Muck Love Totem
This altar piece to the muck monster is carved from the soaked branches of the marsh. It is a powerful tool for focusing your intentions during your rituals and will double the power any intention or spirit put into it. It is especially powerful in self love magic. It's power comes the Muck Monster, a sweet and shy entity that has become over-commercialized and is in need of soothing and kind attention.
Yield: 1 Totem
Cost: 14
Equipment
- Axe or large clipping shears, Handheld Set of Cutting and Carving tools
- sharp carving knives including at least a medium straight knife and a rounded or sweep gouge. (I bought my knives from Flexcut)
- Sheets of 80, 120, 220 & 400 grit sandpaper
- A pen or marker
- food safe wood finish (like a butcher block oil or beeswax finish) or mineral oil
Materials
Required
- 1 Forearm Length young green branch or a well soaked marsh branch
- 12 fl. oz. food safe wood finish (like a butcher block oil or beeswax finish) or mineral oil
- Patience
Optional
- 2 Cups Herbal Tea it's important to take breaks hun
- 5 drams Soothing Hand Balm wood can be rough
Instructions
- The first step in the process is to choose the right wood. For those new to carving, we would recommend green wood from a species that is not too hard. You will no doubt end up with aching hands regardless but there is no point making things more difficult than they need to be particularly for your first totem. With practice you can progress onto harder timber and seasoned wood.
- If possible select a branch which is relatively free of side branches and therefore knots and also has some bends which will add character to your totem. Remove the branch using a pruning cut, which will allow the tree to heal itself (diagram 1).
- Then remove a knot free section slightly longer than your forearm and about a fistful in thickness of the totem you wish to carve. The central growth ring on most woods tends to be pithy and if it forms part of your totem it can fall out leaving a hole, so to avoid this section, slice the curl. So the next step is to split the section straight down the middle. With thinner pieces use a fixed blade knife and a baton, with thicker pieces it may be necessary to use an axe or froe. You should find that the wood will split nicely exactly down the central growth ring which should be clearly visible as a darker line down the middle of each of the split halves. Make sure you split the wood the right way to maintain any desirable curves that may be present (diagram 2).
- Since my muck monster has a pointed snout and a bulbous head I’ll include these features in my final design.
- Making the revealed inner surface of the section the top surface of your personal Muck totem, mark out your design with a pencil or charcoal from the fire, making sure to leave a little bit of extra wood at the bulb end. Although many people rough out the shape of the totem with an axe we recommend removing surplus wood by creating stop cuts and then splitting or carving down to these. This method is just as quick, but less tiring and less potentially dangerous. Simply with a saw cut oblique cuts across the grain following the angle of the bulb of the spoon then with your knife and a baton split away surplus wood either side of the handle down to the stop cuts. Always leave a small margin of error as these splits do not always run true (diagram 3).
- Repeat the process to remove thickness from your totem. I like my totem girthy so I leave it at least two fingers thick. Again, making a stop cut with a saw at the underside of the back of the bulb and splitting down removing wood from underneath of the handle (diagram 4).
- Now with your knife continue to carefully and steadily shape the handle and back of the bulb of the totem. The reason for leaving additional length at the end of the totem, is to give you something to hold when trying to shape where the handle joins the stem so that you are always cutting away from yourself. When you are happy with the handle and back of the bulb (diagram 5), you can now shape the surplus wood from the tip of the snout. The prongs, horns and knots you add here will be perfect for working out your stresses with a little personal massage. (Diagram 6)
- All that’s left to do is to sand your totem. Start with a coarse grit and work through medium and eventually fine grits, stroking the idol while smoothing over any flaws. Take this moment to whisper sweet nothings to the muck monster, comfort it as if a friend after an ugly cry or after a bad breakup. Think of the ways you would like to be complimented: “i’m good enough, I’m witchy enough, people want to hear what I have to say, …” if you repeat these new mantras while using this totem the Muck monster will give you a shield to protect you from embarrassment, increase the comfort in your body and encourage self-affection.
- To finish off, give your spoon an oiling with olive oil or any other edible vegetable oil to really bring out the grain. I like to add a little essential oil before beginning any rituals. Add it to your altar for rituals of the new moon.
Notes
One of the keys to to unlocking the benefits of this self-love totem are using the totem for personal massage. With this handle at the end it's easy to reach those hard to reach places.
Through Positive self-talk and some Aroma based spells, the love intentions I send to the muck monster is delivered back upon me ten-fold.
Sometimes I will use it in bed after a long day. I like to keep it with me at all times to boost my mood and keep it as my little secret. I love my little muck monster totem!
