medicine wand
when out for a little walk around the ‘hood yesterday, N began to collect natural treasures, as these little people often do. since she’s pretty into sticks and wands and her seasonal altar, making a medicine wand from her gatherings seemed like a fun idea.
medicine wands are traditionally used by native american cultures in spiritual ceremonies. generally, they include a feather, as well as sticks, leaves, flowers, crystals, or any other natural object that holds energy or meaning for a person. kids might enjoy making and playing with these wands, or placing them on their altars and using them to create sacred space. during our walk, we gathered red leaves, a green magnolia leaf, some twigs, a tiny pinecone, clover, and flowers.
when we got back home, we grabbed some yarn (any string works,) scissors, and a feather from my craft stash, since we didn’t find a feather outside, and honestly i’m a bit weirded out by avian flu and whatnot on feathers, regardless. (should i be?) traditionally, i think the feather should be the largest object with all other things placed on top of it, but our feathers were small, and took the front spot in the “medicine bouquet” as N called it.
it was tricky to gather them all together and hold them while tying yarn on it, and since my little shaman was galloping through the yard, embodying a horse spirit by this point (see photo above,) i was left to my own devices to tie it up, so i relyed on a clothes pin to hold things in place while winding the yarn tightly around the base.
it should cover about two inches or so at the bottom of the “bouquet.” you can tie the string in the front or the back, depending on your preference. i stuck an extra feather on top as i tied the last knot, which is why you can’t see my two inches of yarn in the picture below.
after you’ve created it, just hang your medicine wand upside down to dry for a few days.
enjoy the healing properties of the earth! happy earth-day month!
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