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Bear  

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Buffalo

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Four Directions

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Heron 

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Horse

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Owl

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Snake

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Turtle

Bear

Bearberry is widespread and common in forests throughout the northern United States. The brilliant red berries remain on the plant all winter and provide survival food for bears when they emerge from their long sleep. 

However, it was the leaves of the bearberry that were prized by Native Americans for their healing properties. The leaves that were made into a tea contain a powerful astringent that is antiseptic and effective for kidney and bladder ailments. 

Many Native Americans also mixed the leaves with other ingredients and smoked them, which lead to its other name, kinnikinnick, which is Algonquian for “mixture”.

The bear is attuned to the feminine energy of the Earth Mother. Every Winter the bear enters the Great Void for its time of renewal, signifying the great power of turning within. The bear is associated with the West in many Native traditions, the direction associated with strength and endurance. 

After a long Winter’s sleep, the bear renews its great strength with the help of the little bearberry.

Buffalo

To the Native Americans of the Great Plains, the buffalo was the main source of sustenance; providing food, shelter and clothing. 

Every part of the animal was used for survival and its use was honored as a sacred relationship. It was White Buffalo who brought the sacred pipe and taught the people to pray.

In the same way, the Arrowleaf Balsamroot gave itself completely for the sustenance of the people. Found throughout rocky plains and open grasslands of the West, all parts of the plants are edible and of great use. 

The young leaves are eaten raw, and sometimes smoked. The large taproots were steamed as a food source, and the small sunflower seeds were eaten and pounded into a flour as well. It is a member of the sunflower family and easy to identify by its arrow shaped blue-green leaves and brilliant yellow flowers.

Turtle

Bunchberry is the only member of the Dogwood family that grows as a ground cover throughout the northern United States and down the West Coast. 

The four white bracts appear to be petals but they are not. They surround clusters of tiny dark flowers that explode into the air when mature and spread seeds in this unusual airborne manner. 

The flowers mature into clusters of red berries, eaten by some Native American tribes. The clusters of berries gave rise to its name Bunchberry, and it is also known as “Dwarf Dogwood”.

The turtle is one of the oldest symbols for the planet Earth. The turtle is well grounded, reliable, and steadfast, as is the earth energy of the bunchberry. 

Symbolically, the turtle reminds us to give back to the Earth that which we take, and complete the cycle of sharing.

Snake

The snake represents the deepest, or inner realm, of the water energy. Think of the power of water to forge huge canyons from stone. This is the mysterious and powerful force akin to the snake. It is the power of fluid movement and transformation.

The violets represent the physical realm of water, where water nurtures the earth. Violets are thought of as calming and inviting, loving and serene. They invoke in us the same peaceful sense as a mountain lake, cool and tranquil. The violet is the perfect keeper of the water energy that sustains all life on earth.

The water striders dance across the surface of the water, completing the circle where water meets air. The flow of the water strider dance is upward into the heavens, to descend again as rain. This is an energy of completion and replenishment, joy and renewal.

Owl

The Cedar is honored in many Native American traditions as a sacred plant. The wood is often burned only for sacred ceremonies. But it also has many practical uses, especially for the tribes of the Pacific Northwest. 

These include dugout canoes, shelters, frames for nets and many other utensils. Coastal native tribes use long strips of the bark to make baskets, ropes, mats and even blankets. 

The oil extracts have medicinal properties and can be used as insecticides, perfumes, and for preserving leather. In Latin, the Western Red Cedar is called arbor vitae, which means “tree of life”, which it has always been to Native Americans.

Here in the Cedar is the small Saw-Whet Owl, which is found across North America. The owl is symbolic of special magical powers, revered by some, but feared by others. 

Because of its nocturnal habits, the owl has been called the Night Eagle in some traditions. It is a symbol of wisdom because it can see when others cannot.

Horse

To the Native American, the horse is the symbol of power. To connect with the horse is to take your own power. And the power of the horse goes beyond the physical world. Since early times shamans have ridden the horse to the sun to connect with powers beyond the earthly realms.

The horse of each direction has a special message for each of us. To each direction, the horse brings healing power relating to the North, the power of wisdom; to the East, illumination; to the South, laughter and the joy of life; and to the West, the power of the great Void from which the inner light unfolds.

Pictured with the horses on this drum is Oatgrass, a common grass in grasslands and meadows and a staple in the horse’s diet. The horse has always been in great connection with the earth, as it passes the seeds rather than digesting them, which gives back to the grasslands what it takes. 

This was extremely successful when horses ran in wild herds throughout the West. The other grass pictured on this drum is the Common Sweetgrass. It is widely used to this day by Native tribes and others connected to earth religions, for smudges and in ceremony.

Heron

The Great Blue Heron is a sacred water bird. Water rules the emotions and our interior life. The Heron can be our guide to self reflection and inner discoveries. 

If you are drawn to the energy of heron, perhaps you are ready to deepen your own personal spiritual journey.

The Cattail nurtures the Heron and grows in thick, dense patches in wetlands. You will often find cattails near the rookery. Native Americans were nurtured by the Cattail too, finding every part of the plant a wonderful food source from rhizome to leaves, flower spikes, and stems. 

They also had many household uses for the plant, including bedding, mats, blankets and the seed fluff was used to stuff pillows and mattresses. The sticky juice between the cattail leaves was also used medicinally, so everything about this plant was valued.

A lifetime resident of the Pacific Northwest, Jean Herzel has shared her fine watercolors with many devoted collectors nationwide. 

Jean is self-taught and developed her skill with the medium through experimentation and personal study. Her early works are comprised of wildflowers, garden favorites, and birds. Jean has also done the illustrations for several books on alternative healing. 

Over the last decade Jean has developed a series of watercolors entitled “The Flower Spirits”, paintings of visions of the plant world she sees in dreams. This work has attracted national attention and was featured in Creation Spirituality, Spring 1997, and Light of Consciousness, Autumn 1996. 

One of the paintings in the series had the distinction of being exhibited in the Watercolor USA 1997 exhibition. Others have been exhibited in galleries around the country. 

Jean has this to say about her work: “By sharing my visions through art, I hope to express the interconnectedness of all living things and encourage others in a deeper appreciation of Nature.”

The handles are wrapped in recycled mink or leather and made so you can slide your hand underneath so it fits like a glove!