Shamanic teaching & ceremony
There are many ways of entering into relationship with the sacred. Sometimes it begins with a curiosity or a dream. At times it is an unexpected encounter, or meaningful time spent in Nature. Sometimes it begins with the feeling that there is more to life, and we begin to search for the “more”.
Yupa Tree is an invitation to explore that larger world.
See the 2026 circlesRooted in the ancient understanding that the world is alive and that we live in relationship with all things.
My work draws upon many years of shamanic ceremony, journeying, and listening to the Spirit World. You only need curiosity and a willingness to listen.
My journey into shamanism began in my 20’s, while searching for personal growth and healing. After exploring several esoteric paths, I received a shamanic ceremony and experienced the feeling of coming home.
Unable to find a teacher, I eventually turned directly to the Spirit World for guidance. What followed became a demanding and deeply transformative path of listening, practices, commitment, and learning through direct experience.
Over time, people began coming to me for help, and teaching gradually became one of the great passions of my life. My work as an artist also became integrated into my spiritual path, especially through the making of drums and sacred objects.
For me, this is a lifetime commitment — a continuing journey of listening, learning, creating, and Becoming Sacred.
Vamarie Nanej
Shamanic practice is, at its heart, about relationship — with Nature, the Spirit World, our Ancestors, the Beings who accompany us, and the deeper mystery of our very own existence. There are many ways to enter this relationship.
Small gatherings and online circles devoted to particular aspects of shamanic knowledge and practice. We may explore animals and spirit beings, dream world, healings, ceremony, trance, sacred places, death and rebirth, mythos and cosmology. These are opportunities to become curious, to question, to experience, and to deepen one’s own understanding.
A place to bring questions, transitions, spiritual experiences, or the feeling that something in one’s life is asking to be understood more deeply. The work may include divination, ceremony, healing practices, spiritual guidance, or simply listening carefully for what is being asked for. Each person and situation is approached individually.
There are times when we choose to leave the familiar world in order to invite a new perspective. Residential retreats create the time and space to enter more deeply into practice — through ceremony, dreaming, silence, teaching, conversation, and shared experience. The wilderness camps provide a necessary connection to the natural world.
You begin with something physical — wood, clay, fabric, rawhide, bone, or another material. Through the process of making, you connect with the Spirit that will eventually reside within the object. Rather than imposing your own design, you listen for the Spirit’s vision of the form it wishes to inhabit. You are creating a physical home for Spirit.
Residential retreat
Seven days on the Sea of Cortez, where desert and ocean meet. Through ceremony, drumming, dream practices, sharing, time with the ocean and quiet reflection, we explore how dreams speak to us.
Sonora, Mexico · $1,400 USD
Read about the retreatRegistration and enquiries are by email. Write with the circle or retreat you are interested in and Vamarie will reply with the details.
Payment for circles is by PayPal, to the same address or to Vamarie Nanej. Once registered, a Zoom invitation is sent before the circle.