The main Celtic beliefs centered around ancestor worship, as it has with many different cultures. This is evident in the practice of leaving food, perfume and other offerings in a central room for a particular family member who had passed on. Most of the books only attribute this practice to Hallows eve, which is incorrect. And just as rumors become exaggerated as time goes on, the legends of the ancestors who passed eventually turned into Gods rather than ordinary people. Honoring the ancestors is still a very important practice in Celtic Shamanism. as it is with other forms of Shamanism. Ancestor worship is also the basis of the African folk magick practices such as Hoodoo and Voodoo.

If you take the time to study other cultures you will realize that the ancient Egyptians, and the Hindus originally came from Shamanic societies. This is evident in the fact that their Gods are animals, or in the case of the Egyptians half animal half human.

When travelling to the otherworlds a beginning Shaman will often encounter loved ones who have passed on. Sometimes they are there to help you work through a problem you have, help you let go of guilt associated with their passing on, give you a message etc. They do not always appear as the person you knew and loved, but may take the form of an animal or a sylph, if that is what you will respond to. This is often the case if the practitioner had a strained or uncomfortable relationship with that person. This is why it is so important to honor your ancestors, as they are there to help you.

A Shaman is a healer who has the ability to walk between worlds. The Shaman journeys into the "otherworlds" to obtain important information in order to "heal" as well as to do actual healings. The Shaman is able to generate vast amounts of energy or power in order to journey. In many cultures the Shaman is feared rather than revered because of the ability to walk between worlds, speak to spirits and raise power. In these cultures the shamans often have "power wars" between groups.

Please stop associating shamanism with what you see in movies! Most of what Hollywood comes up with isn't even truthful. And please do not compare us to Native American healings, spirituality and arts. Every Shaman has different talents which they focus on. Some are gifted in healing people, others are given the gift of healing the planet, some are intuitives, while others are able to see rather than sense or feel in a psychic sense. It's no different than the outside world. Some people are wonderful accountants, but they could never program a computer because they lack the special skills and abilities to do so. There are shamans who have no business attempting to teach, yet they are great healers.

A Shaman is an ordinary everyday person. Very few of them actually live on tribal land. In fact shamanism is not "Native American" as it has been practiced by many cultures throughout the world. The name "Shaman" is actually a "catch all" phrase used to describe this mystic practice. The actual word comes from the Tungus people of Siberia. This art has existed since the beginning of time. The Shamanic tradition did not start with the "Native Americans", nor will it end with them.

Most shamanic practitioners live in an urban environment. If your vision of a Shaman is that of someone who lives a solitary, spiritual life such as that of a Buddhist or Hindu Monk you are mistaken. I would venture to say that you have been watching too many episodes of Kung Fu!

The average Shamanic practitioner has a career (outside of shamanism), a family, and other obligations. We are not obligated to "teach" anyone our craft, or to provide mentoring or vast information, as it is necessary to make certain that we do not teach someone who is only interested in corruption of power.

We are also deserving of pay for healing, teaching, etc. If you were living on tribal land, the Shaman would charge you for his/her services. In addition the apprentice of a tribal shaman must live with his/her teacher as well as work to earn his/her keep. There is no free ride, even on tribal land. Those of us who are urban Shamans ask for payment in the form of money, as we are unable to live on a "bartering system" outside of the currency issued by our government. The saying goes "every worker is worth his due (pay)." If I or any other shaman performs a healing, journey or teaches an apprentice, then we are also workers who are worth our pay. The idea that we should not be paid "because this is the internet" or because the "easterners such as buddhists do not charge" is preposterous! Are you able to connect to the Internet for free? Of course not! Therefore the internet is NOT free, or an information "free for all". The services that are "free" to you are paid for by advertisers, as the owners of the business cannot run their servers, without paying programmers, the telephone company, their electric bills, etc.

Very few authors have written about the mystical or shamanic practices of the Celts, which has led most people to believe that the ancient Celts only practiced Druidism. However, there is evidence of Celtic healers, prophetic and physical transformation (shape shifting), all of which are Shamanic practices. The reason there is very little written about Celtic Shamanism as a whole is due to the fact that the early christians destroyed most of the written materials in relation to the mystic practices.

Because of this mass destruction the Celts depended solely on the tradition to be passed on orally by family members. In addition, the Christian church created legislation which made the practice and teaching of Shamanism punishable by death.

However, religious historians have ascertained that Celtic Shamanism is much older than the Native American practices, in addition the word "Shaman" comes from the Siberian mysticists, which means "healer".

Unfortunately, from what information we have of the ancient Celts, just as many other western societies, they did not have safe or heathy exercises to raise themselves spiritually. Instead they used hallucinogenic plants, fasting, and what the Native Americans call sweat lodges to aid them on their journeys. This is not a safe practice, not to mention the legal ramifications with the use of drugs. Because of this I have devised my own system of exercises to aid in the development of higher mental abilities that you need in order to travel to the otherworlds. Some people refer to these abilities as opening the third eye, opening the chakras/awakening the kundalini, and becoming one with self and the Godhead. Whatever you want to call the practice, they are basically the same except for the terms or words that are used.

Shamansim, just as any spiritual path requires a lot of solitary work. If you must continually be around people 24 hours a day in a group setting then Shamanism is not for you. However, there are many valid reasons why you should choose to practice as a solitary. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with seeking someone to communicate with on a regular basis, provided that the person shares the same spiritual goals as you. Just be certain that there are no personality conflicts before you choose someone with whom you want to network with for purposes of mentoring and/or moral support.

In addition, Shamanism does not require you to live a solitary life (i.e. you don't have to become a recluse), nor does it require you to give up the things you like to do in your spare time, provided that the activity is not something that is physically or mentally destructive, such as overindulgence of any sort (alcohol, drugs, food). Watching movies and television or reading books other than spiritual improvement texts will not hurt your spiritual progression! Just be certain that you balance your time and your life. Having a family won't hurt your spiritual progression either. Having a solid family foundation is actually excellent for creating balance.

Unfortunately, many people confuse mystical and spiritual practices with Religious belief. I have been asked many times if Shamanism is connected with Wicca. No it is not! Wicca is a Religion which incorporates spiritual practices and magick. Furthermore, you should not confuse Wicca and Witchcraft with Paganism. Paganism has been around since the beginning of man, just as Shamanism has been.

In addition, the modern day authors do not tell you when and how the actual wiccan beliefs began. The only reason they are getting by with this cover up is because the originators of wicca are dead! Wicca was actually started by a man named Gerald Gardner in the 1950's when he co-wrote the Gardnerian book of Shadows with a man named Aliester Crowley. Aliester Crowley was responsible for bringing the O.T.O. (Ordo Templi Orientis) the United States, as was Gardner for bringing over the beginnings of modern Wicca. After Gardner started his Gardnerian coven, Alex Sanders started the Alexandrian tradition which was based upon Gardners BOS.