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Reflections of the Art of Merlin

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One in Spirit Sculpture

Posted by Amulets by Merlin on August 24, 2014
Posted in: Drum Circles, Sculpture. Tagged: bronze drum circle statue, drum circle statue, drum student statue, Drum teacher statue, drumming together statue, Statue of a Father and Son. Leave a comment

There are few things in life that can inspire such joy.
It is one thing to perform while an audience watches:
expectations, stage fright, critics…
it is quite another when a group of people create music
for the sole purpose of making each other happy.
Many music groups describe sessions
where it was “just the band”,
pure beauty and healing in just the experience.
In a healthy Drum Circle,
one can see an entire community gather together
to create something fresh,
unique and joyful.
Each drummer “holds” the down beat
providing a “floor”
where the community dances both figuratively and physically.

One in Spirit Sculpture

One in Spirit Sculpture

I have taught “Drum Circle Dynamics” to children for years,
helping them to realize how to interact through rhythm.
On more than a few occasions
a little one would approach
and want to play my drum with me.
In those moments I felt a bonding with the younger generation
transcending nearly every other experience.

In an attempt to capture these moments,
One in Spirit”
featuring a drummer and a small boy learning the down beat,
a moment that erases gender,
age, generational perspective
and sync the two into a single moment:
Playing as One in Spirit.

This sculpture
features details in the hair,
ropes on the drums,
texture in the clothing
and joyful expressions of the participants.

Seven inches high
cast in bronze upon request.

To get your copy please visit my
One in spirit Sculpture page

more of Merlin’s Sculpture may be seen at the
Merlin’s Sculpture Gallery
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

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Merlin’s Drum Mom Sculpture

Posted by Amulets by Merlin on August 23, 2014
Posted in: Drum Circles, Sculpture. Tagged: bronze drum circle sculpture, bronze drum sculpture, drom mom statue, drum circle sclupture, drum circle statue, drum mom sculpture, drum mother sculpture, drum mother statue, drum sculpture, Drum statue. Leave a comment

For years I spent a great deal of time at various Drum Circles.
If you have never attended an Open Public Drum Circle,
you have missed a great deal of fun!
One of the many things to watch is how children respond to the experience.
They naturally move with the beat and want to participate in every way they can.
As the older ones can dance and drum just as well as many of the adults,
some are still a bit too little
and could be easily stepped upon by spinning bodies and the like.

Drum Mom Sculpture

Drum Mom Sculpture

Typically, the Drum Mom is a position held by one of the mothers attending.
She supervises the water and snacks
and watches over the health and welfare of the Drum Circle:
as drummers tire and take a break through out the night
(even if we are not doing an “all nighter”)
the Drum Mom makes sure that they are cared for
and makes a safe place
for the dancers to gather to share drink, snacks and words.

I have attempted to capture
the many aspects within the Drum Circle
through my work:
mostly jewelry, however I still love to revel in my first love: sculpture.
I indulged myself in this one:
The Drum Mom.

This piece holds an aspect of the tiny struggle
between the Drum Mom and a pair of little ones
who are more exuberant then for their own good.
One struggles to climb into her lap
while the older of the two wants to break away into the circle,
armed with a shaker.

The Sculpture is a tiny moment,
a single beat in the Drum Circle,
in fact in one’s life;
yet it is an iconic position,
one of honor.
Every healthy Drum Circle has such people
looking after each other;
in this way the drummers and dancers
may focus on their purpose:
to generate Joy and Bright Blessings.

more of Merlin’s Sculpture may be seen at the
Merlin’s Sculpture Gallery
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

If you wish to commission a statue,
please visit Merlin’s how to order custom page

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Academy of Judaic Christian and Islamic Studies Amulet

Posted by Amulets by Merlin on August 22, 2014
Posted in: Amulets, Custom Jewelry. Tagged: Academy, Amulet, Amulets by Merlin, Custom Jewelry, Dr. Robert B. McLaren, fund raising jewelry, Judaic Christian and Islamic Studies. Leave a comment

Back in the Eighties my Father:
Dr. Robert B. McLaren
was a Professor in the Humanities Department
of California State University Fullerton.
At the time,
tensions between the east and west were extreme.
In order to bring a better understanding
between the three “Faiths of Abraham”
as my father put it,
he assisted in the creation of
The Judaic Christian and Islamic Studies
and became Vice President of the Academy.
The goal was to develop line of communication
between the religious leaders in Orange County, California.

