Happy Autumn Equinox!
(or Spring Equinox for those of you in the South!)
Big changes are on their way with the college and the books — all of which will not only make the teachings and practices far more accessible but will greatly expand them and open up entirely new ways to access them too, so please do read on!
The Next Book
I am excited to announce that, after a long gestation, book 4 in the Therapeutic Shamanism series, Soul Roots, Spirit Branches, will be available by the end of the year. The book takes a deep dive into animist spirituality and the profound gifts it gives us, and how it is radically different from most other spirituality on offer these days. It includes chapters on what meditation really is (and what it isn’t) and how to integrate meditation into your shamanic practice, and sections on how to keep spirituality grounded and sane, the place of gods, goddesses and other spiritual teachers in shamanism, spiritual ethics, the relationship between Spirit and Soul, the balance between the Sacred Masculine and Sacred Feminine, and much, much more, including the clearest guide to Upper-World work ever published.
On top of that, whilst writing Book 4, I have also been working on book 5, provisionally titled How to Live and How to Die. If all goes to plan, it will be published some time in Spring 2027. It is a big book, covering huge topics including what shamanism teaches about what happens when we die, the Land of the Dead, how to properly deal with the dead, how to process grief, and much more. Above all else though, the book is about what death tells us about how to live fully and make the most of our time here and the gift of our one wild and precious life.
How to Live and How to Die — Spring 2027
Companion Guides
I am also incredibly excited to announce a whole new series of books! In response to the many, many questions student ask during the courses, we have decided to produce a series of companion study guides. These will be packed full of answers to frequently (and not so frequently) asked questions that people have, tip and practical advice, and expanded teaching too. They will be very helpful. Written by Kaja Gulic and with editorial oversight by me, the first of these will be available sometime towards the end of this year or the beginning of 2027, and will be a companion guide to the First-Steps course and to book 1 in the Therapeutic Shamanism series. Companion guides to all the other Therapeutic Shamanism book and courses will then follow.
Wiki
Kaja, Colin and I are also working on adding what will be a truly comprehensive Wiki to the website. This will offer a vast resource of entries and articles on all things animist and shamanic, all searchable, properly referenced and cross-indexed. The first wave of this will be free and open access, making information about sane and grounded animism and shamanism highly visible and accessible to all. Once done, the second wave will be an expanded area for students only, focusing on the practices for the courses, and offering additional teaching and insights too
The Refugia
As well as expanding the knowledge base, we also want to expand what we offer on a more personal level too. So, starting with the 2027 courses (more information on those below) we are going to be offering two entirely new things. One is The Refugia. A refugium is a small, intentional space or sanctuary that offers safety, healing, and nurturing. A safe place where relationships, both human and with the other-than-human, are intentionally fostered and allowed to thrive. And in these troubled times, animist refugia are needed more than ever before; spaces where animism can be kept alive, and where those practicing it can gather, and find nourishment and support. So starting in the new year, Cat Anderson, who is trained as a facilitator in holding safe circles, will be offering this as a new venture for the college. Spaces where students can meet in ‘tribal council’, based on animist principles of connection, find refuge and respite, and so explore ways to deepen their animist connection in their lives. More details will follow.
Questions, Answers and Discussion
In terms of what we offer on a more personal level too, whilst our Signal discussion groups have proven themselves to be invaluable place for students to ask questions, share experiences and discuss things, we do appreciate that some students would also welcome a more face-to-face way to do that too. So as well as the Refugia, starting next year alongside each course we will also be offering new questions, answers and discussion sessions. Run by Cat and Kaja, these will provide a live and online space for students on a course to ask questions, discuss things, and for Cat and Kaja to provide more in-depth answers and additional teaching too. More details will follow.
Podcast and YouTube Channel
Another new venture is a series of videos and podcasts that are on their way. These will be discussions between myself and Isabel Wells. Isabel is a shamanic teacher in the USA, who I first met over two years ago when she invited me as a guest onto the podcast series she was hosting back then. We were both completely amazed to find how much our understanding of shamanism aligns, and since then we have continued to meet on a regular basis to explore this, and first started discussing the idea of doing a series of podcasts together over a year ago. We are now edging towards launching what will be the first block of 12 episodes (and with many more planned). Called This Wild and Precious Life, the discussions will cover a wide range of shamanic, animist and related topics, and will be available both as YouTube videos and in audio-only podcast form too, and will include free transcripts and accompanying teaching notes (and possibly additional materials available through Substack too).
Teaching Notes, and Free Expanded Teaching Materials Too
And on the subject of teaching notes. A new thing that will be rolled out over the next year is to provide these for free with all the courses too. As well as the PDF of the PowerPoint slides, each course module will now include lecture notes – a detailed summary of the modules content, including links to other resources and references where relevant. In addition to this, over the next year or so the plan is to do this retrospectively too. To go through all the previous courses and do lecture notes for each course module, which will be available to anyone who did the course. And with the old courses, this will include expanded notes too, both updating the old material, and expanding it by offering new material as well. And all for free!
Coming soon: Time Travel course
And finally, about the courses themselves. The old “Healing the Past and Choosing the Future” course has now been completely rewritten and hugely expanded, and this meant expanding it from six modules to twelve. As a result, it has been split into two news courses. Healing the Past starts this November. The first three modules of it look at family patterns and dynamics, and how to heal these with shamanic work, and the next three modules look further back and explore ancestral pattens and how to release the baggage and burdens from these that are often passed down to us and which we are, often unconsciously, carrying. Details of that course are here and bookings are open now.
Then in January next year, Choosing the Future will run. This will include a deep dive into things that are utterly fascinating and at the same time profoundly practical and useful: what shamanism says about what time is, travelling through time in journeys, multiverses, how we unconsciously choose our future and how to make that process more conscious, how to work with our future selves as middle-word ‘guides’, and much more besides. Bookings for that course aren’t open yet, but details will follow soon.
Choosing the Future — starts January 2027 · bookings opening soon
All of these will transform what we offer, making it richer, deeper, accessible in new ways, and open up whole new areas to explore. Truly a refugia. A safe home in these times, not only for the animist and shamanic teachings and practices, but for anyone who joins us too.
With gratitude,
Paul Francis
