I’m still getting acquainted with my first ritual rattle. It seems that I need a bit more time to get used to her sound. The little bells aren’t that pleasant to my ears and I need to experiment with ways to move her so the bells can still jingle but without being too loud or overpowering.
I’m getting closer but I’m not quite there yet.
And so for in the mean time I figured I would try and make a second rattle.
For this rattle I wanted to try something else. I used a small wooden bowl and my husband’s old leather pants. (Nothing goes to waste here in this household.) and decided to fill the bowl with some nut shells, some raw amethyst and moonstone and three tiny little bells.
The rim of the wooden bowl I decorated with the entire elder Futhark using a wood-burning tool. The result may not be perfect but I’m very happy nonetheless.
The next step was covering the bowl with leather. I filled the little bowl and used some string I found to tighten the leather around the top.
Actually, I think it’s paper/plant fibre string. I was afraid it wouldn’t hold but to my big surprise it does!
Only after covering the top of the bowl I noticed that the entire wood-burning effort disappears underneath the leather cover. I decided to just leave it like that and see it as a lesson learned. I know the elder Futhark is there and for me that’s all that matters.
And there it is, my second rattle! I already gave her a couple of tries and we get along very well. The sound of the bells is muffled but present enough for me. I just love her wooden sound. Also, I can use her in different ways. With the leather facing upwards for a more crisp sound, or with the leather facing downwards for a deeper, slightly drum-like sound.