Yggdrasil Shamanic School · Primordial shamanism for modern life
Do you feel that life should be something more?
Maybe you long for more meaning, real joy in life, or a deeper connection with yourself and with nature.
I take that longing seriously. At Yggdrasil Shamanic School you learn primordial shamanism step by step, through teaching, practical exercises and your own experiences in nature. You don’t need to believe anything in advance. You try it for yourself and notice what rings true.
Three ways in
What are you looking for?
Courses and training
Yggdrasil Shamanic School
Primordial shamanism for modern life. Read about how the teaching works, about the path from the first course to the advanced training programs, and about where you can begin.
Burnout
The way out of burnout
I hit the wall myself in 2003, and for more than twenty years I have helped people find their way out of burnout. Read about what burnout is, why it strikes, and what actually helps on the way back.
One-to-one guidance
Life guidance
What if your guide had been a civil engineer, had hit the wall himself, and had spent more than twenty years on shamanism, natural medicine, psychology and modern science? I offer personal life guidance, as single sessions or as a longer program.
Podcast with Pål-Esben Wanvig
The Journey to Self-Realization
A primordial shamanic journey of development back to your true nature
The easiest way to get to know me and the teaching is to listen.
I make the podcast together with Amina, who herself started as a student at Yggdrasil Shamanic School. We talk about what happens when you begin to work on yourself: the questions that come up, the work it takes, and what we discover along the way.
The podcast has more than 40 episodes in five seasons: The Path of the Heart, Life and Death, Shamanic Magic, The Path to Spiritual Enlightenment, and Answers to Listeners’ Questions. You don’t need any prior knowledge to listen. The episodes are recorded in Norwegian. English transcripts are being published episode by episode.
New listener?
Episode 2
Begin with nature’s rhythms
Amina and I talk about activity and rest, about the wisdom of winter, and about what happens to us when we live in summer mode all year round. Amina tells how she went from a life at constant speed to giving stillness a place in her everyday life.
Season 1 · Full title: Nature’s Healing Power and the Spiritual Foundation · In Norwegian, with an English transcript
Nature’s Path to Freedom and Self-Realization
Curious about what primordial shamanism really is, behind the mystique and the misconceptions?
In this short online course I tell the story of my own path from skeptical engineer to teacher of primordial shamanism, and give you a first introduction to what I teach.
- What shamanism and primordial shamanism are, and what they are not.
- Common misconceptions about shamanism.
- How rituals and rune magic are used in practice.
- Why the inner longing for growth matters so much for a good life.
The lessons are recorded in Norwegian; the English version will be ready in November or December 2026. Leave your email on the course page, and I will tell you when it is.
Yggdrasil Shamanic School
A path you can walk as far as you choose
Yggdrasil Shamanic School is for you who want to learn primordial shamanism and use it in your own life, not just read about it. The teaching unites ancient shamanic wisdom with modern science and psychology, so that even the most mystical becomes understandable and possible to try for yourself.
The path of training
- Free online course
- The basic training
- The senior shaman training
- The Primordial Shamanic Path to Unity and Spiritual Enlightenment
- Teacher training
You can begin with the free online course. The basic training runs over several months, with online teaching, your own practice and personal follow-up from me. From there you can continue to the senior shaman training, to The Primordial Shamanic Path to Unity and Spiritual Enlightenment, and finally to the teacher training. All courses and training programs are so far in Norwegian. The English version of the free online course will be ready in November or December 2026, and I plan to teach the introductory course and the basic training live for the first English group in 2027.
Along the way you work with questions such as: What is really important to me? Which habits and patterns run my life? What can nature teach me about myself? In time the big questions follow: Who am I behind the roles and the expectations? What is my true nature? And what is it like to live in unity with all that is, not as a thought, but as an experience in everyday life?
Nature as the classroom
Nature shows us the rhythm between activity and rest, and it is the very textbook of primordial shamanism. You learn to listen to nature’s healthy rhythms, you work with the elements, and you take much of the teaching outdoors. The most important things rarely happen in front of a screen.
Live what you learn
Knowledge alone changes little. That is why you get rituals, rune magic and exercises you can try in your own life, and you learn to use the heart as a compass when you choose. The goal is not fine words, but changes you can feel in your everyday life.
Personal follow-up from me
In all the training programs you have personal follow-up conversations with me on video. There we adapt what you learn to your situation, and you get answers to what you are wondering about. How many conversations are included is stated on the page for each course.
Student testimonials
What is it like to be a student?
Three students talk about the teaching, the work it takes, and what they are left with.
Amina · student story
“This is not just an education. It’s a path back to yourself.”
A new life, from the inside out
Amina started the basic training expecting a simple course. It became the start of a longer journey: close one-to-one follow-up, her own experiences rather than theory, and an inner calm that holds even when life is stormy.
Amina also takes part in the podcast together with Pål-Esben. The video is in Norwegian.
“I have found calm in my life, even when life is not calm.”
Coming home to yourself
Monica describes Pål-Esben as patient and attentive, with deep knowledge that he conveys clearly. She talks about answers to questions she had carried all her life, and about a new joy in the forest, nature and the seasons.
Monica Gantenbein
Review · December 10, 2025 · Translated from Norwegian
“He teaches in a way that makes the incomprehensible comprehensible.”
Understanding yourself better
Karianne had everything she needed, yet life felt flat. She highlights Pål-Esben’s ability to make difficult subjects understandable, and the tools she now uses when life is demanding.
Karianne Langenes Klungland
Review · November 11, 2025 · Translated from Norwegian
These are three of many. On the testimonials page you will find more feedback from students on my courses and training programs.
Pål-Esben Wanvig
The teacher behind Yggdrasil Shamanic School
I am a civil engineer and worked for many years in the technology industry, convinced that logic and performance were the keys to a good life. In 2003 my body said stop. A serious burnout became the turning point that led me to shamanism, first as a skeptic, then as a student, and in time as a teacher.
I have taught since 2004 and have followed several thousand students and clients since then. What matters most to me is that the teaching is understandable, and that you can try everything yourself, in your own life. I am also the author of the book Beyond Positive Psychology: A Journey from Burnout to Enlightenment.
Before you begin
Frequently asked questions
Your first step
Get to know Yggdrasil Shamanic School
Listen to a conversation in the podcast, or read about the free online course. Take the time you need. How far you go is up to you.
You are warmly welcome.