Free online course with Pål-Esben Wanvig

Nature’s Path to Freedom and Self-Realization

Shamanism, rituals and rune magic. Twilight between two worlds.

Fourteen lessons on what shamanism really is, what it is not, and why so many feel that life should be something more.

I started out as a skeptical engineer myself. In the course I tell the story of the path from there to what I teach today, and give you a down-to-earth introduction: how modern people lose contact with themselves, what rituals and rune magic actually do, and what nature can teach you about yourself.

You need no prior knowledge, and you do not have to believe in anything. The course is free. The English version will be ready in November or December 2026; leave your email, and I will tell you when it is.

Get notified See what you learn

Fourteen video lessons, two and a half hours in all. Recorded in Norwegian; the English version comes in November or December 2026.

The course is for you who

Is this something for you?

You are curious, but skeptical

Shamanism has never seemed like something for you, and yet here you are. That is how I thought too, until my body said stop in 2003. In the course you get an explanation that stands up to an engineer’s questions, without having to believe in anything at all.

You have everything, yet feel an emptiness

A job, a house, a family, maybe a cabin. And still a voice saying there must be something more. In the course I explain where that voice comes from, why it is worth listening to, and what happens when we put a lid on it.

You are considering Yggdrasil Shamanic School

Do you want to know what I teach, how the school is built up and whether it is right for you? The online course is the first step on the path of training, and you must have gone through it before you can apply for admission.

The content

Fourteen lessons, two and a half hours

The course is built up as one long conversation: from my own background, via what shamanism is and is not, to the magic, the runes and the path back to your true nature. At the end I tell you about Yggdrasil Shamanic School, so you know what awaits if you want to go further.

The background

  1. 01IntroductionTwilight between two worlds: the engineer’s and the shaman’s. My own path from the collapse in 2003, via the search for the best practitioners, to the teaching as it is today.21 min
  2. 02How modern people become illAbout the joyful child, the imprints that shape us, the hamster wheel, and why we need ever stronger impulses to feel anything. And about healthy skepticism: do not believe, try.25 min

What shamanism is, and is not

  1. 03What is shamanismThousands of traditions, the word “one who knows”, the völvas and seiðmenn of our own Norse past, and the difference between heart-based and fear-based shamanism. That is why I call what I teach primordial shamanism.22 min
  2. 04Misconceptions about shamanismNot for a chosen few, no drugs, no extreme experiences and no religion. What the shamanic death actually means, and why I have never met evil forces.8 min
  3. 05The path to healingThe recipe, in short: reversing the imprints and bringing nature’s healthy rhythms back into everyday life.2 min

Magic and runes

  1. 06What is shamanic magicDestructive and constructive magic, the ritual that influences a life process, and why magic never lives your life for you. With an example about selling a house, and about why black magic is nothing to fear.21 min
  2. 07Rune magicThe runes are not an alphabet. About “dangerous runes”, how they have been misused in recent times, and the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark as the building blocks and tuning forks of creation.11 min

The path back to your true nature

  1. 08A journey of development back to your true natureUniting the material and the metaphysical world, and what happens when nature’s rhythms become part of us again.2 min
  2. 09Our inner expansionThe voice that says there must be something more. Evolution as our innermost nature, the lid modern people put on it, and the emptiness that follows.7 min
  3. 10What is our true natureThe grain of sand and the Sahara: what we think we are, and what we really are. About freedom without fear, and about coming home.4 min

Yggdrasil Shamanic School

  1. 11The foundations of Yggdrasil Shamanic SchoolThe Path of the Heart and nature’s healthy rhythms, the tools, initiations from day one, the Seven Golden Keys, the best of two worlds, objective results and a safe environment.10 min
  2. 12The Yggdrasil training systemWho the training programs are for, the ways to begin, the basic training and the path onward, and how the personal follow-up works in practice.15 min
  3. 13The soul’s epic journeyAn invitation to the online course on the Soul’s Epic Journey, where the power animal Hummingbird takes you on a simple shamanic journey.1 min
  4. 14ClosingThat is why the course is called Nature’s Path to Freedom and Self-Realization.1 min

Durations are rounded to the nearest minute.

