After a life-changing spiritual encounter during a health crisis, Aldo Jordan embarked on a journey that led him from addiction to ancestral awakening. Drawing from Celtic and pre-Celtic traditions, Brazilian Guarani healing, and core Shamanic practices, he founded the Irish School of Shamanic Studies to revive Ireland’s spiritual heritage. In this interview for Mystic Mag, Aldo shares how sacred sites, storytelling, and spirit-led teachings form the foundation of his mission to guide others into deep healing and connection with the land.
What first led you to explore Shamanism, and how did your journey evolve into founding the Irish School of Shamanic Studies?
My journey began 18 years ago when I was in addiction and when in hospital I had a visit from an ancestor who helped me through my serious health challenge and literally took my addiction from me in my hospital bed. It was a deeply profound experience. After a few weeks I was discharged from hospital where I found myself on a mission for answers to learn more about my otherworldly experience and the subsequent freedom from my alcohol addiction. Within a couple of months I had randomly bumped into a Shamanic practitioner at an event down the country from where I live. Well now I understand it wasn’t an accident, it was destiny. I went on to train under this Shamanic practitioner for a few years.
After those few initial years I went out on my own as a Shamanic practitioner and carried out many one to one healing sessions, workshops, fire ceremonies etc. I also have an ancestral lineage of Seancai (Irish story telling) Healers and musicians in my family in which I began to understand that I am carrying on that lineage through my Shamanic healing work. I had many messages from Spirit to bring these teachings to a wider audience. After eight years of my initial connection with Shamanism I set up the Irish school of Shamanic studies. The school was set up in 2015 and is going from strength to strength.
How do Celtic and pre-Celtic traditions uniquely shape the Shamanic practitioner training you offer in Ireland?
As an Irish man teaching Shamanism in Ireland my drive is to teach uniquely Irish Celtic and Irish pre-Celtic Spiritual practices. As the first port of call I am a Core Shamanic teacher which means I teach a method of Shamanism that embraces all global Shamanic practices, one common language for all global Shamanic practices. A common thread, a common understanding that there has been and continues to be an individual or individuals in a community setting that uses a common method to connect with the spirits to gather information and direction from them and to return from an excursion to the spirit world with information that is necessary to share with your community or an individual within the community. This is vital information or medicine to heal, inform, create a balance etc.
This is the absolute common thread in all global practices in Shamanism. In my work here in Ireland, that is exactly what I do and what I teach but we are carrying it out here on this ancestral land, in the spirit of this land, with the spirits of this land. In Ireland we have a unique Spirituality, a spirituality forged in lore, mythology, agriculture, our native language, our ancient ceremonial sites and our legends. In fact all of us here on this land are forged from this.
I teach the old traditions, the old rituals, the old beliefs and embed all of these traditions and practices into my core Shamanic work. So how I explain it is that we teach core Shamanism, but spearheaded by our Celtic and pre-Celtic Spiritual / Shamanic practices. Everything within our mythology, our stories and our native language is Shamanic to the core. Our philosophy with the Irish school of Shamanic studies is, if we train in Shamanism here in Ireland we will integrate our ancient traditions into that teaching. After all, it is a part of our ancestry spanning millennia. The very place in which I teach from, my family has almost a 900 year history within a 12 miles radius of that location.
Can you share how your Brazilian Guarani healing background influences your approach to Ama Deus Reiki and Shamanic teaching?
I was initiated into the Guarani healing method of Brazil 10 years ago. It is a specific Shamanic method of healing, a way of life forged in the Amazon through the Guarani people of the Amazon. It was something that called to me as a very direct application of healing and its power is something to behold. As the Guarani have always lived very close to nature, it’s easy to understand how their environment has influenced their spiritual methodology, resulting in a simple but extremely effective shamanic language.
According to their belief system, there is no such thing as ‘illness’. In their view everything is Spirit, and it is outside forces which cause imbalance to occur. When the outside force (such as an unwanted spirit or energy) is removed, then the effect upon the physical body will be released and balance will be restored once more. The Guarani shamans apply their knowledge of working with energy when carrying out healing, knowing that the power is coming from a single greater Force. Their words for God and Love are interchangeable, and they believe that it is the ‘love’ which is the healing power, and they are simply the ‘channelers’ or transmitters of this healing energy. Indeed all the above information and beliefs is the common Shamanic thread I mentioned earlier. It is part of our core teachings of core Shamanism. It certainly is not of Irish origin but is part of the overall Spirit of Shamanism on the core side of the teachings. Ama Deus uses a series of symbols which all carry a specific intention of healing. It is Reiki like but very specific. These symbols were channelled from source to the Guarani people thousands of years ago and have been used very successfully to this very day.
