Healing — what shamanic accompaniment can really touch

In the ancient spiritual traditions, "healing" is related to "wholeness" — the path into a recognizable wholeness. It is not identical with symptom-removal in the medical sense. Shamanic accompaniment touches soul, energetic, relational, and ancestor-related layers — and may, in what it can support of self-efficacy, accompany bodily processes. Shamanic accompaniment does not replace medical or therapeutic treatment. It complements it.

I'm Dr. Mark Hosak. I earned my PhD at Heidelberg University on Buddhist healing rituals in Japan — this academic research root is the foundation of my present practice. I spent three years researching in Kyoto's temples, practiced on the sacred mountains of Koyasan (Shingon) and Hieizan (Tendai), walked the Shikoku pilgrimage on foot, and have had encounters with spiritual masters on travels through Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Over ten years ago I took on the wolf shamanism lineage of the Ivory Coast via Baron Samedi — healing accompaniment is core practice of this lineage. Eileen Wiesmann, with whom I work on shamanic-worlds.com, brings the Egyptian tradition with its healing concepts.

What follows is an honest journey through what shamanic healing accompaniment in the ancient traditions really is — without healing promises, without wellness sentimentalization, without medical presumption.

What healing means in spiritual traditions

The word "healing" is etymologically related to "whole." In the ancient traditions, healing was understood as a path into a recognizable wholeness — a movement encompassing more layers than the purely bodily.

What all old traditions share about healing:

First: healing is not identical with symptom-disappearance. Sometimes symptoms belong to the healing path. Sometimes symptoms quiet down without the underlying layer being touched — and reappear elsewhere. Healing in the comprehensive sense asks about what lies beneath the symptom.

Second: healing encompasses several layers. Body, soul, energy, relationship, lineage, karma — none of these layers is isolated. What is stuck in one layer can show up in another.

Third: healing often needs time. Quick healing is rarely real healing. What settles quickly often hasn't worked at depth.

Fourth: healing is not the healer's task alone. In authentic traditions the accompanied person is seen as co-actor in their healing movement — not as passive recipient of a miracle treatment.

Clear delimitation from orthodox medicine. The shamanic traditions I know don't compete with orthodox medicine. They complement it. Anyone with acute bodily complaints goes to the doctor. Anyone in acute psychological crisis goes into psychotherapeutic or psychiatric care. Shamanic accompaniment is a layer parallel to these paths, not in place of them.

Healing in various ancient traditions

In the traditions I've worked with for the past thirty years, healing accompaniment is described with great differentiation.

Mikkyō · Japanese esoteric Buddhism

Mikkyō, whose roots I researched at Heidelberg University, has had healing rituals as central practice for over 1,200 years. My dissertation engaged concretely with the Buddhist healing rituals in Japan — an academic working-through of the Mikkyō healing tradition from Japanese and Chinese source texts.

Complementarily, Marishiten 摩利支天 and other protective deities in healing contexts. These are correctly named as Bodhisattvas and protective deities — not as "goddesses" in the Western-esoteric sense. The roots of the Mikkyō healing tradition lie not only in Buddhism, but also in Shugendō, Shintō, and the shamanic Daoism that came to Japan via China.

Wolf shamanism of the Ivory Coast via Baron Samedi

In my main lineage, healing accompaniment is core practice. Different from the Mikkyō tradition, less is worked here with systematized ritual structures, more with living relationship to Loa, ancestors, protection forces. The practice can open spaces in which soul layers can move, in which energetic clearing happens, in which threshold experiences are accompanied. What it isn't: no method that would make diseases vanish. It is a spiritual accompaniment that may work parallel to medical treatment.

Vodou tradition generally

Beyond the Wolf Shaman lineage, the broader Vodou tradition works with Loa as healing mediators, with the plant-medicine of Houngan and Mambo, with incense and energetic clearing. A central healing figure is Damballah Wedo — the ancient serpent Loa, in the Vodou tradition associated with healing, wisdom, and the preservation of life. This practice is closely tied to everyday healing arts in its home cultures — in Western European transmission it is limited to the spiritual-energetic dimension, without replacing medical healing arts.

Daoism and inner alchemy

The Chinese Daoist tradition knows with inner alchemy a systematic self-care practice (more on the Transformation page). What "healing" means here: care for the own life force (Jing, Qi, Shen) through breath, movement, meditation. Daoist healing arts — Qi practice that lives on in the roots of TCM — are understood in this lineage as complementary life care, not as replacement for medical treatment.

