With the present crisis around North Korea, the spirits have been whispering in my ears for many days about doing something ceremonial for the situation. Here, I am offering a ‘Bringing Strength to the Spirits Offering Ceremony,’ and a ‘Bringing Balance Ceremony’ using a drum. I will lay out the form of both ceremonies - you can either copy them, or ask your own spirits for your own ceremonies. The important thing is you do something, if you feel moved to. As I go, I will explain how my ceremonies can be adapted, if you don’t have the same ritual equipment I do.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND About five years ago I had a ‘big dream.’ In this dream I was working with a group of Mongolian shamans - a group I have worked with many times in my dreams. We were gathering together in Mongolia to do a ceremony and some healings, as we have before, when all of a sudden, a very ragged figure walked across the grassy steppe to us. When he reached us, he told us he was a shaman from North Korea, and he had walked across China to come to us to ask us for our help. We talked to him and he explained the spirits of the Korean people were in trouble, and so we went with him, in a group, to North Korea, and there met Generals in the Korean government. The Generals were very distressed, because they knew - on a very deep level - that they were on a road to nowhere with their regime, and they also knew they had separated themselves from the spirits of the land and their ancestors, and their sacred ways. They were desperate to be helped, and asked us to do shamanic work for them. Bringing Balance We stayed talking to the Generals for a long time - the dream seemed to go on all night - Feeding the Spirits and then eventually we made our way back to Mongolia. On the way back to Mongolia, while we were in Inner Mongolia - which is part of Northern China - I A Shamanic Offerings and Drumming Ceremony met a shaman of the Khorchin people, a Mongolian group who live for the North Korean Crisis in North Eastern China, between Mongolia and North Korea. This Nicholas Breeze Wood shaman told me that I needed to make an iron framed drum, a type of those, coloured paper could be kind of cone shaped dough offering, Previous Page: of drum the Khorchin use, and then used instead. These five colours which is called a torma in Tibetan. Chenrezig the added that I also needed to make represent the four directions and These can be made from flour Tibetan Buddhist an iron shaman’s antler crown. the sacred centre, and also the five and water. They should also embodiment of I was told the drum was to be elements. The Tibetan meanings contain blood - only a single drop is compassion used to bring balance, and that I for these colours are: needed, and your own blood is was to play it in a specific way. perfect. You are making a wrathful • Red - West - Fire offering, so it is wrathful in nature. Below: my The next day, I checked in with • Green - North - Water If you are dead set against Khorchin style my spirits, and they agreed with all • White - East - Air using blood, you can still make a iron framed that I had dreamed, and told me I • Yellow - South - Earth torma using a substitute for blood - drum and iron should also do a ceremony to • Blue - Centre - Space red wine is an easy one. antler crown strengthen the spirits of the Korean shamans, and the ancestors, and The Korean meanings are the land spirits of Korea, which I did. different to the Tibetan meanings, It is this ceremony I will share here. and my Korean shaman friend, I arranged with my human Jennifer Kim, has shared these blacksmith teacher to spend two meanings with me, which are: days in his forge, and he worked with me and helped me make both • Red - South the drum and an iron antler crown. (This has a phoenix as a symbol, When I do the Bringing Balance and it represents summer) Ceremony I wear the crown and • Green - East play the drum. (This has a azure coloured dragon as You can do this drum ceremony a symbol, and it represents spring) too if you wish, as a part of the • White - West whole ceremony. You won’t have (This has a white tiger as a symbol, an iron framed drum, or an iron and it represents autumn) antler crown, but you don’t need • Blue (or Black) - North one, you can use your own drum - (This has a tortoise or snake as a if you have one - and you don’t symbol, and it represents winter) need an iron antler crown at all. • Yellow - centre (This represents the divine ruler FEEDING THE SPIRITS and Grandmother Earth) The main part of this ceremony is making offerings to the spirits. It is not important to remember Ideally you will also sing improvised which colour is in which direction, praise songs, or make prayers to the important thing is to realise the them, encouraging them, as well. five colours includes the four You are making offering to feed directions and the centre and the the ancestors (especially the spirits five elements. The five colours are of the ancestral shamans), the part of the sacred invitation - the mountain spirits, the nagas (lu) and spirits will know what is what, you the land spirit protectors. don’t need to know yourself in Remember - not all spirits love order to do the ceremony. If you you, so it is important that when have a set of teachings about the you address the spirits - especially directions you normally use, bear powerful ones like this - you say those in mind as you set up the out loud, “those who love me (or sacred space. us)” when you address them. This is a safeguard, a check on the door For the offerings you will need: to the party, intended to stop • White foods. These can be bowls undesirables gatecrashers. of cooked rice, yogurt and milk. Whenever you call to a spirit like • Small sweet cakes or biscuits. this, remember to say that phrase. Arrange these beautifully, with care, stacking them in tidy neat For the offerings I suggest you piles if possible. get a table and lay a nice cloth on it • Incense or fragment smudge. - this is a banquet you are offering, • A bowl of water (for the nagas) so make it look splendid. You could • One, or several small candles, also use the floor if you wish, but which will burn out in a few hours. lay a nice cloth down first. • A bowl of vodka or other spirits (optional) You will need cloths of five If you want to make offerings to colours, red, green, yellow, white the protectors - who are wrathful and blue. If you don’t have cloths beings - you need to make a special