Academy of Judaic Christian and Islamic Studies Amulet

Academy of Judaic Christian and Islamic Studies Amulet

The Academy sponsored meetings
giving a forum to clear misconceptions,
air out differences
and reach mutual understandings between the Faiths.
Feeling the importance
Ideals were to be grounded in some material form,
my Father asked me to create
some kind of Amulet
which would symbolize their efforts.
“It needs to be comprehensive: start with the letter A”, he told me.

The result was the simple block letter,
the two sides solid and in a form of the triangle,
one of the most stable structures in architecture.
The ribbon holds the letters “JCI”
representing tenuous lines of communication
and a reminder of the effort required
to keep those lines open to each other.

As the first Iraq War heated up,
the Academy became a hot bed of controversy;
however it kept the religious community in close touch
and provided them with the necessary links
to defuse many misunderstandings between them in our community.

With the passing of its founders
and a host of other problems,
the Academy of Judaic Christian and Islamic Studies
eventually dissolved as an organization,
however the friendships continued.

It is my hope that the amulets
are a reminder of how open communication
and honesty
is a continued step towards peace and prosperity.

If you are interested
in learning more about custom work for your organization,
please visit my How to order custom page

more of Merlin’s Promotional Jewelry may be seen at the
Merlin’s Promotional Jewelry Page
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

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Merlin’s Leaf Chain

Posted by Amulets by Merlin on August 21, 2014
Posted in: Jewelry design, nature Jewelry. Tagged: Amulets by Merlin, Custom Jewelry, hand crafted chain, hand crafted leaf chain, Jewelry, leaf chain, Leaf jewelry, nature Jewelry, Necklace, Pagan Jewelry, The Green Man. Leave a comment

To enhance my amulets and pendants
I have created chain to carry the motif.
When I designed the Green Man it came upon me:
what was needed was a chain of leaves.

Leaf Chain

Leaf Chain

Small leaves to make a chain:
maple, oak, apple, larch and several others
eleven in all (so far!).
I now offer the leaf chain as both an enhancement to other pieces
bracelets, necklaces, hand flowers and waist chains (like belts for dancers).
Each chain is unique in that the order of the leaves vary
according to the time of their creation.
Most do not “repeat” a pattern;
they are composed in a completely random fashion.
Some of the leaf chains are “custom”:
they are created in the order of the client’s desire.
Every link is held together by a silver jump ring
soldered to make the chain solid.
In the past I created “eternal” chains
with no clasp
designed to simply put over the head;
but typically they are accompanied with a lobster clasp
for spring loaded security.

The Leaf Chain is an original design of Amulets by Merlin;
each chain is made one at a time by the artist.

more of Merlin’s Chains may be seen at the
Hand crafted Chain Page
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

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Merlin’s Amulet of Pan

Posted by Amulets by Merlin on August 20, 2014
Posted in: Amulets, Greek Mythology Jewelry, Multi Faith, Music Jewelry, Pagan Jewelry, Wiccan Jewelry. Tagged: Amulet, Amulets by Merlin, Grape leaf jewelry, Jitterbug Perfume, Love Amulet, Pagan Jewelry, Pan, pan flute, Pan jewelry, Pan pipe, Pan Pipe jewelry, Tom Robbins, Wiccan Jewelry. Leave a comment

Pan is the son of Zeus,
(or Hermes or Dionysus);
his mother a nymph (or sometimes Dryope?).
In fact, his parentage is so unclear
some historians consider him Pre-Olympian.
Because of his effect on people
his qualities appear to be more a nature spirit (or elemental).
As an entity,
he inspires panic,
sexual arousal
or in the higher form: musical ecstasy.

