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The Shaman’s Rattle – A Simple And Powerful Tool With Many Uses

Rattles are very simple tools that have many uses in shamanism. Below are a few different views of the rattle and its uses.
Walking the Hedge talks about the simplicity of the rattle and some of its uses:
Rattles are the only instruments found in every musical or ritual tradition around the world. Anyone can play a rattle, it is possibly the simplest instrument created by mankind. Even the rhythm-less person can shake a rattle along with the crowd. Most cultures have some form of rattle that is given to infants as a toy or a protective magickal tool. In many societies, rattles distinguish people of power such as Shamans and Chiefs.
Technically, rattles and bell branches are classified as “idiophones,” but that simple label doesn’t convey the almost overwhelming variety of materials from which they are made or performance contexts where they are used.
Rattles, and all instruments, can be very powerful tools. Because sound, vibration, this tiny sonic boom can be very useful in aiding a person to project energy, giving a little extra “oomph.”
The sound of a bell or rattle is used in ritual to consecrate sacred space, because the sound of many instruments is thought to drive away “bad” spirits and draw “good” ones. Even the blowing of horns can drive away bad spirits.
Rattles are used to heal, to speak as the voice of a deity.
To activate the properties of magickal objects such as herbs, beads, stones, etc. In ritual work it is often used to summon deities, spirits & powers.
The sound of the rattle can be a protective barrier, a marker of time, and an activation of intention.
The rattle is excellent for doing diagnostic work, for opening up areas where energy is blocked, for re-establishing energy flow, and for helping to remove inappropriate energy.
NaturalShamanDrums discusses the use or rattles to alter states of consciousness:
Shamanic rattle, shaker, noise maker — no matter its moniker, this sacred tool is a valuable ally in a shaman healer’s intention of service through sacred rhythm. Like a shaman’s drum, the rattle is used to aid in achieving the “altered state of consciousness,” that brainwave frequency measured between 7-8 Hz which is the threshold to journey work, reportedly in the Theta/Alpha range. That is roughly the same as the Earth’s natural frequency, known as part of the “Schumann Frequency” range…
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No one knows the perfect number of drum or rattle beats per minute (bpm) needed to entrain the brain to hone in on the altered state of consciousness and thus to lock in to Mother Earth’s frequency, as estimates vary widely from 200 to more than 300 bpm. After many years of journey drumming, though, it seems to me that as long as you maintain a rapid beat for anything over 10 minutes will at least begin to put you in sync. Some people require more or less time, of course, so you will have to experiment to find your optimum. You can find a 10-minute drumming and rattle sample on my site.
But it is a fact that the rattle, like a drum, works to help your brain tune in to this frequency range while playing it rapidly.
You can use a rattle for many different purposes, too. For example, a Hopi healer teacher taught me that she uses her rattle to summon powerful spiritual allies while simultaneously warding off negative energies that can’t tolerate her rattle’s sound (frequency). A logical extension of that is where healers will also use their rattles to cleanse an area and the people within that area during ceremony.
Rattling the Bones shares his observations of the shaman’s use of a rattle:
I’ve seen many Shamans or/and Medicine People use rattles to call out demons, ghosts or shadowy entities, which have attached themselves or possessed humans. The instrument just like the rattle of a snake seems to send the message: “Reveal yourself or I’ll attack.” Rattles were given to children to protect them and keep them safe from dangerous or evil entities. I always find it interesting that many of our traditions hide shamanic or pagan beliefs.
There are many different ways to make your own rattle. Here’s a couple of examples:
BearDrum outlines a process of making an animal skin based rattle (elk, bear, buffalo, etc.)
NaturalShamanDrums outlines a gourd based method. Great detail!
WalkingTheHedge also has instructions for a gour based method and offers some advice on how to spice it up a bit.

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