The Druid Magic Handbook: Ritual Magic Rooted in the Living Earth - John Michael Greer 2008

The Crane Bag
The Art of Enchantment
The Practice of Druid Magic

According to Irish legend, one of the great treasures of the sea god Manannan mac Lir was a bag made of the skin of a magical crane. In his crane bag, the god stored the shears of the king of Alba (Scotland), the helmet of the king of Lochlann (Norway), the bones of Asail's pig, the belt and fish hook of Goibniu the smith god, and Manannan's own house. These may seem unlikely contents for a craneskin bag, but any Irish bard would have realized at once that the legend referred to the five forfedha of the Ogham alphabet. The “shears” are Koad, which looks like an open pair of scissors; the “helmet” is Oir, which looks like an old Irish helmet seen from above; the “bones” are Uilleand, which looks like crossed bones; the “belt and fish hook” are Phagos, which looks like a hook hanging from a belt; and the “house” is Mór the sea, the proper house of a sea god.

Cranes have traditional links with writing, because migrating cranes look like letters drawn against the sky. The crane bag of Irish legend, then, is the Ogham alphabet itself. In modern Druid practice, by contrast, it is a small bag used to hold sacred objects, not unlike a Native American medicine pouch, and many Druids use one to hold their Ogham sticks. Worn on a strap or cord around the neck, so that the bag rests at the level of your heart or solar plexus, the crane bag also functions as what modern mages call a lamen—a symbolic object worn on the chest that represents your essential spiritual aspirations.

The first step in equipping yourself with a crane bag is to get a bag of cloth or leather just large enough to hold your set of Ogham sticks, or any other objects you intend to put in it. The color, shape, and design of the bag are up to you, but it should have a strap or cord that allows you to hang it around your neck. If you wish, it may have a Druid symbol on the front.

Once you have your crane bag, leave it in direct sunlight for at least an hour to cleanse it of unwanted nwyfre. If it can be washed in cold running water without damage—most leather and many cloth bags can't be—by all means do so. You will also need to make preparations for an ordinary grove ceremony. If you want to do so, you can enchant your crane bag on one of the festivals of the Druid year, or on some other day that is special to you, but this is not required.

Set your grove stones around the edge of your ritual space, and have your cauldron and wand on the altar. Your crane bag goes at the center of the altar. Open the grove in the usual way. In the Sphere of Protection, trace the elemental symbols with your wand; call on the elements to fill the crane bag with their power, and banish any hindrance to the enchantment from the crane bag, the working, and the grove. When you finish the opening and take your seat, use green color breathing—the color of the Druid element calas—to prepare for the meditation, and then meditate on the crane bag as a symbol and a magical working tool.

When you are ready, rise and approach the altar. Say words like these: “O my crane bag, you have been made from (here say something about the substance from which it is made) that you may share in the work of Druid magic. Before you may take up that work, you must make a journey through the four elements.” Circle around to the east side of the altar, facing the center, and say, “Arise, and enter the realm of air.” Pick up the crane bag and move it back and forth through the incense smoke, so that every part receives some of the smoke. Say words like these: “In the name of Hu and by the powers of the realm of air I purify you and strengthen you for your work.” Concentrate on the idea that the incense smoke is cleansing the crane bag and filling it with the powers of the element of air. When it feels right, return the bag to the center of the altar.

Circle around to the south side of the altar, facing the center, and say, “Arise, and enter the realm of fire.” Pick up the crane bag and move it above the flame, so that every part receives heat and light from the fire; be careful not to let it actually contact the flame, however! Say words like these: “In the name of Sul and by the powers of the realm of fire I purify you and strengthen you for your work.” Concentrate on the idea that the heat of the flame is cleansing the crane bag and filling it with the powers of the element of fire. When it feels right, return the bag to the center of the altar.

Circle around to the west side of the altar, facing the center, and say, “Arise, and enter the realm of water.” Pick up the crane bag and hold it above the water, then dip the fingers of one hand into the water and sprinkle the crane bag with it, so that every part receives some of the water. Say words like these: “In the name of Esus and by the powers of the realm of water I purify you and strengthen you for your work.” Concentrate on the idea that the water is cleansing the crane bag and filling it with the powers of the element of water. When it feels right, return the bag to the center of the altar.

Circle around to the north side of the altar, facing the center, and say, “Arise, and enter the realm of earth.” Pick up the crane bag and hold it above the earth cauldron, and sprinkle some of the salt or earth onto it, so that every part of it receives some. Say words like these: “In the name of Elen and by the powers of the realm of earth I purify you and strengthen you for your work.” Concentrate on the idea that the salt or earth is cleansing the crane bag and filling it with the powers of the element of earth. When it feels right, return the crane bag to the center of the altar.

Pause, and then pick up your wand. Touch the crane bag with the tip of the wand, and say, “Receive the blessing of the receptive powers of the cosmos, that you may manifest all the powers of the telluric current.” Imagine nwyfre flowing from the wand into the crane bag, filling it with power. When it feels right, put the wand down, and pick up the crane bag. Touch it to the rim of the cauldron, and say, “Receive the blessing of the active powers of the cosmos, that you may contain all the powers of the solar current.” Imagine nwyfre flowing from the cauldron into the crane bag, filling it with power. When it feels right, put the crane bag down.

Then take the crane bag and put it around your neck so that it hangs at the level of your heart. Say, “I take upon myself the power, the responsibility, and the burden of this crane bag. The power to wield nwyfre; the responsibility to use that power wisely and well, in harmony with the great pattern of all things; and the burden of bearing the consequences if I fail to do so.” At this point your crane bag is fully enchanted. As you did with your other working tools, your next step is to perform a Sphere of Protection ritual using only the invoking forms of the elemental symbols. Use your cauldron as the source of elemental energies, as you did after enchanting it, and use your wand to trace the circles and the elemental symbols. Your crane bag remains in its place on your chest. As you invoke each of the seven elements, ask the elemental powers in your own words to confirm and strengthen the power of the crane bag. Once you have finished, close in the usual way.