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Dodging Shield

Originally uploaded by boont dustie

My coworker found this on his walk for dinner tonight. It is my majestic ‘dodging’ shield. Loves it.
Still trying to figure out what I need to be dodging, but it’s a good sign that this is now something I can rely on.

Tim Boucher just turned me on to this web subculture – some of the spookiest stuff I’ve seen on the internet since ‘Morgellons Disease’.

I am slowly but surely building up my inventory; here is a photo-essay of some simple things that I’ve acquired. Don’t know how long I will be keeping these things around, but I am at beginning to ponder their meaning and I why I was drawn to them in the first place.

Hook take from cieling in my basement

I was cleaning up my basement so I could start playing music in it and we were hanging this plywood stuff on the ceiling to block off the exposed insulation. We had to pull out all these old random nails and pieces of metal, one of which seemed like this ancient hook thing. For some reason I felt compelled to keep it (not sure why).

I guess I just found it interesting that it was there in the first place – what person had put it there and for what purpose?

I am inexplicably drawn to this hunk o’ metal.

Last weekend I bought some MULLEIN leaf at the Fremont Market, which was being sold for both its medicinal & magical purposes. Apparently this is good for divination and exorcism.

Here are the beads for my hair. Also considering dreads as my mane is getting way out of control anyway.

Newly Arrived: Tim Boucher Time Travel Proof Cassette. This just arrived in the mail – still not quite sure what it is but I wanted to give ya’ll a teaser for what’s to come.

Red Flannel Jacket:

This is the biggie. I woke up in the middle of the night a week ago and thought I saw someone in my room wearing a jacket like this. I even tried to wake up Amber and I said "Amber, a ghost. A ghost." It freaked me out but I convinced myself it was just the shadow of the money tree in our room. A couple of days later I found the same style overcoat at the Fremont Market. Big black + red plaid in honor of the Seattle spirit guide.

What’s even more fascinating is that tonight I took off the jacket and laid it on a chair only to find out – THERE IS A HIDDEN MYSTERY POUCH SEWN INTO THE BACK OF IT! IT JUST MIGHT BE THE PERFECT PLACE TO KEEP ALL OF MY MYSTICAL TOOLS!

And finally, Vivian, my roommate’s cat, waking me up and breaking the time space continuum

I think there might be a mystery somewhere in all of this. So, walking to band practice in Capitol Hill, I found a really nice brown jacket that someone had taken off and left on a brick ledge. I thought about coming back and rifling through it, but I was late for practice so decided I might come back later. Just as I let the thought leave me, I immediately came across this next clue: A spare change sign.

But as you can see, the panhandler is no where to be found. I took the picture and continued on. As I turned the corner, the final piece of the mystery unveiled itself – a pair of disembodied shoes.

I’ve resuscitated my Tumblr account (http://boontdustie.tumblr.com) and have set up the RSS feed so that it hows up on the right hand navigation of this Wordpress blog. My plan is to post a lot of random links & videos & ebay/amazon searches for interesting urban shaman history/theory/artifacts – so you should subscribe and send me things to add. Right now I put up this great link to a Michael Harner youtube video:

And also a great ebay post I found while searching for ‘real’ magic wands.

I have four wands available. All are completely authentic. I have two unused wands, one heavily used wand from a male wizard and one moderately used wand from a female magician. They have all been made from the same crafted hand over 80 years ago. The two wands that have been used have been incredibly effective. Little could one imagine how much power these wands have. Some spells require studies and some are as easy as breathing with either of the wands.

Check it out!

One thing that is a definite plus side to all of this is that all my friends and family have a ton of ideas for things that can get me for Xmas so I’m not worried about getting stuck with a bunch of gift certificates to Barnes & Noble. My mom has already promised me a utilikilt and I think I caught Amber googling for ‘authentic dreamcatcher’ when she didn’t think I was looking.

August 7th: Dream

I started a local law enforcement group which we called “Trophy” – basically just hollow earth radio people in kind of a “citizens on patrol” type environment. Yeah, that’s right, sorta police academy style.

Anyway, I am walking around on my patrol, near the water late at night and I am alone.
Whereas starting the group at first seem funny, now I see a shadow person following me and
I start to panic and get a little nervous. This guy keeps getting closer, eventually to the point where I say “you need to back off”.

