Dermot O'Hara / THE RAINBOW SCHOOL OF SHAMANISM & Other Celtique Shameons

[davidjohndrew]

Dermot O'Hara, 'The Celtic Shaman' and 'Soul Integration Therapist'... who has worked with many indigenous people of America and Canada... Rainbow Sweat Lodge... Universal Warriors of the Rainbow... Red Cloud, Sioux Chief...?

Please go to the sweat lodge link with photographs... here is the main page link;

http://celticshaman.com/index2.html

DAvid

[Defend the Sacred]

Oh, please. Run. Run away.

"Shaman" is no more accurate when applied to any of the diverse Celtic cultures than when applied to First Nations ones. It's not our word, it's not accurate, it means the person using it is either ignorant and/or a scammer.

Oh holy shit, (looking at the photos) he's got himself a cheap tipi and a fake inipi. And a "Cree prophecy", tarted up with Celtic artwork. This is nauseating.

This is insulting and offensive to the traditions and peoples of both the First Nations and the Six Celtic Nations. Yet another asshole who thinks he can avoid being criticised for ripping of one culture if he rips off multiple cultures at the same time. Grrrrr.

Move to Frauds, IMNSHO.

Edited to change title from "Shaman" to "Shameon" and add: He can't even rip off good sources, his fake Celtic stuff is actually Wiccan, and he has this gem, too: "Impi sweat Lodge ceremony". http://celticshaman.com/festival.html  Huh, "Impi." I guess that's when the imps jump on your head while you're in your fake Inipi?

Oh, this is so horrible: " Exploring the Celtic Wheel of Initiation, Fasting, and Tepee Drumming."  My Ancestors lived in "tepees"? Who knew?

[Defend the Sacred]

Oh no, we have pictures, too: http://celticshaman.com/press.html

[debbieredbear]

Oh, barf. An equal opportunity exploiter. One thing I have figured out is that the new age is just like the old one: out to make money!

[davidjohndrew]

Here is another wack-job... Dr. Geo Athena Trevarthen (formerly Geo Cameron) is an hereditary shaman-priestess. She has dedicated her life to helping people experience the Sacred and co-create a more harmonious world with Deity, as symbolised by the flaming hand design... her ancestors include some of the High Kings of Tara... She was told by Deity to "return to the trunk of the tree... She's used film and television to convey spiritual messages, including an episode titled Sacred Ground for Star Trek: Voyager.


Actually quite a good phD thesis but then she suddenly flies off on a weird tangent of spiritual despair and ends up holding a poor stuffed owl. I like her blend of Tuatha inspired shamanism with Hungarian mysticism, shiva indian theology and Sumerian spirituality, ending with the magic of Harry Potter.

A 1 hour consultation only costs $110. Or she can send you a cassette tape for $120.00!


http://www.celticshamanism.com/gc.html

Crazy!

[debbieredbear]

Oh, yeah, I saw Geo's stiff awhile back but didn't know she had changed her name. Still the same BS tho.

[Defend the Sacred]

I read parts of Geo's dissertation on the web, and am stunned she ever managed to get her Phd. It really made me lose respect for the University she got it from (Edinburgh, yes?) and shows how much the Phd process can be a crapshoot, based on who your advisor is.

While her thesis did incorporate some authentic examples of spiritual and visionary experiences from old manuscript sources (as opposed to, oh, Llewellyn or Capall Bann books), I just could not support that same old homogenization of "every sort of spiritual vision equals... shamanism." It's just so offensive to the diverse cultures. The parts I read were like, "Vision of birds in Old Irish tale, Vision of birds in Andean culture, ergo, same system, both shamanic." Gak.

I saw her on some Discovery channel program recently, waving a sword around and talking about dragons and claiming to be descended from King Arthur or somesuch. Oh dear. Can't say she came off too well.  I've mostly avoided her.  I know some people who knew her before she got started on her shameonick gig - they were in the same Harner class with her in New York City. Heh. Yup, like so many others, she took some Harner classes then pasted some Celtic lore into his system here and there. Nope, doesn't make it any more Celtic than the Wiccans who've been doing the same deal.

[educatedindian]

OHara fell for the Rainbow Warriors "prophecy". That was actually written for a Southern Baptist convention in the early 60s, as a story for Christian missionaries to try to use to get Natives to convert.

This may be the first time I've ever seen anyone claim that prophecy came from a specific tribe. Problem is, Ohara is claiming it's supposedly Cree, but using Cherokee words like yonegas and elohim.

Some other nonsense on the site:

"...the powerful inipi(Sweat Lodge) ceremony given to us by the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Through the Lakota People is one way we can help to save the future generations from destruction."

Pretty presumptuous. And also:

"The animals offer themselves up to us so we can survive the dark times of winter ,the same way our Power Animals protect us just like a loyal guard dog."

That's turning a spirit guide from a trusted advisor to, well, a mascot.

They also sell sweatlodges:

"Discovery Week
May 20th -27th
A residential week of Ceremonial Cleansing, Dance, Chant, Drumming, Sweat Lodge and Vision Quest.
Exploring the Celtic Wheel of Initiation
All workshops may be booked individually
   Course investment          €2,170 .00
Individual workshops     € 280.00
Residential week             € 730.00
A Non Refundable Booking Deposit of €500 for the full course
€120.00 for Individual workshops € 250 for the 1 week"

[Barnaby_McEwan]

Advice for neo-pagan authors from a scholar, Lisa Spangenberg:

http://www.digitalmedievalist.com/faqs/scholarship.html

I doubt whether any neopagan would be capable of withstanding the onslaught of facts that would result from taking this advice.

[Defend the Sacred]

Yes, Lisa has good advice, and some excellent resources on her website. She should be Dr. Lisa any day now (I'm waiting on the announcement). We've collaborated a bit in the past, and I recommend her work.

[CuAnnan]

Advice for neo-pagan authors from a scholar, Lisa Spangenberg:

http://www.digitalmedievalist.com/faqs/scholarship.html

I doubt whether any neopagan would be capable of withstanding the onslaught of facts that would result from taking this advice.

Thank you very much for this cite.
I am adding this to my permanent list of stored-on-line links for pointing people to.