Hello,
Actually there is missing an Official Guide for Shamanism Roleplay in WoW. What you mostly get is how you can get the best benefit out of the capabilities of the Shaman and how to level up quickly.
But to actually play the role of a Shaman you need more in-depth information about what are his beliefs, his values and his motivations.
Playing on different private WoW-Server I found that the best background informations are hidden in the little daily quests as they are called and so enjoyed them very much as to learn more about the real Character.
Luckily we have this information gathered through data-mining in wowhead.com at our disposition. Only I don't know to which degree it is complete and shows you all the Shaman Quests available.
http://www.wowhead.com/class=7#quests
Reading all those little explanation helps you understanding how a WoW Shaman really is meant to work.
Quest "Rune-Inscribed Note":
"
I do understand the elements, and I can speak to the spirits of our people. I will teach you to do the same.
"
Quest "Rune-Inscribed Parchment":
"
you have been chosen: chosen to lead the spiritual lives of our people.
"
"
You will be the conduit in which our ancestors communicate. You will have the power of the elements at your beck and call.
"
Quest "Empowered Rune"
"
even here in remote Coldridge, the sprits are rebelling. The land is crying out for help. Yet still, even in times such as these, the spirits will always turn an ear to those who ask for their assistance.
"
Quest "The Arts of a Shaman":
"
As ya grow in powah, you begin ta discovah the voices of da ancestahs speakin' to ya, teachin' you dere secrets. Tha first of 'dese is to focus tha power of da elements into yer weapon.
"
From all these Quotes I can learn 2 source on which the power of the Shaman is based and where he gets his guidances, directions and motivations from.
1) the Spirits of the Ancestors:
The Shaman looks on the Spirits of the Dead Ancestors for Guidance and Direction. He actually speaks to them.
2) the Elements of the Nature.
The Shaman controls the Elements of Nature and uses their Power to perform his overnatural deeds.
"the sprits are rebelling. The land is crying out for help." is an interesting quote as it permits different interpretations.
- "the spirits" are the Spirits of the Ancestors and they are griefed about what happened to the land.
- "the land is crying" as the Shaman can feel that the Elements of Nature are shattered and need help to get into ballance again.
- "the spirits of the land are crying" as there would be astral beings behind the Elements of Nature or as if the Elements of Nature would manifest as spirits or astral beings.
We have seen often the Elementals NPCs in-world that are a manifestation of the Elements of Nature. They are often explained as the Elements of Nature being out of balance and provoking those manifestations.
So we can explain the quote "the land is crying" as the Elements of Nature are shattered and have provoked astral Elemental manifestations.