Medicine Shields

Medicine shields are used by shamanic practitioners to represent their spiritual protection and their essential self, or their medicine, as indigenous peoples would say. It can be a literal shield suitable for carrying in to battle, or more of a spiritual representation that can be displayed on an altar. This tool is infinitely varied because of the extremely personal nature of it. In general, people will paint or otherwise represent power animals and any other spirit guides that they work with on a round plaque or animal hide stretched on a hoop frame.

Witchcraft is a form of shamanism, and it uses ritual tools as well. Generally, the pentacle or peyton represents the element of Earth, and has protective connotations. To me, it seems logical that the medicine shield is equivalent.

Native tradition tells us that seekers should go on a vision quest and pray to their guides, ancestors and allies, then create the shield themselves based on their vision. I agree with this. How can anyone else truly understand what this shield needs to look like? Also, I personally think there is a lot of power in obtaining materials to make the shield from the natural world and through magical means.

Right now, I'm constructing a shield for myself. As a recovering empath exercising hard-won boundary skills, I'm at a place where I need to manifest my spiritual team and protection system in material form. It's the first time I've really had a team, or felt supported and protected.

I began my shield at the Earthskills Gathering, with a woods wander that netted me a flexible hawthorn branch. I formed it into an egg shaped hoop. I have some lovely turquoise suede which will be laced on to the frame.

My rough draft of the skin began with my personal symbol in the middle. I wanted some way to divide the shield into quarters, to represent the four directions. My power animals corresponding with the elements would be in the appropriate direction. Then I was going to hang some feathers, mirrors, crystals, etc. on the bottom of the frame.

At this point I got bogged down. I couldn't get my animal designs to look like they do with my inner vision. It wasn't flowing.

Then, in typical synchronistic fashion, my bestie gave me a stag's head pendant. Immediately I flashed to the idea of attaching it to the shield. This led me to consider adding something similar for the other animals. But one or more of them would be nearly impossible to find.

Stuck again.

Then it hit me - animal guides are only one component of my spiritual team. What if I took this more top level and added items to represent my other sources of support? Namely, ancestry, my faith, community, family and spiritual allies. I'd initially had a vague idea of representing these entities, but hadn't decided where to put them.

Suddenly it was flowing again. Turns out that I have spare beads, parts from broken jewelry and pendants I never wear that can work for each group/entity. Best of all, this means that nearly all of the materials in this shield will be ones that I gathered from nature or have personal connections with. Some were gifts. Some items I have had for many years. This is just the sort of "magical means" of

acquisition that add so much power to our tools.

Call me old fashioned, but I believe that making or at least personalizing your own ritual tools gives them much more power and meaning. The proliferation of spiritual and Pagan supply shops is a double edged sword in this regard. On the one hand, some things are difficult to make without specialized skills or equipment. On the other, it can make us lazy and overly attached to fancy material items. Having that finely crafted etched crystal goblet to use for your chalice in no way makes you a better or more powerful practitioner.

To me, nothing store bought beats the feeling of rightness that comes from birthing a personal ritual tool. Going through the process of inspiration, imagination, design, limitations of tools/skills, re-design, intentional crafting and eventual perfect imperfection...this is how the tool comes alive. This is how it becomes tuned to my energy, my intent, my lessons, my needs.

The act of constructing these items is one of the ways in which I practice devotion. Many are the late nights I have spent hunched over my workbench, manifesting my vision in full-on altered ritual consciousness. Sometimes I even remember to cast a circle. Mostly though, being caught up in one of these projects is like having a sore tooth, or poison ivy. It nags at me, occupies my mind and won't let me get a moment's rest until I get it done.

Tonight, I breathe deeply and trust in the Divine. I let go and allow this process to flow. Blessed be!



NOTE: All of the images in this post are examples pulled from the web.