As parents with a shamanic faith, we can face challenges when we want to explain to our children what shamanism is. The world around them is often shaped by rational explanations, technology and the simple answers of popular culture. Shamanism, with its deep relationship to nature, the spirits and the invisible, can be hard to convey in words that are both truthful and understandable for children.
This article is meant as a supportive resource for parents who want to open up the conversation about shamanism with their children, in a way that respects the child's age, curiosity and emotional maturity.
For the youngest children
The story of the Wind Chime and the Drum
One way to explain shamanism to small children is through a story. Small children often think in images and stories. You can say something like this:
Once upon a time there was a wind chime that hung in a tree. When the wind blew, it made a soft and beautiful sound. The child who lived in the house heard it every day and began to listen closely. One day mama came with a drum and said: "This drum can help us listen even more deeply. Not just with our ears, but with our hearts."
Shamanism is a little like that. It is about listening with the heart. We believe that everything in nature has life and soul. Trees, stones, animals and rivers – everything is alive and speaks its own language. We use the drum and song to speak with them and to listen to them.
Sometimes we close our eyes and go on an "inner journey", just like in a dream. There we meet animals, helpers and friends who give us advice and comfort. It is like a magical world inside us, and the drum helps us find our way there.
Children at this age intuitively understand the magical and the symbolic. It is important to use warm, safe and playful words. Avoid details that may be frightening or too abstract.
You can also use the fairy tale Ailu and the Magic of the Forest.
Small rituals in everyday life
Let the children take part in small rituals, such as giving thanks for the food, placing a stone in a river as thanks for a fine day, or lighting a candle for someone they are thinking of. Explain that we sometimes send warm thoughts through the wind or with a fire. Then they can begin to understand that shamanism is not about believing in something dangerous or strange, but about being in contact with what is beautiful and alive around us.
For the slightly older children
Shamanism as an ancient path
When the children grow older, you can speak more openly and philosophically. You can say:
Shamanism is an ancient way of understanding the world. People all over the earth have, for thousands of years, had shamans – people who listen to the wisdom of nature and speak with the spirits. The shaman is like a bridge-builder between people and nature, between the visible and the invisible.
In shamanism we believe that everything is connected. Not only trees and rivers, but also our thoughts, our dreams and our bodies. We practice listening, feeling and being in contact with what happens inside us and around us.
How we practice shamanism
Here you can show the drum, rattles, incense or other objects. Explain that these help us focus, relax and come into contact with a different kind of wisdom. It is important to be honest and at the same time let the children ask questions freely:
When I drum, I enter an inner world, a kind of dream state. There I often meet animals or symbols that tell me something important. Maybe a tree that whispers something, or an ancient woman with raven eyes who gives advice. It may sound strange, but to me it is real.
Also explain that shamanism is about helping.
Many shamans help other people to feel better, to find peace within themselves or to understand things they struggle with. Not with medicine like a doctor, but with stories, songs and conversations that reach the heart.
The child's own experiences and boundaries
Ask the child what they dream about. Have they seen something exciting in nature? Do they have a favorite stone? Do they have a dream they remember strongly? These are often gateways into shamanic thinking.
Let the children set their own boundaries. Do not press them to take part in anything they do not understand or want to. But give room for curiosity and wonder. Maybe they will want to drum with you. Maybe they will find their own power object. Maybe they just want to know that you believe in something that is beautiful and alive, and that this is enough.
Shamanism in today's society
Children will eventually notice that not everyone around them understands shamanism. Maybe they will ask: "Is this a religion? What if my friends say it's strange?"
Explain that shamanism is not a religion with rules, but more like a way of life – a way of being in the world.
We do not follow a book, but we listen to nature. And nature speaks differently to everyone. That is why it is perfectly fine that some believe in something else. We do not need to convince anyone, we only need to live in line with what we feel is true for us.
Encourage the child to ask questions, both of you and of themselves. The most important thing is that they feel safe and respected.
A gift to grow with
Giving children an understanding of shamanism is like giving them an invisible gift. The ability to listen, to wonder, to see connections. You do not need to explain everything at once. Let it grow like a tree, from the root and up. Sometimes they will ask questions. Other times they will just listen. Everything has its time.
Keep showing shamanism in practice, with fire, silence, drumming, gratitude and respect for the living. Children learn most from what they see, and least from what we say.
Sources and recommended reading
Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Princeton University Press, 2004.
Halifax, Joan. Shamanic Voices: A Survey of Visionary Narratives. Penguin, 1979.
Winkelman, Michael. Shamanism: A Biopsychosocial Paradigm of Consciousness and Healing. Praeger, 2010.
Harner, Michael. The Way of the Shaman. HarperOne, 1990.
Vitebsky, Piers. The Shaman: Voyages of the Soul from the Arctic to the Amazon. Duncan Baird, 2001.