How it works

The course in practice

01

Fourteen video lessons

You watch the lessons online when it suits you, on your phone, tablet or computer, and can watch them as many times as you like. Two and a half hours in all, in lessons from one to 25 minutes.

02

Nothing to believe in

I ask you neither to believe in me nor in shamanism. Healthy skepticism is a good starting point: hear what I say, try what speaks to you, and put the rest aside.

03

An honest first step

The course is also my way of getting acquainted. In the last lessons I tell you about Yggdrasil Shamanic School and the training programs, so you know what awaits if you want to go further. You commit to nothing.

Pål-Esben Wanvig smiling at the camera.

The teacher

Twilight between two worlds

I am an engineer, and for many years I thought the alternative was not for me. In December 2003 my body collapsed. The doctors found nothing, and I had to look elsewhere. That was the start of more than twenty years of studies in shamanism, functional medicine and psychology, and I have been teaching since 2004.

The course’s subtitle describes where I stand: in the twilight between the engineer’s world, with modern science, technology and medicine, and the shaman’s world, with ancient philosophy and methods. At Yggdrasil Shamanic School I unite the two, so that the mystical becomes understandable and possible to try out for yourself.

Read my story

Student experiences

What the students say

The way I teach is the same in the free online course as in the training programs. This is how two of the students describe it.

“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

Read Karianne’s review

“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

Read Monica’s review

These are two of many. On the testimonials page you will find more feedback and interviews with students on my courses and training programs.

Read more testimonials

After the course

The first step on a longer path

The online course is the way into Yggdrasil Shamanic School. Everything begins here: when you have gone through the course, you can apply for the introductory course and the basic training.

The path of training

  1. Free online course
  2. The basic training
  3. Senior shaman training
  4. The Primordial Shamanic Path to Unity and Spiritual Enlightenment
  5. Teacher training

The English version of the course will be ready in November or December 2026. In 2027 I plan to teach the introductory course Awaken Your Inner Primordial Shaman and the basic training live for the first English group, and admission opens for those who have gone through the free online course. If you leave your email above, you will hear about both.

All the courses are online courses with personal follow-up from me on video. How many conversations are included, and what it costs, is stated on the page for each course.

See the courses and training programs at Yggdrasil Shamanic School

Practical

Good to know

Nothing. The course is free, and you commit to nothing.

The lessons last two and a half hours in all. You watch them when it suits you, at your own pace, and can come back to them as often as you like.

The lessons are recorded in Norwegian. The English version will be ready in November or December 2026; leave your email above, and I will tell you when it is. 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. Everything begins with the free online course, and admission to the other courses opens after it.

No. The course is made for you who are new, and I explain the terms along the way. If you have experience already, you get an insight into how I think and teach.

No. I ask you neither to believe in me nor in shamanism. Hear what I say, and feel whether it rings true for you. I started out as a skeptical engineer myself, and that is still how I teach.

Your first name and email address are used to notify you and for my newsletter, which you can unsubscribe from at any time. Your details are never passed on. Read the privacy policy.

No. The online course is the first step for everyone. There I tell you what I stand for and how the training programs are built up, so we both know what we are getting into before we spend time together.

No. At Yggdrasil Shamanic School neither drugs nor psychedelic substances are used. The development happens through your own work and guidance.

No. The course is teaching in personal and spiritual development. If you are seeking help for illness or health problems, you should contact a doctor or other qualified health professional.

Your first step

Curiosity is a good place to begin.

Fourteen lessons, two and a half hours, no obligations. The English version is coming in November or December 2026; leave your email, and I will tell you when it is ready.

You are warmly welcome.

Get notified Listen to the podcast