Last year I decided I was going to make a feather fan for smudging. I didn’t have a plan , just a vision of what I wanted to create. When I did a search for some how to ideas I came up with a few worth sharing. The first link is so lovely, but the idea of making one just like it made me feel like I would be crossing a boundary and stepping into cultural misappropriation. https://www.crazycrow.com/site/craft-focus-flat-fan-pages-4/
After looking around for awhile I came across this link. http://www.nikdreamer.com/blog/2014/6/8/diy-feather-smudge-fan
I like the simplicity of this fan. It can become what you want it to be/what you have on hand. That brings me to feathers.
Recently, I told my husband that I had not seen many feathers this year. Over the past year from late July into this year I’ve been saving them. And then over the span of about 10 days, feathers have been appearing everywhere.
For the past two decades we’ve lived in a wooded area. It is an amazing privilege to live on our little plot and there is hardly a day that I’m not grateful to share this space with deer, doves, raccoons, crows, coyotes, wild turkeys and hawks to name a few of the creatures we see and hear.
We’d lived here about 10 years before I ever saw the turkeys. Lately they have been more visibly present and I’ve been hearing them gobble. About a week ago, when we were out walking I spotted several turkey feathers. They are beautiful. They evoke memories and hopes of autumn, my favorite time of year. Some of the feathers are downy and small. Others remind me of the iridescent feathers of a peacock, not quite as showy, but beautiful nonetheless. Some have stripes, some are a lovely shade of orange, kind of a russet color.
Over the past week and a half, I’ve seen on average 10-20 feathers a day. It feels like Christmas morning to go out on a walk and everywhere you look you see these beauties. Among them was a crow feather. Richly purpley black. The hawk feathers, striped brown and white. One day I counted no less than 30 feathers. Hawk feathers are said to mean strength and vision. Crow feathers symbolize letting go of the past, transformation, skill and balance. Turkey feathers are said to be signs of fertility and abundance. All of these qualities are important to me as I’ve been working on making some changes and creating an oracle deck. The abundance of turkey feathers had me worried at first that something had happened to the turkeys but I’ve seen them and there are quite a few of them so I think they are OK.
I’m not sure why feathers are raining down and I know this will not last. It feels like a gift from the universe and I’ll be a bit sad when they stop appearing. The discoveries have added a new, exciting element to my walks. What an unexpected gift and blessing.
SpiritnSoul 