Egyptian tradition

Eileen Wiesmann brings from her historical research the Egyptian healing concepts. A central healing patron is Sekhmet — the lion-headed protective deity, in ancient Egypt simultaneously associated with disease and healing: she could make visible what was out of order, and she could protect what had been restored. Alongside her, healing rituals with Anubis and other protective deities, burial traditions as healing transition practice, the medicine of the temple physicians, who joined spiritual and bodily healing. Much of it is lost in its present form — what we know comes from archaeological and religious-historical sources.

Global shamanic traditions

Other indigenous traditions — Native American, South American, Siberian, Australian — know their own healing paths. The shamanic drum journey is a central tool in many of these lineages — used as an observation practice in which images, sensations and hints may appear. Out of respect for these lineages and the cultural appropriation question, I draw on them only where I have been invited myself. What I don't do: take practices from these traditions in which I am not initiated.

The layers of healing accompaniment

In my work I distinguish six layers that can be touched in healing accompaniment. This map is not universal — it is my practice synthesis from Mikkyō, wolf shamanism and complementary traditions.

Bodily layer. What shamanic accompaniment can offer complementarily is activation of self-efficacy, energetic clearing, accompaniment in illness phases. It does not replace medical treatment. Anyone with bodily symptoms first goes into medical clarification.

Soul layer. Here shamanic accompaniment can open spaces for what's sometimes ungraspable in therapeutic settings — grief layers, old wounds, relationship patterns. Important: with clinical symptoms (depression, anxiety disorder, trauma aftereffect), psychotherapy is the primary path. Shamanic accompaniment can complement.

Energetic layer. Aura, life force, energetic connections (see Aura page). Here shamanic accompaniment — especially via aura reading, incense, protection practices — can unfold an effectiveness rarely thematized in medical-therapeutic settings.

Relational layer. Partner themes, family dynamics, unresolved conflicts. Here the shamanic view is often complementary to couples or family therapy — it looks at the energetic and ancestor-related layers of the relational dynamic.

Karmic layer. Recurring patterns across life phases, ancestor-related themes, long-term life paths (see Karma page). Here shamanic accompaniment can make visible layers that remain inaccessible in other settings.

Calling layer. When something "doesn't come into motion" because a life vision is unfulfilled. Some bodily or soul themes come into motion only when a deeper life need is recognized and answered. This layer is classically the field of shamanic calling clarification.

Important observation: some themes must be addressed on one layer before others can move. Anyone with acute bodily crisis is first medically treated. Anyone with acute psychological crisis belongs in therapeutic care. When the acute phase has been clarified, shamanic accompaniment can complement on the other layers.

How I work with healing themes in live events and on the Master Paths

An honest clarification: classic 1:1 healing accompaniment as an openly advertised sales channel I don't offer. What I do offer are two Master Paths — the Wolf Shaman Master Path and the Shingon Reiki Master Path — plus thematic live events. In these group formats I accompany people in coming into contact with their own themes. Those in the VIP tier of the Wolf Shaman Master Path receive 1:1 sessions as additional component.

This isn't accidental. It corresponds to my preferred way of working — and it's also more honest: shamanic accompaniment as healing accompaniment often works deeper in groups than in individual settings, because the energy field of a group carries layers that are harder to open in individual encounter.

Diagnosis tools

Aura reading. Those trained in aura perception (see Aura page) can make visible certain layers that remain inaccessible in other diagnostic forms. This is not medical diagnosis — it is an energetic reading. It does not show whether someone has a specific disease. It shows where, in the energetic layers, there is movement or stagnation.

Tarot. In my practice tarot is not a divination tool. It is a ritualized form in which images from the unconscious can emerge. Certain cards may point to soul, relational, or karmic themes.

Drum journey. In the wolf shaman lineage of the Ivory Coast the drum is central. During drumming another perceptual layer can open, in which images, sensations, and hints appear. Important: the drum journey is an observation practice, not a diagnostic procedure.

Direct perception. Over years a direct form of perception develops — something becomes clear without one being able to say from where. In Buddhism "intuitive insight," in the Vodou tradition "sight." Those trained in an authentic lineage can distinguish this form from imagination.

