Shamanism. Archaic ecstasy techniques

As far as we know, the study proposed to the reader is the first attempt to cover the whole complex of shamanism and determine its place in the general history of religions. We tried to comprehend and imagine shamanism from the point of view of the historian of religions. We are alien to the intention to understand the importance of serious studies conducted from the point of view of psychology, sociology or ethnology: in our opinion, without them, an understanding of the diverse aspects of shamanism is unthinkable. However, we believe that the most adequate topic is the approach that the reader is offered on the following pages. Shamanism is one of the archaic techniques of ecstasy and at the same time mysticism, magic and religion in the broad sense of the word. We tried to show shamanism in various historical and cultural aspects and even tried to sketch out a brief history of its formation in Central and North Asia. However, we attach greater importance to the disclosure of the phenomenon of shamanism, the analysis of its ideology, the discussion of its technique, symbolism, mythology. We believe that such work can interest not only a specialist, but also a cultural person in general, to whom this book is primarily addressed.
2nd edition