Hi Everyone!!
Im CornishShaman or CS for short,
I dont think theres anyone I know here!? Unless you are using different names?
I generally hangout on more Pagan Focused Forums, but thought Id give this a try as there are generally very few Shamanic Types!
I Guess I should say something about myself?
Im a single, Hetro male, 41, Gemini, I live and work in Norfolk in the UK, but was born and raised in Cornwall!
Why did I move I hear you cry! Simple, Work!
I still have many connections to Cornwall though and visit fairly regularly!
Ive been interested in some form of Eclectic Northern Hemisphere Shamanism for about 17 years now, personally I think of it more as just 'me being me'.
I have also studied Druidry, Wicca, Norse Traditions and other general Pagan traditions.
I am a Registered Spiritual Healer and a Reiki Master.
I am qualified in Nature Conservation and spent several years volunteering in this as well as working in a couple of Zoo's for a short while.
I am a skilled Magikal Tool maker, I used to do this for a living in Cornwall for a couple of years, whilst I was running the Penwith Pagan Moot, which I started over a decade ago (still going! onto its 4th leader now) and was the Area Organiser for the Pagan Federation for Cornwall, whilst I did that!
I am also currently awaiting Capall Bann to publish my first book 'Shamanic Links', which should hopefully be out late in 2008!
That will do for now!

Welcome!

I'm in California which is about the opposite of the UK in terms of weather

-Xney

Hey & welcome CornishShaman, enjoy your stay and may you shed the light where it is needed

Thanx guys!

Greetings,
Welcome to the forum.
Rose

Hello, and welcome!

Beth

Hi CS,
Glad to see you on here.
Catch up with you later
Iinisskimm

hi there cornish shaman...

nice to see another brit or at least a person living in britain around here... the weather may not be great but at least the cuisine is top notch...

greetings to you too iinisskimm... i love your name it sounds nice...

take care

gareth

Hi Garath,
Despite my heritage and blood ties , I to am a Brit so definatly HI ,well I was born there just, so carry a British passport. But I'm currently liveing outside the UK.

My name comes from my NA roots, it's actually a rather unusal and rare stone that was placed in my care after being taught about its uses on my last visit back to my nation.

Iinisskimm

Hi All, thanx for the greetings!
Hi Gareth! Yep glad theres a few Brits here too!
Iinisskimm, glad your here! as always! xxxxxxxxxxx

And another Brit here

Hi CS




GW

Hi All,
I just thought Id let you know my book has now been published by Capall Bann! Hooray!
It took 18 months from when I first sent it, so Ive worn my finger nails down to the roots waiting! LOL!
Its called 'Shamanic Links' and heres a link to Capall Banns site, which will probably have lots of books members will find of interest!

http://www.capallbann.co.uk/

How old are the shaman traditions in Cornwall? From what I have read, there was the druid system, which is more about sorcery than shaman ways, and there were traditional healers who weren't shamans, but who were learned in the healing arts with herbs and such. Do the spirits ask your holy people to become shamans? Do the selected candidates go through a transformation performed on their spirits by the gods? I would like to know more about your people's ways.

Hi Alaskaneagle, My user name CornishShaman, is just that a user name. Im from Cornwall and interested in Shamanism, there is a talk of a Serpent Cult from the Lizard penisular of Cornwall, which was Shamanic in nature, but no one seems to know much about it.
There is no written work about genuine British Shamanism, the Druids had their Ovates or Vates, but the Druids didnt originate in Britain either. Most ancient cultures had their Animism followed by Shamanism stage of development. So it makes sense that the Beeker People or earlier people were of that religion. Certainly there are masses of Ancient Sites and Stone Circles, so we know they were involved with the Moon and Solstices. The Cornish Tradition is most like the French ones, especially Brittany.
But Cornwall is famous for its Witches, Healers and Horse Whispers.
Nowadays it is very New Age in its population and has always attracted people seeking some form of Spirituality and often also escape!
My book is not about ancient Cornish Shamanic ways though, it is about Modern Shamanic Practices as it says on the cover.
Hope that helps.

They came up from Egypt with the Druids who visited there. They recruited people who possessed true power by a merger of the person's soul with that of a cobra. The price for this merger was that the person lost some of his or her humanity in the process. Snakes are not known for their altruism or compassion. There are still some of those people around. Some of them migrated to the U. S. and they still use soul merger to recruit new members to their order. It is said that when St. Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland it was a reference to these people, rather than an indigenous species of serpent.

Wow. I've never read that interpretation. That's really interesting. Which makes me wonder how that relates to the serpent of the Christian Bible. I wonder how much influence Egypt had on relating their devil to a snake?

From my understanding, the Druids actually originated in the heart of Europe. I've also seen references that relate the Beaker culture with the Druids, but I haven't kept up with the literature. I do know that there were small pockets in Eastern Europe of the Old Religion. Druids, etc. Father Christmas (Santa Claus in North America) always reminded me of a Druid. The holly and evergreens associated. Since Eastern Europe is where that figure originated, I wonder if it isn't based on old Druid legends.
Rose

"I wonder how much influence Egypt had on relating their devil to a snake?"

None whatsoever. People don't understand that the Old Testament is the written version of the oral traditions of the Hebrew people. And please, don't anybody start in with that nonsense about the game of "Gossip" and how things become distorted over time. Oral traditions were mnemonic memorizations that were completely accurate. The problem with oral traditions is that without the living culture that understands their references, they become incomprehensible to the outsider's mind. Someone gave me a book about Ojibway history written by a Metis who had the opportunity to ask about some of the oral traditions. When they spoke of finding the migis shell, it was a reference to the reestablishment of the midiwiwin grand medicine lodge. But you have to be raised with Ojibway traditions to know this. Oral traditions are often very ancient. Unless you have recognizable references in them that establish a time line, most people don't realize how far back they go. Old time Indians spoke of the time when the buffalo were giants. When the archeologists finally discovered the fossils of bison antiquus, they dated them back to 9000 - 13000 b.c.e. That is how far that particular memory went back as an oral tradition. Find a written history book that old, I dare you.

"From my understanding, the Druids actually originated in the heart of Europe."

Well, the Druid traditions were a work in progress and they evolved as they gained new knowledge from other cultures of metaphysical and esoteric spiritual practices. Their scholarly pursuit of esoteric metaphysical knowledge began long before they left Russia. We only begin to recognize the form of their disciplines and collected knowledge as that recorded in medieval times from when they were in central Europe.

"I've also seen references that relate the Beaker culture with the Druids"

I doubt they were reliable references. It was established archeologically that the Beaker culture was extinct before the druids arrived on the scene.

"Father Christmas (Santa Claus in North America) always reminded me of a Druid."

Actually, if you read up on Saint Nicholas, he was cannonized by the catholic church and he was a christian saint, not a figure of myth.

"The holly and evergreens associated."

I don't know about the holly, but the evergreens were associated with the yule log, which was a representation of Yggdrasil, the world tree. And that comes from the Norse and Germanic cultures. In fact, the modern Christmas tree was brought from Germany by the prince of Wales. I forget in what year, but you can google it. The tradition of putting a wreath on the door started with boughs of pinecones. The brauchers of Germany used pinecone wreaths to ward off certain kinds of evil associated with the winter solstice. So that is actually a Germanic tradition from pre Christian times and the Germans were definitely not Celts or druids.

So no, the big Nick Daddy had nothing to do with druids, he was a Jesus man to the bone.