Home Protection Amulets By Katherine Booth When my partner and I moved in together, the determination to live as Pagan as we could burned in our hearts. One vital part of making our urban apartment Pagan was creating protective amulets. These simple amulets can sit atop doorframes or in corners as silent sentries. For our amulets we used empty cartridge casings, pennyroyal, cedar, cinnamon, and juniper berries. We choose pennyroyal for peace, cedar and cinnamon for protection, and juniper berries for their anti-theft properties,* but each amulet can be personalized. To make the filling for the amulet, mix one part of each of the herbs with a mortar and pestle, grinding the herbs. The bark cinnamon, as opposed to ground, works best for this, and cedar directly from the plant, instead of cedar chips. Once the herbs are ground to the desired consistency, set them aside. In the empty cartridge, place one juniper berry, and then pack the ground herbs in the cartridge until they are 1/4 inch from the top. One note about cartridges: The metal .45 or .38 casings work much better than the plastic shotgun shells. If you do not know anyone who owns a gun, then you may find casings at any shooting range, or buy them at a hunting or gun supply store. For those opposed to using the casings, anything that you can pack herbs into will work, such as empty pen barrels, or even a tiny sachet. Simply choose something that goes well with the interests of your own home. Once you have filled the casing to your satisfaction, use wax from the candle to seal the herbs inside. Any candle will work, and you may wish to empower a house-blessing candle that will be used in the consecration rite. Finally, set the amulet aside for the wax to harden. Once the wax hardens, a consecration ritual is in order. Cleanse and consecrate the amulets according to your tradition, or lack thereof, and then place them in your home. The best place for small amulets such as the casings or empty pens is the top of a doorframe, but a closet or the corner of a well-used room works as well. Envision the energy of the herbs lending peace and protection to your dwelling, and may the Lord and Lady fill your home with love. * Cunningham, Scott, Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, Llewellyn Publications, 1995. | 
