RR Patreon T2 Free Content Veronica French: Modern Shamanism, Gender, & Green Religion

*Note: This is the Free Content version of my interview with Veronica French. To access the entire episode, please consider becoming a Tier 2 'Groves of Orpheus' member on Patreon, or you can purchase this episode for a one-time fee.

My guest this month is Veronica French. Veronica has an MA in Religious Studies from the University of Erfurt, Germany. She specializes in the study of modern shamanism, anthropology of religion and gender studies. Her master’s thesis explored how modern shamans living in Germany define a “shaman way” and their turning point or crisis, which informs their “shamanic journey.” Her undergraduate work was in medical anthropology with a focus on shamanic techniques and Chinese 5 Element, in which she explored the scholar/practitioner position. She presented previously at the 8th Biannual Conference of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE) with the paper “Performative Strategies of Creative Esotericism in 19th Century Jewish Communities” (Cork, Ireland, 2022); XXXI International Summer School on Religion Women and Religions with the paper “Modern Shamanism, Empowerment and Green Religion: Contemporary Shamanic Practice in Germany” (San Gimignano, Italy, 2024); and the International Theosophical History Conference 2024 with the paper “Modern Shamanism, Theosophy and Ecological Spirituality: Connecting Nature Spiritualities” (Ascona, Switzerland, 2024). Veronica also presented at three seminars at the University of Erfurt: “Initial Shamanic Interviews” University of Erfurt, Master’s Thesis Colloquium (2023); “Green Religion and Indigeneity in Popular Media,”University of Erfurt, Green Religion? Answers to Climate Change from the Perspective of Religious Studies (2023); and “Ethnographic Work of Shamanic Practice in Eastern Germany,” University of Erfurt, Master’s Writing Seminar (2023).

In this discussion, Veronica shares her background and inspiration for her research into modern shamanism. We talk a bit about the terms shamanism and animism, as these are somewhat contested within academia, and Veronica shares how she is using these terms in her work. She explains what questions she was asking at the outset of her project, and also the surprising additions that arose once she started interviewing her participants.
Veronica also notes the interesting data that she gathered regarding topics such as gender, identity, “lived religion,” and ecology.
As Veronica has her own experience within the concept known as a the holistic milieu (referring to a broad and diverse spiritual landscape that encompasses various New Age and alternative spiritual practices; often contrasted with traditional religious institutions, as it focuses on personal spirituality, self-development, and holistic well-being rather than formal doctrines or organized worship), she found she was able to relate well to the experiences of her participants, and this aspect has led her to consider continuing her research using the method known as autoethnography. This is a qualitative research method that combines autobiographical storytelling with ethnographic analysis. It allows researchers to use their personal experiences to explore and critique cultural beliefs, practices, and social phenomena. Veronica talks about other scholars in the field who have been using this method, and how it is becoming more accepted within academia.

If anyone has any questions or comments for Veronica, please post them here or contact me via email and I can pass these on to her. She welcomes further feedback and discussion!

Veronica was also very kind to share some references for futher reading; please see this below.

PROGRAM NOTES

References:

Olivia Cejan: "Arts and Crafts Divine" is her dissertation utilizing autoethnography and pedagogy to write about a secret society group.

Talk at Copenhagen Conference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g2qvGcy5pY&t=524s

Corrine Sombrun:

-Her institute: https://trancescience.org/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oDs10hUy6E

Trailer to her movie; English subtitles

Ted Talk:English subtitles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym0kIECFi0U

https://amara.org/videos/Tcvokh51yb2Y/en/1543652/?tab=revisions

Another interview with English (Google)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syy4MTHAfF4

Alice Ahern: Phd Cork Ireland, studying shamanism and pop culture:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCCeV7MLtFc

Youtube talk: "The Reclamation of Feminine Wisdom in the Irish Neo-Shamanic Milieu"

Traditional Religions view on Nature Religions:

https://fore.yale.edu/Event-Listings/Religions-World-and-Ecology-Conference-Series/Religions-World-and-Ecology-Archive

https://fore.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/annual_review_environment.pdf

Bibliography :

Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1972.

Harner, Michael J. The Way of the Shaman. 10th anniversary ed. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990.

Harvey, Graham. Animism: Respecting the Living World. Kent Town: Wakefield Press, 2005.

Harvey, Graham. Shamanism: A Reader. London: Routledge, 2003.
Jenkins, Willis. u.a: “Religion and Climate Change”, Annual Review of Environment and Resources 2018 (43), 85-108.
Kaza, Stephanie. “The Greening of Buddhism: Promise and Perils”, in: Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology, Oxford 2006, 184-220.
Kraft, S, T Fonneland, and J Lewis. Nordic Neoshamanisms. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. Nordic Neoshamanisms | SpringerLink
Laack, Isabel (2020) “The New Animism and Its Challenges to the Study of Religion”, Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, 1-33.
Lewis, I.M., Ecstatic Religion | A Study of Shamanism and Spirit Possession | I.M.

McGuire, Meredith B. Lived religion: Faith and practice in everyday life. Oxford University Press, 2008.
Puca, Angela. Italian Witchcraft and Shamanism: The Tradition of Segnature, Indigenous and Trans-Cultural Shamanic Traditions in Italy. Leiden; Brill, 2024.
Saler, Benson. Conceptualizing Religion: Immanent Anthropologists, Transcendent Natives, and Unbounded Categories. New York: Berghahn Books, 2000.
Shelton, Dinah (2015): “Nature as a legal person”. In: Vertigo (Hors-série 22).DOI: 10.4000/vertigo.16188.

Taylor, Bron Raymond. Dark Green Religion: Nature Spirituality and the Planetary Future. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010.

Dark Green Religion – Professor Bron Taylor
Znamenski, Andrei A., The Beauty of the Primitive: Shamanism and Western Imagination | Oxford Academic

Music and Editing: Daniel P. Shea
End Production: Stephanie Shea