The good horse drum from Journey Oracle

This new drum from Journey Oracle is more like a good work horse than a Thoroughbred.  The older blacktail deer skin from Cortes Island is sturdy enough to hold its voice when drumming long shamanic journeys outside in nature.  The thinner skins on most of my shamanic frame drums are better suited for the warmth of the living room, but this drum is dependable for the long ride through wild country.

The deep resonance of its voice begins with a clear single tone and slowly adds an upper harmonic as the drum warms to the vibration.  This is the voice I want to work with, like I would want a Suffolk Punch to be carrying me into some alternate realities, more than a delicate, changeable creature with thin legs.

The holdfast for this new drum is a medicine pouch made of doeskin, just the right container for objects and talismans of protection and courage.  The sacred numbers woven into the back of this good horse create a saddle of strength and cosmic return in the sets of 24 and 8.

Because 8 is the number of "as above, so below" the medicine pouch contains a floor of sturdy hide so that just as your spirit on the journey is supported, so is your hand on the drum.

 A drum is the rebirth of spirit into voice, and the bullet hole of the deer's death is at the same time the passageway of  it's new life as your good horse.

The Good Horse Drum

$300.00 unpainted

14" spruce wood frame

 blacktail deer hide

cedar and doeskin fittings

If this is your drum email Kristen at journeyoracle@gmail.com

Paint a shamanic drum with raw earth pigments

I made a drum to honor the awakening of the world mind on October 28, 2011, which had woven into the back the sacred numbers 9 for the underworlds and 13 for the heavens of the Mayan calendar. I said that although it was small it was huge.  The little drum was recently painted, and the wild animal that came to its surface is also small and huge: the Margay, a tree-loving cat from the land of the Mayans.

The Margay is perfectly suited for life in the trees, where it spends most of its time high in the forest canopy. It has especially large eyes to judge distances at night , allowing it to leap with confidence. Its night vision is six times more acute than that of humans.

The Margay has long, flexible ears that it aims with reflex action at any source of sound.  It also has highly flexible joints in its ankles, a slender build and a long tail for fluid balance and agility. The Margay is found in the rainforests of Central and South America, and is comparable to our domestic cat in size and weight.  Just the right sort of small huge creature to escort shamanic journeys into cosmic awakening and Mayan teachings.

So how do I  paint this wild animal on a drum?  I look for the eyes.  I try not to get in the way by making assumptions about what wild animal is coming.  I use the raw earth pigments as colored dust to mostly paint what is not the animal. I trust that the color symbolism of the chromium green and red iron oxide pigments, the story of the drum, and the posture and features of the animal all will go together in ways more mysterious and meaningful than I can imagine or plan for.  And because I do not tell the wild animal how to come--it does.

If you would like to custom order a painted shamanic frame drum, contact Kristen at journeyoracle@gmail.com.

New Drum of Sacred Numbers

This new drum from the Journey Oracle is not even one day old, but has the ancient meanings of sacred numbers tied into its construction.  It all began when the number of holes around the rim totaled 96.  I do not plan this count beforehand and this number was unexpectedly large for a 14" frame drum.  I am drawn to the sacred meaning of 9, and from this auspicious beginning a whole cascade of significant numbers appeared on this rawhide drum.

For the first time ever as a drum maker I used 12 thongs to anchor the rim of the blacktail deer skin over the spruce wood hoop. I usually "tie in the voice" with 4 thongs and rarely I have used 5.  The ends of these thongs in this image are draped over the outside of the frame, and are already drying because this is the first step in putting the hide and hoop together.

Rarely do the numbers used in my drum construction work out so evenly.  The 96 holes and the 12 anchor thongs created a set of 8 thongs each laced into 12 holes to tie in the cedar ring that will be the support for the unique interlacement pattern or medicine pouch handholds I fit in the backs of my drums.

In order to keep the symmetry unfolding in this drum of sacred numbers, I used a lacing technique I usually reserve for my largest drum hoops; and here as well the twenty four radiating thongs are for stability and strength.

What an exciting week is coming as the drum dries and I wait to see what spirit creatures will appear to make this magical drum of sacred numbers a home, bringing a voice of new beginnings.

If this is your new drum, and you would like to decide the interlacement pattern of its handhold, or would like the back fitted with a medicine pouch, please contact Kristen at journeyoracle@gmail.com.

Shamanic drums on Kaua'i Hawaii

During my holiday on Kaua'i, Hawaii, two interesting things came together.  My friend took lots of pictures of water, and a visitor we met on the beach asked me about my shamanic drums.  When I began describing my journey drums I found myself thinking of Sue Garvey's photographs and here are the connections I made.

