A Medicine Bag For Ruby - Part One

My Godaughter Ruby was born nearly a year ago now to my closest friend and cousin, Becks. During the pregnancy, I was asked to search for a Totem for the unborn child. I entered the Sacred Circle, called in Spirit and began my quest. What I returned with, was not what I expected...the child would be blessed and guided, by the Totem animal Giraffe.


While wondering how to explain this to my Cousin, she rang me..."I've had the weirdest dream," she said. I was trapped inside the belly of a Giraffe and had to find my way out! While I always knew that we shared a very close bond, I had not anticipated that she would pick up the energy that was being created between Ruby and I, as I journeyed on her behalf. As I had entered my trance, Becky had slept, and between us we had arrived at the same vision.


Not knowing much about the energetic qualities of the Giraffe, I did some research, this is what I found: The Giraffe enables its bearer to stretch, reaching new heights of achievement, creating a bridge to new realms and perceptions; to look at or view things in a new way; to learn to use thier inner vision and act on their intuition, their instincts; and to think ahead when doing or planning something.


Unsuprisingly, when Ruby was finally born, she topped the height charts and has continued to do so ever since.


Nearly a year on, I am more aware of Ruby's gifts and Personal Medicine, I am now ready to create her Medicine Bag...





I begin the process by reconnecting to my original vision, pulling the picture of Ruby's personal Totem, into my mind. Once I have a clear impression of any unique features or markings, I usually then scan around at other pictures to get an idea of bone structure and movement. This allows me to bead in the same direction, that the animals hair would naturally grow. I then outline my impressions...


This is my sketch for Ruby's Medicine Bag, the next step is to chose the leather and beads that I will use, then I can begin. The entire process is done in Sacred Circle, with the blessing of those Spirits that would wish Ruby well and aid me to draw both power and protection into the finished Bag.

I'm moving on to the next step...I'll keep you posted!

Eat, Pray, Love... The Shaman's Dream Bowl.

I have recently started reading the novel, Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, which my Sister lent me a few days ago. I have only read the first few chapters but am already gripped and compelled to write!

The author, who also happens to be the main character, has begun a journey of Spiritual discovery, and has just been informed by a friend that it is perfectly acceptable to petition the Universe, Great Spirit, Buddha, Allah or God, (depending on you personal Spiritual beliefs) for those things that you do or don't want, occurring in your life.


This is something that I used to do quite regularly, but somewhere along the line, I forgot....

As a practising Shaman I use a Dream Bowl, that I made especially for this purpose. I keep a separate bowl of mixed crystals and chose one at random to pray with or charge, before placing it in the bowl and sending my prayers, dreams or wishes to Spirit. During the Dark of the Moon the bowl is emptied, cleaned, and the crystals cleansed, ready to begin afresh with the New Moon. Many people have added their dreams to mine over the years, and some with great, even miraculous success.





So here I begin again:

Great Spirit,
Hear me,

Hear this Daughter of Earth, this child of Spirit,
Hear my call.

I have a dream Great Spirit,

I dream of self-sufficiency.

To have land and a home,

A home that is large enough to open to others.

This dream is not just for myself Great Spirit,

I would like the opportunity to help others.
To be a Mother to those not blessed with one of their own,
And teach these children to walk gently on the Earth,

I would wish to grant these children relief Great Spirit,

To free them from those experiences that have brought them pain and doubt.

To guide them and grant them the skills for their Journey,

So that they to, may walk their path with Heart.

I am but a Little Fish Great Spirit,
A Little Fish who would like to make a difference,
To cast a ripple across the pond,
And create a wave upon the lake.

So this is my petition to you Great Spirit,

Grant me the means to purchase some land.

Send me your blessings in this venture Great Spirit,

Help me find my dreams a home.

Aho

..............................................

The premise of this particular exercise is to ask those you love, or those that would wish your prayers to be answered, to add their signatures affirming their support. These people can be in this world or the next, and do not necessarily have to be people that you know personally. It is enough that you believe that they would wish for you to be granted that which you are asking for, this allows you to add signatures on their behalf.

