In many cultures you will find the practice of carrying a bag of significant objects, items considered to aid and carry power and which help in times of healing. Whether the Native American medicine bag, the African-derived gris-gris or the Caribbean Oanga bag, all of these items are small bags used as charms or fetishes. They are blessed items which hold smaller ritual objects, prayers, and items of personal importance and symbolism.

Medicine bags as used by Native American shaman were actually quite large, carrying ritual masks, herbs and medicinal plants, ritual totems and more. In essence, if you want to make yourself a medicine bag, you need to make it large enough to hold whatever it is you wish to carry in it. For bags taken to rituals and festivals, you might want something small enough so you can tie it to a belt as a pouch, or you might want something the size of a moderate purse or tote bag.

Most often the bag itself is made from a natural fiber or material. Silk satins and velvets are popular choices as are cotton fabrics. Lightweight to moderate leathers can be used for heavier pouches and large bags as well. These can be machine or hand-sewn depending on your equipment, time and skill. Remnant bins at fabric stores or the leather scrap barrel at the craft store is a great place to find a new medicine bag. Or you can find something pre made.

Varying traditions have differing color suggestions for magic bags. You will find many of the usual colors mentioned: black (shielding), white (protection), red (energizing). Or the color can be something that is a favorite of yours. You might find a pre-made bag that can still be dyed or painted on to customize as you wish.

Most often for a personal mojo, just a simple drawstring bag will suffice. Many people like one that is small enough to fit into an ordinary pocket or even something small enough to be worn on a sturdy cord around the neck. These tiny pouches are good for keeping small crystals, little prayer scrolls, feathers, bits of incense, pinches of herbs, tufts of fur, tiny animal totem figures and other items of strong personal significance.

If the medicine bag is larger, like the size of a purse, they can be repositories of bigger items that hold personal power for you or some of your magickal tools. A magic pouch might protect a deck of tarot cards when they aren’t being used, or you might assemble a special one that you can wear if you were doing magickal work for manifesting or for healing work. Larger pouches sometimes can hold small musical instruments like shakers or bells. I have one that I wear on my belt when I dance at my fire circles that holds all the things I want to keep on hand at all times: small musical instruments, organic lip balm, a pen for my journal, a tiny flashlight in case I have to look for something in the dark away from the firelight, incense to add to the fire and crystals I am working with.