HOOP ISSUE 97 2017 www.sacredhoop.org with Korea, but feel free to adapt it for your own needs on other occasions. It is a good ceremony to do for your own, personal helper spirits from time to time. If you do it for other reasons the five colours will probably not be required.

BRINGING BALANCE CEREMONY This is an additional, separate, optional ceremony, but it can be done in conjuction with a Making Offerings Ceremony at this time if you wish, although it can be done on a separate occasion too Ideally, however, on this occassion, it is probably best to do it after you have made the offerings and performed the improvised praise songs or made prayers, and while the offerings are still on your altar and the candle is still alight.

The Bringing Balance Ceremony requires a drum, but if you don’t have a drum, and some other form Above: pouring a Declare to the spirit world that hearted dialogue between North of ceremony occurs to you, or your strong black tea the wine is blood, and this will set Korea and the rest of the world, so spirits give you a non-drum way of offering to the your intent firmly that it is indeed that conflict can be avoided, so all doing it, go ahead and do what you protector spirits. blood. Don’t drink any - unless you beings can avoid harm, and so need to do. The bowl the tea normally drink blood - the wine you healing can happen. is being poured buy for this ceremony will not be Sing and make prayers for as The ceremony is fairly simple. into is called a wine any more once you have set long as you feel it is needed, keep You begin by calling to your serkyem, and it your intention - you need to treat it your attention on it, be heartful and personal helper spirits, and do is specifically for like the blood it is. simple - instead of clever worded. anything you normally do before tea offerings to The torma needs to be coloured Then, when you have finished you do any shamanic work. the protectors bright red. You can either do this by singing and praying, you leave the Then you ‘put’ the idea, person, and wrathful adding food dye, or you can let it dry offerings and the altar, and allow place, situation, in the centre of spirits in Tibetan a little and paint it bright red - but the candle to burn out naturally. your drum's skin, in your mind’s Buddhism remember, when you dispose of the If you do this ceremony in the eye (in this case the Korean offerings in nature, after the morning, remove the offerings situation), and visualise a shape - ceremony, creatures will eat it, so before it gets dark. If you do this called a 'bowen knot' - around it only use a paint that won’t harm ceremony in the evening, remove [see illustration], with moving them - such as a natural pigment the offerings in the morning. energy travelling around the knot in mixed in milk or butter of egg yoke - a sunwise manner a little like a rather than a plastic arcylic paint etc. The offerings all need to be model train on a bowen knot It is also good if you make an given to the earth outside, so that shaped track. offering of a bowl of very strong, creatures where you live can eat It is a very good idea to sing while hot black tea - or good quality beer them. If you live in a very you drum. I sing a lot when I work - for the protectors too. urban environment, and - singing spirit songs, in spirit Right: have no garden, find a language. the bowen knot When you have all your local place near by, I 'improvise', singing offerings, you lay out the altar like where you can tidily leave 'in tongues,' and I never the banquet it is, in a neat and the remains of the offerings. know what i am going to sing attractive way. Then you call your Don’t leave a mess, be respectful next, although I generally know own spirit helpers, and then you of others. what the song is about. I don't think call and make praise - by spoken If you have used a bowl of about what I am singing - what words or song - to the spirits whom vodka, or other spirits, this can be sounds I make - I just open my the feast is for - remembering only either be left to evaporate on your mouth and it pours out. to invite the ones who love you. own domestic altar, or taken As you visualise this wave of Speak your prayers for peace, outside and thrown into the sky. energy going around the 'bowen for all conflict to be avoided, for knot', you gradually bring that knot reason and compassion to spread, The above describes a basic shape onto the ground around you, for the empowerment of all those offering ceremony, and you can do and drum within it - the energy beings who wish to generate one for many reasons. This travelling around the knot - as it was peace, for blessings and open example has the intent for peace before - in a sun-wise direction,

