Shamanism & Acupuncture
What does shamanism have to do with acupuncture? The practice of acupuncture is over 5000 years old and has a rich shamanic lineage. The first acupuncturists were Shamans. These shamanic healers used direct revelation to discover acupuncture meridians, acupuncture points and a methods of manipulating Qi using moxibustion and needles. Through various processes of divination and trance, often singing, dancing and drumming, they obtained knowledge and guidance from ancestoral spirits. The practice of acupuncture has evolved over time, ebbing and flowing with humanity, however the shamanic roots of this ancient practice remain.
Chinese Medicine cosmology positions humanity between heaven and earth. In this view, we are connected to and influenced by the relationships we have to the earth and cosmos. Much like the periodic table of elements make up the material substances of the known physical world, the elements: earth, air, fire, wood and water are the energetic and spiritual building blocks of our world and all creation, including our human body. We are a microcosm of the universe. In Chinese medicine theory our bodies are like an ecosystem. Illness is caused by a disharmony of the elemental energies within our bodies either endogenously and exogenously. For example, we can be invaded exogenously by wind (air). This wind can cause allergies, upper respiratory infections or simply irritate us physically or emotionally. Conversely we can become imbalanced internally by wind. Just like in a desert, wind can be generated when there is a lack of water and earth to temper the air element, internal wind can be generated when there is a lack of blood or body fluids (water) to anchor the air element. When wind is created internally it can manifest as dizziness, tinnitus, tremors or anger.
The shamanic roots of acupuncture can be seen in this elegant cosmology and in ancient texts such as the Yellow Emperor’s Classic. As well as in more modern practices aimed at recovering the roots of the medicine such as five element or Classical Chinese medicine. There are many cultures that practice acupuncture and there are many styles of practice. I could never speak to them all. However, I can say that here in the United States the practice of acupuncture is as a whole not shamanic.
There has been an intentional and concerted effort to bring acupuncture and Chinese medicine into western medical favour by deemphasising the energetic and spiritual aspects of the medicine. This was particularly evident during China’s cultural revolution and the formation of the People’s Republic of China. In an effort to standardise and create a practical system to provide medical care to rural Chinese, Mao Zedong created “Traditional Chinese Medicine” (TCM). Before this time in China acupuncture and folk medicine was a lineage based practice. One would be born into a family lineage or be accepted as an apprentice within a family lineage system to study and practice the medicine. During the cultural revolution texts were burned and the old way practices were banned. This is a story echoed throughout out history for many indigenous practices. Mao’s program for providing medical care to the rural Chinese was highly successful. It did provide medical care to millions of rural Chinese. It also created jobs for those who would not have otherwise had the opportunity. Those trained in TCM, called Barefoot doctors, were poor, rural and/or female people which would have precluded them from lineage apprenticeships prior to the communist revolution. Despite the successes of this shift the cost was the loss of the soul of the medicine.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)- the medical modal of care created by Mao Dezhong is now the standard of care in Chinese and Western schools of acupuncture. What is valued and emphasised in this model is memorisation and being able to demonstrate knowledge through written test taking. Relatively speaking, little time is spent on Qi cultivation, pulse diagnosis, palpation and other hands one skills, even needle insertion. No time is spent on the development of intuition or direct revelation. We have placed this ancient shamanic medicine in a western model of care where logic and rational thought is superior to intuition and direct revelation. Of course book knowledge, logic and science are important parts of medicine. However, taking a hard intellectual, reductionist and materialist approach to healing leads to the reductionist medical models of care we are seeing in the world today. It is a model that tries to isolate, categorise and cure symptoms without regard for cultural, spiritual, communal, environment and societal ills. It is a model of care that places responsibility for health outcomes on individuals and their providers without remedy for the cultural, environmental, economic and familial contexts with which diseases are developed. As holistic health care providers acupuncturists and doctors of TCM are naturally oriented to treating the “mind, body and spirit”. I myself have on my website homepage: “intuitive healing for the mind, body and spirit”. Yet, I have few tools to ameliorate the collective cultural, environmental and spiritual causes of illness I see in my patients. I feel a hunger in myself and the world to reconnect with our spirits and the world around us.
This hunger has primed us for a paradigm shift. It is only when we remember our spirits and our place within the world that we can face our collective ills and use our interdependence for collective survival. In the field of acupuncture I see acupuncture schools closing all over the county. Acupuncturists are struggling under the weight of six figure student loan debt without an infrastructure or community to support them. The way we have tried to colonise acupuncture, to fit it into an increasing Western model of care is failing. Now is the time for a re-membering, a soul retrieval of sorts. To call back the lost parts of our profession. It is up to us to co-create the future of acupuncture using our connections to Spirit. Those who are ready will hear the whisper of Spirit. We will re-member our connection to everything and each other.
For me, the practice of acupuncture has always been a spiritual practice. The Spirit of acupuncture started speaking to me as a community acupuncturist. The process of treating 20 or more patients in a 4 hour period has a way of quieting the logical mind and allowing intuition and subconscious wisdom to lead. It allowed me to get into a flow state, to become a “hallow bone” and allow the spirits to do the work. Now that I have embraced this way of practice, there is no turning back. I will continue to invite the Spirit of acupuncture to work with me and guide my treatments for the highest good of all.
References
Beinfield, H., & Korngold, E. (1991). Between heaven and earth : a guide to Chinese medicine (1st ed). Ballantine Books.
Kaptchuk, T. J. (2000). The web that has no weaver : understanding Chinese medicine ([Rev. ed., newly expanded and updated]). Contemporary Books.
https://www.meer.com/en/44155-shamanism-in-chinese-medicine
Pagones, R. (2021). Acupuncture as revolution : suffering, liberation, and love. Brevis Press. http://public.eblib.com/choice/PublicFullRecord.aspx?p=6800556