Ceremonial Drum - Vegvisir

A twelve inch frame drum, hand-painted in Bali with the Vegvisir. The stave appears in the Huld Manuscript, an Icelandic collection of magical signs compiled in 1860, where the note says that whoever carries it will not lose their way in bad weather even in country they do not know. It is a nineteenth century Icelandic sign rather than a Viking age one, which is worth knowing and takes nothing away from it.

A frame drum has one voice and a lot of range inside it. Struck in the middle it is deep and short, struck near the rim it is bright and open. It is the drum for journey work, for holding a circle together, and for the kind of steady beat that stops being a sound and becomes a floor.

Good to Know

12 inches across, hand-painted, so no two are identical. Skin drums respond to weather: cold and damp slacken the head and flatten the tone, gentle warmth tightens it again. Keep it out of direct sun and away from a radiator.

Pair It With

For rhythm on top of the beat, the Labora Shaker and the Frog Guiro. For the same Norse thread elsewhere, the Bone Rune Set and A Practical Guide to the Runes. More in drums.