ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the shaman’s typical call to vocation is viewed against the larger archetypal pattern of initiation, which includes (1) election or call, (2) purification, (3) an ordeal of dismemberment or trial by fire, and (4) a journey and struggle for mastery over spiritual powers – all leading to the shaman’s tribal elevation as master of ecstasy, master of fire, and lord of magical flight. Anthropological features of each of these four stages are described from the relevant literature, especially the ordeal of trial by fire – fire being a literal precursor to what psychology understands as the fiery affects that must be mastered in the individuation process. Personal dreams are provided to illustrate the role of heat and fire in my process. Parallels between shamanic initiation (with its themes of dismemberment) and psychoanalytic training are described, and the mythological aspects of the process are discussed – especially how these primordial processes constellate powerful emotion and evoke previous patterns of dissociation. The result of enduring these ordeals leads to familiarity with the spirit world and its powers and deep personal acquaintance with the archetypal powers that lie ‘between the worlds’ of human experience.
