This is the 'Willow Dawn' Ritual Rattle, from The heART of Ritual.
This ritual colleague was created during the hour and day of Venus, overseen by the Morning Star (Venus) during the Alpine sunrise in Spring (Air element season). This rattle is absolutely luminous!
Willow is the Celtic tree that holds space for us over Imbolc, and a wonderful colleague to support us through transitions and change of all kinds so that we may birth ourselves into the new. It is a potent tree to work with when releasing stagnant grief (and communicating/finding language for grief) and holds space for our growth and emotional healing.
The ethically sourced reindeer rawhide rattlehead was ecodyed with garden prunings from the Willow that we share space with here in our garden last Spring, and the shades that developed on the rawhide truly are the colour of the dawning of a new day! Full details on these rattles can be seen in the additional information sections.
ABOUT RITUAL RATTLES
Rattles are ceremonial colleagues that are worked with to purify, cleanse and transform an individual, group energy, or place. They are also wonderful to use to energize or invigorate if a person is feeling sluggish or a space is stagnant. This is their transformative work as traditional healing tools.
What resonates with you, how you choose to uniquely work with these ritual tools, your experience, and the direction this takes is entirely up to you. It is your intimate expression of prayer and reflects your unique ceremonial intention.
IT'S IN THE DETAILS
See the additional info sections (to the right) for insights into the elements contained within each ritual rattle, why they were chosen, and how these prayer tools came to be.
'Willow Dawn' Ritual Rattle (for New Beginnings)
The rattle head is lovingly crafted from upcycled reindeer rawhide. Deer medicine being one of my most revered to work with of all northerly medicines (earth element), for it speaks (with me) of the magical and mystical realms, ancestral connection, and guides me like Polaris on my soul path.
Note that these rattles contain a balanced reference to both the masculine and feminine guiding stars in our sky - the northern star of Polaris, and the morning star of Venus.
The rattleheads have been sewn together with plant fiber cordage made from mugwort, wild nettle, and rose. The space between the rattlehead and handle has also been wrapped with these plant fibers and adorned with a fossilized water lily stalk which Irish legends refer to as 'Fairy Money'. Fairies are winged creatures of the sky, and Air Elementals. I like the idea of this element making a playful nod by way of alms to the winged folk so that safe passage through new beginnings is assured.
Without getting too energetically prescriptive, fossils are deeply grounding, relate with the lower chakras (root chakra and below), and the geometry and symbolism of the pentagram is a matter of perspective depending on your spiritual path. For me, the pentagram represents all five elements of BEing and it also represents the orbit of Venus around the Earth every eight years.
I also like the fact that these pentagram shaped fossils are sections from a water lily stalk - the water lily is a wonderful reminder of the depths of BEing and how we can blossom and thrive when we move beyond victimhood and consciously choose to flourish (and embody the survivor).
The rattle handle is Willow driftwood that I found along the banks of the river where we live.
I purposefully choose to work with Willow for this collection. Willow is ruled by the Moon (and water) and the Willow used for these handles is river driftwood gathered along the waters edge at a place that we affectionately call ‘Happy Place’. Willow is also the Celtic Tree of Imbolc, the time that this collection is being released.
Those who are familiar with my ritual rattles already know that I purposefully ensure the holes in the seams of the rattleheads leave enough space for the wildflower seeds and any other small medicines to be shared into the space you are using the rattle in - in practical terms this means that while using your rattle outside as a personal healing colleague, the very use of the rattle and the motion of shaking it means you disperse the wildflower seeds into your surroundings. My hope here is that the seeds take root and grow, so that the pollinators can be gifted food and contribute to the recovery of the ecosystem. As such, as much as the rattles I make are personal healing tools, they also support the land. As within, so throughout, in every way. Always.
Each of these rattles is ritually anointed with a special balm made with wild rose, mugwort and yarrow, which not alone blesses each rattle, but also conditions the raw hide and leaves a beautifully fragrant finish.
These rattles most certainly are a divine union of masculine and feminine polarities which in itself, promotes and enhances the state of high heart harmony. These ritual tools contain all five elements of BEing and all seven directions, gifting you a complete and dynamic experience. They are functional art and ritual moon magic in one.
