Branding

By Mistress Michelle Peters

Webmaster's Note: This was received from a Pony Group, and since branding, scarification, and burning is considered Fire Play, I thought I would place it here.

For hundreds if not thousands of years, people have been using fire to scar designs on their skin. Whether practiced as part of a coming-of-age ritual, after a first birth or kill, or simply for aesthetic value, brands have always been a major component of body modification.

In modern times we are most familiar with fraternity brands and the slave brands of SM practice, brands which show allegiance and mark ownership. Due to the combination of fire and perceived intensity of pain, branding has a special place in the modern psyche as an ordeal to be endured and revered. The smell of burning human flesh triggers an instinctive realization that something important is going on.

Recently, some people are harnessing this intensity of purpose to create rituals of their own making; using branding to illustrate their personal values and to swear abeyance to their own direction.

What was once a symbol of membership to a kin group has become, for some, the recognition of membership to a community of one's own choosing. Rather than demonstrating subservience to a higher master, branding can also be the pronouncement of mastery over one's self.

Whether initiated for the sense of empowerment they can deliver, or simply for the aesthetics of coolly textured skin, brands make a powerful and permanent statement.

Many different methods of branding exist, so it is wise to check with several practitioners to find someone creating the type of results you want. Also consider that many people get branded for the experience of the procedure as well as the final outcome, so take your personal feelings about the experience into account when choosing a method and practitioner.

I have a branding iron specially made for me by Sheplers in Wy. in 1979. I have only used in on few occasions. You people today talk about collaring, we either branded our slaves or pierced them. I know this sounds bad, but on the contrary a brand doesn't hardly hurt at all if done in a proper manner. Never get your brand RED hot, that's good if your going to brand a cow or horse, but not a human. Human flesh is more tender. You may want to test your brand on a piece of leather before applied it to the skin. And don't move your stroke it will cause a uneven brand. It has to be precise. I DON'T recommend doing a brand unless its a sign of ownership and should be done out of love for your slave.

Mistress Michelle

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ChateauSteMichelle