1) Shamans Circle

To access the other worldly realms and their energies the shaman enters the Shamanic State of Consciousness (SSC). A powerful method to achieve this is by creating a Shamans Circle, hereby creating a ‘Sacred Space’ and thus providing the preliminary means for shifting him in to the SSC.

How does one create a Shamans Circle?

This is not very difficult. I will share with you the way it was taught to me by my teacher Alan Tickhill:
- Ensure that the place in which you are going to do any Shamanic work of whatever kind is clear of obstruction, and that you will not be disturbed. Also make sure you know where the four directions North, East, South and West are located in relation to your working place.
- Have with you a rattle or some other type of shamanic sonic driving instrument. My recommendation is a rattle. If you do not own a rattle or similar device, using your voice makes a powerful invocation in its own right.
- Light a candle in the middle of the circle and burn some sage to purify the circle. Spend a few minutes to settle your mind. Relax. Then stand and face north at the perimeter of the clear space in which you are working. Have your rattle ready in your hand.
- Begin to shake your rattle towards the North and say:” Spirits of Earth hear my call, add your power to mine and bring the qualities of Courage and Steadfastness to this place.” Rattle towards the North for just a minute or so.
- Walk around the perimeter to face the East. Begin to shake your rattle and say:” Spirits of Air, hear my call, add your power to mine and bring the qualities of Clear Thought and Intellect to this place.” Again, continue to rattle for just a minute or so.
- Walk along the perimeter to face the South. Shake your rattle and say:” Spirits of Fire, hear my call, add your power to mine and bring the qualities of Emotional Balance to this place.” Continue to shake your rattle for a minute or so.
- Walk to face the West. Shake your rattle and say:” Spirits of Water, hear my call, add your power to mine and bring the qualities of Intuition and Understanding to this place.” Continue shaking your rattle for a minute or so.
- Continue along the perimeter back to the North closing the horizontal protection of your Circle. Rattle a minute or so.
- Once you have been around and invoked the spirits of the four directions, move to the center of the circle. (Be careful as not to step on your candle) Facing north shake your rattle upwards and say:” Spirits of Above, hear my call, add your power to mine.” Then shake it downwards towards the ground and say:” Spirits of Below, hear my call, and add your power to mine.”

This completes the creation of your Shamans Circle, which has become balanced into one whole and complete Sacred Space by your invocations and your will and intent.
Since it is your will and intent giving power to an invocation, it does not matter if you have problems remembering the words. You can also say something such as:” Powers of the North, hear my call, join your energy with mine and protect this circle.” It will be just as effective. You will notice that after a while your invocation will change into a creation of your own anyways.
Will and intent give the power. Words emphasize, strengthen and ground the intent.

- The ‘Final Stage’ of the Shamans Circle is its closure. When you have completed whatever you created your circle for, you should close it down and not just walk away from it. You achieve this by going to each direction in turn, beginning again at the North, and walking around arriving back at the centre of the circle. At each direction shake your rattle a few times and mentally or vocally thank all the Spiritual Powers who have helped and protected you during your work within the circle. Do this honestly and respectfully and those powers will always be ready to respond to your call.

2) Altar

An altar is a sacred place used in shamanism as well as in many other spiritual teachings to focus personal power, to provide a symbolic summation of where the owner is on his or her path. It also gives a summation of what the person has achieved to date, as well as to provide insight into areas still in need of work. In addition, an altar is a sacred space in which a higher power can reside, and therefore it is a shrine.
The altar is a very personal artifact and varies from person to person. It grows and changes with its owner. Since it contains the power and energy of its owner, it should not be touched by someone else.

3) Drums and Rattles

The drum is the most important tool of the shaman. According to Leo Rutherford in his ‘Principles of Shamanism’, many consider the drum to be the single most consciousness-moving, healing artifact in human life.
Its monotonous beat and low vibrations take the shaman quickly into the Shamanic State of Consciousness (SSC), where he begins his journey to the Otherworld realms. During the journey, the drum works also as a lifeline, keeping the shaman connected with this reality. It keeps him from getting lost, calling him back to our here and now when it is time.
The rattle on the other hand releases higher vibrations, which also have a powerful effect on the human consciousness and the energy field of and surrounding the human body. Yet its effect is not quite as powerful as that of the drum.

Experiment with both and feel the different effects on your body.
To a beginner I would recommend the rattle, since it is less expensive, easier to transport and will not upset your neighbors as much as a drum might.
For a journey, better done to the beat of a drum, an alternative is the purchase of a good drumming CD.
The drumming CD that I use most is developed by Michael Harner, (‘The way of the Shaman’) originator and director of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, one of the leading centers in 20th century ‘Core’ shamanism. The CD follows a format of drumming for 10, 20, 30 or 45 minutes at shamanic beat, followed by four strong, hard beats to signal that it is time to return. This is followed by a short period of drumming at a faster beat to draw the journeyer back to reality.

4) Incense

Incense is used to banish negative energies; to call the spirits; to balance the energy; and to bless those present. Before creating the Shamans Circle, beginning a workshop or a healing, I like to ‘smudge’ the place I am working in. Smudge is a general term used to describe herbal incense mixes made from dried leaves and stems of plants that are considered to have a cleansing effect. My personal preference is sage, especially Californian White Sage. This sage is not the sage we know here in Europe. It is generally a member of the Artemisia family rather than Salvia.
Other popular plants used for smudging are Sweet grass and Cedar. You can also create your own favorite smudge mix by mixing plants like rosemary or mugwort with a cleansing plant. Experiment with it.
To prepare herbs for smudging mixes, dry them and then either crumble the leaves, or tie the stalks with leaves together into bundles. Loose mix can be burned on charcoal, which is placed in an earthenware bowl or an abalone shell. Place some sand in the container before lighting the charcoal, which will become very hot. Self-igniting charcoal blocks can be purchased from suppliers of esoteric materials and new age shops.
Bundles can be ignited at the end, blown out, and then allowed to smolder. Either way you will get a large amount of smoke.
I personally prefer for workshops and healings the loose mix since it is easily kept under control. For house cleansing, I use the bundles.

5) Feathers and Fans

Feathers and fans are used to move incense smoke around,
and to fan it over people and around places. They are also used in specific ways for healing. It is said that because of the way feathers are constructed the little hooks at the end of each individual part act as brushes which can smooth a persons energy field and free blocked patches in it.

6) Fetishes

A fetish acts as a focus for power through which the shamanic intent can manifest itself. Fetishes can be simply small natural objects such as stones, feathers, sticks and such tied together with cord or similar materials.
Such materials are deliberately sought and woven together to combine in order to create an object, which holds power and radiates it out on behalf of whoever it is made for.

7) Power Pouch

The power pouch, also called ‘Medicine Bag’ in the Native American tradition or ‘Mesa’ in the Inca tradition, is a pouch, bundle or bag of some kind in which many shamans store items that help them connect with power in a different way. These items are all connected with each persons own personal power. They are gathered as the individual progresses through life. The bag radiates power and has a healing capacity in its own right. It is a very personal item.