So I ask myself, Who would sign this?

My Partner Alex would sign this.
My Children would sign this.
My Mother would sign this.
My Brother and his Wife would sign this.
My Cousin Becky and her Husband would sign this.
My Cousin Anna would sign this.
My Neighbour Sophie would sign this.
Mother Teresa would sign this.
Florence Nightingale would sign this.
My Grandmother would sign this.
My Grandfather would sign this.
My Aunts and Uncles would sign this.
My friends, Rach, Angela, Natalie and Michelle, would definitely sign this.
Elizabeth Gilbert would sign this.
My Sisters would sign this.
My Father would sign this.
My Nan would sign this.
My In-Laws would sign this.
My Shamanic Teacher would sign this.
My old Friend Caroline would sign this.
My Favourite French Teacher Mr Gosling, would sign this.
The old Crowd from the Shire Horse Centre would sign this.
Tim, Mark, Vicky, Cheryl, Martin, Ryan and Helen, would sign this.
Dorothy and Micheal would sign this.
The Friends I made at University would sign this.
My Fairyland Friends from face book, would sign this.
Those that I have loved and lost, along roads less travelled, would sign this.

Would you sign it?

Please feel free to add your name or those you believe would sign this petition in my comments, and I will gratefully update them to my list.

If you'd like to write a petition of your own for the Dream Bowl, leave me a link and I will gladly post them, lets make a difference to our lives, spread a little happiness, and make our wishes come true!

Crow Medicine Bag

I created this bag for my Mother's 60th birthday, the Crow is her birth and Ancestral Totem but I equally liked the interplay of it being her Croning (Crow-ning) year, so I felt like an appropriate gift. It took me nearly a year to make this particular bag, some of that arose due to problems sourcing the materials and beads that I wanted but also because I found the energy of my Ancestral line quite overwhelming at times.

I am about to begin a bag for my God Daughter's first Birthday, which gives me only a month to complete it. I thought I would Blog it as a work in progress, to show how each bag is put together, and how it develops week by week.

Totem Spirit Designs

I am pleased to say that courtesy of my fellow blogger Selchie, who can be found at http://womanwithmen.blogspot.com/ or http://purpleshaggycows.blogspot.com/ I have now managed to upload some of my creations!

Each of these Medicine Bags were based on the unique characteristics of the Totem Animals of their bearers. I have included two images of each of the bags, to provide an overall view and depict the detail of the work. Each bag is handcrafted, and each bead individually sewn!

I have just finished a Crow Medicine Bag, which I will be uploading to add to the collection soon.

Having recently received inspiration at http://soulshamans.blogspot.com/ I shall be beginning my next creation shortly...watch this space!

On The Cusp...

I'm lying on the cusp,
darkness, daybreak,
wakefulness and sleep.

He unfolds before me,
tall, taller than my father.
A bare chest blazoned with a glimmer of steel.

Hair shaken, drifts across his shoulders,
my eyes wander and absorb.
He is beautiful, I muse.

Sinews stretched,
contours shimmer,
I gasp bewildered by my gaze.

Before thought, before breath,
As it reaches for me,
the bullwhip cracks.

Vibrations resonate,
forces throw me,
shaken I wonder what's occurred.

A third eye throbs,
waiting, anticipation,
words slosh like soup inside my mind.

Illusion dispersed,
reality reinstated,
Crack, the spell within snaps.

A chuckle breaks the silence,
"So, Do fish swim?"
This one does, it's free.

A New Adventure

Today the first step was taken on a new adventure; a path that once diverged has met again. I don't know what this means, or question its presence in the greater scheme of things but I welcome the opportunity to walk my path with heart. I carry with me the hopes of meeting those that I have journeyed with before and the expectation of meeting future fellow travellers, the players of the game that we call LIFE.