A life journey frame drum

This is a frame drum for the development of wisdom on the life journey.  

The 14” Spruce wood frame is covered with a blacktail deer hide from Cortes Island.  This drum has the clear strong voice of youth.  The skin was from a young deer with few scars and blemishes. A creature that gives the strength of its life journey to your sacred drumming.

The cedar withie ring is filled with an 8-fold path interlacement pattern.

Since ancient times an interlacement pattern has been considered a magical charm because the endless line drew the eye around and around the figure without any breaks or “gates” through which negative forces might enter.  Thus such a pattern could become a yantra for meditation or used to induce a trance.

The magical properties of this pattern includes the twelve small triangles (the zodiacal twelve), and the central diamond around which the apexes of four larger triangles interlock.  Thus the design not only references the 8 steps of the Buddhist Noble Path which are right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.   It also contains the mystic threes and fours.

Learn more about my drums and how I became a drum-maker by visiting my Journey Oracle website. This drum is available for purchase in my Etsy webstore.  If you are interested in a conversation with me about a painting for this drum, or if you are interested in ordering a custom-made frame drum, email me at journeyoracle@gmail.com. 

A new shamanic drum from an old wisdom

This is the drum made from the hide that I was going to throw away.

In another post I told the story of talking to nature, and how I thought this skin was too thick and old until I listened to a Pileated Woodpecker who said "This is a good drum."

You can hear the beautiful deep voice that has come from this old Shaman deer by clicking on this youtube link.

How many times do we all think to discard something because it isn't quite to our specifications? The rolled aluminum hoop that that I use as a mold for this 17" hoop of British Columbia Spruce wood is cracked and so this shamanic frame drum is not quite round.

Yet the cedar withie that holds the drum head around the frame, and secures the voice of the drum, is from the strongest part of the tree.

The interlacement pattern on the reverse is a double 7 pointed star wrapped with doeskin. This unusual design is made of a continuous length of thong.  This  pattern is considered magical protection because there are no "gates" or breaks in the continuous line through which difficult energies can enter.

So the next time you are wondering what to keep and what to throw away...go outside, pause to clear your mind of its tumbling conversation, and ask nature what is good.  A bird just might fly by with the answer.

This drum of ancient wisdom in available in my Etsy webstore.  Or for more information contact Kristen at jouneyoracle@gmail.com.