Relationships between contemporary neo-shamanism and neo-druidism: a study in comparative anthropology/ethnology

This article uses field research on native American shamanism and analyses of certain neoshamanist, << new age >> and neo-druidic writings. It takes into account medieval texts together with recent scholarship on Celtic culture. It shows that both New Age and neo-paganism use many ideas from animist and shamanist societies. Lakota Sioux writers adopted the holistic beliefs of magical and esoteric movements, with borrowings from the << spiritual knowledge of ancients Celts and their druids >>. Modern-day shamans and druids adapt << foreign >> notions to transmit them to future generations. They modernise ancestral beliefs in an original way, developing their << psycho-therapeutical >> aspects. Their spiritual activities testify to the vitality of the shamanic and pagan traditions in our modern world.