The latest census revealed a twelvefold increase in people identifying as shamanic followers in Britain, but there are dangers without regulation, writes Fleur Britten.
“I started going down the spirituality rabbit hole when I split from my husband a couple of years ago,” says Anna, 45, from Somerset. “I was really going through the wringer, so I booked an ayahuasca ceremony in Spain I’d heard about from a friend. Midway through, the 40-something Spanish shaman disappeared with his girlfriend. I drank way too much ayahuasca and was blown to pieces. When I got home, my vision was blurred, I couldn’t drive, I couldn’t even write my name.
As interest has grown, so has the number of healers jumping on the bandwagon. In the absence of any regulation, however, this means “anyone can stick a brass plate outside their door with the word ‘shaman’ on it,” says Simon Buxton, founder of, a not-for-profit shamanic training organisation. In Britain, there is no national register of properly trained shamanic practitioners. Although there are certificates aplenty – for courses as short as a weekend – shamanic qualifications don’t exist.
“I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve done something that I consider truly healing,” says the, who is campaigning for the public to be more cynical of western shamanism, “but I’d need at least five or six arms to count the things that didn’t help – or worse, set me back.” Elsey, who has been practising for five years, including as resident spiritual practitioner at London’s Mandrake Hotel until recently, is calling for people “to ask the right questions of western shamanism”.
, believes many are too eager to “drink the kool aid” of shamanism: “A lot of clients don’t see what someone more trained would.” Traditionally, she adds, “You’d know the person holding space for you.” Without this careful guidance, any sort of shamanic ritual can be “dangerous”, especially if the person is already in a vulnerable moment in their life.
Belgique Dernières Nouvelles, Belgique Actualités
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