The Shamanism Bible: The Definitive Guide to Shamanic Thought and Practice (Subject Bible)

Interesting and informative, but not as in depth or complete as I had hoped for. I was hoping to find detailed descriptions of practices and traditions, with rituals or more cultural lore and history. Some cultures were either ignored or glossed over, as well.

If you are looking for a source that gives a good overview of shamanism around the world and contemporary practice, along with practical advice, this book is really a good place to start. It's organized into several sections which cover world-wide history; how-tos, tools, and a bit about 'feeling the call', and a section contemporary practices with links on where to find more information. I feel the author is about as unbiased with respect to different traditions as it is possible to be. There are books that take a new-age, self-help tone to the information; I like that this isn't really one of them. It's very useful as an encyclopedia: there's lots of pragmatic advice on where to start, supplies, contacts, leads on teachers, etc., for those who want more than just surface knowledge.I am not currently practicing, but still want to know more. My grandfather was Paiute: the acceptance of Shamanism, ritual and practice is something I grew up with. I got started studying Shamanism when I met an elderly gentleman on the street, as a teenager. What he said to me explained a lot of what I'd been feeling at the time, and I began study with him and others as I started college, many, many years ago, until it came into comflict with my studies, or so I thought. I dropped away but never stopped needing to know more, not only about the tradition I grew up with, but also about other traditions world-wide. So, now that I have time, I'm reading everything I can, I have found "The Shamanism Bible" a great place to start for one seeking to understand shamanism holistically.

I have been trained in Shamanic practice and found this book to be fascinating, thoughtful, carefully written (although I found 2 typos!) and definitely worth reading for those who want to know more about the practices of Shamanism around the world. Matthews has a nice description of various spirit animals and their qualities as well as some advice on how to live with more intention. I highly recommend this book.

First of all this book is very small in size ! I was surprised by its dimensions when it arrived... if you're expecting a big pretty coffee table type book, this is not it ! That said, i wish this book was actually larger because the pictures are so beautiful ! It is an incredibly dense little tome about shamanic cultures and traditions globally and throughout the ages. Visually stunning, and well written, you can open it up at any page and start reading as its divided up by culture. I am thoroughly happy with this purchase and would highly recommend to anyone interested in learning more about the beautiful shamanic traditions of the world !

I don’t even have the words to jot down how amazing this book was. This is a phenomenal resource for those beginning to take the journey of shamanic studies.

Written in a way that brings the information home to the reader. The information was delivered in such a way as to be very interesting, without being too dry. The comparisons of shamanic practices among various cultures was fascinating and illuminating. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone curious about shamanism or just beginning their own shamanistic journey.

Great book. Fully illustrated

Your research questions will find answers here. The range of topics is wide to cover beginning and advanced questions. The examples given show simplicity combined with direct stated nature intentions.

Errrmmm....in places it's a little more new-agey-golly-gosh! in tone than I was expecting. It's a nice-looking book - a lot smaller than it appears to be from the listing pic - it's squarish and about fiction-paperback sized. Maybe I ought to have checked the measurements. It's beautifully illustrated though - really gorgeous photos throughout. As for the content that's largely descriptive: 'the shamans of this country do X, whereas the shamans of that country do Y' sort of thing but there is a lot of this material, and it seems to be pretty comprehensive. Being interested in the subject, I thought I knew slightly more than average about shamanism to begin with but there was a lot of (factual) info here that was new to me. I was expecting this to be more of an anthropologically-centered text whereas especially in the later sections this tends more towards being more like a how-to / self-help sort of book.For example the section on 'finding your spirit animal' I found to be a bit new-age-waffly but maybe that's just me. If I'd seen this in a bookshop in Glastonbury - Glastonbury is where the target market for this sort of thing is most likely centered - I expect I'd have leafed through it then put it back on the shelf but I've bought it now so that's a fait accompli isn't it.It's perfectly fine as a book. It's just not quite what I was expecting.I can't comment on the quality of the factual information about Shamanism given in the book, but the picture in the section on 'The Eland' - which is a very important animal to the San tribespeople from southern Africa and is famously depicted by the San shamans /artists in their rock pictures - clearly shows a pair of Gemsbok, which look quite different to eland e.g. they're differently sized, coloured, patterned and shaped. This was a worryingly careless mistake particularly in the context of the existing eland-centric San rock-art, and I hope it's not representative of the rest of the factual material contained in the book.

I actually really enjoyed this book but was disappointed to see the cursory treatment of the most ancient forms of shamanism on earth, i.e. Africa. Being the cradle of humanity and civilisation African cultures were not accredited as a source in main discussion or blurb which is inaccurate, revisionist and unacademic. This was only mentioned in the Africa chapter (where also there was too much usage of the word 'tribe' compared to other groups of peoples of this earth). Somehow the author though it accurate to cite, or at least place greater emphasis on Indo-European origins of shamaism- though this may hold truth for Western forms, it is not true for Ancient cultures the rest of the world. Do not call yourself a bible if you do not value the earliest foundations of shamanism.

Very detailed about many different Shamanic traditions. Lots of inner invocations and practices. Very authentic in it's explanation of the many Shamanistic world views.

This is without doubt the best book in a totaly facinating and magical series. BRILLIANT!!!!!

Lovely book and unformative