The Totem and Its Magic Powers

The Magic of Totems

Just curious, who here all has a totem? What are your thoughts on totems?? This is my friendly guide on how to make a totem- with lots of options!!! Totems are a great tool to add to your festival list. I remember the days of spotty cell phone signal and trying to meet up with my friends. UGH- the nightmare?!?!?

Finding your friends at the festival....

The Perfect Totem

I’ve had a totem for several years and it has evolved throughout the years. I have a dreamcatcher- except it’s not actually a dreamcatcher! I call it the bad vibe catcher. When it senses negativity, it catches it and dispels it. It started with me thinking of how I could take it on a plane. I was heading to EDC Vegas and wanted to be able to take my totem. I began scouring the aisles at Menards until I found the extendable poles for paint rollers and they were a lightweight wood. PERFECT!! I painted them and attached a weaving loom to make my circle and added some cute ribbon to make my dreamcatcher.

Then, my friend broke my totem. Still mad about that! I was so sad that my totem didn’t make it through day 3 of Dancefestopia! But, I made a new one! This one broke again, after a year.

Totem Party!

Totems Save the Day

So I upgraded to a fishing net that collapsed! My only downside with this is that some festivals don’t allow metal in… My backup is PVC pipe but I really haven’t found the right PVC at this point. It is not very sturdy and honestly, I don’t like it. But it works, with some duct tape. I think for my next totem, I’m going to look online for the perfect telescoping PVC pipe. Here is a post I found from iHeartRaves that had some good ideas.

MY advice? Always light it up! I started with the basic EL wire and then graduated to the fairy string lights. While they sound girly, they are actually pretty cool looking. If you want to upgrade even further, go for the LED Strip lights! DO NOT BUY THE CHEAPEST STUFF YOU FIND! This summer, I strung my totem (which takes a few hours), and took it to the festival without checking it. Batteries didn’t work so I used my spares. STILL DIDN’T WORK!  I was pretty bummed that my totem didn’t work the whole night.

Here’s a quick pic of my totem when lit up. It changes colors.

My personal totem.

Anyway, what are your suggestions for making a totem? Do you use inflatables? Noodles? Cutouts? Signs? I love the creativity behind them and they are great for finding your friends. In fact, I met this awesome guy named Kevin at the portapotties at 515 Alive and I have now seen him at 4 or 5 festivals since because of my totem. It truly saves the day!