Shamanic Art – Arrow Healing

Arrows are often seen as a symbol of deep healing in Shamanic Medicine. The arrow is representative of your truth as protection. When it pierces it brings with a powerful medicine to allow you to act as your most authentic self. Generally anything destructive like being struck by an arrow or suffering a dismemberment of the body is considered healing in Shamanic Medicine because it allows for new growth or  restructuring. These ways of being wounded bring medicine in some form or another. Being completely torn apart allows for rebirth, for example.
 
Each month part of my spiritual practice is to go for a Shamanic Journey. I work as a Crystal Healer and Energy Worker in addition to teaching meditation and creating art. Shamanic Journeys are for anyone on a spiritual path. I feel that the Journey work is an integral part of my life because it helps guide me in both my work and personal life. It points out where I should be seeking growth and makes life so much more fulfilling. 
 
We always begin a journey with a card reading and during one particular session I drew the Arrow card. The Sacred Pipe Carrier leading the Journey instructed me to make a piece of Arrow Art after the session. She told me to go on Journey and find out what was keeping me from experiencing my most authentic self. I met with a Wise Old Owl who showed me that I needed healing of the heart and to forgive myself about a specific issue. The work I had done in the past was all around forgiving others, but I had forgotten to forgive myself.
 
I created a piece called, "Heart Healing". The journey was back in January and it took a little time to get to doing this piece of artwork. When I finally got to it I only remembered that the Arrow symbolized healing, but had forgotten that I had a Journey referring to my heart as an obstacle. I had also failed to remember that the Arrow symbolized your truth as protection. As with my other works, I set about creating this piece with a mix of meditation and art making. What I came out with was a piece that illustrated a heart healing. After the heart was pierced by the arrow the OM was able to resound. The Om represents wholeness and oneness with all. It was later on when I looked back at my diary entry from that night's journey that I saw the heart healing part. It pleased me to see that my guidance was on track while creating this work.
 
These days all of the art I make is meant to be healing for the viewer. It comes out of my healing practice which is eclectic in its roots. My healing practice is a mix of what I have been taught in Crystals, Energy Work, and Shamanic Healing. I've been trained by teachers from the US, UK, and India.  I ended up coming up with the idea that the arrow pierces the center of the Heart Chakra and let's out the Om. Following the completion of this piece I found myself writing poetry which I really hadn't  written much of in the past. I find the words flow more easily now.

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