Sacred Drumming

I've been reading a book entitled The Shamanic Witch authored by Gail Wood and I must say that it's one of the more compelling books that I've read so far. I'm very interested in a couple of different mythological and spiritual paths such as the mythology of the Celts, the Ancient Greeks, the Egyptians, and the Native Americans. This book speaks mostly about Neoshamanic practices or the practices of the Shaman Witch.

I will post a book review on this title once I am completely finished reading the book but I did want to write a piece about sacred drumming. I have participated in several open Drum Circles and several closed ones. If you, dear reader, have ever been interested in Drum Circles or just in practicing drumming for your own spiritual journey and meditations then I highly recommend reading this book. It gives a lot of useful information on finding the right drum for you or rattle. It also gives several drumming exercises that you can use to attune yourself to your drum.

Sacred drumming has been practiced by many spiritual paths for thousands of years. The beating of the drum is the heart beat of the ritual, ceremony, and journey. It helps the individual to center and ground themselves while in trance and it also brings the person back to their body after their spiritual journey. However, I understand that drums, especially ornate and handcrafted drums, are especially expensive, so I use drum recordings during my meditations. These will have the same effect during trance but it is best to be familiar with the drum beatings so they do not become distracting when the songs change over in the middle of the trance. You can actually move through your spiritual world to the changing of the beats if that helps.

If you are interested in taking drumming classes I say go for it. Even if you don't have a drum you may still attend and learn the techniques of drumming with a spoon and a plastic bowl. Always search for what speaks to your heart and take a chance. You never know what you'll find on your journey!