The dude keeps coming so I draw my weapon and aim it at the dude. For some reason
I am also video taping it. I notice that he is also filming the event.

Just as he approaches me fully he pulls out his weapon and we both fire at each other,
and I film the moment he shoots me straight in the belly button

I remember the feeling of watching someone point a gun at you and continuing to pull the trigger. Then he runs off and I lay there just a few moments until an ambulance pulls up.

I flag them down and say “you need to take me to the hospital”. They open the side of the car, which is really more like a minivan and inside see several stacks and rows of dead people covered in white plastic.

They said they were full. But, they said, it’s not that big of a deal because I was actually standing in the parking lot of the hospital

So I turn around and there it was … I hobble in and tell the receptionist that I have been shot. They say it would be a while. I keep holding my stomach, bleeding.

It starts feeling like it’s taking a really long time, so I kinda wandered away to a rock show happening next door. I talk to some friends I know like about how the band was good etc, but i would also say “yeah, oh, and I got shot tonight”. It was casual. I am still sorta paranoid of the guy who shot me at this point, and I turn and see him there. I walk up and snatch away his camera partly because I was kinda nervous that maybe it was my fault – that I shouldn’t have drew my gun.

I kinda wanted to hide the evidence and i also wanted to confront it myself. After I took his camera he quickly retreats and I have the feeling that he’s going to start rounding up a posse to get me. Then I woke up.

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The next day I am painting with amber and this girl jenny sweet potatoes and we are making flyers with watercolors cause we are going on tour. It’s about 10:30 at night. I confirmed this with amber after the fact.

I am just painting away until I accidentally pour wine all over the table and all over my shirt. It gets all over me, but especially on my stomach. It looks like a bleeding stomach wound.
Like, EXACTLY like it.

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The next morning I read this:

Seattle Police are investigating the murder of a 15-year-old boy who was shot and killed late last night in South Seattle. At about 10:30 p.m., Seattle police received a call about a shooting on Rainier Ave S and S Graham Street. When officers arrived, they found a 15-year-old boy lying on the sidewalk, with a gunshot wound to the stomach.

Southwestern Spirit Animals Coffee Mug

Originally uploaded by boont dustie

See what I mean? Here’s a mug that I found in my room as a ‘gift’ just minutes after posting my previous urban shamanism post. Clyde had heard word of my hair beads and herbal supplements and searched far and wide for a goblet to hold my morning coffee. Then he sneakily left it in my room near the top of my bed. Thank you Clyde. Thank you.

I don’t know where I first heard the term urban shaman and/or what it really even means, but recently I’ve been on this new kick to become one.

Maybe it arose after watching Lord of the Rings for the first time? Or maybe it’s from the new ‘Mystical Journey’ iPhone Application I have been imaging – (just think, a mobile phone program that helps you on your vision quest! [MORE ON THIS LATER]). I guess I have been sorta thinking about using the technological background I’ve been able to cultivate over the past couple of years and put it towards a more metaphysical purpose. I have spent a long time wrestling with ways in which to express personal or religious ideas that don’t simultaneously make me wanna puke; and a part of me thinks that if I start messing around in this area and have fun with it I might be able to find something that I feel comfortable with.

The funny thing is, just hinting at this stuff on twitter and around friends has brought up some interesting responses in people. Amber half-joked that she thought I was ‘losing it’. Someone else sent me this video because they said it reminded them of me. I realize everyone’s just ‘teasing’, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

I will be attempting to chronicle my adventures into this world here on the blog which I have left pretty barren the past couple of months. Right now I am slowly acquiring different ‘artifacts’ into my arsenal (certain herbs, pouches, modern amulets, etc.) and I suppose it might be fun to keep track of that here. One thing that Amber brought up that I think is interesting and true is that perhaps this whole ‘becoming an urban shaman’ is just an excuse to shop. I think I need to keep that in mind and pay attention to finding things that I already have and reimagining them and/or *making* things that I want.

Here’s my current wishlist:

1. Subtle pouch/fannypack/quiver to carry ‘inventory’. Ideally, I’d like this needs to be pretty discrete.
2. Limestone. (I’ve heard some stuff about how limestone is involved with paranormal activity). Maybe I can attach it to a wand?
3. Speakjet – I am wanting to build one of these:

4. Beads for hair. These have been acquired, now I just need to put them in.

Any suggestions for things I should start to gather?