Sistrum Sisters By Karen Tate
A Special Journey Travel
Iseums of Isis Navigatum and Isis Pelagia
Fellowship of Isis Our sister, Camille, like her name, is a delicate flower, yet she has the tenacity of crabgrass when focused on her tasks. I can still see her in my mind's eye very beautifully dancing in the Element of Earth at this year's Beltane ritual. Courageous and alone, she has traversed the United States from West to East Coast in her red Volkswagen van. Alone she visited Ireland and England and crisscrossed continental Europe; confident her intuitions would guide her. She has become a role model for her sisters of Isis succeeding in resisting the daily 9-5 grind that imprisons so many of us. Instead Camille masters her own schedule, teaching us by example there are alternative career choices. Sweet, supportive, intuitive, deeply devoted to the Goddess, and her work, Camille is intent to spread the technique of body knowing taught by the Women's Mysteries School of the Ancient Future Sisterhood. We were fortunate to have Camille with us for about two years. But this Fall, she goes about her solitary path again, revisiting Ireland and England. Then it's on to new ground in Australia, teaching this powerful and transformative body knowing technique to sisters along her path. But before she departs, she leaves us with a spiritual and tangible tool we'll forever hold dear, not just because it's the special musical instrument of Isis, our matron Goddess, but also because our beloved Camille developed and facilitated a workshop guiding us to make this unique and ancient tool, the sistrum. As we members of the ritual arm of the Iseum of Isis Pelagia, the Sisters of the Sea, faced Camille's departure, it brought forth deep emotions. We wanted to express those thoughts to her before she left us, so we created this blessing for her. Please feel free to use this for a departing loved one. You might want to alter it for your purposes. We tailored it to make mention of the lands Camille would visit, and the closing lines refer to the sacred sistrums we made at a workshop with Camille (as we are all priestesses dedicated to the Egyptian goddesses and the sistrum was the ancient sacred instrument of Hathor, Isis and Bast). ** * Beloved Sister Camille It is with mixed emotions we bid you farewell. Though we too join you to revel in the promise of your adventures ahead, your bright spirit will be sorely missed. Never were you without a kind or supportive word for your fellow sisters nor were you without abundant and creative energy to support our work. As you go forth in the land of the Goddess, in the places where Her practices were revered the longest despite the onslaught of the patriarchy in those days of old, may the undines, sylphs, salamanders, gnomes and all the fairy spirits take a moment from their work to embrace your presence among them. May they too support and guide your footsteps in your daily work there for the Goddess, and may you always find a friendly face and a warm embrace as you walk your path. Camille, we send you on your way with bright blessings, the confidence to succeed at what you intend, and our love to keep your heart light. Should you need our help, we are always here. Never hesitate to call on your sisters. Though we are miles apart, we are all bound as one and She and we are always there with you. Go with the blessings of the Goddess and your sisters and find magick in all your journeys ahead. Until we join with you in circle again, may your road be smooth and your spirit happy and free. Carry with you the thought that each time we shake our sistrums the melody will conjure your spirit in our minds and hearts. As we will it, so mote it be. *** The Sistrum In my travels and research I've seen many styles of sistrums. In the Heraklion Museum on the island of Crete was the first known sistrum from that area. It was made of clay with only two horizontal rods and two discs per rod still apparent. Drawings show some Egyptian styles with the head of Hathor worked into the motif. Often these Hathor sistrums were ceramic. A sistrum of a Grecian Isis priestess housed in a museum on the island of Mykonos depicted still another version of the sistrum without discs and only the horizontal bars. This style was tuned to the musical scale do, re, mi, fa, so la, ti, do. The horizontal bar for Air was me, Water was la, Fire was re and Earth was do. These were the most common styles in ancient times. The style we usually make today with the discs was more rare. Below is a diagram of a simple version with the discs. You can make one of clay from your local crafts store, but for durability I recommend metal. For detailed information on creating your own metal sistrum, we refer you to deTraci Regula's book, Mysteries of Isis (Llewellyn). You can also purchase one from Isis Crafts (PO Box 3305 Adams Ave. Box #48, San Diego CA 92116) or museum replicas of ancient sistrums can be purchased from the Athens Museum in Greece. (Call the Greek Consulate in Los Angeles or New York for more information on reaching the Athens Museum.) Below are directions to make a ceremonial sistrum of clay as we did in a different workshop with Lady Brenda Matarazzo of Grove of the Green Cobra in Lake Elsinore, California. The sistrum is a jingling instrument best made of a thin metal frame with loose transverse metal rods and handle. The metal is preferably copper and the handle preferably juniper wood, as these are sacred to the Goddess. A good size for the sistrum is around 12 inches from top to bottom. The loop and handle must be in exact proportion and it can be made of wood, silver, brass, or any other metal. Because of its ankh-like shape, the sistrum represents the principles that generate and govern the universe. As you remember, the ankh represents the male and female principles and the results of their union, life and regeneration. According to some sources, the four bars on the sistrum were originally tuned to the four musical notes that correspond to the four Elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. These four bars are held in place by the loop that represents the womb of regeneration that in turn is attached to a rod, representing the male phallus. Some sistrums are made with five discs on each rod representing the four Elements and Spirit. The sistrum also has connections with three goddesses - Isis, Hathor and Bast. Mostly it seems to be associated with the Cat Goddess Bast. One legend tells it was a gift to Bast from Her divine mother, Isis. In Egyptian magick, the sistrum can be an invaluable tool with many uses within and without ritual: to generating energy, as a ceremonial object, to purify space, or simply for the sweet sound it makes, especially with copper discs. Making a Clay Sistrum Materials A box of Sculpey Clay. Check your local crafts store and choose the color of your liking, we used a terracotta color.
About 24" of 12 gauge solid copper wire.
20 discs. These can be belly dancing zills; copper discs drilled from a sheet of copper, flattened bottle caps, small tambourine discs from a local music store or the light coin-like accent pieces sewn on costumes. There must be a hole drilled in the center of each disk.
8 decorative beads (optional). As a guide, use the general dimensions of 12 inches in length, with a 5" handle and 7" oval (2-4" wide) and 1-2" rim or frame thickness. Shape the clay to your desired size and thickness, keeping in mind that simple shapes work best. The author's technique was to shape the clay into one long rope-like length, then to loop over the oval, joining the two ends at the handle area for best adhesion. After you have the desired shape; follow the directions on the box of clay for baking. Before you bake the clay, you must make the holes in through which to run the wire. Take a wire, skewer, or ice pick slightly thicker than the 12-gauge wire. In four places along the outer rim of the oval of the sistrum, run the pick through the clay, across the loop 90 to the handle, and through the clay rim opposite. This will allow you to run four parallel wires across the oval. It is on each of these four pieces of wire you will put your discs. After your clay has baked and cooled (for maximum durability, don't rush), cut your wire into four equal size pieces, about 6" each. Run a piece of wire through each set of horizontal holes putting 5 discs on each wire. Finish the ends with a twist or bend in the wire, or with a decorative bead on each end. Keep in mind the discs should not be too heavy our out of proportion to the sistrum. You can paint or decorate your sistrum to make it your own creation. You might even paint the discs copper or gold if you used bottle caps. We painted Egyptian designs on ours and glued a scarab to the sistrum. Don't be afraid to be creative! Now you're ready to consecrate your sistrum for ritual use as a tool for purification, power raising or music. Credit goes to deTraci Regula, author of Mysteries of Isis, and Brenda Matarazzo of Grove of the Green Cobra who helped in writing this article. | 