Amulet of Pan

Amulet of Pan

Syrinx was a exquisite water-nymph of Arcadia,
daughter of Landon,
the river-god.
As she was returning from the hunt one day,
Pan met her.
In fear of his amorous interest the fair nymph ran away.
He pursued her until she caught up with her sisters
who immediately changed her into a reed.
In his search for her he noticed the air
blowing through the reeds produced a melancholic melody.
The god, still infatuated,
took a handful because he did not know which reed she became,
and cut seven pieces and formed a musical instrument.
He has carried her with him ever since.

Contrary to Plutarch,
Pan is not dead.
In Jitterbug Perfume:
Tom Robbins describes the continued life of Pan
and his exploits as he sailed to the New World
and lived in America….
but that is another story.

The Amulet of Pan,
Features his musical aspect.
The Pan amulet is not a simply relief;
it is a 3D sculpture from his waist up,
framed in grape leaves playing his pan pipe.

An amulet to inspire a Panorama: good music,
good wine and a celebration of life itself.

more Amulets may be seen at the
Amulets Page
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

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Merlin’s Custom God and Goddess Amulet

Posted by Amulets by Merlin on August 19, 2014
Posted in: Amulets, Jewelry design, Pagan Jewelry, Pentacles. Tagged: Custom Amulet, Custom Jewelry, God and Goddess, Jewelry, Magic Jewelry, Pagan Jewelry, Unique jewelry, Wiccan Jewelry. Leave a comment

Custom is my specialty.
In most cases I am approached by a client who has a specific vision in mind:
a design that they have worked up or seen in a dream.
A sketch is created and either emailed to me
or perhaps sent in the regular mail.
Not so with this particular piece.
A fellow approached me at a festival
and handed me a very rough stone
and told me he wanted the design to have four basic elements:
a tree, a star and the image of a God and Goddess.
The stone had special meaning to him
He carried it for years
and wanted to be able to wear it on special occasions.

“Just make the piece and I am sure that I will like it” he told me. The amulet you see here is the creation he requested. The God and Goddess Amulet is a one of a kind piece in sterling silver with rough quartz at its heart.

The God and Goddess Amulet

The Custom
God and Goddess Amulet

The design holds the intent of a balance of God and Goddess
influences born from nature
and blessed with the symbol of the star:
all elements in health and harmony.
He was very pleased.

If you are interested in learning more about having something made especially for you.
Please visit my How to order Custom Page.

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Merlin’s Cross of Joy Amulet

Posted by Amulets by Merlin on August 18, 2014
Posted in: Amulets, Celtic Jewelry, Celtic Knot Jewelry, Celtic Lore, Christian Jewelry, Crosses. Tagged: Celtic Cross, Celtic Knot, Christian Cross, Cross, Cross of Joy, Knot work, Knotwork, Knotwork cross, SCA, Society of Creative Anarchisms. Leave a comment

I met my friend Kevin in the late 80s.
Among his many talents,
he creates Knotwork designs.
Kevin typically creates very complex,
free form knots and then tools them into leather
for his garb for the Society of Creative Anarchisms
(SCA)
of which he is a part.

The Cross of Joy Amulet

The Cross of Joy Amulet

Unlike the typical border work of a more standard,
symmetrical knot,
Kevin’s style is to create broad sweeps
and then tiny inter-weavings to populate a design
or free form shape.
Creating knots of one,
two and three strands,
depending on the use of the knot it can become very complex
because you are not using any formulas or pre-made patterns.

I had asked him to design a cross for me and he smiled.
“I will design this knot
and teach you how it is done
so long as we call the amulet:
“Joy”,
for my friend” he told me.
He had not seen her in years
yet wanted to dedicate the design to her.

