About Tom Cowan

Tom Cowan is a shamanic practitioner specializing in Celtic visionary and healing techniques.  He combines universal core shamanism with traditional European spirit lore to create spiritual practices that can heal and enrich one's own life and the lives of others.  He is an internationally respected teacher, author, lecturer, and tour leader.  He has taught training programs in England, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy; and most recently he was the first American shaman to teach in Slovakia.

Tom is the author of Yearning For The Wind, Fire in the Head: Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit, Shamanism as a Spiritual Practice for Daily Life, The Pocket Guide to Shamanism, The Book of Seance, The Way of the Saints: Prayers, Practices, and Meditations and Wending Your Way: A New Version of the Old English Rune Poem.

Tom grew up in Missouri, and received a doctorate in history from St. Louis University.  He taught history and humanities in Memphis during the 1970s, and moved to New York City in 1980 to pursue a career as a freelance writer.

In 1983 Tom met Michael Harner from whom he learned core shamanism which continues to be Tom's primary spiritual practice.  His lifelong interest in mystical traditions led him to develop ways to practice shamanism in the context of Celtic spirituality and other European-based spiritual disciplines.

Tom continues to study with Harner's Foundation for Shamanic Studies and other teachers of shamanism and spirituality.  From 1996-1998 Tom taught Celtic Shamanism for the Foundation.  Periodically he leads tours to Ireland or Scotland to practice shamanism at sacred sites and work with the spirits of the land.

Tom is a minister in the Circle of the Sacred Earth, a church of animism dedicated to shamanic principles and practices.  Today he lives in New York's Hudson River Valley where he offers training workshops, spiritual retreats, and healing sessions for groups and individuals.