Spiritual Practices
Purge yourself of negativity and learn to absorb positive energy from the natural world around you.
Shamanic Programs
to empower your life
Join us at one of our unforgettable events and retreats and learn to harmoniously connect ancient traditions and way of life to the modern world. Gain a lasting new perspective on the world and self.
Your Shamanic Journey
Our various programs strive to harmoniously connect ancient traditions with life in the modern world. What we offer through each of our programs is a lasting new perspective on the world and self.
From community events to weekend workshops, and once-in-a-lifetime retreats, we bring ways to connect and foster personal growth at a pace that is right for you. With engaging lectures and participation in traditional ceremonies, you will be able to immerse yourself in true shamanic wisdom.
Learn to live in the present and embrace all of life with long lasting healing and strength. Embrace the circle of life and experience the power of community.
Explore the beauty of simplicity by immersing yourself in the art, history, and culture that has remained true for thousands of years.
Brant Secunda
Shaman • Healer • Ceremonial Leader
For over 35 years, world-renowned shaman, healer, and traditional ceremonial leader Brant Secunda has been leading programs around the globe. His teachings have helped thousands of people to connect with their inherent power and to walk a path of harmony, unifying soul and body.
Join one of our programs to inherit the ancient wisdom teachings shared with Brant and to explore the practices of pilgrimage, ceremony, and healing.
Connect With Nature
Shamanic teachings guide us on a path to sustainable harmony with not only all humans, but with each and every plant, animal, and spiritual entity that is a part of our world.
Uplift Your Soul
Our programs guide you through the process of uplifting your soul with daily practices and ceremonial experiences. Allow your soul to merge with the universe.
Unify Your Life
Harmony is inherent to nature and thus intrinsic to shamanism. Part of our life’s journey is to unify the 3 aspects of Body, Heart & Spirit. This unity allows us to function naturally.
Heal the World
Transform your actions in order to bring healing to yourself, your community and all that lives on Earth. In this way, each step you take on the path of life becomes a healing process.
DISCOVER YOUR TRUE NATURE
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Shamanism?
Shamanism is an ancient healing tradition and moreover, a way of life. It is a way to connect with nature and all of creation. The word shaman originates from the Tungus tribe in Siberia. Anthropologists coined this term and have used it to refer to the spiritual and ceremonial leaders among indigenous cultures worldwide. The word shamanism can be used to describe the ancient spiritual practices of these indigenous cultures. Clearly the countless similarities between various ancient traditions played a role in the continual generalization of the word.
Over the past few decades the term “shamanism” has been popularized throughout the western world, especially in new-age circles. Today, it can be difficult to distinguish between traditional forms of shamanism and modernized, often esoteric practices that utilize the term.
One could view shamanism as the universal spiritual wisdom inherent to all indigenous tribes. As all ancient spiritual practices are rooted in nature, shamanism is the method by which we as human beings can strengthen that natural connection.
Who is Brant Secunda?
Brant Secunda is a shaman, healer and traditional ceremonial leader who completed a 12-year apprenticeship with Don José Matsuwa, the renowned Huichol shaman who passed away in 1990 at the age of 110.
For over 30 years, Brant has been leading conferences, workshops and retreats around the globe. He is a co-founder of the American Herbalist Guild, the Peace University, and the Huichol Foundation. He is also the co-author of the award-winning book Fit Soul Fit Body, 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You.
How did Brant Secunda become a shaman?
When he was 18 years old, Brant Secunda traveled from his native New York to the remote Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico to find the Huichol people. He was adopted by the revered Huichol shaman Don José Matsuwa and underwent a rigorous 12-year apprenticeship with him. Brant was initiated into the Huichol Indian tribe through a five day vision quest, a period of isolation in the wilderness without food and water, in a sacred cave in the Huichol Sierras known to the Huichols as the Cave of Grandmother Growth.
