Shamanism
Mayan Shaman's Incantations
by Charles E S Fairey
In a glade of Amazonian green
A great city of white sheen,
A temple existed, 365 steps above ground,
Where a Shaman who had travelled the world around.
Was entering trance,
After an intoxicated tribal dance,
To the drum banging in the background
In this building upon a stone mound.
He had started with an incantation
Followed by ayahuasca to bring elation,
Then set out upon a dance
Aided by a tribal rhythm enhance.
He entered an altered state
And ascended at a tremendous rate,
Where he encountered a new place,
Where he was greeted by a familiar face.
An Eagle stood a'top a stone;
'Tree Of Knowledge' carved with bone.
Around him was a garden paradise,
With a great tree that did entice,
Him to climb up its branches
And walk into other world expanses,
Where he would remove information
Received to him by this spirit hallucination.
Sometimes he may meet another
Shaman, in spiritual cover,
He would encounter a battle of souls,
Who roamed this tree of holes.
He would battle him with his supernatural power
Or entice them with a friendly flower,
Use his techniques and win the battle
With the help of his soulmate, his eagle.
Travelling into different worlds unseen
From this tree of emerald green,
Finding ideas and systems
Taught to the community as customs.
When he returns he descends the tree
And enters the green jungle sea,
Descends a cave to enter a circle of burning light,
Walk into this and travel through colours in the night.
Come back to the earth
At his current spirit's birth,
Waking up to a humble temple of stone
Where new information is taught and then known.
In this paradise of colours abound,
A great river slithers the land around,
An earth-monumental blue snake of legs
Travels the Earth, Mother Nature it begs.
The Shaman - Shamanism
by Charles E S Fairey
Shamanism has existed throughout history,
It represents an ancient healer's mystery,
Shamans existed in Siberia,
The Arctic Circle, North and South America and Indonesia.
Spread across the earth's lands
Using knowledge and their healing hands.
Similar shamanic cultures existed in Asia,
Africa and the aboriginal Australia.
A young shaman is tested;
Remaining in a hut where he rested,
Or wandered lands by day
Or behaved in a psychotic way.
This ordeal ended in a crisis
Which resulted in a diagnosis,
A self-cure, rite of initiation
Symbolic of death and resurrection.
After his torture by evil spirits
In a netherworld's wandering visits,
He returns as the Rightful Intermediary between
His community and the supernatural forces he has seen.
After his impalement upon the World Tree
The branches and roots he can now see,
Climb up or down, to the gods or ancestral dead,
Bring back techniques and knowledge he has read.
The shaman's most important technique
Is to enter trance consciousness, to seek
Out information, save lost souls,
Expel harmful spirits, fight with other shaman soles,-
Locate game or fish, control the weather,
Heal the sick, removing their underworld tether,
Foretell the future, find lost tools,
Perform shape-shifting, mind over matter and detect broken taboos and rules.
To go on his journey of the soul
He may first drink a bowl
Containing a hallucinogenic sacrament
To enhance his trip of enlightenment.
This sacrament may be Amanita muscaria
If the shaman is from Siberia,
Or Cohoba, used by the Mashco
Or Datura, used by the Jivaro.
Other sacraments also induce an enhanced vision
When he makes his conscious transition,
Like red mescal beans, Ololiuhqui, Natema,
Peyote buttons, Teonanacatl mushrooms or Ayahuasca.
In addition, the monotonous sound of his beating drum,
Fellow tribesman chanting and clapping, and the rattle of his sistrum,
Along with dancing, allow him to ride the rhythm
From darkness into an Altered State of Mana Oblivion.
The shaman feels a shivering sensation
Passing through his body bringing elation,
His muscles tremble, he begins to sway,
Foam pours from his mouth as he is on his way.
He enters the magical reality
In a deep trance, a journey of spirits and god duality,
He climbs up or down the branches of the Universal Tree
Shifting through his consciousness levels in order to see.
Once there then he will know
More techniques from ex nihilo,
Here he may talk to the gods, spirit,
And ancestors which he may visit.
When he returns from such a trip
From his knowledge the community will sip,
To learn about their gods of creation
Whose rules and taboos govern their civilization.
The shaman functions as a spirit-community regulator,
Ensuring the community's well-being with the creator.
He may compete or have to fight a shaman under tree cover,
They would then have to use their spiritual powers against each other.
The shaman not only possesses his drum
But may have a power crystal and a sistrum,
Wear a ceremonial costume and mask
Which he uses when on his healing task.
A great shaman has to learn more technique
Or a lightening strike he has to seek,
A sign of direct contact from the realm of the gods
Through reality instead of through the tree branch rods.
