On Amulets

On Amulets

Carrying a personal amulet, mojo, or gris gris pouch for protection or for magickal influence is an idea as old as the beginning of mankind. Anthropological evidence clearly indicates that primitive man/woman carried magickal talismans that could only have had symbolic or ritual meaning to them. These objects would have been carried to bring their owner luck, fertility, abundance, success on the hunt and for other matters important to their survival…as modern man/woman would carry an amulet pouch for many of the same reasons.

Such an amulet would contain small objects of personal meaning to their owner or objects chosen to influence and symbolize their wishes or needs. The objects contained in a magickal amulet pouch could be as varied as crystals and stones, bits of herbs and resins, tiny vials of anointing oils or magickal potions, pieces of precious metals, charms (the often forgotten purpose of a charm, in the first place, being that of an amulet item, an item to bring its bearer luck), pieces of parchment inscribed with runes or magickal writings…the list is as endless as the imagination.

As a specific example, let's examine the contents of an amulet pouch that had been prepared for emotional healing, a pouch prepared to help a person stop obsessing over a relationship that had ended with that person still in love with the former partner.  Something like that would be difficult for anyone, and carrying a well made amulet pouch can greatly aid in decreasing the obsession and easing the heartache…

This pouch contains stones; a blue quartz for general healing and being a quartz, it would also help to increase the energies of all of the other objects; a clear quartz, again to enhance the healing properties of the other objects contained; a hematite for balance, grounding and healing; an amethyst, a stone that helps ease addiction and therefore obsession; and a black tourmaline to protect the heart as it heals.

The pouch also contains herbs: a large pinch of lavender to help ease tension and stress; a few buds of balm of Gilead, an herb that eases heartache and ends obsessions; rosemary for clarity of memory, to remember the true picture of the relationship which is of great aid when trying to put the past behind you while rosemary has general healing powers as well; a few pink rose petals as a gentle reminder that the heart should soon be willing to once again accept love; and a piece of dragon’s blood resin for protection from continued heartbreak.

Other items contained include a small vial of Confidence Anointing Oil to help this person to move on with their life; an additional vial of lavender essential oil to smell for stress reduction; a small parchment, rolled and tied with ribbon that is inscribed with runes of healing and protection (the parchment is rolled around the two glass vials to help protect them from breakage); and a ticket stub from a movie that the couple had attended when they were at their happiest. When the time feels right, that bit of memory (the ticket stub) will be either buried in a secluded spot or tossed into a moving body of water, tossed away with all heartache and residual feeling of loss.

That's just one example of the thinking put behind preparing a specific type of amulet, mojo or gris gris pouch. Of course, a magickal pouch may be prepared for any purpose…love drawing (the most popular choice), prosperity, protection, psychic defense, psychic energy, courage, self confidence, hex or spell breaking, etc.

The key to making a successful pouch lies in the research put in or knowledge behind the choices made of the objects chosen to include, but also intuition and feeling. All herbs and stones have magickal influences, and for an amulet to be successful, those items should combine and work well together. This can be quite instinctual, and actually, amulet pouches put together purely through instinct are often among the most powerful, as they are the most personal. Of course, the other option would be to have an experienced magickal practitioner prepare your pouch for you. Properly done, they would interview their client as to their particular problem or need, and from their collection of herbs and other items, put together the appropriate combination and then “charge” or bless the pouch towards its purpose.

This is a service that Victoria, the owner of Moontide Arts, with her over twenty five years of experience in amulet construction, will be happy to provide for you...at her shop in Watertown, NY and soon through this site.

(When referring to Metaphysical “magic”, it is spelled with a K, as in “Magick”.)

Since stones are such a good place to place to start when it comes to creating an effective amulet, the following is a list of some of the magickal properties of some popularly available mineral samples. Most of these choices are, or soon will be, available through Moontide. Below this basic magickal properties list is a further list of some good stone combinations to consider when putting together a magickal stone pouch or amulet.