Amulets, talismans, and charms

Much has been made about the difference between amulets ans talisman. Some, such as Donald
Michael, claim that an amulet drives forces away and a talisman attracts things. Others claim that
amulets refer only to those charms found in nature, which are imbued with innate qualities such
as hagstones, and talismans refer to objects crafted by the witch and charged in a ritual. There
doesn’t seem to be much linguistic support to either of these claims, and I won´t argue one way
or the other. What is important is that the carrying of charms is one of the best-known and widely
practiced methods of magickal protection on the planet. Certainly this form of magick has crossed
over into mainstream culture more than any of the other practices in this book, and it is not
uncommon to find rabbit’s feet, saint medallions, or rune necklaces worn by folks who consider
themselves to be about as far from witchcraft as can be.

Amongst naturally occurring amulets, iron ranks as the king of protective substances. Its use in
protecting against spirits, witches, and fairies is well known all over the world. So disruptive is iron
to spirits that some traditions of the craft do not allow any metal inside the circle until it is well
consecrated and stable. Many old cemeteries are surrounded by iron fences with spikes not only
to keep intruders out, but to keep the ghosts in. before we learned to mine and smelt iron, a
major source of iron for ancient man was meteorites that had a high concentration of iron and
nickel. This sky-iron is particularly valued in magick and is one of the metals called for in the
traditional construction of the Tibetan phurba.

The practice of driving an iron nail or knife into the door frame to keep witches out is well known
throughout Europe and possibly derives from Pliny’s historia naturalis , which talks of iron’s
apotropaic properties:

[f]or take a knife or dagger and make and imaginary circle two or three times with the point
thereof, upon a child, or an elder body, and then go round withal about the party as often, it is a
singular preservative against all poisons, sorceries, or enchantments. Also to take any iron nail out
of the coffin or sepulcher wherein man or woman lieth buried, and to stick the same fast to the
lintel or side post of a door, leading either into the house or bed-chamber where any doth lie who
is haunted with spirits in the night, he or she shall be delivered and secured from such fantastical
illusions.

Note that not only does pliny speak of iron’s ability to disrupt enchantments, but specifically of the
power of an iron coffin nail. Coffin nails are particularly valued in hoodoo practice as well, and are
used both in the laying of curses and the protection from them. I myself have a cross made from
two iron coffin nails, which serves as a powerful protective amulet.

The cross itself is also a powerful protective symbol, and has a history that extends much further
back than Christianity. The equalarmed cross is one of the oldest religious symbols on earth and
has spawned many variants, including the crux-ansata, or ankh, of Egypt; and the swastika, which
is known as the yungdrung, or the eternal, in Tibet and the fylfot, meaning four feet, in Europe.
The symbolism of the cross is manifold and can indicate the meeting of two worlds or planes, the