Lets dive in.What's meant by shadows?In certain countries there's a belief that someone can steal your shadow, perform magic on it and harm you.The Ancient Egyptians had complicated directions for burying their dead due to the deeds a shadow or soul of a person had to undertake to transition from the afterlife successfully. Reciting certain scripts could obtain the shadow of a person and force it to perform deeds, similar to the enlivend Kratt creature in the Estonian folklore film November (2017)Sleep paralysis is meant to be a form of stasis of the body where an incubus could vampirically steal your breath by sitting on you and preventing you from moving.The scientific fact for this phenomenon is a disconnect temporarily between the brain in its waking and deep sleeping state and usually occurs when an individual is stressed or very tired.In Asian countries they call it pressing or choking and the Hmong indigenous people beleive it can cause death when performed by a shaman.Northern Thai peoples also belive dark side witches work with shadows.
To transition from shadows to shapeshifting I have uploaded a very interesting video narrated by a Dine guy about Navaho shapeshifters.The information about ceremonies performed by Navaho Shamans is of course secret and for good reason. Power belongs in the hands of those who know how to use it.Its beleived they wear animal skins and take on the attributes of the animal once shapeshifted.The consequences of that can be very serious and not to be trifled with.