This new drum from Journey Oracle is more like a good work horse than a Thoroughbred. The older blacktail deer skin from Cortes Island is sturdy enough to hold its voice when drumming long shamanic journeys outside in nature. The thinner skins on most of my shamanic frame drums are better suited for the warmth of the living room, but this drum is dependable for the long ride through wild country.
The deep resonance of its voice begins with a clear single tone and slowly adds an upper harmonic as the drum warms to the vibration. This is the voice I want to work with, like I would want a Suffolk Punch to be carrying me into some alternate realities, more than a delicate, changeable creature with thin legs.
The holdfast for this new drum is a medicine pouch made of doeskin, just the right container for objects and talismans of protection and courage. The sacred numbers woven into the back of this good horse create a saddle of strength and cosmic return in the sets of 24 and 8.
Because 8 is the number of "as above, so below" the medicine pouch contains a floor of sturdy hide so that just as your spirit on the journey is supported, so is your hand on the drum.
A drum is the rebirth of spirit into voice, and the bullet hole of the deer's death is at the same time the passageway of it's new life as your good horse.
