Description

Feather Tan Leather Medicine Bag Handmade by Sylvia Jackson

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

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

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

Feathers. Connection to Spirit
Feathers are used consistently throughout Native American crafts and ceremonial tools. Birds fly in between the earth and the sky and as such feathers represent this connection between us as humans and Great Spirit. Of course a feather is not essential to contact God or be in tune with Spirit. It is a tool – a reminder. Feathers are like a link. You can hold them while praying, you can use a feather to brush smudge smoke over you for cleansing the aura and can have them in crafts and jewellery about you to remind you that you are always connected to Spirit.

Medicine Bag for sacred objects
A medicine bag is a sacred pouch used in the Native American tradition and hung around the neck. In it you place sacred objects that represent your own personal “medicine”. There is no real limit to what these objects can be but some examples are: small crystals or rocks, feathers, plants, herbs or anything that has significance to you.

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 you 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 this Feather 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 hand made 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.