30 Days of Deity Devotion: Writing about Santa as Shaman & Spirit Healer

(et101.net)

"The word shaman comes from Siberia and means "one who sees in the dark" (the hidden realities), and widely refers to those who are medicine women/men, healers, and seers. Shamans believe that all problems, physical, emotional or mental, have their root cause in spiritual imbalance."~Robin Gress, Sacred Shamanic Healing

"Many of the traditions we see across the world that are tied to the Christmas holidays have a surprising similarity to the ancient traditions of Siberian Shamans. Through the description below, you can easily see the role of Santa Claus being filled by the local shaman. You may have heard of the word “shaman”, which is a word from the Tungus-speaking people of Siberia, to connote a religious specialist.(1)  The Tungusic are Russian indigenous people who live in the arctic circle (north pole) and they are reindeer herders." ~Shaman's Well

"The word Shaman is a cognate to the word Saman, first used by a Tungus-speaking people, the Evenk, in Siberia. The role of the Shaman in his/her society was/is a vital one. They talked to spirits and animals and saw visions of the future. Born from the reverence early humanity had for their surroundings and the eternal wonderment of the spirit world, Shamanism held a distinction as being different than a magician or healer in early society. For the Shaman would walk the pathway to the spirit world routinely. Through altered states of consciousness induced with or without the aid of a catalyst, the Shaman would converse with the spirits. As a faith, Shamanism fits into many types of belief systems, due to the fact that is independent of dogmatic, institutionalized religion.

Shamanism is one of the oldest divinatory practices in the world to promote healing and spiritual wellness. By archaeological and anthropological evidence the practice has existed for some 20,000 to 30,000 years. Evidence of Shamanism has been found globally in isolated regions of the Americas, Asia, Africa, regions of Europe and Australia." ~Shaman's Well

"Santa's famous magical journey, where his sleigh takes him around the whole planet in a single night, is developed from the "heavenly chariot," used by the gods from whom Santa and other shamanic figures are descended. The chariot of Odin, Thor and even the Egyptian god Osiris is now known as the Big Dipper, which circles around the North Star in a 24-hour period. In different versions of the ancient story, the chariot was pulled by reindeer or horses." ~Dana Larsen

Read more about shamanism here.

What do you think about the idea of Santa as shaman?

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