I've seen rituals for this theme in several neopagan books.

I'm curious as to what the purpose or usefulness of such a ritual in a neopagan sense would be? I've heard of shamanic deaths in relation to shamans/shamanists, but outside of that sort of path I'm unsure why it would be needed or used.

Then again, why would shamanic deaths be needed for a shaman? Does it allow for easier passage between worlds?

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Along The River: My paganism blog

Yes after experiencing shamanic death, the shaman gains better access
to unseen realms. Shamanic death marks death of ordinally person and
if he is good he can born as a shaman.

We are usually limited by our own personality and reality and this mechanism
defend our life and sanity. But when the candidate of shaman
experience shamanic death, he is exposed to outer influences. This must
be his first direct experience of forces. He realizes that his reality was
just an island on the ocean.

After the shamanic death, he is forced to re-examine his Psychological/
Spiritual makeups and re-assemble them by his own hands. This experience
gives him oppotunity to really understand each nature of spiritual forces
and makes a shaman.

The basic idea is that once you've been pulled apart, putting yourself together teaches you a) about the metaphor that it's possible to put yourself together again after a crisis, and b) teaches you how to put others together.

From a neopagan perspective, I think it's actually foolish to engage in this ritual, because it can be very dangerous. I mean it's a valuable tool, but it's not *necessary* to being an excellent pagan.



A shamanist / shaman needs to know how to put others together, they need to know where to go to find soul fragments, and they need to know that they are fragile and often at the mercy of the spirits (who are the ones who help the shaman put themselves back together again).

The death - while it doesn't necessarily mark easier passage between the worlds or easier journeying - can, if successful, create better or healthier relationships between the spirit and the shaman / shamanist, and create a greater healer.

Ah, like a spiritual anatomy class That makes sense now, never thought of it that way before.

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Along The River: My paganism blog

ok i have to say that this aspect of shamanism is scary for me. which im not sure is a good thing or a bad thing

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