Crane Bags

[CelticMoon11]

According to the Druid Magic by Sutton & Mann they contain:

Everything but nothing
Inspiration, knowledge and wisdom
A lunar and other worldly aspect (being related to the sea)
It disappears and reappears in tales
It shifts worlds, times and place...

And from this we need to know what they are for according to the authors before we should have one... which I understand because why have a bag when you don't know what's in it..

My first thought was a "diary" till I remembered the druids never wrote anything down. Then I thought perhaps they contained divination tools, then I thought I should just go to bed...

Many sites say they can contain anything, then others say you should know what they contain before you have one..

So am I anywhere near close or should I go crawl back under the books and start again?

[odubhain]

According to the Druid Magic by Sutton & Mann they contain:

Everything but nothing
Inspiration, knowledge and wisdom
A lunar and other worldly aspect (being related to the sea)
It disappears and reappears in tales
It shifts worlds, times and place...

And from this we need to know what they are for according to the authors before we should have one... which I understand because why have a bag when you don't know what's in it..

My first thought was a "diary" till I remembered the druids never wrote anything down. Then I thought perhaps they contained divination tools, then I thought I should just go to bed...

Many sites say they can contain anything, then others say you should know what they contain before you have one..

So am I anywhere near close or should I go crawl back under the books and start again?

I have a skin bag that is filled with Ogham. I call it my Crane Bag because all the knowledge of the three worlds is contained within them. In that knowledge, are the keys to all wisdom. In all wisdom and knowledge can be found the means and meaning of everything.

One must remember that the first Crane Bag was made from the skin of a crane that was a woman transformed into one (Aoife). Manannán had her in his household for hundreds of years and following her death made a bag of her skin to contain what he considered to be treasures. Each of us should make our own Crane Bag to contain the treasures and gems we discover in our own long lives of lives.

For me this means that the Ogham serve as a key to wisdom and also can explain and can be explained within the traditional tales and themes of our people.

Searles O'Dubhain

[_Banbha_]

When I hear crane bag my first thought is Manannán mac Lir, who made it from the skin of the skin Aiofe. She had been turned into a crane and cursed to live for 200 years away from her home before he kindly took her in. It contained: "the shirt, knife and house of Manannán; the smith's hook and belt of Goibniu; the shears of the king of Scotland; the helmet of the king of Lochlann (probably Scandinavia); a belt of fish-skin and the bones of the pig of Asal. There is also his flying ship named Scuabtuinne ("the Sweeper of the Waves"); a sword named Fragarach ("The Answerer"), and a horse named Aonbharr ("One Mane")"
http://www.maryjones.us/jce/manannan.html

I take my cues from source materials, even if symbolically, for items that have relevance and a connection from the origins of my people to my life now. :)


Honestly I don't like everything on this site but for ease, a basic introduction to him can be found here:
The Temple of Manannán mac Lir (http://www.manannan.net/index.html) which also has a good library section with articles and some source materials. Some are quit inspirational. There is also a section with a modern ritual dedicating a crane bag.

[Meadhbh]

Since what a crane bag is and where it comes from has already been covered. I'll skip down to what to put in it. I think you should put in it what ever you think fits. If you want to put divanation tools in there then do so. Each bag is going to be a one of a kind by its nature along. Even if you make a list of every thing you want to put in there and a few months later find something you want to add. Most certinally feel free to do so.

[skilly-nilly]

Good explanations and referencing before me so I'll just add my own agreement.

I think the objects in the Crane Bag are 'power' objects (a little different than 'treasures') and only visible at high tide to indicate that the importance is in the individual's power (skills/ adventures/ achievements) and not in the physicality of the object.

I also associate the Crane Bag with the Bag Full of the Winds although I can't find a reference to point to with a quick google. The Bag Full of Winds was Magical control of the wind for successful sailing and so still a power/ skill rather than a material object.

[Shawn Blackwolf]

CelticMoon :

I am sharing this from our oral tradition ;

There are arrangements of symbols in our tradition...

One of those , by number value , equals 1318 , for
those symbols...we call this arrangement , among
other names , our double mothers , or double goddess
column...

Utilizing our letter = number tradition , the words :

Crane Bag Made From A Woman = 1318

Crane Bag Holds Possessions : Wisdom , Nothing And Everything
= 1318

Crane Bag Possesses / Possessions : Inspiration , Knowledge , And
Wisdom = 1317

And , as I note your signature :

Morrighan , Druid's Raven Woman = 1318...

If you want more info , you are welcome to leave me a message on my profile...all I have done here is shared what I know...

As you asked...:thumbsup:

[skilly-nilly]

Although Searles has a good point connecting the Crane Bag to Ogham-- Cranes were described as making ogham letters with their legs as they flew.

