The Strong Eye of Shamanism: A Journey into the Caves of Consciousness [Paperback]

Robert E. Ryan Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1999

An exploration of shamanism and the archetypal symbolism that sits at the foundation of all human life

• Not just an academic work. Helps the reader experience the actual mindset of the shaman

• Presents a cohesive view of the recurrent patterns of symbolism and visionary experience that underlie all religion

The human psyche contains archetypal patterns largely lost to contemporary society but which shamans have employed for over 30,000 years to gain access to the spiritual world. Shamanic symbols both affect and reflect these durative patterns that exist, with uncanny similarity, in civilizations separated by expanses of time and distance. The Strong Eye of Shamanism draws together the many facets of the art of shamanism, presenting a cohesive view of the recurrent patterns of symbolism and visionary experience that underlie its practice.

The "strong eye" of the title refers to the archetypal symbolism that sits at the foundation of all human life--whether in Paleolithic caves or today's temples. The author asserts that society has become separated from the power of those symbols that lead us into deeper understanding of our spirituality. In today's world of splintered psyches, a world in which people are in search of their souls, shamanism survives as an age-old technology of soul recovery, a living Rosetta stone that reminds us of the shared foundation that exists beneath even the most radically different perspectives. Through its study of shamanism, archetypal psychology, and symbolism, The Strong Eye of Shamanism encourages individuals--and society--to look inward and remember that the deepest forms of awareness begin with the knowledge that the answers reside within us.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Shamanism is a prehistoric practice, beginning with the dawn of humanism and continuing to the present day. Shamans were and are healers, mythographers, and the spiritual leaders of their communities; the ecstatic nature of their trances is a transformative state of consciousness. Ryan, a researcher in mythology and comparative religion, pulls together anthropological and ethnological writings on shamans to trace commonalities, showing similar practices in cultures from Siberia to Nepal to Australia. Caves are analogous to the inward journey of the shaman, which transforms the person as well as the culture, and Ryan analyzes the cave drawings of several ancient shamanic cultures. This book has a strong scholarly base, copious illustrations, and well-supported arguments. The bibliography is thorough. Recommended for academic libraries supporting anthropology, ethnology, and religion.?Gail Wood, SUNY Coll. of Technology Lib., Cortland
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"This book has a strong scholarly base, copious illustrations, and well supported arguments.The bibliography is thorough. Recommended."
(Library Journal, January 1999 )

"A must read for anyone interested in shamanic traditions . . . The attention to detail and solid grounding also make it useful to those studying comparative religions or ancient Pagan history. Most highly recommended."
(PagaNet News, Volume VI Issue III )

"I highly recommend this book, which is both inspirational and informative for those of us who enjoy the study of Pagan pre-history or comparative religion. He provides a solid scholarly foundation, a variety of photos and illustrations, and his arguments are well articulated and thorough. The bibliography is extensive and particularly useful."
(Maerian Morris, Green Egg )

The Strong Eye of Shamanism: A Journey into the Caves of Consiousness is a well-researched and lucidly written interpretive analysis of certain archetypal shamanic journey themes found in the Paleolithic rock art caves of southwestern France and northern Spain.  Weaving together archaeological research on European cave art, the archetypal approaches of Jungian psychology and comparative symbology, and ethnographic studies of shamanic initiation ceremonies in various cultures, author Robert E. Ryan carefully develops his thesis that these Paleolithic caves may have functioned as ritual sanctuaries--natural cathedrals that may have been used for shamanic initiations or for some other shamanic purposes.

Through the process of examining a sampling of accounts of shamanic initiatory journeys recorded in shamanic cultures around the world (including the Samoyed of Siberia, the Aborigine of Australia, the Maya of Central America, the Huichol of Mexico, and the Tukano of the Amazon), Ryan does a good job of identifying many of the primary themes inherent in shamanic trance journeys. For example, utilizing Reichel-Dolmatoff's ethnographic research on the Tukano, he ably traces the archetypal structural forms and motifs--such as feather crowns, feathered staffs, and images of drowning and returning to the cosmic womb of creation--that permeate Tukano shamanic practices and cosmological myths. Drawing on the research of Peter Furst and Barbara Myerhoff, he performs a similar analysis on archetypal themes involved in the Huichol pilgrimage to Wirikuta, the holy homeland of peyote.

Ryan endeavors to show that the physical journey into the Paleolithic caves of Europe . . . essentially reenacts the classic shamanic journey into the underworld and that the content and placement of images in the caves reflects the most fundamental and universal patterns of shamanic initiation.

This volume contains much stimulating and thought-provoking material that should be of interest to shamanic practitioners.

(Timothy White , Shaman's Drum )

" . . . occasionally a work comes along that is imaginatively exciting, fresh in approach and still grounded in solid scholarship and anthropological acumen. Such a find is Robert Ryan's The Strong Eye of Shamanism. . . . " (
Dream Network, Vol. 26, No. 4, Winter 2007 )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Inner Traditions (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892817097
• ISBN-13: 978-0892817092
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #822,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Archeological aspects of theology, psychology and religion, September 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Strong Eye of Shamanism: A Journey into the Caves of Consciousness (Paperback)

Not since G.R. Levy's "Religious Conceptions of the Stone Age" and "The Sword from the Rock" has archeology revealed so much of man's spiritual origins. Well researched exposition revealing mankinds heritage; 30,000 years of insights into our relations with the transcendant Reality of all faiths. This may turn out to be one of the most controversial books published in recent times. Read it!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Shamanic Underground, June 1, 2001

By 

BlueJay54 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Strong Eye of Shamanism: A Journey into the Caves of Consciousness (Paperback)

This is a decent book on the shamanic roots of Paleolithic cave paintings. But frankly, I've gotten a little tired of seeing so many praises of C.G. Jung's influence on art, folklore, literature, the occult, science, mathematics, mythology--and now shamanism. And you hear it every other page--Geez! Enough already! The book would have lost a quarter of its pages if he'd said it only once. The focus is also on most famous examples of European cave-art (largely to the exclusion of Australian Aboriginal cave-art, which may more concerned with hunting magic, btw). A book better than and foundational to this one is Gertrude Rachel Levy's superb "Religious Conceptions of the Stone Age" (which is absolutely priceless if out-of-print). Ryan's book is well worth reading but, to me, its like an updated appendix to Levy, with some important new information on the Mayans and other meso-American cultures. In fact, the most important thing about this book to me was the reference to Levy (for which I thank another reviewer).

1 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars History of Shamanism over the last 35,000 years., January 16, 2002

By 

W. Lambdin "Two Bears" (Ellensburg, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Strong Eye of Shamanism: A Journey into the Caves of Consciousness (Paperback)

This book is a History of Shamanism over the past 35,000 years.

If you are interested in practising Shamanism; this Book will not help you.

This book explains the role of the Shaman in his or her culture. acting as mediator between the spirit world and the physical plane, and as healer.

If you are interested in practising Shamanism; please skip over this book and view my Shamanism, listmania list.

Please E-Mail me if you have questions or comments; Two Bears.

Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)