David Bowie: Mystic, Magician, Shaman, Shapeshifter

David Bowie: Mystic, Magician, Shaman, Shape-Shifter. It's stunning to behold the widespread grief and admiration being expressed across social media regarding the death of one of popular music's most beloved icons. David Bowie was a shapeshifter of the highest order, creating unusual and glamorous personae decades before theatrical costumes became the norm in popular music. Bowie was making music videos in 1969, before anyone had a name for the art form. He wrote entire concept albums based upon the stories of his flamboyant, often troubled, characters: Ziggy Stardust (whose third eye made him a mystic), Aladdin Sane (his lightning bolt echoed in Harry Potter's wizard birthmark), The Thin White Duke, and others. It is impossible to imagine what music would have been without this man's bold and brilliant vision, his unique talent, his courage. His influence cannot be exaggerated. 

The Shamanic Themes in 'Star Wars'

Flag of the Galactic Empire

Apart from one of the biggest theatre successes of all time, the Star Wars movies are also one of the largest on-screen renditions of ancient shamanic themes, set against a deep space background and a war between good and evil. The first installment corresponds closely to a shamanic struggle, with Luke Skywalker as the apprentice shaman, Obi-Wan Kenobi as his master, Darth Vader as lord of the evil realm and Princess Leia Organa as the soul to be rescued. One obstacle after another is placed in the way of the heroes by the forces of evil, only to be removed by the heroic shaman and his helpers. The powerful weapons used reveal a continuity with shamanism in their blend of advanced technology and ancient magic. The ability to engage The Force for good or bad becomes the story we're all drawn into. Read more.

The Language of Nature

Have you ever wondered what "telepathy" really means? Have you ever experienced it? Have you ever wanted to experience it? Well you can, and you should. The mythology and creation stories of all Earth peoples speak of a primordial, but now lost paradise -- a "Garden of Eden" in which humanity lived in harmony with all that existed. The cosmos had total access to itself. There was but one language for all creatures and elements. Humans were able to converse with animals, birds, minerals, and all living things using "empathic telepathy," which is natural and organic to living beings. Nature has a language that communicates itself through its sounds, scents and colors, textures and more. Read more.

The Great Drum

The circle of the Earth

is the head of a great drum.
With the day,

it moves upward—booming.
With the night,

it moves downward—booming.
The day and the night are its song.

I am very small,

as I dance upon the drumhead.
I am like a particle of dust,

as I dance upon the drumhead.
Above me in the sky

is the shining ball of the drumstick.

I dance upward with the day.
I dance downward with the night.
Some day I shall dance afar

into space like a particle of dust.

Who is the Drummer who

beats upon the Earth-drum?
Who is the Drummer who

makes me to dance his song?

—Ojibwa