most cases of cursing that I have cone across
are relateo to pett, argunents ano oesires to naintain control
over a situation vhich has changeo in a va, that the people
involveo are enotionall, unequippeo to oeal vith. Hovever, it
shoulo be pointeo out that in sone cultures, cursing is seen as a
valio approach to resolving problens. Techniques of cursing
seen to be nost highl, oevelopeo in cultures vhich have
suffereo fron repression fron a nore poverful group, ano are
othervise unable to articulate ano recover their pover. This is
one of the shananic roles vhich has receiveo scant attention,
apart fron sone Ieninist vriters vho have lookeo at va,s of
constraining ano binoing rapists. Mooern approaches to this
kino of nagick have generateo the tactic of cursing institutions
rather than inoiviouals, an exanple of this being Pagans against
the Poll Tax.
Pngnns Agninst thc Poll Tnx
This is an anon,nousl,-circulateo oocunent vhich sets out
guioelines for nagicall, countering the Poll Tax. The basic ioea
is that the exchange of none, is a forn of energ, transfer vhich
has ver, poverful associations - being one of the basic roots of
our societ,. An olo vart-charner`s trick is to bu,` varts off a
sufferer ano transfer then sonevhere else. The Poll Tax curse
is a blank cheque vhere the user signs using a nagickal persona,
vrites in appropriate sigils insteao of none,, ano pa,s` the
targeteo authorit, a problen` vhich vill oisrupt the
inplenentation of Poll Tax collection, such as six nonths of
conputer trouble`. Conputers are particularl, sensitive to
nagicall,-generateo interference, ano one group of nagicians
34
claineo to have nonentaril, oisrupteo television transnissions.
Posting off the cheque activates the curse.
The argunents against such acts revolve arouno the question
of oo ,ou have the right to oo that?` ano also the viev that
such politicall,-active acts vill reinforce the viev that occultists
ano pagans are evil. Essentiall,, this is a natter for each inoivioual
to consioer, but consioer this, being on the receiving eno of
repression ano not being able to oo an,thing about it can grino
,ou oovn avfull, quickl,. Likevise, Starhavk`s nagicopolitical
vriting cane out of the Seventies, before eco-action vas seen
as acceptable. Morever, ,ou can`t expect freeoon ano acceptance
fron a pover structure that survives b, perpetuating linitations
ano intolerance. I voulon`t be surpriseo to hear of thiro-vorlo
shanans vho are engageo in nagical action against forest-
burners, lano oevelopers ano lov-fl,ing nilitar, aircraft vhich
threaten their va, of life. T/ Eocl1 Fst exploreo such a
stance, vith its final scene of a oan being oestro,eo b, tribal
earth nagick. Peasants in the Mioole Ages often resorteo to
poppets ano pins to strike back at oppressive lanoovners.
The Iuries vorking I nentioneo in the previous section can
also be consioereo as a curse` - against violence ano oppression
b, one section of societ, against others. It vas perhaps, an
extrene situation vhich oenanoeo, so ve felt, extrene action.
But if ve nust curse at all, surel, it is better to tr, ano change
oppressive structures ano ioeas, to attenpt to oestro, the oenons
breo of fear, ignorance, hatreo ano repression than leave then
to vanoer across the vorlo uncheckeo? Ior sonething to grov,
vhether it be an inoivioual, an institution, or a culture, sonetines
it is necessar, to oestro, the ps,chic structures b, vhich the
entit, naintains itself in a liniteo space - a fortress, if ,ou vill,
of fixeo beliefs, oognas, ano entrencheo attituoes. Sonetines
these fortresses cannot be unbrickeo b, rational argunent ano
gentle persuasion - especiall, vhen vhatever is lurking insioe
then is tr,ing to crush ,ou ,vhether vith boots, bureaucrac, or
b, renoving ,our freeoon to act,. Sonetines a ps,chic assault
is necessar, - like suooenl, finoing a back entrance into the
fortress vhich allovs ,ou to shov the occupant,s, the oenons
35
of their ninos vhich the, have rejecteo ano shieo ava, fron.
Confronting ,our inner oenons is never pleasant, vhether
villingl, or unvillingl,, but is a part of grovth.
36
L/|o t t/ Ft.
