with Special Guest Rob Murphy
Saturday + Sunday, May 18-19, 2019
10am-6pm both days
Workshop Fee: $275 early bird (paid in full by March 18) / $300 (paid in full by May 18)
Materials Fee Non-Refundable Deposit : $110-140, see below for details
Join us to dream your Spirit Drum into being. Engage in a sacred ceremony of journey work and shamanic crafting.
Boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom—the steady drumbeat of our mother’s heart soothing and anchoring us in her womb is the first musical sound that our ears perceive, keeping us grounded on our journey to birth. Besides the human voice, or our hands and feet, our first musical instrument was most likely the drum, whether discovered by beating a stick on a hollow log or some other hollow surface. The beat of the drum naturally compels our bodies to want to move—almost involuntarily like breathing.
The shaman/spirit/medicine drum is used universally and is prevalent among many original peoples as a living and conscious tool to bridge into expanded reality. It is used widely among Siberian shamans, where the word shaman was conceived. Here in North America, the drum has always been a sacred instrument in their communication with spirit. Even in Europe, there is much history that reaches far beyond the advent of Christianity that included drumming in sacred ceremony.
In this workshop, you will:
Journey to meet the Spirit of the Tree that gifted you the wood for your drum frame that will become the drum’s body.
Journey to meet the Spirit of the Four-legged who gifted the hide that will be the flesh of your drum.
Learn a unique spiral lacing technique as taught in the Saghic tradition [a re-dreamed Celtic tradition.]
Engage in sacred ceremony to breathe life into your using the four elements.
Create an intimate bond between you and the drum’s living nature
Learn to work with the drum as a conversational aid with your Guides and the Ancestors when you journey into the heart of your Spirit Drum.
Learn to care for and "feed" your drum—this drum will be different than any other drum that you will have and thus needs to be treated always in a sacred manner.
You will become aware of the Do’s and Don’ts for your drum.
As one elder puts it,
“The Spirit Drum is an external embodiment of our lives. It expresses our joy and sadness and is an implement of prayer. The drum is also the vessel that carries us on spiritual explorations and journeys. As such they tell the story of our relationship to the divine and to those we call the Ancient Ones.”
This is a 2-day Spirit Drum making workshop, and needs to be pre-booked by the payment of material fees by April 18, 2019.
Prices for Drum Materials:
13” skin drum w/cedar frame - $110
14” skin drum w/maple frame - $110
15” skin drum w/cedar frame - $125
15” skin drum w/maple frame - $125
16” skin drum w/maple frame - $125
17” skin drum w/cedar frame - $140
18” skin drum w/maple frame - $140
Deer, horse, elk, cow, buffalo and moose skins are available. Cedar frames are much lighter in weight than the maples frames. If you do a lot of drumming for extended periods of time this lightweight frame will be perfect for you.
Participants need to bring a small empty spray bottle for water to keep drum skins moist, an old towel to use as your work surface, journal and pen, and a blind fold or
mask if desired for use in journey work.
Your non-refundable materials fee is due at the time of registration to reserve your space in the program. If you can not make the program for any reason, you can pay the workshop fee in full and Rob will craft your drum for you. No cancellations/refunds once the program has started. A full workshop fee refund, less the non-refundable materials deposit, is available up to one month before the training. A 50% workshop fee refund, less the non-refundable materials deposit, is available within one month of the training.