Fees and Costs

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Fees and Costs For Shamanic Work

How Much to Charge | Fee Flexibility | What are you paying for? | Fee Ranges

How Much To Charge?

Every shamanic practitioner struggles with setting a price for shamanic work. The majority of shamanic practitioners have a heart felt desire to help and being paid is not an essential component of the work. But people often place a value on something based on how much it cost. It can be a bad idea to set the fee so low that the client doesn't take the work seriously. It is also important that the practitioner has a sense for his or her own value. The shaman healer's time is worth something. It is also important to note that the person getting healed gets as much out of it as they give. I have seen a pride on the face of clients when they have paid me, like "I did this for myself" or "I provided for myself."

In tribal societies the shamanic work might be paid in food, or livestock or other services. The main thing was that something was given for something received. Nowadays, the shamanic practitioner must take into account the economic conditions of the area they are living in. High cost of living areas mean higher prices, but what about the people who can't afford those costs? Some practitioners handle this by putting themselves on a donation basis. But in the case where a healer does have a price, they often are willing to accept another fee or an exchange of services.

Fee Flexibility

If you've been raised with a don't buy it unless you can pay for it mentality, it may be hard for you to think about offering less than a suggested price. But most shamanic healers really do not want to turn you away because of you cannot afford a fee.

The fee is all about an exchange of value. It is just like the parable where the beggar gave his last coin, and the rich man's contribution (although 10x the amount) was not as valuable as the first man's contribution. Different amounts of money have different values to different people. So its understandable that you may offer a different amount.

Some practitioners will accept an exchange of services: Do you know how to make a good flier? Are you an excellent baker? This hearkens back to the tribal societies where goods where given for shamanic healing. I know the story of a healer who lived in a remote location. She felt the extreme effort involved in getting to her home, was a fair exchange for the healing work.

The important thing is that you offer what you feel the healing is worth. Shamanic healing is a situation where what you offer has an effect on the healing. The giving of the exchange fee or item has an opening effect on you energetically. If you are stingy that will close you up, blocking the healing pathway. When you give freely it also gives the spirits the message that this person is here, she is committed to this, and they will then work on your behalf in the spirit of your own commitment.

What are you paying for?

There is more work going on than meets the eye. And in case your wondering what that is, I thought I'd try and explain it to you. Depending on the depth of the healing the shaman healer will have to prepare him or herself. She or he has to put out a strong call to the spirits to come to aid in the healing. The healer has to call to the energy of the healing and begin drawing it towards himself. She may have to go on diagnostic journeys. Sometimes a lot of preparation has gone into the healing before the healer has the healing session with you. A good healer knows he must come into the healing session with the right state of mind. And may spend some time meditation or centering before she arrives/you arrive.

If the work is a shamanic extraction it may take a lot of effort on the healer's part to remove the blocks from you. The shamanic practitioner has to build themselves up to be a strong enough magnet to pull the misplaced energy out of you. If the work is a soul retrieval she may need to put a good amount of effort into the search to find your missing pieces. Some healers will not charge you for additional sessions to complete a healing, so that follow up work may be included.

When a shamanic practitioner has a healing session or teaches a workshop he or she creates an energetic container. That means a shamanic healer expands her own energetic field (which would normally be a few inches to a foot from their body) until it encompasses the whole room or the entire building in some cases. That container is then filled with the healing energy he has called and the healing energy of the spirits which he then holds there for the length of the healing and sometimes afterwards for a time. The shaman provides the a pathway so the helping spirits can stay anchored in the room. With each additional person being added to a healing ceremony or a workshop it takes that much more effort to hold the healing space, and the space needs to be that much bigger and stronger. The better container the more effort that is involved to build and hold it, but the better the container the much deeper the healing for the one(s) being healed.

Fees Ranges

Ugh, a tricky topic. I'll to give you some idea of fees within the US, keeping in mind they vary with location. Some people will charge a flat fee for all services, some will ask for a donation. But in cases fees are graduated: generally soul retrieval, and then shamanic extraction will be more then divination, power animal retrieval, or a general healing (like drumming for you.) Soul retrieval, de-possession, and extraction are more taxing on the healer then divination or power animal retrieval. House clearing or land clearing will vary with the difficulty of clearing the energy, how stuck and heavy it is.

Nationally famous healers charge more, and may not be open to negotiation. But for the average healer, assuming the healer is not on a donation basis:

Soul Retrieval seems to be anywhere from $40 to $350. The lower prices tend to be because the healer is trying to be sure no one is turned way due to cost. The higher prices probably apply in high cost of living areas. Also, if the healer has a building they have overhead.

Shamanic Extraction $40 - $250.

Divination - $20 - $125

Power animal retrieval - $40 - 150.

Per hour - $40 to $125

This is really the best I can do for you. I am trying to give you an idea so you have a general idea of range. But as you can see it is difficult with the large ranges. Perhaps to have a starting point for what might be reasonable in your area, look up what massage costs are and use the two hour costs for soul retrieval/extraction and the one hour costs for divination and power animal retrieval.

Fees and Costs

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