The Three Realms of Shamanism

 The lower world is ruled by the Serpent, which slithers its way into our lives in a possessive and elusive way. We should never fear snakes, yet we should be fearful of their constrictive power. The boa is native to Africa, while the anaconda is native to America. The serpent represents death and the underworld, but also cunning and divisiveness. We never need to go too far into the underworld, while we live in this life, but we can gleam from the powers of snakes and serpents while we safely travel along in the jungle of life. Snakes carry special powers like telepathy, communication, planning, and patience. Snakes can also eat their entire prey in one bite, allowing time to digest later. They do not necessarily have friends or partners for very long, due to their docile nature. But they do know how to survive extreme conditions and stay out of the way of any predators which they may have. In shamanism, the snake represents sexual and creative energy. Being bit by a snake in a dream or vision can be something of a good sign, symbolizing a rebirth, attraction, and even money. In the Bible, the serpent, or Lucifer, carried a sense of truth, which wasn’t known to Adam and Eve until they ate the forbidden fruit. Thus snakes can teach us to embrace our darker natures, including the truths which we may not readily embrace in our own lives. 

The middle world is ruled by the Puma or Jaguar. This creature is truly the king of the jungle. Just as the Lion is the King of the Safari in Africa, the Puma is feared by all and conquered by none in the American Amazon. The puma does get hurt often and must be careful, yet it is strong and resilient, never stuck or destroyed completely. We embrace the puma in our daily lives, in this reality. We are meant to be strong like the jaguar, walking through the jungle of life. Whether we are experiencing trials, hunger, or fear, when we embrace our inner puma, we realize we already have everything we need deep within us. We are the kings and queens of the jungle when we become the puma. 

The higher world is ruled by the condor, or sometimes the eagle. We embrace the condor at certain times in our life when we are close to death, whether it be physical death or spiritual death. The condor soars high above the earth, capturing the suns rays and solar winds, keeping it afloat with very little effort. This represents the lack of physical nature within the condor. Yet, it does see all. When we embrace the condor, it is in similitude of embracing our creator or God. We see high above the clouds of confusion in this illusion. We have a broad view of all creatures below us. Although condors are known to be somewhat of scavengers, they bless the land by cleaning up decaying beasts, leading the jungle into a pristine condition by their very nature. 

In shamanism, a true shaman will embrace each of these qualities at any given time. They will know how to work with people, in a way, embracing the powers of each of these realms to unlock subconscious truths, bring out inner strength, and soar to new transcendence. A shaman never stays in one world for very long, and never leads people to stay in one world for very long either. But they will guide others to each of the worlds, only to show them the powers that lie in each, waiting to be discovered.