Tools of accompaniment

Incense and energetic clearing. Sandalwood, aloeswood (Jinkō), frankincense — old tools used in many traditions for space clearing and aura cleansing. These tools are unspectacular and can work deeply.

Invocation and protection practices. In the wolf shaman lineage worked with Baron Samedi and the Great Wolf. These invocations can open a space in which other perceptions become possible. How this practice actually looks is passed on in transmission — not in public texts.

Mikkyō practice. Visualization practices (e.g. Gachirinkan, see Full Moon page), mantra practice, ritualized movement. Here too the actual practice is passed on in direct transmission.

Ancestor work. When diagnosis shows that a layer is ancestor-related, there are specific ritual forms — strongly developed in the Vodou tradition, varying in other traditions.

Integration phase. What's important after a session: time for integration. Conscious reduction of sensory load. Time in nature. Journaling. Sometimes: further sessions, when new layers show up.

Mark's Heidelberg research on Buddhist healing rituals

The academic background of this website deserves its own section because it is particularly relevant for the Healing hub.

My research has several sources. At Heidelberg University I wrote my dissertation systematically on the Buddhist healing rituals in Japan. Concretely: I translated Japanese and Chinese source texts on Mikkyō healing rituals, researched their ritual structures, and compared them with practice in living Japanese temples. This academic line is one root. The other root is the three years of research in Kyoto, the decades of practice stays on Koyasan and Hieizan, the Shikoku pilgrimage on foot, and the many further travels through Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia in which I met spiritual masters.

The Mikkyō tradition has a highly differentiated healing system. Various healing rituals for various concerns — protection, clearing, bodily accompaniment, soul themes, dying accompaniment. Each has own mantras, mudras, visualization structures.

Yakushi Nyorai as central healing figure. The Buddha of Healing is not an abstract theological figure. In the living Mikkyō practice, Yakushi is a concrete spiritual relationship with which practitioners work over years.

The Bonji-Siddham component. In my research on the Bonji-Siddham (more on the Aura page) I showed that the Sanskrit syllable script transmitted in Mikkyō plays a central role in the healing rituals.

The practical integration. My research was never only academic. In the three years in Kyoto and decades of practice stays on Koyasan and Hieizan, I came to know this healing practice not only as study object but as living tradition.

What you can do yourself — old practices of self-care

What can you do yourself without going into accompaniment? The ancient traditions know simple tools that can be taken into one's own practice — as care for the own life force, not as replacement for medical treatment.

Important first: these tools promise no healing of diseases. They are old practices that count in many cultures as care for the life force — as spiritual-energetic self-care parallel to medical and therapeutic care.

Energy protection and aura care. Conscious incense burning (sandalwood, frankincense, mugwort), conscious threshold passages, aura strengthening through short visualization practice (moon disc in the heart center, more on the Full Moon page). More on aura practice on the Aura page.

Cleansing rituals. Conscious shower with intention, energetic clearing at the end of intense days, incense at mood shifts.

Moon phase awareness. Anyone living with the moon cycle calibrates their own energy system with an old map. More on the Moon Phases page.

Time in nature. Especially important for highly sensitive people. Forest, water, mountains are classical spaces in many traditions in which the own energy system can recalibrate.

Ancestor connection. A photo, an object, a conscious memory. Acknowledgment of the lineage you come from. Not religiously charged, simply respectful.

Healing accompaniment for highly sensitive people

Those who are highly sensitive (see Highly Sensitive page) often need different healing paths than less sensitive people.

What highly sensitive people need:

Medical treatment with a highly sensitive lens — some medications are metabolized differently, some therapy forms are better suited for highly sensitive constitutions than others. Those who are highly sensitive ideally seek doctors and therapists who know this constitution.

Shamanic accompaniment as complement — especially for highly sensitive people the shamanic layer can open what is not accessible in purely clinical settings. Aura perception, energetic clearing, threshold accompaniment are tools that are often particularly fitting for highly sensitive people.

What to avoid: forced healing programs, detox hypes, one-week programs that promise radical change. These formats are often harmful for highly sensitive people — they overwhelm the nervous system and frequently lead to crisis.

Healing in anime — what Inuyasha, My Hero Academia, Mushishi show

Those who grew up with Japanese animation have often seen healing concepts more multidimensional than most Western films show.

