On Samhain 2020 (November 7th) I took a 'wrong turn' and ended up on the road next to our house as opposed to our own street. That road next door is a quiet, steep, cul-de-sac with just two houses on it, so somewhere I would not have gone ordinarily. I've lived where I now live for 17 years, and it was the first time I had 'accidently' missed our turn. As soon as I turned onto the neighboring road, I saw that a landslide had taken place on the slopes there and the Yew trees that had been growing along the bank were damaged and in the process of being thinned out. I immediately drove to both houses to ask permission to gather some of the wood, parked the car next to the branches that were piled out, and using the hand saw that I keep in the car, selected the eight branches that form these rattle handles and the yew berries that give the rattleheads their stunning natural colour.
Yew is one of the sacred trees in the Celtic Tree Calender, and I found it to be quite incredible really that I was guided to it on astronomical Samhain, the Celtic festival this tree relates with. It is one of two trees that guides us through the death of the old wheel of the year (over Samhain) and the birth of the new wheel of the year (the first new moon after Samhain), and is revered as a symbol of continual (re)birthing and everlasting life. To fully comprehend its energy one merely needs to look at its growth pattern, it constantly expands and it is believed that the oldest Yews in Ireland are over 3000 years old. There is such strong folklore associated with the Yew, not least that they are portals of connection with the unseen worlds, the ancestors and with our subconscious Self. Due to its lore with death, transformation, and eternal life, many Yews came to be planted in graveyards, something that I always find interesting given the energy of this tree and its wonderful abilities as a bridge through which we can access information from the past/ancestors, subconscious Self or Soul (Self), etc so that we may learn, let go, grow, and expand...just like the Yew itself.
On a personal level I have to say that Yew wood is one of my most favourite woods and my love of it comes from my father. The heartwood has stunning shades of orange and brown, and the surrounding wood (as you can see on the handle in general) is a creamy white. This contrast is just beautiful and I love the earthy colour palate of white, black and red, which really are the colours that relate with the journeys we are invited to, not just between Samhain and the Winter Solstice each year, but year round really - the journey of composting, tilling the soil within, growing deep roots, expanding our roots, establishing solid ground, connecting (with Self/ancestors etc), and fully BEing. This journey is a journey of blood (red) and bones (white) and darkness (black), and I will leave it at this now so you can feel into what this means to you without limiting these rattles (and your) healing potential by being too perscriptive.
Moving on, the area between the handle and rattle head is accentuated with the naturally shed skin of a golden boa - a balanced combination of fire and earth element medicine, or depending on your perspective and personal practice, this can also be experienced as the masculine and feminine aspects of the fire element. I love to include this for its potent symbolism of transformation, transmutation and quite literally, letting go of our own old skin (aka old patterns, conditioning, traumas, fears etc). In molting these old behaviours and limitations we move into a space that nourishes growth and potential. This may seem like a small detail visually on the rattle itself, but its medicine is huge and speaks volumes of the overall energy and intention of these rattles as ritual tools - that of learn, let go, and grow.
With the garnets, there are seven garnets inside the rattlehead (one for each direction), however I was told an eighth one needed to be mounted on the handle - I was told was a reference to the infinity symbol (which is an eight on its side) and having some inside the rattle head and another on the handle outside, connects the inside/outside, above/below, within/throughout, masculine and feminine aspects. A bridge, another reference to connection, perhaps this time between inner worlds and outer worlds, the seen and unseen, making the subconscious conscious. I gathered these garnets from a glacial stream a few valleys away, and knew immediately that they were meant for this ritual purpose. Again, without getting too perscriptive, garnets relate with the lower chakras (root chakra and below), their geometry (rhombic dodecahedron) is believed to be the geometry of the 'inner earth crystal', and is the geometry of Spirit in the platonic solids. Red and black Garnet has an extremely high iron content making a wonderful crystal to work with where blood issues are present (for instance, if one is anemic, loses alot of blood while menstruating, someone who is post surgery, someone who has issues assimilating iron into the blood, etc). There are both red and black garnets in these rattleheads and a black on on the handle. This blood connection gives a very literal nod to bloodline work that one may be doing (ancestral healing/timeline healing, karmic clearance, inherited trauma on an energetic, molecular and/or psychological level). It is a crystal of deep grounding that promotes release and our ability to receive nourishment both literally and energetically from the planet. Black is the therapeutic colour for the earth and earth element, and north on the Celtic medicine wheel. it is also the colour that represents the earth star chakra. Red relates with the root chakra, and by including both red and black garnets here, which connects the personal with transpersonal lower chakras, these crystals create the energetic infrastructure conducive to connection and deep healing where the lower personal chakras and immediate lower transpersonal chakras are concerned.
