NMR ISSUE 50

Astrological Forecast 50
Blessing for a Child
Cat's prayer
Demeter and Persephone
Encounters with the Divine
Fare Thee Well
Gleanings 50
In the Hands of the Goddess
Letter from a Witch
Making Cone Incense
Mielikki and Tapio: A Journey of Discovery
On the Planetary Hours
Pagan Prayers
Prefab Talismans
Rain Forest
Receiving the Healing from your Higher Self
The Art of looking Within
The Creation of Bear Re-Told tales from the Kaleval
The Primal Sea
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Prefab Talismans

By Donald Michael Kraig

From the time that Modern Magick was first published I have been inundated with letters. Many of them have questions about magick in general. Sometimes readers, after perhaps only a week or two with it, would ask questions about material that would be explained later in the book. In fact, I found it surprising that some questions were repeatedly sent to me.

One of the questions frequently asked is about talismans. Specifically, are the talismans that you can buy in occult shops or through the mail worth the money? It is this question I would like to comment upon here.

A talisman (and I use the word with a small letter "t" to mean both a Talisman — used to bring something to you — and an Amulet — used to keep something away) is nothing more than a receptacle for magical energy directed toward a particular purpose. The talismans that you buy in a store or through the mail may be high-quality jewelry; cheap, stamped-out metal or something printed on some paper. In each case they are nothing more than receptacles. They may have symbols on them, but that does not mean that they have any power in them.

Because such prefab talismans tend to be easily available, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss what to do with them. That is the purpose of this article.

Purify them. As your mom may have told you at one time, "Put that down. You don't know where it's been". Likewise, you don't know what energies have attached themselves to the talisman you've purchased. Perhaps it is something very negative which you'd want to get rid of. Perhaps it is something very positive you'd want to get rid of.

Often people ask me why I want to get rid of something positive. Let's say that energy for health and long life, as the result of being handled by many people interested in these things, happened to have handled the talisman. I imagine that health and long life are considered positive. But let's also assume that the purpose of the talisman is to end a disagreement between two of your friends. Sending out a talisman which would give health and long life to the argument is exactly the opposite of your desire.

The answer, then, is to purify the object you have. There are several ways to do this:

A) Running water. Hold the object under running water. Although traditionally this is a stream, it could also be cold water from your sink. As the water runs over the object, visualize all energy going down the streambed, or the drain of your sink. As you do this you might want to add the words: "Guardians of Elemental Water, listen to me. Purify this talisman of all energy. As is my will, so mote it be." Obviously, you do not want to do this if the talisman came to you on a piece of paper. Also, I suggest that you do not use the ocean for this purpose as the symbolism of the ever-returning waves defeats the purpose of sending away, for good, all of the energies involved.

B) Burying. Our gracious Mother Earth can easily absorb all of the energy currently attached to the talisman. Simply bury it 6" or more below the surface. As you cover it with soil you may want to say: "Mother Earth, Mother Earth, listen to me. Free from this thing all energy. As is my Will, so mote it be." Earth, of course, moves much more slowly than water, so you should leave your object there for several days or longer.

Don't lose it! Mark where you have buried the object. Inserting a stick into the ground over it can help. As an alternative, get a ceramic planter with a hole in the bottom. Dig a hole and put the planter in it so that just the top inch or two is above the ground level. Fill it half way with soil, making sure that some of the soil goes through the hole in the bottom and down to the ground around it. Put your object in the planter and then cover it with the soil that remains. This is a great way to make sure you won't lose your talisman. Again, this may not work well for a paper object.

C) Censing/Smudging. Using incense, or a smudge stick, or even the flame of a candle, allow your object to remain briefly in the smoke or fire. If you work quickly, this will even work for a talisman made of paper. As you use this method you may say, "Fire, fire, listen to me. Take from this object all energy. As is my will, so mote it be." Once you have thus cleansed the talisman, you next need to fill it with the energy you desire. If, for example, the intent of the talisman, as represented by the symbols and words on it, is to end disagreements, you will have to determine the type of energy needed to do this. There are numerous books, including my own, with instructions on how to do this, so I won't repeat them here. You can use any system you desire to charge your talisman.

Once your ritual of charging is completed either keep the talisman close to you or give it to the person for whom it is intended. When the talisman has achieved its goal, or after a predetermined time period, be sure to purify/cleanse the talisman once again. Why? Well, as I said, a talisman is a receptacle for magical energy. The goal of a charging ritual is to give the talisman as much energy as possible. That energy is directed to a specific goal. If there is energy remaining after the goal has been achieved, that remaining energy, because it has no goal, will discharge to the easiest source. And if you are near it, blammo!

A Personal Request. I started this article by mentioning Modern Magick, and I'll end it with another mention of that book. In a short time, in honor of the 100,000th copy of the book being sold (thank you all for that!) a second edition will be published. I've already written over 20,000 words to be added to the new edition. However, I'd also like to correct as many typos as possible. If you are aware of any typos (not disagreements, but misspelled words, symbols in a wrong place, etc.) please let me know. Write to me at P.O. Box 661182, Los Angeles, CA 90066 or e-mail me at DMKraig@lamg.com. I already have a list of typos for correction, but you may have found one I missed. If you write, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope, or I may not be able to reply. Thanks in advance.

Copyright 1997 DMK