Amulets and Lucky Charms

Tulip Bulb

Unlucky in love? Then place a tulip bulb under your pillow and you’ll be guaranteed to attract a new flame.

Bamboo

This Buddhist symbol represents truth, integrity and lasting friendship and is fortuitous to have around a long-established business.

Feather

An omen of good fortune and representative of the soul’s journey to other realms.

Four-leaf clover

Each leaf signifies a different power; the first is fame, the second wealth, the third faithful love and the fourth health.

Rice

Witches use grains in prosperity spells and to enhance domestic bliss. Put rice in a charm bag to create this type of luck or to encourage fertility.

Horseshoe

For protection against bad luck, nail a horseshoe over your door with the ends pointing up. Carry or wear a miniature horseshoe to promote fertility.

Tea

As party of the elaborate Chinese courting ritual the man would give his prospective love and her family cha-li, or tea presents. Tea, along with other gifts, such as: sugar, wine, cake, poultry and tobacco; they would be presented to the family and shared out with a strict etiquette. Making tea for someone is an everyday occurrence for many people today, but it can still form bonds between two people.

Birch Garland

The birch tree symbolises the birth of something new. Silver birch is thought highly as a tree of feminine wisdom and creation in old pagan circles. A Welsh ritual called for a man to make a garland out of birch wood and leaves and give it to the one he loves; if his prospective partner felt the same way she would make a garland for him and present it. The two garlands would be a pledge of their love.

Apple Pips

Apples were once used to predict the future of a woman’s love life. The fruit would be cut in half and the pips counted, if the number of pips was even the woman could expect to meet a new love and be happily married. If the number of pips were odd, she could expect to remain unmarried for some time. If the knife cut one of the pips, she could expect a stormy relationship that would become unfaithful. If two of the pips were cut then her future love was doomed to fade.

Hazelnuts

The hazel was believed to be the tree of knowledge and wisdom. It was thought that its nuts were the food of the gods. At Halloween a lover could test their relationship by taking two hazelnuts and tossing them into a fire; if the nuts lay still side by side the relationship was sound, if one of the nuts moved away from the other it was thought that one of them was cheating.

Beech Bark

The bark of the beech tree was the first to be used for writing magical inscriptions. One could make the bark into a wishing spell by writing your desires onto the bark and burying it in the soil. As the Earth consumed the soil your wishes were said to be released and would begin showing themselves in your life.

Making a Dream Catcher Love Charm

A dream catcher is a Native American charm for capturing good, wise dreams and for letting bad dreams pass through into the night. This is a love charm for awakening the dreams both you and the person you love hold inside your hearts.

Traditionally a dream catcher is hung above a sleeping person’s head, to keep wise dreams so that they can be remembered on waking and so that bad dreams can be forgotten. When you give your love charm, offer to help him or her hang it up and explain your intentions behind the gift. You could also spend some time listening to his or her dreams and sharing your own with your love.

If this is a time of calling love into your life, hang the dream catcher above your bed and listen to your dreams.

Spend a moment to consider the type of wood or tree you want to use for the dream catcher. Also think about what colour ribbon and wool (yarn) you feel would be most appropriate in the charm. Gather feathers that come across your path while out for a walk in the countryside or park.

The dream catcher has a single thread that is wound in a spiral from the outside to the middle, symbolizing the journey from the waking world to the world of dreams. The Native Americans that use dream catchers believe that their dreaming selves pass through the heart of the dream catcher and return with the knowledge of the dreams of their true selves.

YOU WILL NEED

• Fallen branch
• Knife Ball of coloured wool (yarn)
• Ribbon
• Feathers

1. Find a long, flexible branch from the place you choose and bend it into a circle. You may find that you need to trim nodules and smooth the bark a little.

2. Slice across the branch at both ends so that they lie flat against each other. Tie the ends together with the wool.

3. Cover the circle with ribbon and fasten it tightly at one end. Now you should have the finished outer loop of your dream catcher.

4. Tie the wool to the circle and wind it around the circle a few centimetres (inches) away, not too tight. Repeat at equal distances around the circle. This is the spiral of thread that weaves into the middle.

5. When you have almost completed the circle, wind the wool around the middle of the next wool span. Repeat this spiral structure until you have a small central circle and then tie off the wool end.

6. Use the wool to secure feathers to your charm. They can be tied either to the branch so that they hang down from the dream catcher, or secured to the wool span, perhaps in the middle. Think about the person this is intended for and follow your instincts, adding any other adornments you feel like.

Making a Talking Stick Love Charm

A talking stick is another Native American charm; it is used to help people communicate during difficult times. It is okay to make it from any material you wish, though traditionally, it was made from a stick. The talking stick love charm can be used for any unspoken problem. Use it as a way of moving forward in a relationship when finding the right words seems too difficult, accepting changes as you come across them. If one partner in a relationship wishes to speak, they can pick up the stick and the other partner has to listen intently. When the speaker has finished speaking, uninterrupted, she or he places the stick on the ground and the other partner can pick up the stick and have their say.

Before using the stick it needs to be inscribed with words and symbols of your choice, perhaps representing the troubles that are bothering you and/or your partner or the outcome you hope to achieve; you can either write on an actual wooden stick or on a piece of red card (construction paper) that is then rolled up to form a stick with the writing on the inside where it cannot be seen. If you are using an actual stick, write your inscriptions along the stick then cover is with red ribbon or cloth. In either case, the writing is not meant to be seen again once it has been inscribed onto the stick; once you have both said all that you need to say, the stick must be burnt to symbolize that the issue is now forgotten.

1. Using coloured pens, crayons, pencils or paints, write your inscriptions onto the stick. Spend time designing the words and any symbols you feel might help, remembering that they represent talking and listening to the person you love.

2. Paint on the design and let it dry. As you craft each symbol, think about listening to the person you love, and think about letting go of the problem so you can both move on without it hanging over you.

3. If you are using paper, roll it up into a scroll then tie it with some wool (yarn). If you are using a stick you can wrap it in red ribbon or cloth. The symbols representing your intentions are now bound with the charm.

4. Present the stick to the person you love and suggest how it may be used. Utilize the charm as described then, once you have both said all you feel you need to say; throw the stick into the flames and watch it burn away together.