Other rites of passage included capturing and releasing a wild rattle snake with his bare hands to face his fear of death, enduring a fourteen month fruit fast to enhance his sensitivity to the natural world, and surviving a nine day vision quest so that he may, according to Huichol cosmology, learn the language of the gods. The nine-day vision quest, considered lengthy by Huichol standards, along with several other five-day vision quests, helped to establish him as a respected initiate within the Huichol nation.
Who are the Huichol people?
The Huichol Indians are a small tribe of approximately 35,000 living in central western Mexico near Ixtlan in the Sierra Madre Mountains. They are said to be the last tribe in North America to have maintained their pre-Columbian traditions. Their shamans and healers practice today as they have for generations. In part, their survival is due to the focus of their traditions, as well as their remote mountainous territory. The Huichol way of life continues today much as it has for thousands of years. Still without electricity or running water, the Huichol people rely on their relationship with nature to sustain their communities.
Huichol is a term given by the Spanish. In their own language, they refer to themselves as VIRARICA, which translates as “The Healing People.” The Huichol were once considered a Nation of Shamans. Today, there are still many shamans who continue to perform ceremonies and heal the people.
What is shamanic healing and how does it work?
Ancient shamanic healing techniques have been passed down for thousands of years. Today, shamans continue to heal through shamanic methods and practices that work with an individuals spiritual and physical energy; realigning a patient’s energy.
What does Dance of the Deer Foundation do?
The Dance of the Deer Foundation is dedicated to the continued survival of the ancient indigenous way of the Huichol. Brant Secunda and Don José Matsuwa founded our organization with this vision and today, we continue to support the Huichol people and their culture.
Don José emphasized to Brant that the cultural survival of the Huichol people depended upon external awareness of the Huichol way of life. In 1979, Brant Secunda established the Dance of the Deer Foundation Center for Shamanic Studies to disseminate and preserve Huichol culture, practices, and traditions, and to provide direct assistance with the goal of promoting self-sufficiency and economic independence.
As executive director of the Dance of the Deer Foundation, Brant Secunda instituted and maintains the functions of the foundation and conducts seminars, pilgrimages, and retreats on Huichol shamanism worldwide.
What is the Huichol Foundation?
The Huichol Foundation was started in order to expand the long-standing project for the Huichol Indians and to garner greater international support for their culture.
What is the book Fit Soul, Fit Body about?
Together with 6-time Hawaii Ironman World Champion Mark Allen, Brant founded Fit Soul Fit Body to help bring together the worlds of fitness and spirituality.
What is Shaman Chocolates?
Brant founded SHAMAN Organic Chocolates to help create direct support for the Huichol people. 100% of their profits go back to help Huichol villages.
How can I get involved?
Seminars, pilgrimages, and retreats on Huichol shamanism are offered worldwide through the Dance of the Deer Foundation. The website offers a wealth of information including the Shamanism Journal, with new articles uploaded monthly. You may also sign up for the monthly e-newsletter.
Want to learn more?
We’re happy to answer all your questions.
Types of Programs
Seminars
Seminars are a wonderful 1-day experience to connect with shamanism. You will gain a grounded understanding of what shamanism is and learn ancient tools to include in your daily life. These shorter events are also a wonderful way for those already on the shamanic path to reconnect with Brant Secunda and his teachings of Huichol culture.
During each seminar, Brant will present useful tools to embrace the spirit of nature and your inherent power as a human being. These teachings of Huichol Shamanism can provide you with a deeper understanding of the interwoven power of nature and can lead to a more fulfilling life. Seminars provide an opportunity to explore shamanism and Huichol culture in an easy-to-follow format integrated into a single day. Though seminars are shorter than many of our programs, they are a great way to take part in the shamanic circle.
Seminars Offer:
- 1-day to explore Huichol Shamanism, as taught by a world renowned teacher
- Specific teachings and tools to integrate into daily life
- Teachings of shamanic health and healing
- Spiritual exercises to rejuvenate the mind and awaken the soul
- Sacred Dance of the Deer ceremony to honor all of creation
Workshops
Retreats
Journeys
Intensive Study
Your Shamanic Journey
