shaman
Tribal spirit medium
A shaman is a person believed to communicate with the spirit world, typically to heal the sick, divine the future, or guide souls.
The role appears across many indigenous cultures, from Siberia to the Americas.
Shamans often enter trance states through drumming, chanting, or psychoactive substances.
The term has been adopted loosely in New Age contexts: She consulted a shaman for spiritual guidance.
Liquor or apparitions
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
- underworldRealm of the departed
- upperworldSociety's privileged echelon
- otherworldSupernatural plane of existence
supernatural · possession · channeling · communion · invocation · summoning · offering
Latin American folk healer
Overwhelming intense delight
- visionAbility to see
- journeyTravel from place to place
- drummingPercussive rhythm-making
- chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
dancing · fasting · hyperventilation · ayahuasca · peyote · mushrooms · rapture · dissociation
Formal event marking occasions
- incantationSpoken magical formula
- invocationCalling upon higher authority
- smudgingMaking blurry marks
- tobaccoDried smoking leaf
sage · copal · feathers · rattle · drum · mask · costume · regalia
Senior figure of authority
- tribeSocial group sharing ancestry
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- indigenousOriginating in a region
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
tradition · initiation · apprenticeship · lineage · calling · selection · sickness · community
spirits
Liquor or apparitions
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
- underworldRealm of the departed
- upperworldSociety's privileged echelon
otherworld · supernatural · possession · channeling · communion · invocation · summoning · offering
curandero
Latin American folk healer
- herbalistPractitioner using plant medicines
- healingRestoration of health
- curingRestoring health or preserving
remedies · purification · cleansing · diagnosis · extraction
kahuna
Hawaiian priest or expert
- curanderoLatin American folk healer
ecstasy
Overwhelming intense delight
chanting · dancing · fasting · hyperventilation · ayahuasca · peyote · mushrooms · rapture · dissociation · out-of-body
ceremony
Formal event marking occasions
- incantationSpoken magical formula
- invocationCalling upon higher authority
- smudgingMaking blurry marks
tobacco · sage · copal · feathers · rattle · drum · mask · costume · regalia · altar
elder
Senior figure of authority
- tribeSocial group sharing ancestry
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- indigenousOriginating in a region
ancestors · tradition · initiation · apprenticeship · lineage · calling · selection · sickness · community · ceremony
oracle
Authoritative wisdom source
augury · omen · foretelling · diagnosis · reading · signs · portents · revelation · insight · guidance
- mysticsmystic, seer, clairvoyant, diviner, spiritualist
- spiritual guidesguru, lama, swami, spiritual director, zen master
- character classeswarrior, mage, rogue, cleric, paladin
- healersnurse, doctor, physician, surgeon, medic
- village lifevillage, hamlet, thatched roofs, chalet, folk tales
- prehistoric roleshunter, gatherer, cave dweller, tribal chief, fire keeper
shamanmedical doctor
Licensed healthcare practitioner
physician · surgeon · scientist · psychiatrist · pharmacist
shamanpriest
One who performs sacraments
pope · bishop · rabbi · imam · ordained minister
shamanskeptic
One who doubts claims
materialist · rationalist · atheist · empiricist · secular humanist
- shamanic healingSpiritual cure through trance
- shamanic journeyRitual trance voyage