Inuyasha. Kagome's role as Miko (shrine priestess) with healing arrows is not accidental. She stands in a Japanese tradition in which healing and purification are closely related — the arrows purify, they don't destroy. What the series shows: healing is often the clarification of what was not in order, not the elimination of an "evil."

My Hero Academia. Recovery Girl as healing specialist shows an important narrative truth: in this fictional world, healing energy is limited, it costs both the healer and the accompanied person. This narrative logic is closer to the shamanic traditions than the Western pop image of the miraculous healing act.

Mushishi. Ginko as comparative accompanier of various "Mushi" beings is in his fictional work close to what shamanic accompaniment really is. He doesn't treat with medicines — he perceives, clarifies, mediates, lets go. Sometimes something comes into motion, sometimes he can only accompany. He claims nothing he cannot show.

Princess Mononoke. The purification of the beings and the forest is classical shamanic healing art — restoration of disturbed balance between worlds. What Ashitaka does is not "war on disease" but mediation between wounded forces.

Shamanic accompaniment vs. therapy — when what

This is the most important clarification of this page. Confusing the two fields risks harm.

When therapy is the primary path:

• With clinical symptoms: depression, anxiety disorder, trauma aftereffect, personality disorder, addiction
• With acute psychological crises: suicidal thoughts, acute psychotic symptoms, acute panic episodes
• With psychiatric themes: bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, severe depression
• With symptoms significantly limiting daily life

In all these cases, qualified clinical support is the primary path. Shamanic accompaniment can complement — but only when clinical care is in place.

When shamanic accompaniment can fit:

• With calling questions: what am I here to do, what vision carries my life
• With energetic themes
• With relationship themes with a spiritual-energetic layer
• With supersensory perception themes that are not psychiatric
• With threshold passages that want to be accompanied in a tradition

When both make sense combined: For many deep life themes, both parallel makes sense. Therapy for the psychological layers — trauma processing, coping strategies, neuronal patterns. Shamanic accompaniment for the spiritual layers — calling, karma, threshold accompaniment, energetic clearing.

Practice entrances for healing seekers

If you've come this far and notice that a shamanic layer could become relevant for you, there are four entrances.

First Step · Newsletter and High-Sensitivity Quiz

The simplest entrance. If you wonder whether your perception is connected to high sensitivity, take the short quiz. Afterwards you can subscribe to the Shamanic Worlds newsletter.

Hearing and Letting In · Shamanic Worlds Podcast

Episode #35 Aura and Chakra is direct connection to aura diagnosis practice. Episode #37 Recognizing Spirits for energetic clearing. More on the Podcast page.

Deepening · Aura Chakra Magic, Aura Chakra Lesen, Kuji Kiri Live Events, Japanese Grimoire Society

Aura Chakra Magic deepens the aura and chakra work on the basis of my Heidelberg research on the Bonji-Siddham. Aura Chakra Lesen opens the perception and diagnosis practice. The Kuji Kiri 1 and Kuji Kiri 2 live events transmit the Nine-Cuts practice from Shugendō and Japanese esoteric Buddhism — as a tool for protection, clearing, and the dissolution of energetic bindings. For English-speaking Kuji Kiri practice, the Japanese Grimoire Society is the community home.

Aura Chakra Magic — book directly Aura Chakra Lesen — book directly

Japanese Grimoire Society Kuji Kiri Live Events

Depth paths · the two Master Paths

Shamanic healing accompaniment with me runs not via classical individual sessions, but via two long-term accompaniment paths — both equivalent, with different focuses. Most seekers find what they seek in one of the two paths. Some go both.

Wolf Shaman Master Path. The depth path into the wolf shamanism lineage of the Ivory Coast via Baron Samedi, complemented by Mikkyō depth from Heidelberg, Koyasan, Hieizan. Shamanic consulting practice, protection work, connection with Loa and the Great Wolf, perception deepening over years. Three tiers — Standard, Premium, VIP. In the VIP tier 1:1 sessions are included as component.

Shingon Reiki Master Path. The depth path into the Shingon healing tradition with Bonji-Siddham practice. Here the Reiki that has been largely separated from its tantric-Buddhist roots in the West is led back to its actual source. For those coming from a Reiki tradition or drawn to Japanese healing arts, the parallel project at shingon-reiki.com offers its own community, its own experiential paths, its own live events. Equivalent to the Wolf Shaman Master Path, with a different focus.