Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey: Pagan Folkways from the Burning Times [Paperback]

Ken Johnson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1567183794 | ISBN-13: 978-1567183795 | Publication Date: February 8, 1999 | Edition: 2

Discover the amazing links between two of the world's oldest spiritual systems and how you can make use of them today, when you read Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey (previously titled North Star Road) by Kenneth Johnson.

This is an inspiring guide for those who seek to reclaim the ways and lore of their ancestors. Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey reveals the spiritual experience at the core of the world's religious traditions—shamanism. Johnson has uncovered compelling evidence for the existence of a variety of ecstatic traditions throughout medieval and Renaissance Europe—regional cults that survived into the so-called "Burning Times," when their members were ruthlessly persecuted as Witches.

·Discover the secrets of the shamanic "otherworld" and what it looks like
·Initiation rites
·Secrets of totem animals
·Traveling in the Spirit
·Origins of the Sabbat
·The truth about the "Flying Ointment"
·The Wild Hunt
·Technique to journey to the Land of the Dead
·How to find your animal totem
·How to find your tree of power

Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, famous author and Director of Studies for the Servants of the Light, says this about Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey: "Kenneth Johnson has given us a detailed map of the 'Otherworld' and with a masterly touch has woven a multi-hued picture of its origins, highways, and by-ways. It will appeal to all who tread the Path of the Magi, be you Witch, Shaman, Qabbalist, Alchemist, or Magician. Informative, accurate, inspiring, and written with the heart as well as the head, Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey is a book to have, hold, and enjoy that will always have something new to offer as your abilities grow."

Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey is a phenomenal book, revealing the true secrets of the past of Shamanism and Witchcraft, their ultimate unity today, and a path for tomorrow. If you follow a spiritual path, you must get Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The 20th century has seen an astounding revival of European pagan beliefs such as witchcraft, but could these pre-Christian traditions have roots in an even older heritage, one common to people in lands as far apart as Iceland and South America? Kenneth Johnson believes so, and as he sifts through the records left from the witch trials of the 15th and 16th centuries, he uncovers bits of evidence that point to an ancient shamanic lore that survives in Slavic, Icelandic, and even North American cultural beliefs. According to Johnson, such a far-reaching lore would necessarily have its origins with the very beginnings of humankind before we migrated across the continents. Johnson's colorful prose transports the reader to diverse eras, from colonial Greenland to 19th-century United States. He blends this prose with historical research and practical spiritual exercises, exploring the origins of an ancient pathway while reestablishing our connection to it. --Brian Patterson

About the Author

Kenneth Johnson holds a degree in Religious Studies from California State University Fullerton. His emphasis was in the study of mythology and this interest is reflected in his writing and his astrological practice. Kenneth discovered astrology while traveling in Europe during the summer of 1973. He studied in Amsterdam and London before returning to the United States and developing a practice which focuses on archetypal themes and personal mythologies. In addition to his astrological interests, Kenneth is also a musical theater librettist and a member of the Dramatists Guild.

Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; 2 edition (February 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567183794
• ISBN-13: 978-1567183795
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,707,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Grand Synthesis, February 7, 2003

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey: Pagan Folkways from the Burning Times (Paperback)

This book makes a very convincing case for locating the roots of practically all true magical practices in the original spiritual path of shamanism. In doing so, we see that true Wicca, and other simular traditions, have a legitimate claim to extremely ancient and profound practices dating back to the dawn of the race. The author shows parallels between the beliefs and practices in culture after culture (Mayan, Plains Indian, Siberian, Norse, Celtic, Chinese, Tibetan, Polynesian, Hindu, Greek, Etc.) He then shows connections with more historically recent traditions in Germany, Switzerland, France, Ireland, Italy, England, etc. I found it to be a magnificent and convincing synthesis.

I found it especially appropriate that a book about common roots should use the universal symbol of the World Tree as a starting point.

The author points out that when a society ceases to listen to the messages of the otherworldly dimension the results are always the same: listlessness, depression, addiction, inhumanity, and general malaise. This is the result of "loss of soul." It is the natural function of the shaman to maintain the connection with the otherworld and to reclaim lost souls.

The next time a "skeptic" tries to minimalise the legitamacy and lineage of your spiritual path, you could do far worse than to refer this book to them. The connection between early Christianity and Shamanism is even explored (estatic states, speaking in tongues, spirit journeys to higher realms, helping spirits, crucifixion on the World Tree....)

4 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a must read, September 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey: Pagan Folkways from the Burning Times (Paperback)

Armed with the work of one professor on the legends of a group of psychic warriors in Northern Italy and an extremely free definition of "shaman" the author wends his unsubstantiated way through the real and pseudo history of Witchcraft in Europe.

4 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars most of us know better, February 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey: Pagan Folkways from the Burning Times (Paperback)

Certain Witchcraft books really get me mad, this is one of them. In Witchcraft' Mr. Johnson pieces together little chips and bits of information from the records of Witch trials(yes, every piece of information he uses is taken from trials) and then comes up with the conclusion that that the basis of Witchcraft was Shamanism. This meaning that the goal of the Witches was to uncover the mysteries of the underworld and heavens, while still alive. Some f this true. Witches certainly were masters of herbal concoctions that made them feel like they were in another world(usually a faery mound), but Johnson tries to pass off all of Witchcraft as this. The great mother goodess is now a bone goddess with her lunar cults now death cults. The horned god is now an underworld god rather than a forest and animal god. And like so many other sholarary books of modern Witchcraft, he has little regard for neo-paganism. He looks at little pieces of Wicca and then decides for himself whether they are correct or not. Like Erica Jong in "Witches" he seems to think that his information is better because he has P.H.d But with his very biased, and for the most part, wrong, interpretation of Witchcraft, all his degrees don't mean jack. Try the first chapters of "The Wiccan Mysteries" by Raven Grimassi or "Wicca" by Vivianne Crowley. In all fairness though, alot of the historical information taken from the trials is good. It's simply a matter of being misinterpreted and wanting YOUR version of Witchcraft to right that makes this book bad.