[CelticMoon11]

Thank you for the responses they are greatly appreciated. Yes I did read the story associated with the crane bag and felt that they were insinuating towards divination tools, i.e. the ogham due to the lunar, feminine and the "all yet nothing" view point. If you throw some sticks with symbols on the ground with no knowledge, they mean nothing, if you use them and understand them, they can reveal so much more :).

I'm sorry Shawn Blackwolf, it sounds very intriguing, but was a little over my head :). Could you explain a little further? PM is fine if you don't want it to be public, that is if you are allowed to explain further. If not thank you for sharing and I shall ponder it some more.

Now for a really stupid question... do people still make crane bags out of crane? Seems more common forms of leather are used now a days, such as the moo & deer. By more common, of course, I mean in my googling I see no one that has actually gone and skinned a crane lol

[skilly-nilly]

Wikipedia says "Most species of cranes are at least threatened, if not critically endangered, within their range." so it would seem to be inappropriate for anyone to actually make a bag of of crane skin.

I think it would be better to use a 'seeming', that is a construct that is re-thought into being a crane (if that makes sense). For example, I want to make a feather cloak (for ritual wear in Druidry) but I would actually make it out of layers of cloth shaped to look like feathers and wish/ Magic/ transform it imaginatively into feathers.

I would imagine that Crane leather would look like Ostrich leather:
http://leatherplaza.tripod.com/images/OstrichLeatherCognac.jpg
which is distinctive looking. Maybe a spotted fabric if actual bird skin seems the ick? Or cow leather with stained or burnt-on spots?

[CelticMoon11]

Thanks skilly nilly. I can see why there aren't any then we wouldn't have any birds left :). Oh yes don't worry I won't be doing kung-fu moves threw the reeds looking for an unsuspecting crane (I think the crane would win personally hahaha), I'm all for cottons, fabrics, my cat if he doesn't stop laying across my keyboard... (kidding!).

Is there any type of cloth that has a sacred meaning to the irish druids? Or should a crane bag be made of an animal? I can sew cloth, I've never tried leather.

Thanks for putting up with my constant random questions :)

[skilly-nilly]

Is there any type of cloth that has a sacred meaning to the irish druids? Or should a crane bag be made of an animal? I can sew cloth, I've never tried leather.

Thanks for putting up with my constant random questions :)

Questions are fun, they make us think :-)

So, I was thinking--- linen and wool are the fabrics which were native to Ireland. You could make a linen or wool bag and embroider (or colour) spots. Even more fun, you could knit a bag and knit in a pattern of spots...

Or you could sew a bag and then attach rhinestones as spots. Or sew on spangles. or attach beads...

I make things myself, so I can see a lot of ways you could Magic a seeming of a Crane Bag.


Thinking of your other post, if you learned stories to tell your son, you could make a token for each story (like a tiny swan for 'The Sorrows of the Children of Lir') and then you could tell him the one he pulled out.

[CelticMoon11]

LOL knitting, I think I'd accidentally stab myself before I finished the bag :). My grandmother tried for YEARS to teach me and then gave up on me lol. Sewing a seam I can do, I'll make sure I bandage my finger tips first :).

They are good suggestions though, I will try and pop down to the local craft and cloth shop and see what they have to offer :)

That's a good idea, I could make a children's "crane bag" with little symbols for stories etc for him to pull one out and hold each night while I read to him. He's only 20 months at the moment but it won't be long till he understands, he seems to understand most things I ask of him even if he can't talk all that much back to me YET (well that I understand he knows what he's saying!)

[Eamon O'Rourke]

I had the same idea that someone else alkready mentioned earlier in the thread, that crane-skin would probably look a lot like ostrich-hide, so when I set out to make my own crane-bag, I went to several thrift-stores until I found an old jacket that was made of ostrich-hide. It was a nice light tan color and the hide itself was quite thin, having a slightly suede texture, covered with hundreds of little bumps where the quills of the feathers had been attached.

Sewing it was more or less a matter of guesswork, as I had no pattern to go by, having simply cut out two large horseshoe shaped pieces and sewn these together, leaving the top open and fitting a piece of leather thong through a few holes punched near the top around the opening. I finished the bag by sewing a belt-loop on the back and adding a couple of beads to the ends of the thongs. I use it to store small found objects such as crystals, pebbles, feathers, sea-shells and other things that have some personal meaning or that serve as focal points for meditation.

[Sekhmet Soul30]

I have a crane bag that I made myself. I haven't opened it in several months so I might have to remove things. But last time I checked I had a small representation of the goddess, a small candle, a seashell, and something that reminded me of the path that I moved away from. However seeing all those people in UK celebrating made me think that it's time to return to the path. However there's no way that I'm getting rid of my Isis and Anubis.