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Ross LewAllen
105 East Palace Avenue
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 466-4807
(800) 988-5112
oon@nets.com

THE SHAMAN'S COAT Changing Coats for Changing the Rules by Ross LewAllen I had a need Maybe a desire Maybe a want, Certainly a Call To make a Shaman's Coat.

This call came about because I am involved in the Foundation for Shamanic Studies' Three Year Program. Upon completion of this course of study. I will give myself a Doctor's Degree in Shamanism.

One way to create a Shaman's Coat is to "journey on it". This is an ancient Shamanic process which enables a person to travel on the repetitive beat of a drum into other realities. This other reality, commonly referred to as Non Ordinary Reality, is a place from which you may gather information, knowledge, ancient wisdom and healing.

The place from which I journeyed is in the high desert outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico. That is where I live in a mud (Adobe) hogan. (A hogan is an eight-sided structure used for centuries by the Navajo people. My hogan sits on a small hill on a plain. It is surrounded by four sacred mountains: Eagle Bear Mountain to the North, Triangle Mountain to the West, Turtle Mountain to the South, and Spotted Mountain to the East. This center, this land between, is a place of circular horizons make of vast mountain ranges. Over these ranges rise blazing sunrises leaping from pale milky white predawn skies.

Here all the children gather. The rattlesnake, lizard, rabbit, grouse, mouse, and coyote all let you know that you are on their land. Hawks soar. swoop down and return to the virgin land and more in the mountains.

I make salves, oils, tinctures, and teas in my hogan. I live alone here and do my shamanic work. I work warmed by fires burning in the fireplaces.

The night that I did my journey which was actually three separate ones, a good friend, Liana, came to guide and drum for me. I set my intentions and Liana started to drum. Listening to the beat of the drum, I quickly sank into the journey to build the Shaman's Coat. My guides appeared to me and began to tell me of its design, color, material, texture, buttons. lining and symbols. Then I spoke the journey. With pen and paper in the firelight, Liana recorded the following:

The Old Drum sings with power, Double headed, Made in Cochiti Pueblo, Its voice is Loud. I climbed aboard its steady beat, My intentions as strong and clear As the drumming song. "I would make a Shaman's Coat, What must I know?" Top the Lower World, I journey, To a Magical Tree, I journey. With this tree I merge, I spiral down and down Into its deep roots, Down and Down Into the Dark. My guide finds me, Comes to lead the way Out of the swirling Dark. Into a Clear and Bright world we fly, Guide and I. My guides and teachers are many: Plants, Rocks, Birds, Animals, Ancestors' Spirits, Songs and Dances. And there in the clearing We meet another dancing. He circles, dancing. He circles again, Waiting and Watching. "Hello, brother, How are you?" I say, "I need some help." Dancing still, he nods consent. "A Shaman's Coat, I need to make." The dancing stops and he beckons. Sitting down, he breathes into me. My breathing slows and deepens, Energy shifts in my body and I feel the drum in every part. My breathing slows and deepens. Energy shifts in my body and I feel the drum in every part. My liquid body feels the drum Rhythm connecting with the Earth, Connecting with her heartbeat The heart of the Mother. I sink deep into the trust And feel with a rush an opening. A space ready to receive, And in that space there enters The wisdom of the Clear One. The first things I see are: Blue waves roaring down The back of the coat, They flow from each shoulder. Fur covers the back and front of the coat. Fur covers the sleeves. It is gray brown fur like a wind wolf. The coat has no collar, Its hem is irregular and untamed. A black leather panel Rides on the coat's Back. Covered with small brass hooks, Hooks for holding magic  and for making sounds. Many small objects hang there: Spice twigs, shells, amulets, Silver discs, shiny and doomed, And Runes Algiz, Sol, and Tyr, All dancing metal shapes. Algiz for protection, Sol for Sun Power, and Tyr for Rightness. They all make jangling music. Red lines the coat. Red holds the power. The red lining is the soul of the coat And it is covered with many symbols. The symbols come to me and find their way inside. There is an Eye of Kanaloa. It is appliqued in many colors, Its power to my back. Raising from it is a line of Algiz. The Algiz runes run like a ladder Or tree up to the neckline. And shooting out from the center Like arrows over the shoulders Fly two Tyr runes. Over the breast is a Runic Cosmology: Symbols of power, Ancestors and Universe. There is also a feather, Made of fabric stitched in detail. Its color is brown. Many red pockets wait inside. These are to hold Large and small magic. There is a pocket for Herbs, Bay Leaves, Spice Bush, Pinon, Sage, Cedar, whatever comes for Healing and Cleansing. One pocket keeps a Paoa, Talking Stick for Council Circles. Paoa, Hawaiian for "Talking from the Tree", Says "Hold me now and speak from your heart. All will listen with their heart's ears. Pass me on sunwise til all words will be healing." Large objects hold many things, Fire-making Tools, HaiLona Stones for casting, Rattles, Omen Finders, Scared Water, Ritual knife, and Giveaways. There are buttons on the coat. Rustic, carved from antler, They close the coat with crude animal shape. A leather sash belts the coat, Soft deer hide without buckle; From it hangs a pouch Made from same soft hide And lines in purest white. Underneath, A soft loose shirt of green with side orange stripe And pants of fur lined in red. Ankles full of hooks and amulets add their music to the dance. And on my feet moccasins softly stepping to feel the earth. Moccasins are covered in fur. I also see a Talking Stick Made for the Shaman's Coat. Paoa power in this stick. Paoa length is marked. It has the Algiz Tree Climbing its length. It has the same colors Blue, Ted, and Green. They stripe the stick. Voicing their strength in repetition. Along the side a wave plows. It is a river that runs to the sea; Power explodes where river and ocean meet. This is the song that I received: Dancing Around Dancing Around Dancing Around Dancing Around Dancing Around Ho! Guide Ho! Guide Warm Feet, Warm Feet Walking my path Warm Feet, Warm Feet Whistle, Whistle Dancing Around Dancing Around Dancing Around Dancing Around Dancing Around Ho! Guide Ho! Guide Warm Feet, Warm Feet Walking my path Warm Feet, Warm Feet Whistle, Whistle Ho! Guide Warm Feet Ho! Guide Warm Feet

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