The Shamanic Odyssey

Homer, Tolkien, and the Visionary Experience

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Mind & Body, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book The Shamanic Odyssey by Robert Tindall, Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robert Tindall ISBN: 9781594775017
Publisher: Inner Traditions/Bear & Company Publication: November 16, 2012
Imprint: Park Street Press Language: English
Author: Robert Tindall
ISBN: 9781594775017
Publisher: Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Publication: November 16, 2012
Imprint: Park Street Press
Language: English

Reveals the striking parallels between indigenous cultures of the Americas and the ancient Homeric world as well as Tolkien’s Middle Earth

• Explores the shamanic use of healing songs, psychoactive plants, and vision quests at the heart of the Odyssey and the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien

• Examines Odysseus’s encounters with plant divinities, altered consciousness, animal shapeshifting, and sacred topography--all concepts vital to shamanism

• Reveals how the Odyssey emerged precisely at the rupture between modern and primal consciousness

Indigenous, shamanic ways of healing and prophecy are not foreign to the West. The native way of viewing the world--that is, understanding our cosmos as living, sentient, and interconnected--can be found hidden throughout Western literature, beginning with the very origin of the European literary tradition: Homer’s Odyssey.

Weaving together the narrative traditions of the ancient Greeks and Celts, the mythopoetic work of J. R. R. Tolkien, and the voices of plant medicine healers in North and South America, the authors explore the use of healing songs, psychoactive plants, and vision quests at the heart of the Odyssey, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Tolkien’s final novella, Smith of Wootton Major. The authors examine Odysseus’s encounters with plant divinities, altered consciousness, animal shapeshifting, and sacred topography--all concepts vital to shamanism. They show the deep affinities between the healing powers of ancient bardic song and the icaros of the shamans of the Amazon rain forest, how Odysseus’s battle with Circe--wielder of narcotic plants and Mistress of Animals--follows the traditional method of negotiating with a plant ally, and how Odysseus’s journey to the land of the dead signifies the universal practice of the vision quest, a key part of shamanic initiation.

Emerging precisely at the rupture between modern and primal consciousness, Homer’s work represents a window into the lost native mind of the Western world. In this way, the Odyssey as well as Tolkien’s work can be seen as an awakening and healing song to return us to our native minds and bring our disconnected souls back into harmony with the living cosmos.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Reveals the striking parallels between indigenous cultures of the Americas and the ancient Homeric world as well as Tolkien’s Middle Earth

• Explores the shamanic use of healing songs, psychoactive plants, and vision quests at the heart of the Odyssey and the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien

• Examines Odysseus’s encounters with plant divinities, altered consciousness, animal shapeshifting, and sacred topography--all concepts vital to shamanism

• Reveals how the Odyssey emerged precisely at the rupture between modern and primal consciousness

Indigenous, shamanic ways of healing and prophecy are not foreign to the West. The native way of viewing the world--that is, understanding our cosmos as living, sentient, and interconnected--can be found hidden throughout Western literature, beginning with the very origin of the European literary tradition: Homer’s Odyssey.

Weaving together the narrative traditions of the ancient Greeks and Celts, the mythopoetic work of J. R. R. Tolkien, and the voices of plant medicine healers in North and South America, the authors explore the use of healing songs, psychoactive plants, and vision quests at the heart of the Odyssey, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Tolkien’s final novella, Smith of Wootton Major. The authors examine Odysseus’s encounters with plant divinities, altered consciousness, animal shapeshifting, and sacred topography--all concepts vital to shamanism. They show the deep affinities between the healing powers of ancient bardic song and the icaros of the shamans of the Amazon rain forest, how Odysseus’s battle with Circe--wielder of narcotic plants and Mistress of Animals--follows the traditional method of negotiating with a plant ally, and how Odysseus’s journey to the land of the dead signifies the universal practice of the vision quest, a key part of shamanic initiation.

Emerging precisely at the rupture between modern and primal consciousness, Homer’s work represents a window into the lost native mind of the Western world. In this way, the Odyssey as well as Tolkien’s work can be seen as an awakening and healing song to return us to our native minds and bring our disconnected souls back into harmony with the living cosmos.

More books from Literary Theory & Criticism

Cover of the book Reading for the Plot by Robert Tindall
Cover of the book Cherokee Voices by Robert Tindall
Cover of the book Jankyn's Book of Wikked Wyves by Robert Tindall
Cover of the book Naturalismus und Symbolismus in Gerhart Hauptmanns 'Bahnwärter Thiel' by Robert Tindall
Cover of the book Elektra als hysterische Heldin? Eine Untersuchung zur Elektra-Gestalt bei Hugo von Hofmannsthal by Robert Tindall
Cover of the book The Giridih Coal-Fields by Robert Tindall
Cover of the book Aspects of Time and Pace in Poe's 'The Mask of the Red Death' and Bierce's 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' by Robert Tindall
Cover of the book THE SECRET GARDEN by Robert Tindall
Cover of the book Forbidden Journeys by Robert Tindall
Cover of the book The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (Book Analysis) by Robert Tindall
Cover of the book Diary of a Thai Escort by Robert Tindall
Cover of the book A Companion to African American Literature by Robert Tindall
Cover of the book Peintres et sculpteurs modernes de la France - Géricault by Robert Tindall
Cover of the book No país do presente by Robert Tindall
Cover of the book Kilvert's Diary 1870-1879 - Selections from the Diary of the REV. Francis Kilvert by Robert Tindall
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy