French Literature Reviews - 2026
Sylvie Dallet, Shamanism and Witchcraft: Intersecting Destinies
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
Shamanism and witchcraft are relatively well-known phenomena, documented through various studies, narratives, and testimonies. However, a comparison between them has rarely been attempted from the perspective of European history and philosophy. This well-documented essay opens up a combined approach to millennial and contemporary expressions that are at once closely related and far apart. Through a personal progression, an overlooked history of Western thought begins to take shape, despite biased or lost archives. The search for this dual spiritual figure—often obscured by religious prohibitions and/or political ideologies—opens up a starry reflection on the living world, where art, healing, and feminine roles intertwine…
Sylvie Dallet, trained as a historian and philosopher, is a university professor of arts and a painter. She directs the international research program "Ethics of Creation" (CHCSC/Institut Charles Cros) and founded the Festival des Arts Foreztiers.
Excerpts from the Introduction:
The unusual pairing of shamanism and witchcraft engages the European past with a recurring echo whose philosophical sources remain, for the most part, invisible. Shamanism (though the plural form is arguably more appropriate), discovered and described starting in the 18th century, enjoys an exotic favor, whereas witchcraft—its singular counterpart—still bears the heavy mantle of public opprobrium. Working with the mind, body, and psyche is a practice that dates back to prehistory, slowly adapting to the social mutations of our history. Over the centuries, and after much resistance, it also conformed to religious evolutions that dethroned multiple polytheisms in favor of the three Mediterranean monotheisms: Hebrew, Christian, and Muslim. UNESCO acknowledges the survival of two major polytheistic religions: the Shinto cult in Japan and the Voodoo traditions that migrated from Africa to the Antilles and Guiana via the slave trade. The list is longer still: Mongolian Tengrism, Yoruba cults, Korean and Corsican traditions, and so on. While monotheisms have coexisted with difficulty—to the point of mutual destruction—polytheisms continue to quietly nourish regional cultures through amulets, consecrated sites, and ancient folk practices rooted in the dawn of time. The ancient knowledge of this Shamanic Knowledge / Sorcerous Power duo, which feminists are currently rehabilitating, struggles to reveal itself, insofar as any knowledge derived from secrecy is a form of power. Our spiritualities wander between traditional powers and a selective, foraging creativity.
As a necessary third way, our democracies are committed to citizens' free will and the public accountability of the governments they elect. This chain of responsibility is grounded in informed consent, which takes root in the necessity of knowledge: science and critical conscience go hand in hand to define the "reality" of facts. Caught between the "religions" they distrusted and the "superstitions" they mocked, Western philosophers concerned with objective thought paid little political attention to dreams—those "old wives' tales"—except when drawing inspiration from them, much like the Romantics Charles Nodier (Silly Fairy, 1832) or George Sand (Rustic Legends, 1868). These phenomena had to wait until the 20th century to bring philosophers together beyond grand ideas. The slow advent of reason (Latin ratio according to Jung) weakened deeply rooted beliefs, leading to novel illuminations that certain researchers sought out far beyond European seas and mountains. (...)
The invocation of "witches" extends far beyond the "sorcery" of old, as it explores the experiences of traditional "midwives" from prehistory to our present century: shamanism, childbirth, rebellious freedoms, and prophetic intervention forces. The bringing of beings into the world through experience is a central motif, as is the relationship with natural elements. Associated with healing, herbs, and aromatics, these women—honored or persecuted since prehistory—undoubtedly embodied a great diversity of sensibilities and thoughts: red or nocturnal, lunar and solar, whose imagination and obscure talents remain denied precisely because they left no writings... The neo-shamanism of the early 21st century draws sustenance from the scattered knowledge that the very obscurity of spiritual practices implies. These comparative elements lead us to understand the cultural resurgence of past centuries in Europe, and particularly in the French context.
How does one begin a vague investigation that currently relies only on biased archives? While the social and spiritual forms of shamanism (Amerindian, Asian, Indian, Siberian, etc.) involving trance and healing are well documented thanks to the patient work of ethnologists, European witchcraft—primarily centered on female expression—was demonized through trials, inquisitions, and, generally speaking, calumnious denunciations. We encounter these unknown figures of European history through the codified records of their aggressors, which is hardly sufficient to reconstruct their knowledge: the invisibilization of women's spiritualities has receded like shagreen leather, having lastingly terrified millions of people. While the letter and the spirit sometimes align, this is rarely the rule, as transmission takes place under the arcane veil of a secret, unwritten knowledge. Historians and certain novelists have documented the courage of humanists who, hunted from all sides, dared to testify in writing—such as the Frenchman Rabelais, the Swiss Paracelus, or Erasmus of Rotterdam—against the madness of religious persecutions.
Table of Contents:
Introduction page 7
Chapter I
From Mythic History to Unknown History p 13
The Priestess and the Fairy p 17
The Legacy of the Celts p 21
The Female Shaman and the Saint p 27
Gendered Violence in the Modern Era p 37
Nocturnal Awakening, Trance, and Levitation p 41
Wounded Healers p 47
On the Origins of the Living World and Healing p 51
Chapter II
From Dream to Soul Journey p 59
Myths and Tales p 63
Journeys of the Soul p 69
Spirits p 75
Power Animals p 81
Spiritual Flights p 87
Souls and Manes p 93
Intersecting Portraits p 97
Chapter III
Fertile Disorders and Contemporary Resurgences p 103
A "Wild and Visionary" Ear p 109
Collective Music and Magic p 115
Shamanism and New Witches p 121
Artists, Storytellers, and Screenwriters p 125
Rediscovering the Languages of Nature p 131
The Magic of Plants p 137
The Creative Word p 143
How to Conclude? p 151
Afterword p 159
The comparative study of spiritual traditions, folk practices, and marginalized belief systems has long engaged historians and philosophers interested in the complexities of European cultural heritage. By examining how ancient healing methods, traditional rituals, and esoteric knowledge persisted alongside dominant religious structures, researchers uncover the obscured dimensions of intellectual and social history. Such inquiries often navigate difficult archival records shaped by centuries of institutional suspicion, theological prohibitions, and political regulation. Within this broader scholarly context, investigations into the convergence of diverse spiritual figures help illuminate the persistent human engagement with nature, the psyche, and community well-being across different historical epochs. This essay by Sylvie Dallet opens up a combined approach to millennial and contemporary expressions of shamanism and witchcraft from the perspective of European history and philosophy. Through a personal progression, the volume traces an overlooked history of Western thought, exploring the dual spiritual figure obscured by religious prohibitions and political ideologies. It addresses topics such as art, healing, feminine roles, the relationship with natural elements, and the cultural resurgence of past centuries in Europe, particularly within the French context. Readers interested in the intersections of spirituality, history, and gendered traditions may find this work relevant.