Hand Crafted or Not?

[Ainwyn]

Sadly my artistic abilities don't tend to yield tangible results, but I've been blessed with friends who work with wood, metal and leather (the joys of working in the Renaissance faire world). My sister has been gifting me with gorgeous statues that she's been making in pottery classes as well, which I greatly treasure. But really, a lot of my sacred objects are things I've found in nature. My mother and I collect shells whenever we travel, so my altar is covered with shells from Ireland, Scotland, Korea and California, and I have a couple that are large enough to use as small bowls.

I've also been lucky enough to live in a very artsy area where the only corporate business is a Burger King on the outskirts of the town. We have three pagan stores in the area, and a lot of the items they carry are either made by the owners or by other artisans from the area. Everything's a bit more expensive than you'd find it in other places, but it's definitely worth the extra to have something that you know someone's heart went into.  

[Loona Wynd]

Morgandria

loona wynd

My father is going to help me make a binder out of wood and a hinge. I'm going to put rituals, prayers, and notes in it. Anything I have a connection to.

Oh man...everytime I see one those wooden binders as a "book of shadows" I shudder. Mostly because I'm a handmaiden - it's our responsibility to hold up the book in ritual and carry them around, usually with one arm, and a candle in the other. Our really big books weigh a ton as it is - just a leatherbound sketchbook idea our high priestess lovingly refers to as "maidenkillers". I cannot imagine how much weight having a wooden cover would add. gonk

Mind you, if you're not carrying the thing around in ritual one-handed, you probably don't care how much it weighs! xp

xd No. I'm calling it a ritual book. Plain and simple. I'm also working on making an oak wand (strength and fertility) and a Alder stang. I may make a birch staff with horns on it as well. I do plan on buying clay that goes in the oven. I want to make statues and offering bowls and the like for my deities (whom ever I end up working with) as a work of art and dedication.  

[Violet Song jat Shariff]

Sadly I lack a lot of creative talents too, so practically none of my things are made by hand (although I don't have much to begin with... xd ). I really wish I could make a drinking horn, but I have no clue where to even begin with a project like that.

The only thing I can claim for mine is a case for my Tarot cards I'm going to knit up whee . I found a pattern for a crocheted rune set online a few times and it makes me wish I could crochet competently.  

[MoonJeli]

I don't have ritual implements, but I am an art freak and crafty. I make pocket shrines and devotional type statues and altars.

Examples of what pocket shrines: http://community.livejournal.com/pocketshrines  

[patch99329]

MoonJeli

I don't have ritual implements, but I am an art freak and crafty. I make pocket shrines and devotional type statues and altars.

Examples of what pocket shrines: http://community.livejournal.com/pocketshrines

Wow, those are all so inspiring. *joins community*.

@loona- what is the significance of an ash stang? Mine were/are hawthorne and pine, but they don't get used any more. sad  

[LordNeuf]

TeaDidikai

So- what are your opinions of hand made sacred objects and mass production?

It's the same with candles.

Candles are sacred and for ritual ceremonies. Now if you have the skills and equipment to make hand made candles for your altar. You're better than I am, at candle making.

However, if you say... stop the local hardware store and buy candles for your alter, those are mass produced and created for decorative and utilitarian purposes, they are not blessed, consecrated or otherwise special from the others in the store.

But once you take that mass produced every day candle, and place it on your altar, it becomes a sacred object. It means something more than just being the standard 1.125 diameter 7 inch tapered candle, it becomes a symbol to you, your religion and your god.

And I feel that no matter what god you have, they will appreciate the fact that you are lighting the candle as an act of devotion, regardless if you made it yourself.

There are vast industries of goods that are mass produced and used for religious rituals. I do not think it degrades the practitioners for using them.  

[Loona Wynd]

patch99329

MoonJeli

I don't have ritual implements, but I am an art freak and crafty. I make pocket shrines and devotional type statues and altars.

Examples of what pocket shrines: http://community.livejournal.com/pocketshrines

Wow, those are all so inspiring. *joins community*.

@loona- what is the significance of an ash stang? Mine were/are hawthorne and pine, but they don't get used any more. sad

I really don't know. The tress I used was young and spoke to me. Though if I continue on a Nordic path it could be a representation of Yggdrasil.  

[TeaDidikai]

LordNeuf

But once you take that mass produced every day candle, and place it on your altar, it becomes a sacred object.

Couple questions for this:

What if you don't have an alter?
What about placing an object on an alter makes it sacred?  

[LordNeuf]

TeaDidikai

Couple questions for this:

What if you don't have an alter?
What about placing an object on an alter makes it sacred?

It's not the actual placement of the candle on an altar that makes it sacred, it's the use.

I used the altar analogy to show example of a mass produced item being acceptable for ritual use.  

[TeaDidikai]

LordNeuf

It's not the actual placement of the candle on an altar that makes it sacred, it's the use.