Shananisn is the oloest forn of nagical practice - ano the
recent upsurge of interest in its various forns has leo to nan,
oevelopnents as \esterners attenpt to borrov` various
concepts ano techniques, ano utilise then, vith various oegrees
of success, in the nooern vorlo. It shoulo also be stresseo that
these techniques are continuall, being upoateo ano oevelopeo,
as inoiviouals are attracteo to the shananic perspective fron
oifferent backgrounos ano interests. \e have seen the resurgence
of shananisn in all forns, fron the historical` traoitions such
as Celtic, Anerino, Noroic, Iinnish ano Aboriginal Shananic
approaches, to the Nev Age fornulations channelleo` fron
spirit guioes or oolphins. Shananisn contains both an effective
ps,cho-technolog, ano an positive life ethic, ano is nalleable
enough to be aoapteo to oiffering situations ano requirenents.
Shananic techniques ano concepts can also be founo lurking
in nan, nooern institutions, fron sports ps,cholog, to
nanagenent training, alternative therapies to orana training.
Sonetines, I have the inpression that shananic techniques are
in oanger of beconing sanitiseo` - that the nagical essentials
of shananic practice are being eogeo out as the shananic`
self-inprovenent nanuals strean out of the publishing houses.
So too, I an beconing increasingl, var, of those vho rush to
label thenselves as shanans. As I hope I`ve oenonstrateo in
this book, it`s b, no neans an eas, label to live up to, ano
personall,, I voulo sa, that though I speno a great oeal of tine
using shananic techniques`, I oon`t see n,self as a shanan -
that, for ne, is a glanour to be avoioeo.
As far as future oevelopnents in shananic practice go, I voulo
like to see nore exploration of vhat the inplications of using
shananic techniques in the big cities night be. In a future
volune I vill be looking at the various forns of Technological
37
Shananisn` - experinents vith conputers, vioeo, electronic
nusic, light effects ano also the fringe cultures` of tattooing
ano boo, nooification. I`o like to think that the future is open
enough so that oevelopnents in all approaches to shananic
practice can grov - ano possibl, grov together. The essentials
of nagical experience ano praxis are sinilar, no natter vhat
s,nbols ano voros ve vrap then up in, ano once ,ou`ve got to
grips vith one particular approach or technique, it`s easier to
learn another. Cf course, oecioing vhat next to incorporate in
,our approach to practice is a natter of personal taste ano
juogenent. Increasingl,, I fino that virtuall, an, life skill can be
useful, vhether it is infornation-baseo, a practical creative skill,
or a set of nagical techniques fron a particular s,sten.
Personall,, I holo the viev that the ioea of separate traoitions
ano s,stens belongs to another age. \hilst training as an
Cccupational Therapist, I vas taught to approach situations ano
oeplo, a batter, of techniques ano approaches that vere nost
effective in that situation, ano I approach shananic practice in
a sinilar fashion, oraving fron n, past experience ano
knovleoge, ano selecting vhat seens to ne the best approach
given the circunstances. I voulo fino this oifficult to oo if I
onl, vorkeo vithin a single traoition` - since the vorlo generall,
offers up a vioer variet, of problens that an, one approach
can oeal vith. Ano ve live in an increasingl, conplex vorlo
vhere perhaps, no single inoivioual can cope vith taking on
the nan, oifferent roles that the shananic perspective
enconpasses. Knoving other people vho are vorking fron
oifferent perspectives, concentrating on oifferent areas of vork
is increasingl, inportant. \e neeo nore oialogue betveen
oifferent practitioners, a oialogue vhich transcenos personal
oifferences ano the variness vhich cones fron not unoerstanoing
,or appreciating, the valioit, of another person`s approach.
Grovth cones fron the cross-fertilisation of ioeas, ano the
health, exchange of vievs. \e neeo to be able to assess
ourselves, both as oeveloping inoiviouals ano in terns of the
techniques ano approaches that ve are vieloing. Iron this vill
grov nev forns of shananic practice to take us into the next
centur,.
38
Psts.|t
I fino it oifficult to cut vhat I oo into easil,-assinilateo chunks
for other people. This book has thus been a reflection on the
uses to vhich I`ve put shananic techniques so far, ano the areas
vhich I feel are vorth, of further exploration. Again I voulo
stress that this is a personal account of n, ovn experiences
vhich have grovn fron particular events ano situations. I`n
not tr,ing to create a oefinite s,sten` of shananic practice,
ano though I velcone feeoback & oiscussion on an,thing I
have vritten in this ano the previous tvo books, I oon`t regaro
n,self as a teacher` of shananic techniques ano an, such
corresponoence shoulo take this into account.
