Description

Bear Tan Leather Medicine Bag

Handmade by Sylvia Jackson & other members of the Navajo Nation (Din’eh), USA. This is a group of Navajo women, helped by their children, making deerskin medicine bags, bone & bead necklaces, and feather fans.

It is made from deerskin. The traditional leather for medicine bags

The height of the actual bag part (excluding beads and tassels) is about 5 cm (2 inches). The total length of the leather cord for hanging around the neck is about 28 inches (70 cm), but this length is adjustable by moving the knot.

Bear. Going within, sweetness of life
The bear hibernates and goes within. Bear energy is the energy that seeks your deepest truths. And with the finding of your truth comes the honey of life—the sweetness that comes with knowing who you truly are. Bear energy helps you to go within and touch the great void where creation and you come from. By entering silence we give ourselves the opportunity to return to the world stronger and wiser. Bear energy is also about taking the courage to believe that to stop thinking is not to die because we are so much more than our thoughts. So take a break, go within yourself, and introspect. We can see from the true place of being that life is like a dream to us and that our innermost self is not as bound up with material worries.

By carrying the bear symbol with you, you are expressing your desire to go within and establish a connection with the realms where “knowing without thinking” and intuition rule. Meditation, dreaming, taking long, solitary walks, and turning off the TV are some practices that can foster this connection.

Sacred object medicine bag
In Native American culture, a medicine bag is a sacred pouch that is worn around the neck. You put holy items that stand in for your own “medicine” in it. Small crystals or rocks, feathers, plants, herbs, or anything else that holds meaning for you are a few examples, but there is really no limit to what these objects can be.

Here are three examples of occasions you may wish to put items in your bag:
* Add an item that represents your power animal or guides. This helps to reinforce this connection.
* If something significant happens to you, like a personal breakthrough, which you want to anchor into your life, look around for something small to put in your medicine bag to help you make real what has happened.
* Place something in your bag that represents a part of yourself that you wish to develop. For example, if you wanted to be more loving, you may place in there a small piece of rose quartz.

A medicine bag helps you remember who we are. It also acts as a means of personal energetic protection and in certain situations can be held by others to help bring healing and protection to them.

A medicine bag is a sacred bag and should be cared for as such, only being opened by yourself to put in new items. If something accidentally falls from your bag, don’t worry; often you will leave that thing out, as it has probably served you and you are ready for something new. As you add new items, bless them. Smudge them on the way in if you can. Consciously be aware of what you are wishing for by placing these items in there.

You can add decoration to your medicine bag in whatever way you feel, adding beads, feathers, or any other items that call to you. When you first start to use your bag, it is good if you can smudge your new bag with sage smoke and also put some time aside to set your intention for using the bag and to say some prayers.

Sylvia Jackson is a member of the Navajo tribe and lives in the USA. We are proud to stock the Bear Tan Leather Medicine Bag handmade by Sylvia Jackson and are assured by our supplier that she receives a fair price for her work. All items will be good quality, but because of the handmade nature of the goods, it is possible that crafts such as these may have small differences between them. These small differences (if there are any) should be seen as a testimony to the fact that you are buying authentic Native American crafts.