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Human kind has always wanted to set down important events for future record. Along with this came the desire to create a solid representation that describes who we are and what is important to us. Come and record you own important event in the form of a Totem carving and create your Coat of Arms that represents you and your values.
From the earliest days of heraldry, only the head of a family had the right to inherit unchanged the entire paternal arms; junior branches of the family made subtle changes. A Coat of Arms identifies who we are and what we stand for. As a way of focusing our energies and intent, we will create our own Coat of Arms.
Totems keep records of important historical events. Family and clan relationships, accomplishments, adventures, rights and stories. It may be a myth or legend, or a story from the life of a person. We will create, carve and paint our individual totems to honor an event or experience in our lives or as a symbol for who we are at this moment. Small pieces of driftwood (easy to carve), carving tools and paint will be provided. If you have any of these items you want to bring, please do. Consider these questions: What makes you special? What is your history and what are your stories? What images remind you of your family or group? What are your special symbols? What are your accomplishments? What makes you proud?
Cast circle
Discussion: Totems, examples, why they are done and how.
Pass out: wood, paper, and markers
Drawing Meditation:
Get comfortable, have your wood in your lap or your hand. Turn it around, look at it, feel it. Have your paper and markers close to hand and write down anything that comes to mind as we go through this meditation. It may be words or partial sentences, but what you are really looking for are visuals. Colors, forms, shapes.
Think about yourself. See yourself as the wonderful, individualistic sacred being that you are. Think about your history. Where you grew up, your parents, your sisters and brothers, cousins. Your neighborhood, the house you lived in. Was it a big city or a rural setting? Were there many people in your life or did you just have a few close folks? Did you belong to any groups, clubs or organizations? What are some of the stories you heard growing up? Those that you heard over and over and have become a part of you? Think about this time and place that represents your roots. What images are here?
Focus on one single image that has meaning for you. A symbol that you feel is yours, one that reflects who you are. Think about your accomplishments. What have you done that makes you proud? What memory comes to mind that always makes you smile? Makes you feel happy? How did this experience begin? What was the day and time of year? Who was involved? How did this experience evolve? What happened? How did it end?
Look at what you have drawn and pick out the shapes and forms of an adventure you have had. You can include your childhood history as a starting point, or the foundation of your totem. This gives us the setting. Above that, begin the story of your adventure. Be sure your drawing is very simple and can be carved easily. Include color. Use symbols that can tell this story. At the very top of your totem, draw the last symbol. This may be the moral of the story, the outcome, or a representation of the feeling you have when you think of it.
Share what participants have created.
Release Directions
Release circle.
Cast Circle
Discussion: Coats of Arms, show examples.
Readings
During the Middle Ages, knights used a coat of arms to identify themselves. One man in armor looked a lot like another, so the coat of arms was used to identify a knight in battle. In a society where few people could read and write, pictures were very important. A coat of arms was more like a label for instant identification than it was like a painting. You wanted to know instantly who was coming toward you, so you could know which side he was on. Coats of arms later took on further significance and meanings. They also became a way of showing membership in the aristocracy, after they lost their significance in warfare.
Only the oldest son would inherit his family’s coat of arms unchanged; his younger brothers would usually add a symbol to show who they were. The symbol a younger son added was often a smaller picture placed in the middle of the shield. When a woman married, especially if she had no brothers, the coat of arms of her family was often added to her husband’s arms. Sometimes the arms were quartered, or divided into parts. In this case, the man’s family coat of arms was in the upper left quarter (as you look at the coat of arms) and lower right, while the woman’s family’s arms were in the other two quarters. Shields are generally "read" like a book, starting at the upper left, going across and then down.
A charge is what is shown on the base color of your shield. Animals were frequently used as a main charge. Animals were shown in certain traditional postures, which were not meant to be realistic pictures of the animals. They were not drawn to look three dimensional, but were shown as if they were flat, and with the most characteristic parts of them the most obvious. The pictures were to represent the animal as a symbol. Generally the animals chosen were fierce, and they were often show in postures of combat. Whatever their main color, fierce animals were often shown with red tongue and claws. Small details on a charge do not have to follow the metal/color rule. A gold griffin can have red claws on a blue field. Here are a few of the most common animals on shields: lion, bear, boar, eagle, horse, dragon, griffin.
Static A blazon represented a family, on an estate. When the head of the family died, his eldest son inherited the family arms, as well as the estate. The coat of arms represented something permanent, stable and unchanging. Medieval people believed that everything, and every person, had a certain place in the universe, and this was not supposed to change. Movement and the suggestion of change were not generally seen on medieval shields.
Symbolic Pictures on shields were symbolic, that is, they were something that represented a quality to the viewer beyond what he saw. For instance, a lion or an eagle meant "courage". The picture was drawn so that everyone would know what it was, but it was not important that it look like a real eagle.
Stylized Animals and other things on shields were meant to be instantly recognizable, but they were stylized. They were drawn according to rules, not realistically. Usually they were drawn a position that showed their most important characteristics clearly (a lion’s mane, a unicorn’s horn, etc.) Animals were drawn from directly in front, or in profile, not from a three-quarters view, or partly turned. This also helped to ensure that the same blazon, or description of a shield, could be drawn by different artists and still look very much the same.
Flat Images on a shield were shown in pure, flat colors, without any shading. They were not in drawn in perspective. Items were not shown in the proper size to each other, either. Things might be drawn larger because they were more important, but not because they were in fact larger. A horse might be as large as a castle, not because it was closer to the viewer than the castle, but because it was equally important, or because it made a balanced design.
Bold Shields were meant to be seen across a battlefield. Also, they were a proclamation of who you were. Lords in the Middle Ages were not shy about who they were or their accomplishments.
Hand out: standards, paint, paper, pens, worksheets.
Drawing and writing meditation:
Get comfortable and relax. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Make sure your paper and pen are close by.
Think about your life and bring to mind what is most permanent. What have been the most stable things throughout the years? The things that form your foundation. The beliefs and values that have remained the same since your were small. You can always depend on these; they are unchanging. Visualize the forms this can be represented with. This is the beginning of your Shield.
Let your mind drift to a particularly challenging time. A situation where you were faced with an intimidating task or duty. You knew you had to follow through, but you dreaded it. Still, you did what was necessary. What helped you to get on with it? What phrase repeated in your mind until you built up the courage and strength you needed? This is your War Cry; write it down.
You have goals and you have inspirations that will help you reach these goals. What goals do you have? When you are gone from this place and this time, what change do you want to leave behind? What inspires you to make this change? Think of the colors that come with these thoughts. What colors represent your motivation? This is your Wreath.
Let your mind again drift. This time allow yourself to briefly touch on the most important time of your life. Relive the joys; experience the regrets. You are the product of all your experiences, and you are a beautiful and sacred person. Summing up who you are right now, think of a single, simple symbol that represents you. Draw this; it is your Crest.
Create our own Coat of Arms.
Share what participants have created.
Use what you create as a reminder of what is important to you, to gird yourself before battle and to redefine yourself as you grow.
Release Directions
Release Circle