What role do Ireland’s ancient sacred sites play in your training, and how do they enhance the students’ experiences?
Ireland’s ancient sites are the very epicentre of our Irish Spiritual practices. These are essentially temples built on this land and were built by the ancient civilisations that were a unique part of this island for thousands of years. From the Neolithic farmers that arrived on this island 6000 years ago from Anatolia where we will find modern day turkey today. These Neolithic farmers had a very strong connection with nature and the universe at large which is a key part of our Shamanic work. In fact, Shamanism is all about nature, its Spirits and dwellers just like ourselves in which we are spirits of the universe too. The bronze age people who arrived here 4500 years ago left their imprint along with the Iron age people all left an indelible imprint on our sacred land for us to enjoy today.
These are heavily energised ancient sites being built on gateways, portals, vortices that essentially are gateways to the otherworld or world of Spirit. In Ireland we have thousands of these sites with the likes of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth in the Boyne valley and Loughcrew. We have Carrowkeel and the megalithic structures of Cong, in the west of the country. The above mentioned are all deemed as places of funerary rites, burial places, but through our Shamanic work and my Shamanic teachings here in Ireland they are known as temples, places of worship. They are places of burial but the rituals behind these places are far more than burial places. They were places to connect with the spirits of the dead, to connect with the otherworlds through the associated gateways and maybe to birth new spirits into the world by means of places where babies were born. Most of these places have astronomical alignments and some have lunar alignments all highlighting how important it was to also connect with the stars and planets as deities of the masculine and feminine. Everything within Shamanism has the masculine and feminine energies embedded within it as the vitally important ying yang of life and pro-creation.
As a teacher I will teach about these energies. I will also teach the archaeological significance, the history and lore along with dowsing for these energies where we will discover the very energetic gateways of these places. As an absolutely vital part of our Irish shamanic teachings all this knowledge of our ancestry is exceptionally important to practice our Irish connection with Shamanic practices. There is a saying, we need to know where we have come from to know where we are going. To honour our ancestors, keep their stories and legends alive and well, then we need to connect with them and their temples at a deep and meaningful level. All the above is a unique part of how we teach Shamanism here at the Irish school of Shamanic studies. Not alone to deeply connect with the ancient rituals of Shamanism but to connect with the very temples our ancient ancestors built and are very much available for us to work with in the present time.
You mention an energetic awakening happening now—what signs do you see of this shift, and how can people nurture the “seed” within themselves?
There is a shift, a transformation, an awakening in people. At the same time there is a tug of war that old systems are still trying to hold people back from transformation. There always was a tug of war. I believe we are in the golden era of change and choice where this availability was not present even up to a couple of decades ago. People are now embracing choice without the attachment of judgement. While the old religious systems are crumbling at the moment, the biggest modern contender we need to take a closer look at is technology and media. The indoctrination of the human is now being led by fake media and social media that in a form is the new religion.
The conditioning of the human through technology is a big issue at the moment which couples with the lack of connection with the natural world. Children are stuck to devices and are becoming insular as a result locks them within themselves where the actual physical world becomes secondary. It should most definitely be the other way around. The responsibility here is with the adults to try and at least get a balance. There is also a need for more light workers to make their knowledge more available and as a larger team we can make great changes. If we heal we will climb through the dimensions and create a new improved and naturally aligned reality for the greater good of the world. Acting now is vital. Healing and deconditioning. To heal and to decondition old systems along with the new systems of technology is the key to change.
I see more and more people moving towards Shamanism because people are now looking for connection, connection with like minded people but essentially connection with themselves. There is also a Spiritual calling, an ancestral calling within our souls to nurture and nourish our soul to be awake and fully present in this life. To truly enjoy all life that surrounds us and to be content, free and power filled in this beautiful world.
Aldo Jordan
The Irish school of Shamanic studies.
Castlebar, Co Mayo, Ireland.
Tel 00353 86 3750250
www.Irishshamanschool.ie
