A Pocket Full of Luck: The Advantage of Amulets

For an optimal outcome to any important meeting–whether business or social–take an amulet with you. It can be a tiny sack hidden in a pocket or contained in a locket. Fill your amulet with any of the following herbs:

For courage, try borage or mullein.

To avoid betrayal, snapdragon will serve you well.

For robust health, rue will do the trick.

To overcome nervousness, a mixture of dried yarrow and nettle is potent.

To identify another witch, ivy, rue, broom straw, agrimony, and fern work best.

For travel, always wear comfrey for safety.

For youthful energy, the oak’s acorn will vitalize you.

For strength and physical stamina, tuck some mugwort in your shoes.

To ensure victory, woodruff assures a winner.

To guarantee a friendly exchange, heliotrope will make for good conversation.

Magic Metals: Gold

Gold is beloved for its sheen and purity. Whether white or yellow, it is a fantastic energy conductor. Gold enhances any gem or stone and encourages the action of said stone with a dose of quickening energy. It is a symbol of wealth and personal power and accentuates any gem or crystal. Gold also accentuates you.

The softest and the strongest metal, gold never tarnishes and seems to stay beautiful and perfect through anything; it’s impermeable to weather and the effects of aging. This is an adaptable, mutable metal and maintains its unity in alloys.

Gold fascinates—no doubt about it. It is used in jewelry, in industry, and also in medicine. Because gold is a viable energy conductor, it has wonderful healing properties, and because it is impervious to harm, gold is a tremendous element of renewal and regeneration. It has been said to help with arthritis, blood and circulation problems, and mental and emotional issues. 

Gold can give you courage and self-esteem. It can accentuate the positive in yourself and your regard of others. Wearing gold-nugget jewelry might even bring in a continuous flow of wealth! 

In Mexico, gold is linked to religion and faith. Gold crucifixes and crosses are worn for protection and as a link to God, Christ, and Mary. In India, parents give their young children tiny gold amulets to guard against harm and illness.

Let this metal of kings and queens cast a golden glow over your life!

The Vision Quest

While the term “vision quest” comes from Native American teachings, it is really the passage of the personal journey. No matter what your spiritual orientation is, for true personal development, it is essential to do the inner work. You must explore yourself deeply and discover what is important to you, sense where you need to go, and set your spiritual goals. At the end of the day and at the end of your life, it will not matter how many houses or cars you have; what really matters is what kind of person you were and how you treated others. Was the work of your life soul work? Did you express yourself creatively? Did you take care of your family? Did you help others?

Look inside; face these questions. Can you answer them satisfactorily? By doing so you will be able to determine and change the future course of events. A vision quest is an essential step in a life well lived, a life full of soul work, a life hard but ultimately joyful.

This ritual, performed in keeping with the Native American tradition, is a rite of passage requiring courage and fortitude. At the end, you will most certainly know who you are! Going into the wilderness by yourself with no food, water, or other creature comforts to do nothing but pray certainly forces you to face your inner self. The purpose of the vision quest is to receive a vision. Not everyone succeeds. Some people are too frightened, hungry, and cold to continue. Others experience an altered reality or deep visions due to sensory deprivation and the extreme physicality of the vision quest. 

Diamonds−Shards of the Stars

Diamond has come to be a symbol of fidelity and is the traditional stone used in a ring for engagement, a pledge to be married and together forever. Since this gem is an aid to intuition, the ring itself will help the potential bride know if her betrothed is really “the one.” Diamonds also imbue courage and can help one face anything.

Plenty of Thyme—An Herb for Physical and Spiritual Strength

You could say that thyme is a classic herb, so much so that the venerables, Virgil and Pliny, sang the praises of this medicinal mint relative over two thousand years ago. While thyme loves Mediterranean weather, it can grow elsewhere from seeds and cuttings. Good for the stomach and especially effective as respiratory relief, thyme induces sweats to remove toxins and reduce fever. Thyme honey tea is truly a sweet way to make the medicine go down, so much so you will find you drink it even when hale and hearty. Thyme is also a culinary plant, making it a delightful additive to savory dishes. When I lived in a warmer clime about ten years ago, I planted wooly thyme in among the flagstones of my front yard and let it spread as much as possible. By the hour when I came home from work, the sunny eighty-plus degree sunny weather had warmed the thyme, creating a perfumed walkway; coming home was a heavenly experience.

It has been believed for centuries that thyme brings courage and both inner and physical strength. Even when you are facing seemingly insurmountable odds, spells and smudging featuring thyme can get you on track and bring you to your goal. I think the greatest of all aspects of thyme is to rid your home and family of melancholy and overcome despair after extreme difficulty and loss. If your loved ones have experienced a catastrophe, try thyme for rituals of magic and restitution. I have no doubt that practitioners of green witchery will be singing the praises of thyme for at least two thousand more years.

Sleepy Thyme

This herb improves your quality of sleep; gather and dry thyme it to use in sachets so the divine fragrance freshens linens and laundry. A little bag of this dried “thyme tucked in your pillowcase makes for sweeter sleep. As if all that is not enough, the plant itself also repels bugs and pests but attracts honeybees! As we all know, deep sleep is a great healer.