This clear, light 14" frame drum I call "Sunshine" is like the gentle ruffle of water that eases one into the turquoise depths.  There is no apprehension here for the journey to come, just a welcome in. 

This 19" frame drum called "Keeper" continues to be a mystery.  It has been sold several times and yet comes home.  It has been repainted twice and now I think I will paint it again--always the same two creatures but sometimes more clear and sometimes like these fish who live in a world apart from earth and air, and yet participate in these elements.  

This 17" blacktail deer skin drum called "Fox Medicine" beckons to a place alien and apart from ordinary reality.  A place that once one has entered--all semblance of control is given over to the spirits who inhabit its depth.  A true shamanic journey.

Perhaps odd at first look, this small 12" "pebble" drum built during the Mayan awakening of December 21, 2012 is the biggest view of all. Every part, and every part between each part of this drum resounds with meaning at a vast scale--just as water takes form and light from the earth and sky and yet moves to a rhythm beyond what can be understood from a single perspective.

New shamanic drum with Fox medicine

Some drums seem to paint themselves.  I wrote earlier in a Journey Oracle blog about how this drum might belong to Coyote, but Wolf's little brother is who came through the raw earth pigments and naturally patterned deer skin.

Bobby Lake-Thom writes that Fox is a good power and guardian who can bring warning of danger and sickness approaching.  He says that "Fox is clever, intelligent, a good hunter and a wise friend.  He also represents pride, regality, and loyalty."

On closer look the somewhat ominous glance becomes more playful, like a good companion ready for a romp in the meadows beside the trail during a shamanic journey.

The nine pointed Star of the Muse is a symbol of inspiration, of breathing in the powers of speech and poetry.  This originally female symbol is a balance to the male symbol of the hunter and guardian.

And yet, something beautiful to hold on to does not lessen the certainty that something wild is coming with us on this journey into Mystery.  Listen to this Fox Medicine drum to begin your journey.

Fox Medicine Drum

17 " BC Spruce wood frame

Cortes Island Blacktail deer hide

cedar fittings

Double holdfast of Star-of-the-Muse interlacement pattern

with smoke-tan leather hitching

$450.  

If this is your drum contact Kristen at journeyoracle@gmail.com

Coyote's favorite drum

I am working on a new shaman drum, and although I don't usually like to show my shamanic art before it is finished, I just couldn't wait to share what I'm making and seeing.  This interlacement pattern is called the Star of the Muses and is a triple trinity created from three interlaced triangles.  But unlike a true interlacement pattern that is made from a continuous line, this one is in three parts.  And here is where Coyote came in.

In a way I will probably not be able to replicate again, I found that if I also wrapped the hoop at the same time that I wrapped the pattern, I could keep making the triangles with one thong.  I have been reading the books of Bobby Lake-Thom and in Spirits of the Earth, he shares many coyote stories in which this most ancient creator and trickster animal is full of magic, special powers and teachings.

 Also very powerful is the Mannaz symbol formed by wrapping the intersecting lines.  This is a runic sign of creation that joins the male and female principles together, therefore standing for the "togetherness" of humanity. 

My favorite discovery was seeing Coyote himself in the face of this new journey drum.  I find this quite amazing as I have not yet begun to paint the hide and yet there he is, his face looking straight out from the upper center of the drum, with the long curve of his neck to the left, as if he were just looking back over his shoulder at me, to see if I was following the path of magic he was revealing.  Can you see Coyote?

If this is your drum

contact Kristen at journeyoracle@gmail.com

Meaning of animals painted on drums

I have recently been reading the books of Bobby Lake-Thom, and enjoying looking at the meaning of animals painted on my journey drums from the view of his teaching. Since I both paint a drum for a specific person who has already purchased the frame drum, and also paint unsold drums when a creature shows itself, I realize that my drums are signs and symbols carrying messages in an ancient language for the folks that are attracted to them.

This drum, painted for a young woman asking to recenter her life in her family more than in her schooling, is perhaps working with the vulture's skill at warning of interruptions or problems forthcoming in order to make more clear and confident decisions.  

This quite amazing drum painting called "water sister" was painted by enhancing with a few marks of color the figure and fish already strongly in the drum skin.  Water is the symbol of the West and is the sign of our physical aspect.  These fish are abundant and varied and are a sign of physical plenty. In fact, the man who purchased this drum also bought a second one!

The fox in this drum painting is both a good power and a bad sign according to Lake-Thom.  The fox is clever, intelligent and a wise friend whose power and spirit can be used to reverse the message of danger and sickness it brings.  

I wonder if the seal is an animal power whose spirit is related to the otter, dolphin and porpoise. These other water creatures bring wealth, playfulness and happiness.  Certainly the seal adds a love of community and time spent just 'hanging out' with family and friends.