Ask Your Mama
by Mama Donna Henes, Urban Shaman
Are you cyclically confused? In a ceremonial quandary? Completely clueless? Wonder no more.
*Ask Your Mama™
The What, When, Where, Why, How, and Who of
Ceremony & Spirituality
by
©Mama Donna Henes, Urban Shaman
A Question of Intention
Dear Mama Donna,
I am looking for some information/advice. I consider myself a Goddess Worshiper and don't really know anything about magic. The little I do know is that it has a lot to do with intention. I like the pentagram design; to me it is a symbol of the order and interconnectedness of the universe.
Recently I bought a walking stick/staff at a craft festival just because it seemed like a neat thing to have. The vendor offered to put a pentagram on the top of the stick I bought after I asked if he had any with one on. He must have known at least a little about such things, because as he was doing it he said something about turning two of the points inward if I wanted to use if for protection and two outward if I wanted to use it for something else (I can't remember the word he used) He also had a lot of other sticks with Norse runes on them, and said he's made them for people who use them in rituals.
It occurred to me that I don't know what intention, if any, this stranger was putting into the staff I purchased. I remembered a conversation I had overheard about exorcisms and evil.
My question is: Is it possible to have brought an evil influence into my life by having made this purchase or to be "evil" unintentionally?
Thank you for taking the time to read my message. Bright Blessings,
-Concerned about Evil Intentions in Minnesota
Dear Concerned,
Don’t be. I wouldn't worry that he was putting any evil intentions into your staff. Why would he? His intention was probably to make a great staff, to make a great customer and to make money.
But it is always a good idea to cleanse any sort of ritual tool that you purchase in order to remove the energy and influence of anybody else,
which might have been absorbed by the object. In this way you make it truly your own.
Why don't you smudge it with purifying smoke? Try burning sage, cedar, juniper, copal, frankincense, myrrh or camphor and wash the staff with this holy smoke.
Then when you feel it is clean, put your own best intention into it. After that, you can draw it through the smoke of sweet grass. This invites in the sweet, positive, protective spirits.
It is very common to “dress” ritual objects — that is, to add decorative elements such as glitter, ribbons, flowers, fabric, etc., to enhance their beauty. You can also affix spiritual amulets of personal significance to charge the power of your intention.
Now bless your staff to be a partner to help keep you merrily walking along on your path. For this blessing you can use water or any special oil. Or you can put it outside to be blessed by moonlight or sunlight or whatever feels right to you.
You have thus erased all energy but your own and you have claimed this object as something special and holy. Now it is ready to serve your needs and intentions, whether it be for ceremony or simply to take a walk in the woods.
Blessings along the way,
xxMama Donna
*Are you cyclically confused? In a ceremonial quandary? Completely clueless? Wonder no more. *Send your questions about seasons, cycles, celebrations, ceremonies and spirit to Mama Donna at: CityShaman@aol.com
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Donna Henes is an internationally renowned urban shaman, ritual expert, award-winning author, popular speaker and workshop leader whose joyful celebrations of celestial events have introduced ancient traditional rituals and contemporary ceremonies to millions of people in more than 100 cities since 1972. She has published four books, a CD, an acclaimed Ezine and writes for The Huffington Post and UPI Religion and Spirituality Forum. Mama Donna, as she is affectionately called, maintains a ceremonial center, spirit shop, ritual practice and consultancy in Exotic Brooklyn, NY where she works with individuals, groups, institutions, municipalities and corporations to create meaningful ceremonies for every imaginable occasion.
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