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Friday, January 11, 2013

A is for Amulet charm bundle

Many years ago I wondered what a REAL Book of Shadows looked like. Mine looks like this. 
Amulets are one of my favorite things to make, and a really nice way to bear in mind an intention you are working to make real. They are like little tangible thoughts, and may be accompanied by gestures, words or sigils. A charm can just BE a word or sigil, it you desire. If it is a word, you can time it so it is said at the perfect moment, when the sun just sets or when you drop a bulb into a hole. 

The charms I make address a specific intent, like protection, love or attraction.  The right time of the moon is always taken into consideration, waning, waxing or Full. I don't make charms on the New moon, it is time for other things. I think of a charm as an offering for the Goddess I ask to help, a focus to frequently remind me of the intention I held while making it and to act as a passive reminder.  In my studies of local Pennsylvania and other rural folk magic and medicine there is frequent use of verbal and bundle charms. The amulet I am sharing today is a bundle charm.

Hand sewing is something I love, it is meditative and takes time. So, I gather my hand sewing supplies and some linen fabric too make the outside of the amulet, the bag. 
Using a rectangle about 2" by 4" folded it in half I stitch around the outside edge on two sides. One side is open, so the square is turned inside out, edges pressed with the bone folder (in the picture I have one carved like a feather) and stitched again with linen thread all the way around 3 sides. Fold the raw edges of the forth side in and stitch it partway shut.  These two seams are tight enough to hold herbs or salt inside the bag.

Now is the time to get the rest of the amulet supplies you will need. You know what you need to do your magic work, I can only show you a bit of what you might find here.

I gather my sewing supplies and stitch two sides of my folded linen rectangle using plain thread. Also pictured, red silk thread, needle case with spare horn buttons attached, carved bone folder, blue checked linen I didn't need today, thimble.
 Folk magic uses red thread and salt frequently, so before I begin the filling I make a final round of stitches using red silk thread. My desire is knotted into the red thread, in this case I made 5 knots, you can see them in the last picture. I stopped the red stitches short of the opening too. Salt, rosemary, quartz, a tiny felt heart and my words to Brigid and Aphrodidte went inside.
Linen fabric, sewing tools, little gemstones (I buy them on strings) salt, anointing oil, your hair, or your written intent could go into the amulet. I also included herbs and a small candle made of beeswax and an old earring from my hubby.

Note to the goddesses I am addressing on linen.
String of gems to choose from. Anointing oil and salt.
On different page of my BOS I recorded the details of a special
amulet a fellow asked me to make for his uniform coat.



 Include what ever things support your intentions and work to your purpose.
Of course the salt goes everywhere! Mugwort, rosemary, garnet and red wool heart went in next along with the candle.
When filled and stitched, my amulet was dedicated  and anointed before I put out the candle I used to focus.
See the place of 5 little knots in the red thread?



















The soldier's protection and wholeness amulet was sewn within the coat itself, but you can feel it through the pocket.

Carry yours in your pocket or around your neck, or place it in a room or in the garden.













2 comments:

  1. Hello! Great post! Do you grow your own herbs for the amulets? Just curious. Blessed be.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. I enjoyed sharing it. I wildcraft the mugwort at the end of the summer here in PA, where it grows wild on roadsides and would take over a garden. We have mugwort planted in the historical medicinal garden at the local historic site and we cut it down once a month to try and control it!
      I also wildcraft quite a few other magical and medicinal herbs and use them. Mullien as mild tobacco and cough treatment is one of the easiest to find. If you are interested, maybe some posts about that would be good.
      I have young starts of many magical herbs in my raised bed right now, hopefully you will be seeing more of them in the spring.
      G

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