Basic Medicine Pouch
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Many people ask me about my medicine pouch, and most of the time it is unheard of in the First Nation culture for someone to ask such a question. It is considered bad manners, but I can understand the curiosity so I have decided to write a post about one of my medicine pouches. Let me also say that this is not a hard and fast rule, there are some tribal people who are willing to share their perspective on what a pouch contains and its basic meaning.
When I did some research on the internet as to what people felt was included within a medicine pouch I found quite a bit of plagiarism. Most people are copying from each other the very same words and contents. Some of the information was accurate and some of it was not. What I write is from verbal teachings and those from a long line of medicine people.
I will not share what is in my the medicine pouch that was gifted to me nor its contents, these are considered private and for my own personal life journey. I will be sharing what I have personally made for myself and how you can make one too. For those of you who have never had the experience of seeing a medicine pouch then allow me to show you what the significance of a basic medicine pouch entails.
Basic medicine pouch explained
The medicine pouch is a small Native American pouch typically made of hide from a variety of different animals. I have even seen one made out of a turtle shell. Some people will choose a spirit animal shell or hide to bring the animal spirit medicine closer to them on their life journey. The pouch could be plain or decorated with beads, shells, bones, or crystals.
Traditionally, the pouch was plain in appearance and small so it would carry a person's small treasures. For a Native American, the pouch represents inner strength or Mashkawisen, personal harmony with a physical, spiritual, and supernatural way of life. A person can place whatever they would like inside their pouch, that is the beauty of making one's own bag too. It is not uncommon to place herbs, stones, animal hair or an animal’s tooth inside of a basic medicine pouch.
Historical spiritual beliefs about the medicine pouch
HIstorically, medicine pouches carried tobacco, cedar, and sweetgrass in order to give back to Mother Earth. This was a symbol and connection to the Creator. There might also be a small momento of a family member placed inside the pouch. It is believed that the medicine pouch holds supernatural powers and items are added related to a person's spiritual journey. To name a few items, there might be a stone one finds as they are walking in a desert on a peyote journey, a small idol that was carved and given as a gift, a bone from a lifelong animal friend such as a wolf, fur, healing roots, leaves from a favorite tree, or a feather from an eagle.
Whatever a person chose to place in the medicine pouch was commemorated with a ceremony. If you know any of my writing, then you know everything is about ceremony. There is usually a fast that takes place, along with several days of prayer and drumming. The location is usually remote and away from people, and the intention was to ensure a spiritual connection to reach a maximum potential. The custom tells us that the spirits would help each person to obtain items that would help a person grow in knowledge and growth.
There are those that believe a medicine pouch would help with every day tasks such as hunting, fighting, healing, protection, or altering weather. We have all heard of the Native American rain dance and some may have heard of the Moon Dance. In either case, the medicine pouch was believed to hold sacred powers and used in all matters of protection and prayer for all members of the tribe.
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Basic items to add to your medicine pouch
As we discussed, we can put whatever we want inside of our pouch and because I tend to change out what I use at different times during my life journey I am willing to share some of my choices with you. My personal choices have usually stayed with some of the basic raw stones shown above.
From left to right is black tourmaline is said to bring protection, grounding, electrical, and energized the chakras to remain aligned. The second stone is a quartz from Tibet and the energy aligns with the physical body bringing healing and connecting the physical with the spiritual self. The third stone is a Kyanite and this stone helps with psychic ability, enhances telepathic communication, helps with lucid dreaming. The fourth stone is Amazonite that filters out stress, heals trauma, is a soothing energy, brings personal truth while communicating that to others. The fifth stone is Selenite and is called the "angel stone," and calls on the protection from the angelic realm, good luck, the stone clears, opens, and activates all seven chakras immediately from the crown to the root, and is excellent in all healing work.
| Earth | Animal | Mineral | Personal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sage | Lock of Hair | Stone | Key |
| Sweetgrass | Bone | Gem | Photo |
| Corn | Claw | Crystal | Coin |
| Seeds | Tooth | Arrowhead | Bullet |
If you are debating the size to choose for your medicine pouch, it all depends on what you feel you want to put inside. The size can range anywhere from one inch by once inch or as large as 30 inches in length. There are no restrictions as to how to wear your medicine pouch, it can be work around the neck, placed in your pocket, backpack, work bag, or purse. By keeping the medicine pouch close to the heart is said to be in connection with your higher self and bring healing.
People like myself have a different medicine pouch or bag for different reasons. One can be for everyday, one for medicine work, one for protection, one to relieve stress, or one made for happiness. These are just a few examples. Get inspired and create what is right for you.
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Basic herbs to add to your pouch
There are the basic First Nations herbs to add to any ceremony and these are a few. Sage, Palo Santo, Sweetgrass, Lavender, and Tobacco. The other herbs shown are a South American medicine man mix I was gifted, a tobacco Mix I call Eagle Spirit's special tobacco mix, and sage herb bundle that was gifted to me by a Native American medicine man. I use a variety of other raw incense too. Depending on the pouch I am making the mix varies.
A few things to keep in mind is that the medicine pouch is a way to connect to our spiritual self and can be very powerful. Wearing it close to the heart is ideal and when creating our pouch we want to ensure we are in a positive mood and putting good vibes into the pouch during the opening and closing ceremony. If we are walking in nature or notice something that is calling our name, these are items that we may want to place in our medicine pouch. These items are a part of our energy that may help to empower us, heal, guide, or protect us and others.
If you have positive or constructive comments in regards to the basic medicine pouch please leave a comment below. I’d be happy to help answer your questions and/or assist you in making your very own medicine pouch. Peace.
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