Good day. Wood has always been a vital part of the altar. Most of the wands are crafted from wood. Some of us are familiar with the idea of making idols and mini-sculptures of various deities. Today, I will elaborate on how to create a proper idol out of wood for your daily use. The process is enumerated below:
Choose your timber: This is the most pivotal stage. Picking the best wood for your deities requires immense expertise, but it is definitely not the hardest nut to crack! Listen to your heart. You've worked with your deities, have poured all your emotions to them, and now it's time to put those emotions on work. Feel the texture, observe the color; every bit of detail is important. I do recommend you to buy the wood, and not cut down a small tree just for a plank. Respect nature. It is all we have besides our divine Ones.
Choose your knife: Nothing much on this. Choose your desired knife but make sure it is sharp enough for the carving, at the same time be careful not to wound yourself! To choose the perfect knife for the chosen wood, Knifeguides has your back: https://www.knifeguides.com/best-wood-carving-knife-reviews/
Pick the spot: Pick a suitable spot to do your craving. A small bit of warning: the spot will be really messy! I would recommend to go outdoors or if you have a garage, use it. Make sure to clean up after the work, though.
Start craving yourself : Gotchaaa!! This article was not meant for any deities, at least not yet. Before craving out any deity's idol, crave your idol first. Sounds weird, right? It isn't. As I said before, it all starts with you. Before worshipping any divine beings, why not know yourself,first. Believe me, to some extent, mirrors don't work. It is said that we are all students in the school of life, and there is always something to correct about yourself! Many deities have gone beyond perfection; so don't you think you have to decrease your flaws before working with them? (Notice that I added decrease instead of get rid of because you can never be perfect). Now, rationally it is almost impossible to crave your beautiful face there. Instead, crave your birthmark, your signature or your personal symbol. It has to be from heart. You can use it :
As a symbol of energy: Before doing your spells, you can empower your craft by pouring your emotions or your energies, like you do to your wand.
As a protection medium: You can cast some protection spells and rituals to protect yourself from harm and negative energies.
As a good luck charm: Similar to the one above.
As a partner: To talk to. It is you and you personally. Use it as a catalyst of change. Talk to it, feel more close to 'yourself', discuss life, organize your thoughts and goals and talk to it whenever you feel lonely. It is your true self and your life partner now. No one can help you more than yourself.
Warning: Don't lose it. It can also act as a tool for vodou if it went to wrong hands. Other 'beings' can have direct access to your soul and body if not protected.
Afterwards, if you feel comfortable with yourself, start making idols of your deities as you wish, following the procedures above. I hope I could help. Thank you for reading.
I'm pretty drawn to wooden art, so something like this would fit for me. Good reminder for me to start carving something again. So far, I've just carved a knife used for escrima practice, but the process was very fulfilling. I look forward to putting my energy into a small idol.
I never thought I'd say this, but I now I want to try my hand at carving! This is a very informative post andI liked the witry "plot twist" at the end. Thanks for leaving a reference! I would have been lost without it!
