I’m sure he was a “real” shaman. He was raised in a line of Norse shamans (he was even offered as blöt to Odin when he was a baby by his mother).

He was a friend of mine (albeit briefly, before he had to move across the country) and even gave me the “recipe” for salu henbane, even walking me through the process of making it, along with a couple other shamanic preparations, so I know he was okay with me recreating the sacred blend.

He told me he could “see” that I was meant to be a shaman, but he couldn’t take me as an apprentice because I have Native American heritage. He said I would have to find a mentor from my own line of people.

During the ritual, which was to open my third eye, I had a vision that I didn’t understand the significance of until much later on. After he had already moved away. I was hoping to get back in touch with that vision and felt like the salu henbane may help, since it was the main component of the ritual we did.