Two-Year Training Program
In Celtic Shamanism

This program is an opportunity to acquire and hone shamanic skills in a Celtic context, using traditional Celtic practices mixed with core shamanic techniques. The program is part of the worldwide revival of shamanic lore and customs. By means of ongoing study and practice we adapt the Old Ways of Celtic and European peoples to the modern world. We recover and utilize shamanic wisdom found in folk customs, fairy traditions, ancient myths and rituals, and traditional healing and visionary methods. On-going practice at home is expected between sessions which occur in the spring and fall of two consecutive years.

Celtic shamanism is a forest tradition in which seership, shapeshifting, poetry, and participation in the life of the elements of nature play important roles for the shaman and healer. A major element in Celtic shamanism is poetry, for poets had shamanic healing and visionary skills, so we will explore ways to use poetry in healing and ritual work.

The training also includes working with the cauldrons of the soul and key Celtic gods, goddesses, and other spirits when appropriate for shamanic work, especially the spirits known as the Sidhe, the People of the Goddess Danu.

As presented in this program, Celtic shamanism is a living tradition that comes from older practices and folklore combined with modern shamanic techniques that can be used in healing sessions with clients or solely for one's own spiritual and personal development.

We use seasonal rituals and ceremonial activities to align ourselves with the old Celtic calendar. At Samhain we engage in the Wild Hunt, a form of ritual battle against the coming forces of death and destruction most prevalent in the winter months.

In the spring we learn a healing ritual called the Beheading Game, based on a Celtic tradition similar to the practice in other shamanic cultures where the shaman takes on an illness or problem in order to transmute it.

We will also practice some Celtic-based meditation techniques that do not require drums or rattles. And we will learn ways of entering nonordinary reality that are closer to the Celtic understanding of the Otherworld as being present here in ordinary reality. At our last meeting we use the Celtic shaman's initiation found in a Welsh myth to complete our training.

One of the benefits of an ongoing program is to participate in a stable community of shamanists. We all gain insight and wisdom from each other, and as the program progresses, the support of a familiar community enriches our shamanic practice. Guided by our helping spirits, the program will acquire its own unique life, punctuated with surprise and discovery as we go along.

Announcing California Two-Year Program

Westerbeke Ranch in Sonoma California
See www.Westranch.com to view Westerbeke Ranch

The dates for this program are:

June 27-30, 2008
November 20-23, 2008
May 29-June 1, 2009
November 12-15, 2009

Note: The Spring meetings run from Friday evening to Monday afternoon. The Autumn meetings run from Thursday evening to Sunday afternoon

For information and registration contact Dixie Pierson at 510-845-5313 or edpierson@aol.com.