Evelyn C. Rysdyk is a shamanic practitioner and healer. You may visit her at www.evelynrysdyk.com. According to the author, archaeological evidence shows that human beings have been making tools for at least 2.6 million years. Shamans from many different times and places have used sacred implements in their spirit journeys and their healing and community work.

Rysdyk begins this paperback with a look at rattles as an important part of the shaman's tool kit. Among the Guarani people of the Amazon forest, for example, this tool is used to communicate with god; it signifies both masculine and feminine energy with the round gourd part of the rattle as a womb and the handle as a penis.

Rysdyk believes that making your own rattle gives it more meaning and power. Shamans show great respect for these sacred objects which provide the sounds that carry them into the spirit realms. Like all sacred objects, it requires a suitable "home," as it is empowered with spirit.

Other chapters cover creating your own drum, flute, whistle, prayer beads, mask, fan, and costumes. The author includes a list of tribal shamans mentioned in the book, a glossary of terms and a top-drawer resource section with organizations, sites, and video links. Rysdyk has dedicated A Spirit Walker's Guide to Shamanic Tools to "the heart-guided hands of the hundred thousand generations of ancestral makers to created and utilized objects of spiritual power. Their passion infuses our blood and bones."