Ethics and Shamanism
The ethically responsible shaman takes charge of and provides the ethical direction of what does or does not happen in shamanic work. The spirit helpers, such as power animals and spirit teachers, provide the information or the healing, but the practitioner always has the ultimate decision and veto power as to whether work will be done, and if so, how. There is no such thing as “The spirits made me do it!”
There has been some attempt to create ethical codes for shamanic practitioners such as that of the Society of Shamanic Practitioners, or that of my own. Although we have thoughtfully considered and forwarded codes of ethics for the practice, there is no specific advising board or professional oversight organization to monitor and guide this profession. Shamanic practitioners are truly self-governing, so long as they do not wander afoul of state or federal law. This means that one’s education, adoption and adherence to an ethical code is by and large a practitioner’s personal duty.
The shaman must always hold in mind that their scope of practice includes matters that may be intimate and sensitive, and everything around this needs to be treated as such. The ethically responsible shaman uses extreme care, delicacy and awareness in all healing and divination practices.
Finally, an ethically responsible shamanic practitioner, given the availability of medical, psychiatric, psychological or other helping professions, is required to refer someone to such alternative professions when he or she senses their applicability to a person’s well-being. Ethical practitioners of any helping profession must refer those they encounter to other approaches when it is possible that these, whether singly or in conjunction with one’s own, best suit that person’s needs.
Shamanic ethics is an important matter for a practitioner to truly think through, because this is something that only the shaman is capable of ascertaining. Not the spirits. They may, in their benevolence, suggest a practitioner does something that might be compassionate, but not ethical! Oh yes, those beings from the upper world and lower world who are spirit teachers and spirit guides (power animals) do want to help. They are also wise, powerful, and capable. But, they are not guided by human ethics. On the other hand, compassionate spirits are not constrained by problems with flying, blistering heat, freezing cold, living under the water or handling toxic spiritual materials, although humans are. They do things we can’t do, and we do things they can’t do. It is a team and we work together, and though they are benevolent, they are not ethically bound. It is up to the shaman to determine in the human middle world ordinary reality, what is ethical to do and say.
If you are interested in more deeply exploring shamanic ethics, bringing shamanic spirituality into your life, or developing yourself as a shamanic practitioner, I encourage you to look seriously at the basic shamanism class Level 1. It is an excellent path to a very well grounded and rich education that can serve you both personally, and as a practitioner. I also invite you to explore the wealth of shamanism by investigating the information provided about the shamanic middle world, something that is a focus in the advanced shamanism class level 3.