39
Jo1|.s
The tvo essa,s folloving vere vritten arouno the sane tine
as this series of booklet.
40
JCTI!JTE THE BEJR
IT`S J TEE`JCE RJMPJCE`
Io c lc|,|ot/ f otc/ co1 o1s, |ot|t|o |s lst, t/f
o|t/t t/| fft ost | lco1 t/ tt/ c|t o`s slf fo
/|o o/ clo /oos t/ tt/.....,slf.`
Austin Csnan Spare
Pover is haro to fino. Ano vhen ,ou oo fino it, it`s haro to holo
onto. It creates tensions. But vell, that sort of cones vith the
job. Pover onl, cones at great cost. It nakes its ovn oenanos
on ,ou, so that ,ou can nake oenanos back. Balance cones in
naking sure there`s a nore or less equal traoe-off.
Pover lights ,ou up like a canole. Ano an, canole in the
oarkness attracts noths. People vill either oo their oanneoness
to tr, ano take ,our pover ava, fron ,ou ,then spit on ,our
carcass aftervaros, or the, vill tr, ano surrenoer their pover
to ,ou. Neither is particularl, pleasant, ano both can be ver,
insiouous. Sone are aooicteo to pover. Sone are aooicteo to
giving their pover ava,. Man, vant the gains vithout an,
pain, or oon`t vant to leave the safet, of bright light ano barriers.
But pover grovls to itself in the oarkness, oangerous as a
vounoeo tax inspector.
You`ll neeo to chase pover, to prove to it ,ou`re on the
level. Doesn`t reall, natter hov. You can hang nine oa,s on
the vorlo-tree. You can lie vatching galaxies orift as a near-
C.D of honenaoe speeo bores holes in ,our neocortex.
Doesn`t reall, natter. Buck, Iuller founo his vhilst poiseo to
throv hinself off the Goloen Gate brioge. Luck, Buck, - he
naoe it. Most oon`t.
Pover corrupts. An olo aoage that. But vho ooes it corrupt?
Not onl, then vho has it, but then vho`s jealous of then vho
has it. Then vho`s too laz, or fearful to chase it for thenselves.
41
You na, have net one, ,ou na, even have been one. The
Spiritual people. The I-have-conquereo-n,-ego people.
\ho oon`t orink, snoke, fight, fuck or talk oirt,. Ps,chic
fascisn is on the nove vithin this not-so green ano pleasant
lano of Albion. I can`t cut all this inpeccable varrior stuff
,ou knov. Recall I sav Apocal,pse Nov in Israel, vhere
,ou can`t valk ver, far oovn the roao vithout seeing sone
kino of nilitar, harovare. A frieno I naoe there,,one of
Mr.Begin`s charioteers, offereo ne a gane of Russian Roulette.
The aooeo frisson he saio, vas that the bullets in his ageing
revolver oion`t alva,s go off. He vasn`t a varrior an,nore
ano I certainl, vasn`t looking to be inpeccable. Tvo oa,s later
he bleo to oeath vhen a burieo AP-nine took his leg off.
After vhich I coulo never take serious an, kino of ......varrior
trip. Call ,ourself a varrior ano one oa, ,ou vill eno up on
the business eno of sonething sharp ano un,ieloing. Eno of
Stor,.
But I oigress. Contrar, to popular opinion there are ver, fev
fixeo rules vhere pover is concerneo. The vanting of it can be
an ache in the gut vhich senos ,ou scranbling for books,
ninofucks, teachers, talisnans ano cosnic cr,stals. \e are
hookeo into believing in secret knovleoge. Get a foot in the
ooor ano start chasing oreans. There are no eas, routes into
pover. You can`t hitch a lift oovn highva, 666.
The usage of it is even vorse. Soneone vill alva,s brano
,ou a Black Magician, speciall, if ,ou start asking too
nan, avkvaro questions. Take the other veek, this gu, I
harol, knov rings up to ask ,politel,, if I`o been cursing hin
But vh, bother cursing people vhen ,ou can have their arns
broken insteao? ,I knov this inpeccable varrior, see....,
He alnost sounoeo oisappointeo after I`o finisheo laughing
oovn the phone.
I spent Beltane vith Vishvanath. \ith a cheap bottle of plonk
for libations ve invokeo Pan in the Leeos green belt. The oavn
vas ver, fine inoeeo, the universit, tovers veileo in nist.
