The Shamanic Wand

Variety of Wands

Many modern shamanic and esoteric practices include the use of a ritual wand. The wand is an instrument of invocation of spirits and serves primarily to direct spiritual energy. Healing energy can be mentally transmitted through the wand and out into the environment or into a patient's body. Prayer and intention can be broadcast to the spirit world. It may serve as a divination tool, extraction aide, and purifying device.

The wand dates back to prehistoric times. Some of the first depictions of a wand come from Egypt, in the hands of the Pharaohs. The Greek god Hermes is depicted with a caduceus, a winged wand or staff with two snakes coiled around it. In Celtic mythology, the so-called "Triple" or "Triadic" Goddesses are often seen or depicted with wands. Scholars believe that the origin of the wand derives from the shaman's drumstick. And if this hypothesis is correct, why would the drum no longer have been used in conjunction with the wand (beater)?

The most likely answer may lie in the fact that throughout history in different cultures around the world the traditional practice of shamanism has often been outlawed and driven underground. In a recent post, blogger and author David Warner Mathisen presented the argument that the shamanic worldview is an integral part of the shared history of all humanity, but that this worldview has been deliberately stolen and suppressed. The shamanic worldview was perceived as an extremely potent threat -- to the point that possession of a shamanic drum has in almost every case been outlawed, and a policy of confiscation and destruction of drums implemented. Hence, the percussive use of the drum became impracticable in populated areas due to its distinctive sound.

Any authentic shaman would have always found a way to continue his or her practice of the shamanic arts. When Tuvan drums were being confiscated and destroyed during the times of Soviet repression, some shamans used only their rattle beater or orba for rituals. In Tuva (southern Siberia), the orba, with its spoon-shaped head covered with animal fur and metal rings attached for rattling, is in part for practicing divination, purifying sacred space for ritual, and drawing the attention of the spirits. Working in this way, shamans would have been able to covertly continue their practices.

In the shaman's world, all things have spirit and everything is alive. Like the shaman's drum, the drumstick or wand is imbued with spiritual purpose and becomes a living presence. Since the objects are then considered to be alive, they function as spirit helpers and guides to the shaman in their work. To guide you in making your own ritual wand and other sacred implements, I highly recommend the book, A Spirit Walker's Guide to Shamanic Tools by Evelyn C. Rysdyk.

A Shaman's Perspective on Western Civilization

Davi Kopenawa has been dubbed the Dalai Lama of the Rainforest and is considered one of the most influential tribal leaders in Brazil. The Yanomami number about 30,000 and occupy a vast territory stretching across northern Brazil and southern Venezuela. They only made full contact with the west in the 1950s when their lands were overrun by thousands of gold prospectors and loggers. After waves of epidemics and cultural and environmental devastation, one in three of all Yanomami, including Davi's mother, died.

Davi's experience of white people has been dreadful but he is unusual because he trained not just as a shaman but also worked with the Brazilian government as a guide and learned western languages. In the past 25 years, he has traveled widely to represent indigenous peoples in meetings and, having lived in both societies, he has a unique viewpoint of western culture. With the help of an anthropologist, Bruce Albert, who interviewed him over several years, he has written his autobiography The Falling Sky: Words of a Yanomami Shaman. It is not just an insight into what a Yanomami leader really thinks, but a devastating critique of how the west lives, showing the gulf between primordial forest and modern city world views. By way of his autobiography, and other conversations, the Guardian News recently compiled several of Kopenawa's observations. Read More.

Bird Medicine: The Sacred Power of Bird Shamanism

Evan T. Pritchard, author of Bird Medicine: The Sacred Power of Bird Shamanism, is a descendant of the Mi'kmaq people (part of the Algonquin nation) and the founder of The Center for Algonquin Culture. Named Abachbahamedtch (or chipmunk) by Mi'kmaq people, he is an assistant to several Algonquin elders. Since 1990, his work helping Algonquin elders and bringing their message to the media has helped thousands of people gain a better understanding of this great civilization and its teachings.

According to Pritchard, traditional Native Americans have viewed birds as spiritual teachers for at least 10,000 years. Pritchard's scholarly and illuminating book is based on his field interviews with people in the Native community on birds as teachers, guardians, role models, counselors, healers, clowns, peacemakers, and meteorologists. They carry messages and warnings from loved ones and the spirit world, report deaths and injuries, and channel divine intelligence to answer our questions. Some of their "signs" are so subtle that one could discount them as subjective, but others are dramatic enough to strain even a skeptic's definition of coincidence.

Pritchard begins with an exploration of the legends, wisdom, and powers of the birds known as the gatekeepers of the four directions -- Eagle in the North, Hawk in the East, Crow in the South, and Owl in the West. He reveals how the eagle can be a direct messenger of the Creator, why crows gather in "Crow Councils," and how shamans have the ability to travel inside of birds, even after death. Expanding his study to the wisdom and gifts of birds beyond the four gatekeepers, such as hummingbirds, seagulls, and the mythical thunderbird, he provides numerous examples of everyday bird sign interpretations that can be applied in your own encounters with birds as well as ways we can help protect birds and encourage them to communicate with us.

Bird Medicine: The SacredPower of Bird Shamanism by Evan T. Pritchard is a treasure trove of ornithological insight and indigenous wisdom. Filled with stories -- some fables involving only birds and some anecdotal narratives of birds interaction with humans -- the book is also an impassioned plea for humans to become more responsible about protecting bird habitats and breeding grounds. 

The Shaman's Staff

Buryat Shaman Staff

Over the centuries, a shaman's regalia has often included a ritual staff. Different forms of this ritual garb are seen in cultures around the world. From the high steppes of Asia to the deep jungles of the Amazon basin, shamans use staffs as power objects. They are usually made of wood and decorated with special symbols, talismans and carvings which represent the shaman's own power.

For many peoples, the shaman's staff is a representation of the connection between the shamanic realms of Upper, Middle and Lower Worlds and symbolizes the Axis Mundi or World Tree. As a stand-in for the Axis Mundi, the staff functions as an energy conduit between the worlds and holds the spiritual center in ritual.

In many Siberian tribes, the use of the staff precedes the use of the drum and the shaman learns to journey without the benefit of the drum beat. Most Siberian staffs are adorned with jingle cones so that the staff can be used as a type of rattle during journeying. Most shaman staffs are either forked or adorned with animal heads. In Buryat tradition, the most common type of shaman staff has a horse head carved at the top.

In the shaman's world, all is alive. Like the shaman's drum, the staff is imbued with spiritual purpose and becomes a living presence. Since the objects are then considered to be alive, they function as spirit helpers and guides to the shaman in their work. Once imbued with spiritual energy, the staff becomes a catalyst for change and transformation--even capable of working on its own on behalf of the shaman. To guide you in making your own sacred staff, I highly recommend the book, A Spirit Walker's Guide to Shamanic Tools by Evelyn C. Rysdyk.