Shamans use a lot of spiritual tools; Our shaman ancestors had to make their own tools. Obviously, they couldn’t order a Remo frame drum from Amazon or buy a totem of their power animal from Etsy. Beyond the practicality of living in a pre-industrial world, there is a spiritual reason for making your own tools.
Anything you make yourself, especially with helping spirits, will be imbued with your own energy and intention. When you were in school, you may have magnetized a piece of metal like a needle by drawing a magnet along it. When you create and use objects in a sacred way, they become attuned. They pick up blessings. Those objects lead their power back when we use them later.
In my own work, I have made a drum in a drum birthing ceremony. I have made masks, bags, altar cloths, totems, Florida water, etc.
To follow this process, you will need to know how to journey, and you should have at least one relationship with a helping spirit.
Why make your own holy water?
Consecrated water, which I’ll use from here on out when referring to what I am doing, is a useful tool. You can think of it as a spiritual wash - used to clear away and dissipate unwanted spiritual energy.
In the movies, holy water is used to chase away vampires and demons. There’s something to this. Consecrated water disburses energy and can send unwelcome beings packing.
Some other uses include:
Purifying and consecrating other spiritual tools
Cleansing sacred space - such as an altar or meditation room
Cleansing oneself and others - like smudging but with water
Use in healing rituals.
Use in ritual baths
Use in spiritual self-defense
And I’m sure there are as many uses as you can think of. Any time you want a little cleansing or feel some unwanted energy, this is a real go-to tool.
The Principles of Consecrated Water
There are two principles at play when you make or use consecrated water:
1 Physical
The physical properties of water and salt - the things you physically make consecrated water with - reflect on a spiritual, metaphorical, and spiritual level.
Water in itself is the universal cleansing substance. It’s used in rituals in many different ways all over the world.
The crystalline nature of salt makes it a great absorber and transformer of energy - electric, etheric, astral.
Combined, these two substances can cleanse, transform, scatter, and disrupt spiritual energy. Note: I would not use consecrated water on items that had a charge you want to maintain.
2. Spiritual
When you consecrate water, you will use intent, focused will, and spiritual power from helping spirits to imbue the water with power. You essentially are changing the water's spiritual structure that lies on the etheric and astral levels of existence.
Intent is the key. Almost everything else is flexible, but a focused intent will make it work.
The Process
When I decided I wanted to consecrate my own water, I did what good shamanic practitioners do; I went to my helping spirits. They gave me this ritual to use. You should feel free to adjust it or receive different instructions from your helping spirits.
What you’ll need
Some water (I use filtered)
Salt (I use sea salt)
A surface you can use as an altar.
A candle on the altar
A drum and rattle
The steps
Set up your altar with a small amount of salt, water in a glass or a bowl, a lit candle, and perhaps totems representing your power animals or images of other helping spirits.
Use a rattle to open the directions. If you have training in shamanic journeying, this should be something you know how to do.
Use your drum to journey to your helping spirits with the intent to merge with one or more of them to consecrate the water. Merge, then open your eyes while still merged.
Hold the palm of your hand over your salt and imagine the energy and intent of purification flowing into it.. You may choose to say a blessing, tone, or stay silent.
Hold the palm of your hand over the water, likewise imagine and intend that purifying energy flow into it. Say a blessing if you choose to.
Pour the salt into the water, hold your hand over the now combined water and once again bless and imagine the purification energy flowing into the now consecrated water.
Thank your helping spirits, ask them to unmerge, then snuff the candle.
If you’re not using it right away, you may want to keep the water in a special container on your altar or elsewhere. You can carry a small vial with you for use throughout the day.