Fire Agate

This interesting specimen has small, thin layers that allow light to fill them with what is known as fire. Really, the effect occurs due to the inclusions of very thin layers of iridescent limonite, which cause the light to refract in differing colors. Fire agate is formed when silica-laden water is heated and mixed with iron oxide, filling the cracks between the rocks and then cooling into this interesting stone. Most often found in India, Iceland, Brazil, North America, and the Czech Republic, fire agate needs to be cut in just such a way to feature the layers; one wrong cut and the fire agate is ruined. The process of cutting fire agate is a reversal of Mother Nature’s process.

Fire agate is favored for its iridescent appearance; some believe it is the physical manifestation of the spiritual flame, one of absolute perfection. Fire agate brings the wearer courage and the ability to fend off fear. The fire inside this agate provides a protective shield that actually sends fright back to its source. Fire agate causes a sense of calm and a greater connection to the planet. It is a very useful mind-clearing stone for meditation. Fire agate is wonderfully conductive to introspection, helping to bring deep-seated issues to the surface so they can be examined in the clear light of day. Orange stones are thought to be the most powerful for their high degree of stimulation and for their ability to reveal the hidden.

Fire agate brings out the best in you with this positive, cardinal energy; it propels you forward for advancement in both the spiritual sense and in the real world of work and success. Fire agate can be placed upon the meridians of the body in the same way an acupuncturist or acupressure healer lays on hands. In this way, any sensory blockage can be cleared away, and nervous and circulatory issues can be dealt with.

This is a healer’s stone—the companion for doctors, shamans, and dentists, and psychologists. It is also a cleansing agent of the stomach and glands and is great for the eyes, even said to improve night vision. And, as one might guess with fire, this agate is a sexuality stone. So, light the flame within with fearless agate. Make sure you’re sporting this sexy gem when you are planning a big seduction! 

Diamond

 Now we come to the mighty diamond, a gemstone revered the world over and the lucky birthstone of the April-born. This is generally considered to be the highest and purest expression of gems. The clarity of diamonds and their ability to reflect light are peerless. Composed of pure carbon, diamonds are formed after thousands of years of great pressure and heat at great depth below the earth’s crust in iron-magnesium magma. Diamonds were first brought to the earth’s surface by volcanic flows and are now mined at great cost in Siberia, Australia, South Africa, and Arkansas. In Canada and California, glaciers have pushed diamonds near the surface, creating some great episodes in history.

When exposed to radiation, diamonds will phosphoresce and are generally considered to be the hardest natural substance. Poor-grade, or bort, diamonds are often used for industrial purposes, but gem cutters in India have become expert at finding ways to salvage these lower-quality diamonds for use in jewelry.

Diamonds are terrific healing stones; perhaps no other crystal can focus energy so purely and intensely. The lore surrounding the healing qualities of diamonds is vast, but most healers agree that the unique blue light of this gem is a help to the eye condition glaucoma. Diamonds are also thought to be a boon to male genitalia, bringing some interesting jewelry options to mind. Diamonds are superb in conjunction with other stones and will amplify the properties of any other gem. While this can be enormously helpful, it cuts both ways. If you are in a negative state of mind, diamonds will amplify that, as well.

Diamond has come to be a symbol of fidelity and is the traditional stone used in a ring for engagement, a pledge to be married and together forever. Since this gem is an aid to intuition, the ring itself will help the potential bride know if her betrothed is really “the one.” Diamonds also imbue courage and can help one face anything.

Bloodstone

Known as the martyr’s gem, bloodstone is actually green jasper with iron oxide impurities that result in brilliant red spots that rather resemble drops of blood in the pool of green. A traditional March birthstone, bloodstone was revered by the ancients, who saw it as a symbol of the setting sun casting its fiery red over the green ocean. It was once believed that this stone caused water to become red, which in turn made the sun red, giving it the power to affect the weather.

An ancient name for this variegated chalcedony quartz is “heliotrope.” The gem is currently mined in Australia, North America, and India. It stands to reason that bloodstone would be connected with the blood and the circulatory system. It is also used to detoxify the blood, liver, kidneys, and spleen. A belief stemming from ancient times is that bloodstone can give great courage and help avoid harmful situations. In India, bloodstone is ground up and taken in an elixir as an aphrodisiac. All in all, bloodstone enriches the blood, calms the mind, and increases the consciousness of the wearer. Bloodstone is a great gem for you if you have a sedentary and detail-oriented job.

Handmade Healing Amulets: Growing Good Health

You will experience years of enjoyment from tending your garden, as Voltaire taught us in his masterpiece, Candide. You can share that pleasure with your friends and those you love with gifts from your garden. Your good intentions will be returned many times over. I keep a stock of small muslin drawstring bags for creating amulets. If you are a crafty witch, you can make the bags, sewing by hand, and stuff the dried herbs inside.

For courage and heart: mullein or borage

For good cheer: nettle or yarrow

For fellow witches: ivy, broomstraw, maidenhair fern

For safe travels: comfrey

For fertility: cyclamen or mistletoe

For protection from deceit: snapdragon

For good health: rue

For success: woodruff

For strength: mugwort

For youthful looks: an acorn

Amulets should be kept on your person at all times: in a pocket, in your purse or book bag, or on a string around your neck.