> There are a few references to shamanic integration in the Guide (eg The High Shamanic Ideal is that a person can ...integrate the proper spirits into his shamanic self...). In Hero Wars: Roleplaying in Glorantha, integration was a process by which an animist magician made a spirit become part of an embodied being, such that the spirit ceased to become an independent entity, and became part of that being, generally granting a magical Talent. Talents are still in HeroQuest 2, but are now regarded as something that are innate, gained in character creation (or birth/childhood), rather than something that can be acquired. Rules for animist magic talk about spirits in Charms, etc, but nothing about Talents, which appear now entirely separate.
> So, if 'integration' is still a thing shamans do, what is it, both in practical, spiritual, and rules terms?
Based on the work I've done with the Praxian tradition, looking at other traditions, and my experience of this in the real world:
Integration in this context is having the correct spirits of your tradition supporting you in your work as Charms or Followers. If you have the correct ones it can ultimately lead to progressing through spirit-talker to becoming a shaman. If your spirits aren't supportive in this - you aren't going to become a shaman, as they aren't going to support you through your initiation and in your work. As a result of your initiation you get a specific spirit helper - a fetch (sidekick). This is all straightforward stuff about being a shaman covered by both HQ2 and RQ6 in their rules.
Beyond this, becoming a more powerful shaman is not just dependent on having greater spirits helping you. A different state of mind is needed to transcend the boundaries of your tradition's spirit world. This is akin to illumination/enlightenment/transcendence, it's a narrative effect and should be the result of a hard quest, that results in the discovery of the spirit realm beyond the current one, Getting help to do this is very important. However:
Interestingly (for me) some real world shaman have access to the next levels from their initiation - it defines their practice. I had the good fortune to work with an Altai shaman some years ago. He was a white shaman of the 12th heaven. As a white shaman he only worked in the upper (sky) world - as opposed to the black shaman who only work in the lower (under) world, and black-white shaman who only work in the middle (inner) world. As a 12th heaven shaman he was a cosmic shaman who had access to the power of the whole cosmos - as he said "like Jesus, buddha and Vishnu". Whereas the shaman of levels 8-11 couldn't access this power. This came to him in his initiation. (levels 1 to 7 of the Cosmos are accessible to everyday people of the tradition). When I asked him what was beyond the 12th level, he said "nothing of course, what is beyond the cosmos for us".
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