HOOP ISSUE 97 2017 www.sacredhoop.org with you inside it. Picture this like intent of bringing down a and the 'model train' of moving Below: the you standing in the middle of a government, wrecking a company energy is running around you, on completed altar, bowen knot shaped four directions building a new power station or its bowen knot shaped rails. yours does not or ‘medicine wheel’ - you are road. It is not about stopping a need to look like standing right in the very centre. forest being felled or about getting a This ‘model train’ is like a pulse this one does This is about being in the lover. It is simply balance - and of energy, it replenishes and 'centre of the world' - the sacred although you may have an idea as to remakes the shape each time it Front, left to right: centre of the all things, with the the outcome, Spirit's idea may not does a circuit. shaman’s mirror four directions all around. be yours. You need to do this Visualising is often hard for (not required), This sacred centre is where all practice unattached to any outcome. people - if you feel you are then three things are created, it is the place of struggling to do it, just pretend you offerings to the the yin and yang - the duality - which My spirits were very strict with are visualising, and gradually over protectors: makes all things - the two terminals me about safety - so if you do this the years you will find that are • red dough torma of the cosmic electrical socket. It is practice, do it carefully, with clear really are doing it. • tea offering emptiness - out of which all form intent. When it feels like you have • bowl of vodka emerges - before all form dissolves • Dedicate your drumming to finished the ceremony, thank your then a sacred stone back into emptiness again. Things balance spirits, and especially thank the (not required) done from the sacred centre are • Call in your personal spirit spirit of your drum and beater; then done in power, and in a sacred way. helpers. seal your drum and beater with the Middle, left to right: The iron antler crown my spirits • If you have a (bronze shaman's) vodka or smudge. You can, if you offerings to the told me to make, and wear, when I mirror, wear it for protection, or do wish, ask your helper spirits how to peaceful spirits: do this ceremony represent this too other protection rituals you may do this - ask them what is your • bowl of rice - for me, the reindeer is the know before you start. Ask your best way to seal your drum. But do • bowl of milk centre's spirit animal - the sacred spirits about it if you are unsure. practice it, the very last thing you • sweet biscuits animal of the centre - the spirit • Drum, and strongly visualise the want, or need, is the spirit of chaos • bowl of yogurt animal which teaches about the bowen knot going around and leeching through into your own life. • bowl of water Mystery, the spirit helper which can around - like that model train on a Back, left to right: bend and manipulate reality. bowen knot shaped track. Keep If this feels too much, don't do Buddhist statue this up, and when your mind it - this is not about gung-ho of Chenrezig, My drum, beater and antlers are wanders, set the train moving again shamanism - some people are not (not required) each decorated with the five without beating yourself up, or going to be ready for this - they • candle colours - red - yellow - green - reproaching yourself for having 'not won't have the personal power, or • Incense white - blue - which you used on got it right!' intent to hold it - and that is the offering alter. If you have fabric • Place the situation you are perfectly fine. in those colours and wish to tie drumming for clearly in the centre The whole altar strips of them to your drum, that is of the bowen knot visualised on the For all my relations. is built on five good - but if you don’t wish to, or front of your drum. coloured offering don’t have the fabric, that is fine. • Sing all the time you work. scarfs (khadags). • When it wants to, let the bowen These are not My spirits taught me about the knot move from the face of your required, but do chaos in an unpleasant way - drum, and onto the ground around include the five With gratitude to Jennifer Kim, Aminaa showing me how awful it felt - and you, so that you are standing, or Batmunkh and Mantrik Khyung for their colours in some that warned me that it was not a sitting, in the centre of the knot, help and reflections with this ceremony. form or another thing to mess with. I was told to put a little vodka on the 'spirit door' of my drum after I have finished using it each time. This is to keep the chaos I have been balancing from creeping through, and into my own space. This work needs great tidiness, and attention to detail. The 'spirit door' on these iron framed drums is the gap in the skin above the handle of the drum. When you use your regular drum for this ceremony, it is a good idea to give it a good smudge when you have finished - or you can rub a little vodka all around the wooden edge of the rim at the back of your drum. Doing this seals the circle.

Balance is simply that - balance. This is not sorcery. Drumming for balance is not drumming with the

HOOP ISSUE 97 2017 www.sacredhoop.org