Drury, Nevill (1947– ) – Australian author whose introductory and survey work on shamans, Pagans, and esotericism (e.g., The Elements of Shamanism, 1989; Magic and Witchcraft: From Shamanism to the Technopagans, 2003) has opened up “shamanism” to a broad audience and popularized neo-shamanic practice. Drury’s book The Shaman and the Magician (1982) made useful observations on the similarities between some indigenous shamanisms and various Western occult traditions, particularly in light of altered state of consciousness practices. Drury’s discussion of the Edwardian artist Austin Osman Spare and Australian witch artist Rosaleen Norton (Pan’s Daughter, 1993) are particularly noteworthy in this regard. Clearly, however, caution should be exercised when casually unifying disparate cultures with “shamanism” as a singular, unified discourse.
SOURCE:
Historical Dictionary of Shamanism by Graham Harvey and Robert J. Wallis 2007
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