Whispers from Aer

A Disclaimer: I am one person and my opinions (which I have in abundance) may not reflect the opinions of other witches, in general, or other people who call themselves hearth witches. In fact, they probably won’t, because I’m an asshole. I have a bizarre sense of humor that doesn’t convey well in text and I rant about shit I don’t like. A lot. If you don’t think you can handle that, maybe don’t read anything I write. Ever.

Charms, Enchantments, and So On

At the risk of sounding like a broken record—you can add a charm or enchantment to anything. I’ve said that before, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually talked about how. So…by request, I’ll doing that in this post. 

[Note: My inbox is always open for requests. Notes, too, though it’s not likely I’ll be able to find them again. If there’s something you want me to write about, feel free to ask. The worst I can do is say no. Or forget.]

Step One: Choosing Your Mundane Object

Like I said, you can put a charm on anything. And I pretty much mean anything. You may want to suit your object to your needs. For example, if you’re wanting to create a charm to help you stay grounded during meditation, you might use a small stone, a ring, or a figurine of an ‘earthy’ feeling animal. If you’re making a charm to help a friend through a tough time, you may want to use a friendship bracelet. Gamblers may want to use a pokerchip or a rabbits foot. To attract a love, you could charm a tube of lipstick. And so on. 

For the examples in this post, we’re going to imagine using a thimble 1) because that was the most mundane thing I could think of, and 2) because a lot of my witchcraft involves sewing in one way or another. 

Step Two: Cleansing the Object

This may not be a necessity in every case. A brand new tube of lipstick, for example, may not need much cleansing. And an heirloom locket may already have the right energy for a protection charm. 

But let’s say our thimble is an antique and you’re not really sure about its history. So it would be much better to clear out the old energy before you tried to charm it. There are numerous ways to go about this. To name a few—however, please note that the ones marked with an * require some research as they aren’t safe for all stones or surfaces: 

Water (or Salt Water)* - Submerging the item in water or a salt water mix to cleanse it. 

Moon/Sunlight* - Letting the item sit in light for a period of time to clear out negative energy.

Smoke cleansing - Swinging the item through smoke to cleanse it. 

Dirt Cleansing - Sounds counterproductive, but many people believe that burying an item in a new pot or a marked space in the garden for several (usually three) day will rid it of negativity. 

Visualization - Most commonly, writers instruct to do this by seeing a white light coming over the object and clearing the negativity away—but you can visualized whatever you want. 

Step Three: Actualizing Your Charm

Step three is the ‘ritual’ (in quotation marks, because I never consider anything I do a ritual, but you can make it a part of one) that adds the charm to your item. Typically, I start a project like this in my kitchen just because it can get messy. If you want to make it into a big event, it’s not hard to set up a temporary altar on a kitchen table. 

Once you’ve got everything ready and have creating the environment you want to work in, you can get down to your actual ritual. Again, there are so many methods for that, I could never give you an all-inclusive list. But I can give you some easy ones:

A Spoken Charm - For this, write out a reading that states the intent of your charm. If you like, this can call on a outside party (like a deity or spirit) for help, but it doesn’t have to. (For example, if my thimble charm was meant to protect me during astral travel, I might write something like ‘Brother Coyote, I bless this charm to keep me safe from astral harm.’) It doesn’t have to rhyme as long as it works. 

A Written Charm - Almost the same as a spoken charm, but I would write out my intent, stick in in an envelope with the object, and leave it for a certain number of days. Alternatively, you could also write out your intent and burn it. Actually, there’s lots you could do with a charm on paper. 

A Box Charm - Take the item and put it in a box with other items that you think represent the energy you want your charm to have. Tuck it away somewhere and leave your item to collect the energy. You may want to verbally list each item along with the traits it adds to your charm as part of your ritual. 

A Jar/Pot Charm - Fill a small jar or pot with herbs that fit your intent. Stick the item inside the jar, seal it up and leave the herbs to energize it. You may want to verbally list each herb and what you want it to add to your charm as part of your ritual. 

A Tarot Charm - Select a few Tarot cards that represent your intent and tuck them away with your item. (Alternatively, an envelope of Tarot cards COULD BE your item.) You may want to name each Tarot card and your interpretation as a part of your ritual. 

Afterthought: Removing a Charm