Tools, tools, tools!

I am indeed well returned from my phenomenal two-week Healing Intensive workshop, and have tools to show. One of the teachers came down the weekend right after our intensive and conducted a toolmaking workshop for our drumming circle, and I was able to then continue work on the tools I'd been directed to make in my journeys while at the Intensive.

At the top is a brazier for smudging that I made out of a piece of scrap copper. I did this piece really just to get the hang of the bowl shaping tool. Quite easy, actually, but once it was done I thought that I could make a little smudge holder out of it and it is now sitting on my altar.

I made the spoon next out of copper also. I used beating tools to shape it. It is used as an auxiliary tool in my soul-retrieval work.

Third is the cube shaped rattle that I managed. I'm fairly proud of this one. The handle is made from a piece of maple from a sapling that got uprooted when I pitched the tent at my power spot on the hill behind the house. It asked to be turned into something useful.

The next two are of an extraction knife I made from a calcite crystal and antler. The armature is one long piece of brass wire, and in my journeys to the tools and toolmaker I was shown that it needed to intertwine a lot. The wiring took me forever.

Next is a small beaded bag to hold protective herbs while doing healing work. I cut the pieces from deerskin, sewed the bottom seam and inner flap tube with artificial sinew and then beaded the rest of it together. Since this picture was taken I've cut the fringe again in half to make it thinner and have added a third strand to the part that goes around the neck.

Penultimate is a feather fan. The two turkey feathers that match almost perfectly were gifted to me within days of each other. The first was gifted to me by a visitor to the drumming circle, and the other was gifted to me by BearToast Joe when I visited him before the intensive. The blue feather was gifted to me by an African Grey Macaw while I was feeding him during a two-week period when his person was away, and the black raven feather I found when I was in Vancouver in August of 2006 at the Baroque workshop there.

Last is the feather fan I made first, constructed of found feathers over a period of about three years and one gifted feather. The downy owl feather that is on the front was sitting on the sidewalk in front of my bank one windy day. How it didn't blow away nor get trampled before I found it is anyone's guess. It must have been meant for me :-)

I now completely understand about "power" objects. Once you've spent this much time, energy and life essence on a tool, it contains a part of you and becomes part of you. These tools are truly "mine" in the sense that they feel as if they "belong" to me. They definitely respond to my moods and to my hand.

I have other tools under construction; a staff of Black Willow the design of which was given in journey about a year and a half ago. Its middle is split into five splines, twisted, and the cage that that makes contains a calcite crystal as well. It's bound while drying so that the quarter twist in the splined part will dry and stay in place. When I journeyed to the little Willow grove at the stream next to the workshop on the day we made tools, it was absolutely clear which tree wanted to be used. AND when I asked what it wanted to be gifted in return, the answer was: "Blood. Either now or later." So ... I pricked my finger and gave it a healthy drop. I figured that was safer than sawing off a finger later in the day ...

There is also a, ahem, spherical rattle used for working with Moon energies. It sort of turned out looking like a tumor on a stick so I didn't include pictures of it here. Maybe when it's painted it'll look better ... :-) There is also a little "soul boat" made of deer humerus that's used in soul-retrieval work; it's really a soul-catcher similar in some ways with the ones found in the Salish healing culture. Mine's just as it is in my journey: it needed to be hollow, open at both ends, and with a closable lid. I've been directed to make wooden stoppers for the ends. I'm not so happy with the leather work that I used to give it its hinge or the seal between lid and body so I've not included a picture of it either. The Salish soul-catchers (I've just found out) are made of bone, usually bear leg bone and are open at each end and closed with a cedar bark stopper.

I had a lot of fun making these, and am still having fun putting finishing touches on them. I'm going to bead the handles of the rattles and paint things and generally give them some more finishes. There are some updates to my drums that will happen eventually, too.

I'm so crafty.

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