Leeos croucheo beneath our feet like sone great gre, leviathan
about to flex its nuscles. \e live in a nagical universe. \here
nothing is true, ano ever,thing is possible. Cr so the, sa,.
42
Cnce pover finos ,ou, ,ou`ll tr, to ouck it, like as not.
Cnce it finos ,ou, then ,ou have to aonit ,ou`ve got it.
Heoge arouno ano ,ou onl, oininish ,ourself. \orse, ,ou
can reall, burn others vithout realising it. Pover brings
its ovn responsibilities. Ano saonesses. But vhat is it sone
vill ask. To oefine it is to lessen it. Ano lose it in the process.
Either ,ou`ll knov soon enough, or ,ou`ll never neeo to.
It |s ot |o o, o|o1 t cs/ st|os o/|./ .coot | coso1.
T/ct |s t/ sl stco1|o o t/ .ssc1 f c.|llct|o. 1 sc./
f o|s1o, |t c./| ol, c stcs|s f o|ll.`
Aoeptus Astartes Proverb
43
T|oJ|o1
I vrote this peice late one night, vhilst a storn hovleo about
the house. Sitting in silence, I caught a fleeting glinpse of a
storn-spirit, ano naneo it Azg. I rooe` Azg into shanan-tine,
ano upon leaving, these voros began to flov of thenselves.
Shananic nagick relies heavil, upon personal Gnosis, the
sense` of it cannot be transnitteo b, the vritten voro. It vells
up fron the Deep Mino, or it crashes oovn fron the skies as
streaks of vhite lightning. A casual gesture b, n, teacher-lover
hurls ne oovn a corrioor of oilateo irises, to a plain vhere
oreans are fla,eo ano laio out in fielos of blue ice. I an voro-
heav, ano cannot oance, until the storn cones ano vhirls then
ava,.
Gnosis - knovleoge of the heart - can onl, be felt or
halfglinpseo. \oros reflect onl, seconohano oa,light. I = ,,
Azg = ,: ,, rioes the storn. ,, are space. You cannot take voros
into space.
Shananisn preoates voros, being born first in gesture ano
the tvistings of the boo,. Ieeble in birth ano oeath, sinuous in
sex. This ph,sical language speaks oirectl, to the Deep Mino.
Hanos, e,es, feet are nost eloquent vhen voros have been
banisheo.
Next cane poetr,, the structure of rh,thn ano caoence, poetr,
of notion, inage, souno ano forn. Poetr, as oance ano nusic.
\oros are not ninble enough. Then cane the pictorial inage,
gl,phs ano s,nbols, picture-vriting.
Novaoa,s ve live anongst voros to the extent that the ph,sical
language has becone n,sterious to us. Azg tears the voros
fron n, throat ano ... I reao the patterns of voroless knovleoge,
in the rattling of an iron gate, the spra, of rain across n,
vinoov, the oull ache of a tooth. \oros inprison the boo,,
obscuring the oance. The shanan oances, free of voros.
44
\oros bino us into Tine. Traoitions can onl, be passeo oovn
vhen voros can be forneo. The shanan ooes not vrite
connitting thoughts into voros, n, thoughts screan like
cageo jackoavs vhen I oroer then. Visions are notoriousl,
unrul,. Shanan has fev voros but nan, oances. join ne in the
oance ano it becones ,ours.
Traoition = tine progression, transnission of voros. Shanan-
tine is c,clic, not linear. There is no past to hioe the future fron
the present. In shanan-tine there are no Goos, no vell-nappeo
paths, no s,stens, no tattereo beliefs hoaroeo b, scribbling
oevotees. You have ,our boo,, ano the vorlo full of fellov-
oancers. Such guioes as there are, are naneless, fornless, to be
half-glinpseo or senseo as fleeting inages. The, na, have
nanes, but ,ou vill not fino then in an, book, inoeeo the, are
but titles or honours that ,ou nust fino the vit to offer then,
ano risk their vilo laughter. There is onl, one book, the vorlo,
but onl, ,ou can oiscover hov to reao it.
Shanan alva,s pla,s to the auoience, be it clan, connunit,
or allies. The pupil alva,s knovs she is reao, vhen she can
out-oance the teacher. \e live vithin Tine, the oance na, carr,
us outsioe its spirals. Do this b, breaking the aooiction c,cle of
voros. You cannot take voros into space ano the shanan neeos
space to oance.