I used the altar analogy to show example of a mass produced item being acceptable for ritual use.

I understand the intent- I'm looking for specifics though.

Why would it be unsuitable prior to that?  

[LordNeuf]

TeaDidikai

LordNeuf

I understand the intent- I'm looking for specifics though.

Why would it be unsuitable prior to that?

It wouldn't it would just be non specific for that function.

For example... Lets say a person buys a box of 20 candles.

Now lets say 5 of these candles are taken out of the box and placed in a sacred space for ritual purpose.

The other 15 are still living in the box.

These other 15 are used for whatever purposes... but the 5 on the sacred space are used exclusively for rituals.

Now depending on the severity of the situation, ritual candles shouldn't be used for say... when the power goes out. That's what the other 15 are in the box for.

I have a box of candles I keep in a drawer. Every weekend I go through two of them ritually. On Friday I burn them, on Sunday I replace them. Now if I go camping or want to have a fancy dinner, I use the candles from the box, not the ones from my altar for mundane light.

You'll have to forgive me if I'm confusing, but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say.

 

[TatteredAngel]

The difference for me between handmade and mass-produced is mostly aesthetic, rather than spiritual. Handmade matters, but for me, it's a case-by-case issue. Sometimes I invite a friend over and we have a heat-and-eat kind of dinner together. Sometimes I'm using pre-prepared food, but I make it special by its arrangement. Sometimes, I make the food by hand. Our time together is no less meaningful because of the level of effort I'm putting into dinner. The dinner itself, though, may be more meaningful because of the effort. It really matters when I make the food myself. It matters more when I make it from things I've grown myself.

So I consider ritual and magical materials somewhat the same. If I have the ability to make something, or to find something handmade, I like to have it, but I don't consider that settling for something else cheapens what I do with it. And I certainly don't think everyone has to. I'm lucky that I can go out back and harvest beeswax, and then make it into a candle. I think that's pretty damn spiffy, and I might do it if I really want a candle as a focal point-- otherwise, I'll probably still use store-bought.

The point of all the babbling is that I think it's mostly about why I would want a certain thing, and what the effort of making or finding a handmade item would mean for me personally.  

[Deoridhe]

I have my own rune set, but I tend not to use it for divinations as it's huge and unweildy and I duplicated two runes by mistake and haven't had the time or brainpower to fix it.

I like crafted things, but I'll freely admit that I will take shortcuts when I can. I do most of my coloring digitally now, for example, so I can preserve the different layers and make changes and correct errors. The time, materials, and space costs of hand crafting are simply too high for me these days. I'd love to make myself a rune bracelet to wear as my symbol of faith, but I haven't the means, time, or attention to learn to make jewelry in that manner, and while I'll enjoy my embroidered bracelet once I have it, I'd pass over it for a metal one in a heartbeat if I could find one.

That being said, I cherish handcrafted things made for me by loved ones. I still have a mask made for me by my best friend in high school (it's hanging on the wall next to me at this very moment) and the Odin Tea made me is in a place of honor by my door, with the valknut hanging from my Yggdrasil upstairs.

And when it comes to things which can't be purchased - like my Yggdrasil - making them wins over not having them.  

[TheDisreputableDog]

I like making things. And if I'm making something for an offering, then I have two offerings: the act of making it, and the thing itself. Sometimes it depends on what it is. I hand-sewed a piece of muslin and added beads and ribbons to the corners for a shrine cloth. My roommate could have hemmed the cloth in about a minute with his sewing machine, or showed me how to do it in five. But it was important for me to do it by hand for that purpose, even though it took me longer and it maybe wasn't as even as with the machine.

Making candles is fun, but if I had to make every candle I wanted to use for ritual purposes, I would never have any candles because I don't have the time or supplies to make my own. If the opportunity came up, I would jump at the chance, but it's not a priority for me. For most contexts, it is acceptable to buy candles at the store, and if I can support a local artist, that's even better. That can be generalized to other things as well, I suppose.

For offerings, I do try to have a mix of hand- or home-made when I have the money and the time, or made by other craftspeople when I have the opportunity and the money, but the Names accept store-bought items. And They like some things that just wouldn't be the same if I tried to make them at home, because I just don't have the skill or the equipment. "Well, I tried" only gets me so far; I'm willing to stretch myself but I don't think it is appropriate for me to attempt something that is out of my league just to say I made it myself.

I'd like to make my own tarot deck. I have several that I use right now, and I'm waiting for Shadowscapes to come out as a deck (I love the foxes on the Wands). I would need a little more practice with art (although my tablet will help), and in culling what symbolism is attached to each card for me.  

[EternalHearts]

MoonJeli

I don't have ritual implements, but I am an art freak and crafty. I make pocket shrines and devotional type statues and altars.

Examples of what pocket shrines: http://community.livejournal.com/pocketshrines

I LOVE this community! I think I'm going to make some for holiday gifts since I have NO money this year.