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Constructing Medicine Bags, Pouches & Bundles
By CinnamonMoon



The Medicine Pouch is a small pouch that can be attached to a staff, a belt, or placed in a pocket and some even hang them around their neck.

The items you might put in there would be those serving a momentary need (you walk in the woods and carry a "finding stone" with you while looking for a certain item, herb, etc. that you may need). Perhaps you would put the "carry stones" that you use to call certain energies to yourself on a daily basis.

Some people carry 5 stones, one for each of the elemental forces and a center stone as a "Pocket Wheel" so they can go for a walk and take them out to meditate. Each stone would carry the significance of an elemental force and there are different stones associated with each element.

Another use might be a Pouch to hold token offerings when you go out in Nature or to a Sacred Site to work. Such offerings can be herbs, tobacco, crystals, stones, something of meaning to you that would be considered a gift to give. As a rule the Pouches are the size of your hand or smaller and there are sometimes needs we have that they will serve so while some Pouches can be multi-purpose, most practitioners have several and each to its own need and service is usually recommended. I have pouches for each of my decks of cards, for stones, for token offerings, for a pocket wheel, all kinds of things....and they are fun to make!

I always tuck White Sage in each Pouch, Bag, or Bundle for keeping the energy clean too.

Medicine Bags are larger, about the size of a purse and they contain the items you may need to travel with or store. You might put your individual tools in them along with some herbs, a smudge stick and bowl, they are meant to transport and store things. You might, for instance, have one to store a Sacred Pipe in. Another might hold a "Birthing Blanket" , or a Rattle, or a hand Drum, Flute, Listening Stick, etc.

Medicine Bundles are generally made of red cloth (cotton or wool) and they contain your altar tools, smudge bowl, herbs, fan, etc. for doing ritual or ceremony, healing, whatever your pathwork may call for. They are generally tied with a leather thong in a crisscross pattern and when needed they open to provide a cloth altar (the bundle cloth) on which these sacred items may be set up on the ground. In this way they are always contained within their own Sacred Space.

Construction of the pouch or bag tends to be of tanned leather but often can be found to be made of fabric. They are decorated with symbols of your Totems or Medicine, your Medicine Colors, perhaps feathers, colored beads with patterns of significance to you. Just as one would paint or decorate a drum, this item contains your Medicine items and would be marked to represent that.

The pouches and bags are cut in a U shape as a rule but I have one that is multi-shaped as well. U at first and then an overlay pouch in a V shape with a sea shell to act as a flap. I've seen some that hang like a sack and others that are round so I do believe it's all personal preference or symbolism there. I have some that are square shaped too.

The one I mentioned that is a layered Pouch is stitched with thread on the first section and beaded on the second, and the shell atop that A beautiful piece and it was a special gift that marked an important time in my life.

In the construction of these or any other tools it is always done with natural products in mind. You do not use synthetics. You can paint on them, bead them, stitch on them. Rawhide is often used to tether the feathers one might attach or other items such as teeth and claws. Beads may be used to slide over the feather quills to keep them in place on the rawhide thread.

Fur is often attached with leather wrapping to hold it. If you are going to use glue, I've been told to use hyde glue because it comes from an animal by-product and is not going to break down over time. If you are going to sew something it should be sewn with either cotton, wool, or gut thread. Once the tool or item is fashioned and the construction complete it is presented to the Seven Sacred Directions, passed through each of the elemental forces (fire in the form of incense smoke, sprinkled with water, sprinkled with earth, and held into the Wind or breathed on. The intent here is to have it be blessed and dedicated to its use. Most practitioners will infuse their own essence into it through bodily fluid, generally blood, and then breathe on it 7 times.

I hope that gives you an idea of how they are constructed and perhaps stirs an interest to make some for yourself!

Oh...these are great projects for children to get into the craft portion of their own pathwork too. They may want to make a Totem Pouch and gather stones or items to represent their Totem Animals.

 

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INDEX Page 1
(Divination & Dreams, Guides & Spirit Helpers)
INDEX Page 2
(Healing)
INDEX Page 3
(Main Section, Medicine Wheel, Native Languages & Nations, Symbology)
INDEX Page 4
(Myth & Lore)
INDEX Page 5
(Sacred Feminine & Masculine, Stones & Minerals)
INDEX Page 6
(Spiritual Development)
INDEX Page 7
(Totem Animals)
INDEX Page 8
(Tools & Crafts. Copyrights)


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