Really bad at knowing which is the proper forum for this question, but anyway.
Witch Patron is a concept if I understood right, it does not even have to be a self-conscious entity. Witch working under the patron Time does not work under an outsider who controls time, it is Time itself, the very concept of time, that fuels Witch and commands her. This is how I understand it.
But what exactly are Shaman spirits? Are they undead? Are they concepts too?
And then there is the Spiritualist that defines spirits in a way that they are merely souls that escaped undeath by locking themselves to hosts. So what are the shaman spirits? Are they souls of people or concepts?