Lux Ferre

James W. Perkinson (1951– ) – Professor of philosophy and religious studies at Ecumenical Theological College, Detroit. Perkinson is the author of Shamanism, Racism, and Hip Hop Culture (2005) in which he

Performance – Shamans are people who perform particular roles in communities. They are recognized and valued by those communities precisely for their abilities to perform such roles. Often, they are also performers

Pentikäinen, Juha (1940– ) – Professor of religious studies at the University of Helsinki, Finland, who has devoted a lifetime’s research to Finnish folk and popular religion, shamans and “shamanhood,” bear folklore

Paxson, Diana – Contemporary Heathen whose Hrafnar group in San Francisco was one of the first to reconstruct seidr. The practice has taken on a distinctly different identity in Great Britain under

Patients – Since shamans may often be the primary doctors in their communities, healing people attacked by other combative shamans, other-than-human people, or sorcerers and witches, it is evident that many of

Parapsychology – Scholars and others interested in parapsychological, psychic, or “psi” phenomena and experiences (e.g., telepathy, clairvoyance, clairaudience, psychokinesis, and precognition) have considered shamans as possible subjects for understanding, refuting, or validating

Pacific Northwest – Among the 11 recognized Native American nations of the North American Pacific Northwest coast, there are numerous village community identities, and shamans are prominent figures: for the Tsimshian, “Of

Owners – Shamans in some societies are said to engage with otherworld or other-than-human persons who “own” animal species or all animals. Permission may be sought from such beings before a hunt,

Other Worlds – Many shamanic cosmologies posit the existence of lands, realms, or dimensions accessible to shamans after initiation and training. These are rarely if ever equivalent to the transcendent realms posited

Other-Than-Human Persons – A phrase coined by Irving Hallowell, influenced by the Ojibwe of southern-central Canada. It refers to the widest possible community of living beings. For example, in the Ojibwe language