[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by darkangel91

So many people who have not an ounce of blood from any Native tribe in them (as I myself do not) claim to have "native american spirit guides" and to have been trained by "real medicine men" and all that, that it's difficult to find real information. Are there any people who are actually, truly of Native American descent on this forum, who know about REAL "shamanism", whom I could talk to to learn more about this stuff?

I really hate it when people steal the traditions of other cultures, but at the same time I believe we have a lot to teach each other. Properly I am in the European witchcraft tradition (though as a solitary practitioner who has yet to meet or work with any others, or even really to scratch the surface) but I feel that some form of "shamanism" would suit me in what I want to do - totem animals, spirit journeys, etc - especially as my distant ancestors, worshipping the Great Goddess and the Horned God, would have been doing similar things.

I feel that it is part of my destiny to learn how to interact with and receive wisdom from spirits of all kinds - ancestors, plant spirits, animal spirits in particular, which is an important part of the Witch Cult as well. My goal is to learn how to be a conduit for spiritual power for healing, especially emotional or spiritual healing, as I long to bring light to the world.

Probably one of the best books, in my opinion, on 'original' Native American medicinal traditions is found in the 1552 book called Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis. The book list 251 herbs used for healing.