This article is about the practice of shamanism; for other uses, see Shaman . .]]Shamanism refers to a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world. There are many variations of shamanism throughout the world, though there are some beliefs that are shared by all forms of shamanism: · The spirits can play important roles in human lives. · The shaman can control and/or cooperate with the spirits for the community's benefit. · The spirits can be either good or bad. · Shamans engage various processes and techniques to incite trance; such as: singing, dancing, taking entheogens, meditating and drumming. · Animals play an important role, acting as omens and message-bearers, as well as representations of animal spirit guides. · The shaman's spirit leaves the body and enters into the supernatural world during certain

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