He drew it in one sitting:
smiling the entire time.
It is an eternal knot:
one strand from beginning to end
forming the cross with the circle of spirit in the center:
the “Empty Cross” (He is Risen) design.
Though Catholic:
“she won’t mind” he told me;
“Think of it as a compromise.”
Kevin isn’t Christian!

more about Cross Amulets may be seen at the
Cross Amulet Page
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

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Merlin’s Elvin Moon Amulet

Posted by Amulets by Merlin on August 17, 2014
Posted in: Amulets, Celtic Jewelry, Celtic Lore, Moon Jewelry, nature Jewelry. Tagged: Elven Amulet, Elven pendant, Elvin Jewelry, Elvin Moon, Elvin Moon Amulet, Moon Amulet, Moon Jewelry, Moon pendant. Leave a comment

An unfeasible image:
a tree rooted in a crescent moon,
the branches hold tiny stars
a cosmos within itself.

Elvin Moon Amulet

Elvin Moon Amulet

Modern fantasy stories of a race existed long before Mankind walked the earth.
European Lore refers to the race as one
lived with one foot in the realm of Fairy
one foot in the “mundane” world.
The Old Religion based on the forces of nature
describes these stories with images of sacred trees
so large
the very branches themselves
reached into the stars.

The Old stories remind us
of the Truth hidden in fiction;
children’s stories that hold the lessons of life
are only truly realized when we reach adulthood.
The impressions of virtue
to the pure of heart
and to those new to life captured
in tales of elves and fairies
struggling to bring peace to a troubled world.
The Fairy Tale may at times be more true to the heart
than the most mundane experience
because it harkens to a time when we could see with our hearts
without the jaded perspective of a crushed hope.

Merlin’s Elvin Moon Amulet:
A Moon Talisman,
from it a tree with seven stars in the branches
and roots in the cradle of a crescent.

more of Merlin’s Amulets may be seen at the
Merlin’s Amulet Page
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

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Tarot Casters Reading Techniques

Posted by Amulets by Merlin on August 16, 2014
Posted in: Amulets, Tarot. Tagged: 3D Tarot Deck, how to read Tarot, how to read three dimensional tarot, how to use Tarot Casters, Tarot, tarot deck, The Star Card, three dimensional Tarot Deck. Leave a comment

Many approach a Tarot reading
with a question about money or love,
usually they want to know what will happen in the future.

Tarot Casters

Tarot Casters

If you want to get a snapshot of your psychic health
or an over view of options you have in a difficult situation:
the Tarot is a powerful tool
and you may get more than you bargained for.

The process for reading a standard 2D Tarot deck is deceptively simple:
first one shuffles a deck of the 78 Tarot cards
and selects a few and place them in a pattern on a flat surface.
The pattern has several pre-assigned positions,
each a designated concept:
“this is your present” –
“this is your past” –
“these are the powers that you have control over”,
and so on.
The reader examines the combination of position and meaning of each card
akin to an algebraic equation
estimates an interpretation.
This formula is a launching pad for one’s intuition,
a starting point:
one meditates on a combination of concepts
and “reads the Querent” for resonance.

This works for a combination of reasons.
First, the Tarot is a pictorial representation of 78 aspects of one’s being.
Each of the Major Arcana (the first 22) represents of life’s architectural bardos:
lore developed from centuries of experience from a variety of cultures.
The remaining cards (the Minor Arcana)
represent situations that every one experiences
and the lessons associated with them.

Because we are addressing imagery rather than text,
the interpretation of these images may be broad.
The reader uses knowledge and experience to open channels of intuition.
The Tarot offers door ways to one’s self
with a planet full of lore to back it up.

One of the reasons I created the Tarot Amulets
was to apply the concepts of the Tarot as talismanic in use,
the other reason was to develop the Tarot Casters.

Typically a two dimensional deck
(cards)
is limited to how a card would be placed in a reading:
up or down, perhaps across.
Tossing a deck to get a random throw can be messy
and consumes a lot of space and is only used as a parlor trick
– for the most part.

