Unpacking Modern Shamanism with Colleen McCann.
The following interview is a transcript excerpt from The Heallist Podcast episode. Listen to the full audio version below and subscribe to get notified of new episodes.
In this captivating episode host Yuli delves deep into the mystical world of shamanism and its modern-day interpretation. Together with her guest, Colleen McCann, founder of Style Rituals and author of "Crystal Rx," they embark on a journey to explore the essence of being a modern shaman. The discussion not only unravels the core principles, ethics, and rules of engagement in modern shamanism but also explores the profound significance of authenticity in one's spiritual practice.
As the conversation unfolds, Yuli and Colleen navigate through the rich tapestry of shamanic traditions from various corners of the world. They shed light on the suppressed traditions and the healing process related to the Witch Wound, uncovering the renaissance of shamanism in our contemporary world.
Colleen McCann is a fashion stylist turned energy consultant, who’s developed her own brand of ‘glamour magic’, by blending her experiences as a designer, stylist, brand consultant, healer, mentor, teacher, coach, author and serial entrepreneur. Colleen’s constellation of ancient & modern modalities have formed her signature blend – crystals, tarot cards, Shamanism, Northern & Eastern European folk healing, Reiki, intuition, mediumship, Astrology, Numerology, Feng Shui, color psychology & trend analysis. Her own spiritual journey led her to train for three years at The Four Winds School of Energy Medicine where she holds the esteemed title of Shamanic Energy Medicine Practitioner with accreditation as Healer Light Body. Colleen has studied core-Shamanic teachings in the Celtic, Chinese, Mexican, Nordic, Peruvian & African traditions. While holding great reverence to the lineages she has studied she is here to create a modern conversation & understanding about the mystic.
What does it mean to be a Modern Shaman?
Colleen McCann: If you ask 1000 shamanic practitioners what it means to be a shaman, you're going to get 1000 different answers, which is beautiful. For me personally, on a very basic level, being a shaman is someone that takes a vow to honor themselves, honor the people around them, their community, and honor the land that they live on.
Yuli Ziv: That's beautifully said, and in terms of just the definitions, and maybe different misconceptions that people have about this word, have you personally had to redefine it for people? What are some of the common threads you see that people, even with the word shamanism, what does it evoke in people, and how does that weave into what you do and how you define yourself?
Colleen McCann: I do think a lot of people have misconceptions about shamanism. They've seen certain images of people or certain things that they believe a shaman do, and that's not always the case. I like to tell people shamans are like surgeons; they each have their own specialty. There are shamans that do hands-on healing work. You find something that you have passion about, then follow that path. There are others that do divination. There are others that really sit in a circle and guide communities. There are other shamans that strictly deal with administering plant medicine, and sometimes that can cross over for a shamanic practitioner, but sometimes not.
There is a big misconception. The first thing if somebody finds out that I've had contact with learning about shamanic practices, the first thing they ask me is, "Oh, you do Ayahuasca? You're into plant medicine? Is that what you do?" It's interesting that that is 100% one of the first things people ask about when they hear the word “Shaman”.
What I find fascinating about this, I had to learn this on my journey, and the only way I learned this was by people asking me questions about it and me having to get answers, is that it was a lineage practice that I've always been very drawn to, not even knowing why. It's just where I found myself and went down that mystical rabbit hole. But there are shamans in Ireland, Korea, Hawaii, Canada, Africa, Japan, and any other place you could possibly name.
The word shaman actually comes from the Tunguska tribe in Siberia, Saman, so if we were to actually trace the roots of where shamanism came from, it came down from Siberia, went into China, and then went west, and hit Europe and Africa, and then kept going across to the Americas, which is fascinating because currently in modern times, the two places that people heavily associate shamanism with are North and South America.
Shamanism and its various traditions in the world
Colleen McCann: The first lineage of shamanism I was exposed to was Peruvian, and even more specifically, when you get into the Peruvian lineage, you either have the Amazonian traditions or the high mountain traditions, and I was exposed to the high mountain tradition with the people of Kairos. It felt very familiar to me. But at the time when I was learning all this, this was 15 years ago, all these spiritual schools that exist, if they did exist, they didn't have a website. You couldn't Google shaman or crystal healer or energy practitioner or Reiki teacher. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
As I've talked to a lot of people that are still very involved in the Celtic traditions, I just keep hearing this undercurrent, this narrative that they finally feel safe or ready to come out and talk about these traditions in that area of the world that have been hidden underground and behind closed doors.
What's behind the renaissance of shamanism is that people, more than ever, are seeking something. I have no intention of bashing any kind of traditional religion; I grew up in the Catholic Church, that's something that's super familiar to me. I just hear an undercurrent from people, whether they grew up religious or not, that they're not finding what they need from those practices or finding everything that they need. It's really beautiful when I see people that identify both as Catholic and a shaman. The seeking thing is a really big piece of this, and I also think that there's no people just exploring their roots, feeling called to explore the ways that their ancient ancestors healed.
Navigating the landscape of shamanic practitioners
Yuli Ziv: How would you suggest somebody to navigate the landscape because obviously, there are so many different traditions, and often you have a calling for one thing or another, but just in terms of exploring, whether you're a healer that's looking to expand a toolbox and drawn to shamanism, or even a person who's looking for healing and interested in experiencing or working with a shaman. How do you navigate that space in terms of knowing what's real, what's authentic, what's legit, and what resonates with you?
Colleen McCann: The first thing I would tell you even before you think you want to dive deep into shamanism for yourself, whatever lineage that might be, I would tell you to start by working with a practitioner that you gravitate towards. How do you find the right practitioner?
One side of me is going to tell you to use your intuition. There's also the practical side of me that says to look at their bio, see where they studied, what lineages do they know, what are their credentials, and make sure that that healer has done their work, and is also currently doing their work. Because you want to go to somebody who has experience and is continually educating themselves in whatever they know about, and that's the first step to getting into this.
Then when the student is ready, the teacher will show. Your curiosity will help guide your path towards a lineage, and there are some people who may say, "Hey, I am Native American. I'm already deeply embedded in my family.” There are other people, who might dip into their ancestry and find out that they have ancestors somewhere in the world and might want to reconnect and study that lineage.
There's other people, and this is definitely a tough one for a lot of people to swallow, that you might not have a connection with the lineage that you want to study and be gravitating towards, but are pulled in or invited into that lineage, and I definitely found myself in that situation, but it also helped me at the end of the day to reconnect with druidic practices, the Celtic shamans, and the wise women. I would say whether you are blood-linked to a lineage or not, you go in there with an unbelievable amount of reverence and respect for the people in that room that are willing to teach you and take you in.
Explore shamanic practitioners from the Heallist network and find one who resonates with you.