Three small circles were carved into the Yew handle, just above the mounted garnet crystal. Each of these three was filled with red ochre pigment, an iron rich ritual colour that I crafted from hand gathered Irish ochre. Red ochre is one of the most revered sources of ritual body colour not just Celtic culture, but indigenous cultures the world over. The three dots on these rattle handles symbolize the overworld, middle world, and underworld, a subtle nod to the (complete) tree of life in many ways as the roots represent the underworld, its trunk the middle world, and its branches the upper world. The middle world is the here and now, and the bridge between both. Each of these interconnected three worlds too has its own cycles of birth, death and transformation. This was my personal intention with this, and as always, you can apply whatever symbolism you work with that relates with your own unique prayer practice.
On the topic of wholeness, harmony, balance and completion I was to mention the following. There are two aspects of Yew tree with these rattles, the Yew berry dyed rattleheads, and the Yew handles. One holds, the other is held...specifically, the rattle heads hold the medicines, and you hold the handle. Both aspects covered, one masculine projective trait and one feminine receptive. Harmony. This balance is continued throughout these rattles. Those who are familiar with my ritual rattles already know that I purposfully 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.
Where the reindeer is concerned, the rawhide rattlehead is the holder of medicines, and the piece of fur on the handle, is held. I do feel too that this piece of fur is also to serve as a reminder to honor and protect the old ways (and ancestral reverence for life)...again, a clear connection with times past and those who have gone before us.
When these rattles were completed I added a small piece of reindeer fur to this area of the handle. As mentioned above, Reindeer is one of my most dear animal colleagues. The little pieces on the rattles were cut from a rawhide pelt that I have had for some years, which essentially forms the safe sacred space that I curl up into. Reindeer (and its representative through this pelt) is held with the same high esteem, honor and respect as all of my colleagues - human and non human likewise. It is my safe place. Reindeer is who I speak with and where I go when I am exhausted or weary. It is my northern star, there is no other way to describe it. All great adventures (aka deep healing journeys) have moments where we need to be held and carried by a loved one, moments of being in the dark in a snowstorm, not knowing where we we are or where we are going...Reindeer has always been the one that has picked me up half frozen in the snow, put me on its back, and carried me through the night. I have so much love and deep respect for this colleague, and am deeply grateful for our relationship. From a personal energetic perspective it was quite a big deal for me to add these pieces from the pelt that I live with, but it was made clear to me that this what was needed...to share this sense of safety, protection and trust. These rattles invited the fur to be added, so I've done it because simply put, I do not argue with spirit. I see this aspect of the rattle also as a symbolic reference to the old ways of honoring everything, of respect for the whole.
Please know that the pelt from which these pieces come is directly from the Saami, therefore ethical and sustainable. The Saami (and many other northern indigenous peoples) care for, live with and work with the reindeer year round, their lives and the lives of the deer are very much integrated as one. Yes, they eat reindeer meat as there are limited food options available when one lives in the tundra year round. When they do take a life, they ensure absolutely every aspect of the Reindeer is honored and used, for existential means. One cannot compare this indigenous and sustainable way of life with the horrors of factory farming or the environmental impact of industrial dairy farming. They are two completely different things.