The term Tarot Casters  was inspired by the Star Card:

The Star

The Star

the Hebrew letter associated with it is Tzaddi: the “Fish Hook”.
Meditation (according to the Tarot perspective)
is like a fish hook dropped into the waters of the unconscious
to see what may be found.
In the creation of these pieces I discovered the process
was more like casting a net to discover what lies under the surface
of mundane thought.

I did not translate then entire deck:
only the 22 pieces of the Major Arcana:
the core concepts of the Tarot or <em>The Fool’s Journey. </em>

The Casters produce a random pattern when dropped.
The pattern is first considered by the querent as a rorschach blot,
open for interpretation.
Should the querent describe the scattered pieces as a bird,
then the components of the reading (the casters themselves)
are perceived like the anatomy of a body.
For example: the head of the bird is the High Priestess
which in turn points towards the body;
therefore the mind of the querent is at its best position
to receive information from dreams and other subconscious input;
memories and other feminine powers.
This flow will color every piece down the “neck”
and into the body.
As before this provides the reader a springboard for meditation;
as you can see once the pieces are no longer in predetermined positions,
it forces the reader to step directly into an intuitive state of mind.

It has been described as “Reading without a net” by some readers;
others found it “liberating”,
no longer constricted by simple pre-described patterns;
they have discovered the system actually strengthens their precognizance,
heightening their ability to flex intuitive muscles
and able to see more of their “inner workings” through random patterns.
A client who purchased the set
found after some months of reading that he was able to see
the random patterns in clouds and the movement of trees,
triggering leaps of intuition.
He credited the experiences to his use of the Tarot Casters.

The Tarot Caster System is a step forward
bringing the human touch back into the Mysteries.
I invite you to discover a step forward into the use of Oracles
by experiencing the Tarot Casters through a reading or by acquiring your own set
I still make each set one at a time as they are ordered;
accompanied by a hand made bag used as a reading cloth.
Developed in 1992 after 13 years of study and meditation.

More about the Tarot Casters may be seen at the
Casters Page Page
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

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Merlin’s Pentacle of Brotherhood

Posted by Amulets by Merlin on August 14, 2014
Posted in: Amulets, Pagan Jewelry, Pentacles, Wiccan Jewelry. Tagged: Amulet, Amulets by Merlin, Brotherhood, Brotherhood amulet, Brotherhood jewelry, Brotherhood pendant, Brotherhood pentacle, Community, Community jewelry, Community pendant, Community talisman, comunity pentacle, Jewelry, Pentacle, Pentacle amulet, Pentacle jewelry, pentacle talsiman. Leave a comment

Community
is derived from the Old French communité
resulting from the Latin communitas,
a term for fellowship or structured society.
The word is often used in reference to a group
organized around common values and social cohesion
within a shared physical locality;
however in modern time it may refer to groups of people
spread out over a large area
who exchange ideas through the internet,
phone lines and other forms of communication.

Pentacle of Brotherhood

Pentacle of Brotherhood

The Pentacle is a symbol representing
(among other things)
the ideal human being in perfect balance with him/herself:
the elements represented by the lower four points
with the top point symbolizing Spirit
keeping matter in balance.

The Pentacle of Brotherhood
is a symbol representing Community in its ideal form:
open communication between its members,
addressing the toughest issues
with a clear mind and an open heart.
Each of the portions of the Pentacle
is comprised of clasping hands in friendship,
reserving nothing that would inhibit health and well being.
Maintaining such a balance between Perfect Love and Perfect Trust
is the most difficult of efforts.
It requires the members of the community to be honest with each other,
true their own nature
and respecting another position without compromising one’s own ethic.
Perfect Love means
to embrace each other for what they are
without objectifying each other;
Perfect Trust is earned over time,
not simply given.
A community using these ideals as their cornerstones
would stand the test of time,
transcending hardship,
pain and suffering of life’s turmoil
demanding on one’s mortality,
able to put aside petty squabbles and differences.

This amulet is a dedication to these ideals
in hope that we can rise above the flesh that separates us
and embrace each other
for the Radiant Beings that we are.

Other Pentacles may be seen at the
Pentacle Page
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

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