When I think back to where my journey with Spirit Dolls began, I can see that as a child I had many. I made them from all kinds of things and I turned what looked like very mundane items into spirit dolls just by focussing my love into them and speaking to them daily. I had forgotten all about this until last year when I received a Dream Doll as a gift from doll enchantress, Nicole Ahava. Nicole is so much more than doll-maker. Through her work at
Dream Empire she imbues sacred objects such as spirit and medicine dolls with healing energy, strong intention and love. Nicole is also a Plant Medicine Woman and has great wisdom and knowing of the sacred plants and often places leaves and flowers of plant medicine from sacred sites around the world inside her creations.
When I was gifted my doll - Little Girl for Healing the Inner Child, from Nicole I was searching for our new home in the forest and it had not been an easy search. In fact, I was starting to wonder if the messages telling us to move to Sherbrooke Forest had been right - we had seen so many houses over the months but none had ever come up in Sherbrooke itself. When I first picked up this wee doll, I could feel the soft energy of peace radiating from her body. I became attached to her very quickly - keeping her inside my wooden Tarot box with my beloved cards. I was amazed at the affection I felt for her and the support I felt her giving to me. And I remembered this connection with my dolls as a child. Within 2 weeks of working with my Dream Doll, of telling her my woes and my dreams and talking with her daily, we found our home in Sherbrooke. I was so glad to meet Nicole in person this year at Autumn Equinox and thank her in person.
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| Mother with Child - Custom Doll |
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| Brigid Celtic Goddess of Fire - Nicole Ahava |
Nicole was also sharing her medicine at
Seven Sisters Festival this year and teaching her
Spirit Doll workshops. When I came to the workshop on Saturday morning it was a after a night of deep visioning and no sleep. I was in a very strange state indeed after spending most of my night being visited by the Ancestral Grandmothers. With Nicole's gentle guidance and very little words really, just her energy alone, we all created the most amazing dolls within a short space of time. I made for myself a Grandmother to honour my vision and also to represent the grandmothers I had never met in this life as they had passed before I was born.
I began to understand the significance of having something real to hold when focussing our love and intention and I could see that many of the spirit dolls were representations of the Dreamer within us all. I also felt the deep shamanic practice of doll-making and how the quiet focus of crafting gave us a clear channel to receive messages for ourself and for others and to imbue sacred objects with power and intention. And so I have asked Nicole to take part in the next Swan Blessing workshop - Enchanting the Dreamer at Winter Solstice. In this workshop not only will we clear Past Life bindings from our Dreaming Self - the magical and intuitive sister or brother who lives in the Otherworld, we will now also be able to hold them in a doll created in their essence to help us create a strong connection with our intuitive self at all times.
I asked Nicole how did she come to her craft?
"When I was a child I was incredibly empathetic (I still am) it would cause me so much pain to see any person or animal suffering. I would cry for the homeless old man in the park and plead with my family to take him home with us. I would hear of an illness in the family and that night I would lay awake and send them healing. The next day a family member would call and tell my mother that the person was better. I would do little rituals to wash away the pain of starving children in Africa while I washed up the dishes for my mother. Find little stones and feathers and build altars in the playground. I trusted my feelings and I trusted my medicine. But it all stopped as I was walking home from school in grade 5 after I had received my Rubella vaccine. I was thinking my knowing was telling me the vaccine was wrong but all these people were saying it was right so I must be wrong.
A few years ago I was attuned in Reiki and it has all started coming back. I started making dolls for my girls. Intention is very important for me in all aspects of my life especially in creative action. It was very natural for me to put intention into these dolls. A lot of the time as I am making the dolls, other medicine will come up and I allow that to flow into the doll. Putting sacred objects into the dolls intensifies their power.
I have only ever made myself one doll and that was after my Swan Blessing."
I believe it is a beautiful gift and medicine that Nicole holds in her gentle soul. When she came for her Swan Blessing I saw that Nicole is a powerful healer and one of her strongest gifts is creating Medicine Dolls for sick children - beautiful comforting dolls for them to take into hospital when they are feeling afraid and to become dear friends to them in the long weeks of recovery at home. If you are facing such a time with your child I cannot recommend Nicole's healing dolls highly enough. I encourage you to seek her out to create a custom doll for your child and for the inner child within yourself. You will be amazed at the circle of love that you feel.
To join our spirit doll circles you do not need to have any experience - your spirit has gifts beyond time. You Remember This.
