Shamanic training costs anything from nothing at all to several thousand euros, depending on how deep it goes. A weekend introduction to the shamanic journey usually costs a few hundred, a foundation course over several weeks or months costs more, and a full practitioner training that prepares you to work with clients is a real investment spread over one to three years.
Shamanic training is any structured learning of shamanic practice with a teacher: journeying, working with power animals and spirit teachers, ceremony, and later healing work for other people. What you pay for is rarely the information itself. Most of that is in books. You pay for a teacher who listens to your journeys, for practice with other people, and for supervision once you start working for someone else.
How Much Does Shamanic Training Cost?
Most people spend a few hundred euros on their first training and a few thousand over the whole path, if they go on to practitioner level. The table below is a rough guide to what you will find in Europe and North America. Prices vary a lot by teacher, country and format, so use it as a starting point, not a price list.
| Level | Typical format | Rough cost | What you get for it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free and low cost | Books, drumming tracks, recorded videos, open circles | 0 to 100 EUR | The basic idea of a journey and some background knowledge. No feedback. |
| Introductory workshop | One weekend, in person or live online | 150 to 500 EUR | Your first guided journeys, meeting a power animal, practice with a partner. |
| Foundation course | Several weeks or months, live sessions plus homework | 500 to 2,000 EUR | A steady personal practice, the three worlds, regular feedback on your journeys. |
| Practitioner training | One to three years, modules, supervised case work | 2,000 to 10,000 EUR and more | Healing methods for others, ethics, supervision, a community of practice. |
| Ongoing circle or membership | Monthly circle or online community | 10 to 50 EUR a month | Regular practice with others and a place to bring your questions. |
Travel, accommodation and materials such as a drum or rattle come on top for in person courses. A good frame drum alone can cost between 80 and 300 euros, although you do not need one to start.
What Are You Actually Paying For?
You are paying for feedback and for a safe frame, not for secret knowledge. The basic shamanic journey has been described openly for decades. Michael Harner set it out step by step in his work with the Foundation for Shamanic Studies and in The Way of the Shaman, and Mircea Eliade documented the traditions behind it in Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. None of this is hidden.
What a book cannot do is answer you. A good training gives you these things:
- A teacher who hears your journeys. Someone who can tell you which part sounds like a real answer and which part sounds like worry.
- Practice partners. Journeying for each other is the clearest way to learn to trust what you receive.
- A safe structure. Clear opening and closing, grounding, and someone to turn to if a journey brings up something difficult.
- Supervision for healing work. Before you work on another person, someone experienced should watch how you do it.
- Time. Spread over months, so the practice becomes part of your life and not a weekend high.
If you are unsure whether you need a teacher yet, my article Can You Learn Shamanism on Your Own? shows where self-study works and where it stops.
Is Expensive Shamanic Training Better?
No, price says very little about quality. Some of the best teachers charge modestly, and some very expensive programmes give you mostly recorded videos and a certificate. What matters is how much direct contact you have with the teacher and how much you actually practise.
Before you pay, ask these questions:
- How many live sessions are there, and how many people are in the group?
- Will someone respond to my own journeys, or do I only watch?
- Who teaches, and where did they train? Can they name their teachers?
- What happens if a journey brings up something I cannot handle alone?
- Is healing work for others taught under supervision, or only explained?
- Can I pay in instalments, and what is the cancellation policy?
A teacher who answers these openly is a good sign. A teacher who promises you will be a shaman after a weekend is not.
Red Flags When Comparing Prices
Be careful when the price is attached to promises instead of practice. Watch for these:
- A title such as “certified shaman” after a few days of training.
- Pressure to book now because the price will go up tonight.
- Expensive extras that are sold as necessary for your safety or your healing.
- No live contact at all, only videos, at the price of a live course.
- Ceremonies with psychoactive substances sold as part of a beginner package.
Shamanic practice does not need psychedelics, and a beginner course that sells them as a shortcut skips the work that keeps you safe.
Online or In Person: Does the Cost Differ?
Online training is usually cheaper because there is no travel or venue, and a live online course can give you as much feedback as a weekend in a seminar room. What counts is whether the sessions are live and whether someone works with your journeys. Recorded courses without any contact are closer to reading a book. I have looked at this in more detail in Does Online Shamanic Training Actually Work?
How Long Will You Be Paying?
Plan your budget in stages, not as one big amount. Most people start with a workshop or foundation course, practise for a while, and only then decide whether they want to go on to practitioner level. That way you never pay for a long programme before you know the work suits you. My guide on how long it takes to learn shamanism explains those stages and how long each one usually takes.
What I See in My Own Teaching
When people write to me before a training, the question about cost almost always comes first. Behind it is usually a different question: will this actually work for me, or am I paying for something I cannot do? I understand that worry. Many of them have already spent money on courses where they watched videos and never once spoke to the teacher.
In my groups the moment that changes things is rarely a big vision. It is usually the first time someone journeys for a practice partner and comes back with a detail they could not have known. After that, people stop asking whether they are making it up, and the training starts to feel worth its price. That is also why I keep my groups small and the sessions live. You can find out how my Shamanic Practitioner Training is built, and what it costs, on the training page.
Shamanic work can support you through hard times, but it complements psychotherapy and medical care and does not replace them. If you are struggling with your mental or physical health, please look for professional help as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can learn the basic journey for free from books and drumming recordings. What you will not get for free is someone who responds to your journeys. Many people start alone and pay for training once they have real questions.
A full practitioner training usually costs between 2,000 and 10,000 euros, spread over one to three years. The price depends on the number of live sessions, group size, supervision and whether travel is involved.
A certificate only shows that you attended a course. It is not a licence and does not make you a shaman. What counts is the quality of the teaching, the supervision you received and the experience you gather afterwards.
Many teachers offer instalments for longer trainings. Ask before you book, and also ask about cancellation, so you know what happens if your life changes during the course.
No. A drumming recording through headphones works well for beginners, and many teachers drum for the group. Buy a drum once you know you want to keep practising, ideally after trying a few.
Carolin Mallmann is the founder of One Shamanism, an international shamanism school. She trained with shamans in Siberia and Mongolia, completed a three-year apprenticeship in North America and studied core shamanism with the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. She teaches trance work in a calm, practical way.
