Is Shamanism Occult? CLEAR Differences and Overlaps

In today's spiritual landscape, shamanism is often grouped with other mystical or esoteric practices under the broad term "the occult." But is this classification accurate? While there are similarities between shamanism and occult traditions, they are not the same. Understanding their origins, worldviews, and practices helps clarify why shamanism may appear “occult” to some—but stands apart in several important ways.

Defining Shamanism

Shamanism is an ancient spiritual practice found in many indigenous cultures across the globe—from Siberia and Mongolia to the Americas, Africa, and Southeast Asia. At its core, shamanism is based on the belief that there is an unseen world of spirits that can affect the material world. Shamans, often chosen by birth, initiation, or calling, act as mediators between the spirit world and the human world.

Key features of shamanism include:

• Spirit communication: Shamans interact with spirit guides, animal spirits, ancestors, or nature spirits.

• Trance or altered states of consciousness: Often induced through drumming, chanting, dancing, or plant medicine.

• Healing and guidance: Shamans perform rituals to heal illness, recover lost souls, or provide insight.

• Connection to nature: Many shamanic traditions see all life as interconnected and sacred.

Shamanism is not a religion in the organized sense. It doesn’t have a fixed doctrine or centralized institution. Instead, it's a flexible and experiential system passed down through generations.

Defining the Occult

The occult refers to knowledge and practices related to the hidden, mysterious, or supernatural. The word "occult" comes from the Latin occultus, meaning "hidden" or "secret." It often includes:

• Esoteric philosophy

• Alchemy, astrology, and divination

• Ceremonial magic and ritual practices

• Hidden knowledge, symbols, and initiations

Occultism gained particular structure and popularity in Europe during the Renaissance and again in the 19th and 20th centuries through secret societies like the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Theosophical Society, and Aleister Crowley’s Thelema movement. It blends Western mystical traditions, Kabbalah, Gnosticism, and sometimes even elements of Eastern spirituality.

The key element of the occult is seeking hidden knowledge or power often through study, initiation, and symbolic ritual.

Why Shamanism Is Sometimes Seen as Occult

There are several reasons why shamanism gets labeled as "occult":

1. Mystical Experiences: Both shamanism and occultism involve altered states, visions, and spiritual communication, which can appear mysterious or supernatural to outsiders.

2. Hidden Knowledge: Shamans often gain insight from spiritual sources not available to ordinary people—similar to the occult pursuit of hidden wisdom.

3. Ritual Practices: From drumming and chanting to symbolic tools and sacred herbs, shamanic rituals may resemble occult ceremonies to those unfamiliar with their cultural context.

4. Outsider Perception: Especially in Western contexts, anything outside mainstream religion—whether indigenous rituals, tarot, or mediumship—is often lumped together as "occult" due to lack of understanding.

However, this association can be misleading and problematic. It risks ignoring the deep cultural, spiritual, and historical roots of shamanic traditions.

Key Differences Between Shamanism and the Occult

Let’s examine the fundamental distinctions between shamanism and occultism:

1. Cultural Origins

• Shamanism is rooted in indigenous cultures and oral traditions. It’s closely tied to specific communities, landscapes, and ecosystems. Each culture has its own version (e.g., Sámi noaidi, Amazonian ayahuasquero, Siberian shaman).

• The occult, in contrast, is largely a Western construct that draws from esoteric, philosophical, and magical traditions. It’s more intellectual and syncretic, mixing elements from many sources.

2. Purpose and Role

• Shamans serve their community by healing, guiding, and maintaining balance between the seen and unseen worlds.

• Occult practitioners often work alone or in esoteric groups, focusing on personal transformation, hidden knowledge, or magical empowerment.

3. Tools and Symbols

• Shamans typically use natural tools—feathers, stones, drums, plants—given spiritual meaning through cultural practice.

• Occultists use symbolic systems like astrology, alchemy, and ceremonial magic with complex diagrams, sacred geometry, and coded rituals.

4. Initiation and Access

• Shamanism is usually passed through lineage, apprenticeship, or spontaneous spiritual calling, often accompanied by a “shamanic illness” or near-death experience.

• Occult knowledge is traditionally kept secret and passed through structured initiation, study, and often hierarchical organizations.

5. View of Nature

• Shamanism is animistic. It sees nature as alive and sacred, filled with spirits and consciousness.

• Occultism may respect nature but often focuses on manipulating energy, symbols, or archetypes through the will of the practitioner.

Points of Overlap

Despite their differences, shamanism and occultism do overlap in some areas:

• Use of trance and ritual: Both traditions understand the power of altered states and sacred ceremony.

• Spirit interaction: Communicating with nonphysical beings—whether spirits, angels, or elementals—is central to both.

• Healing and transformation: Both paths aim to bring about change, healing, or enlightenment.

Modern spiritual seekers often blend shamanic and occult elements in eclectic ways, leading to practices like neo-shamanism, which borrows shamanic methods but may lack cultural grounding.

Neo-Shamanism and the Occult Revival

In recent decades, Western interest in shamanism has surged, thanks in part to authors like Michael Harner and Carlos Castaneda. This modern form—sometimes called neo-shamanism—removes shamanic practices from their indigenous roots and blends them with psychology, personal growth, and sometimes New Age or occult philosophies.

Neo-shamanism often:

• Uses drumming or journeying to explore inner worlds

• Incorporates chakra systems, crystals, and guided visualization

• Lacks traditional initiation or community role

Because of its eclectic and individualistic nature, neo-shamanism is more likely to be associated with the occult or New Age movement than traditional shamanism.

Is Shamanism “Occult” in a Negative Sense?

In mainstream culture, “occult” often has a negative connotation—associated with darkness, secrecy, or even evil. This is largely due to misunderstanding, religious bias, and sensationalism.

Applying this label to shamanism can be deeply disrespectful to indigenous traditions. For many cultures, shamanism is a sacred, community-based healing practice—not a secretive or power-seeking system.

However, if we use “occult” in its original sense—referring to hidden or non-ordinary knowledge—then some overlap exists. But even then, shamanism stands apart in purpose, worldview, and cultural context.

Final Thoughts: Classification vs. Understanding

So, is shamanism occult?

The short answer is no—not in the traditional or Western esoteric sense. While shamanism and occult practices may both involve spirit worlds, ritual, and altered consciousness, their roots, goals, and worldviews are quite different.

• Shamanism is community-centered, nature-based, and culturally specific.

• The occult is often individual, symbolic, and philosophically eclectic.

Using the label “occult” for shamanism may be convenient for categorization, but it risks flattening rich spiritual traditions into a Western-centric framework. It’s far more respectful and accurate to understand shamanism on its own terms—as a living, evolving, and sacred set of practices that have guided human cultures for millennia.

Sources:

• Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy (1951)

• Harner, Michael. The Way of the Shaman (1980)

• Winkelman, Michael. “Shamanism: A Biopsychosocial Paradigm of Consciousness and Healing”

• Hanegraaff, Wouter J. Esotericism and the Academy (2012)

• Indigenous Cultural Survival sources and ethnographic reports

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Alex Assoune (MS) is a global health and environmental advocate. He founded Panaprium to inspire others with conscious living, ethical, and sustainable fashion. Alex has worked in many countries to address social and environmental issues. He speaks three languages and holds two Master of Science degrees in Engineering from SIGMA and IFPEN schools.