The Heyoka Empath: Is It A Real Thing?

These days, the term Heyoka empath gets thrown around a lot, usually to describe someone highly sensitive, has a sarcastic sense of humor, and heals through chaos. Even trying to find information about Heyokas is a riddle, with many people claiming they are one…

Sounds edgy, but here’s the thing. Most of what’s being shared about the Heyoka is completely off base.

The Heyoka is the spirit of contrary and duality that’s associated with Native American traditions (but a similar archetype is found all over, it’s a universal). It’s not a trendy personality label or something you can claim because you’re a little bit quirky. The spirit of the Heyoka works through an individual who is ordained to ‘be the Heyoka’ of the tribe.

I became familiar with this term when working in shamanic medicine communities in the Andes for 9 months, and learned that there’s so much depth and nuance here that is seldom explored.

So, here I’m going to share my understanding of what a Heyoka is without all the riddles, and offer a more balanced, spiritual perspective of what this spirit is, and how it works through certain people.

My Encounter With the Spirit of Heyoka

AI artwork representing the Heyoka

Heyoka is a word that’s sometimes thrown around in shamanic communities, and is often…