little labyrinth

For my friend Poppy at Book of Shadows and Blessings.

Redefine

D- Divine using Amulets of the Goddess

On the whole, I don't think I want to know the future.  I want to arrive at the future with my illusions that I have many paths open to me at all times intact.

My very used, painted, stained and annotated amulets.

Today's draw. 

My very favorite way to divine my path, short or long term, is using my altered Amulets of the Goddess.  I keep them in a plain white drawstring pouch and spent lots of afternoons over a few years staining, coloring on, painting and distressing the resin tiles.  Eventually I wrote some notes about their historic and folkloric significance on the back along with their magical meanings.  They are heavy for their size and a draw of only three gives me plenty to think about.  I draw and spread them in the same way as I learned to use Tarot.

The notes on the back of each of today's tiles.

These little tiles of resin were sold in a pack as an
oracular device. One third are Goddess images.

The thing for which I find divination tools so handy is the alert they offer to possibility.  Just as I feel my dreams call to my attention the things I need to work out or work on, I feel that my interpretation of divination prompts reveals to me what I need to bring to the front and think about.

In other words, what I divine is already what is within me, I just need some guidance to point me in the right direction.









That doesn't mean I can't be surprised! Some-times I'm surprised or quite mystified by what I draw or read as divination.

One third are animal images.

The book has very good information
about the historic and folkloric meanings of each image.

There are times when I just store the info, or note it in my BOS, for later digestion.



The thing is, I can't remember a time when I found a divination to be utterly useless forever.  I find when I look back on ones I jotted down in mystery that even they applied to my experience after time passed.

I had a wonderful time revisiting these tiles over many years and adding more and more to them as I learned more and the images became more meaningful to me.

By the time I had colored and applied a paste wax coating to all of them, I knew the notes on the back pretty well.

When another sees them though, the notes come in quite handy as they allow the seeker to bring his own interpretation to the draw without my voice involved.

I guess I should say that although I have done divination for others, I think it is for them to interpret how the reading applies to, leads or warns them.  I don't do it often either.  I just think I have other strengths to offer.

Thanks to Nanlt at Flickr for the photos of the plain tiles and the book cover.

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.