Andrews, Lynn

   Best-selling author and neo-shaman based in Los Angeles; she has written 18 books, including Medicine Woman (1983), Jaguar Woman (1985), and Dark Sister: A Sorcerer’s Love Story (1995). These books introduce readers to Andrews’s personal spiritual transformation from an LA art dealer to a 21st-century neoshaman after encountering teachers Agnes Whistling Elk and Ruby Plenty Chiefs, who, according to Andrews, are Native American members of the Sisterhood of the Shields, a group of 44 indigenous women who preserve the secrets of their female shamanic traditions. Andrews offers personal consultations, lectures, and workshops in international locations from Egypt to Hawaii, and in 1994 she established the Lynn Andrews Center for Sacred Arts and Training (Mystery School) offering a four-year professional certification program and bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees. The existence of Andrews’s teachers and the authenticity of her shamanic teachings have been challenged by scholars, styling her as a female Carlos Castaneda, and the American Indian Movement and many Native American leaders have publicly denounced her.