Firesilk's Book of Shadows

Making Talismans

A talisman is a spell that has been cast as a solid touchable object. It can be as simple or as complex as the maker wishes it to be and come in a nearly infinite variety of shapes and sizes. A talisman that is made to be worn on the body (specifically around the neck) is called an amulet. Usually talismans are made to protect, to attract or to dispel specific forces and energies. The benefit of a talisman over a regular spell is that one has something concrete to focus upon and remind the caster of the spell, and I always try to make mine look nice, so that they also have a decorative effect. The Steps in Making a Talisman 1. To decide what the actual form of a talisman will be, you have to know clearly what the desired effects of the talisman are to be. From there, I research through my various tables of planetary attributes and correspondences to find the most appropriate number of sides, colors, metals, what is to be written or engraved, any sigils, seals or names, and then I mix and match until I have found a pleasing combination. When I first set down to make a talisman, I write the purpose down on a piece of paper, then I go through my correspondence tables and write down everything I can find that relates to that purpose. After I am done I usually have a fairly long list, colours, days, deities, metals, incense, stones, herbs, kameas, sigils, angels, parts of the body, geomantic figures, tarot cards. (The book 777 by Aleister Crowley is probably the most comphrehensive book of correspondences you can get your hands on and very useful.) Now I look at my purpose and my list and I pick and choose things that just seem to go best together and look good together. It is possible to create a talisman that has EVERYTHING on it but it would be very complicated and bizarre looking and probably very expensive materials wise (ie made of platinum and inlaid with rubies and bound with gold and consecrated in rose oil and wrapped in silk with rose petals and very large so you had enough room on it to inscribe everything LOL). So you trim it down to those things that you feel would be the most powerful representations of your purpose and of course this will vary from person to person according to personal upbringing and experience) and incorporate them into the design. Next I usually write a short poem, or sentence that states the purpose of the amulet or talisman and I translate this into hieroglyphics, or Hebrew, or phoenician, or sometimes just plain old English (I tend to think hieroglyphics look best though, but that's just my personal preference) and put that on the amulet. There is no wrong way really to design an amulet or talisman or the ritual to consecrate it. As long as you know what each symbol you are using means, and you inbue it with your WILL to achieve that purpose, it will be a good and effective talisman or amulet. 2. Constructing the talisman. This should be done in the same frame of mind as you would have while casting a spell, and chanting the purpose while you do increases the efficacy. 3. Charging and consecrating the talisman. After the talisman is complete, you perform a ritual to charge and consecrate it.I use my list to write this ritual, so I know what day, what time, what incense, what color candles, and what face of the Lord or Lady to invoke. It changes for every talisman. This ritual will vary from talisman to talisman but the basic outline is as follows: 1)Consecrate a Circle 2)Purify the talisman with Earth, Air, Fire, and Water 3) Charge it with the desired effect. This may be as a chant, or an invocation to the God and Goddess, or the ritual burning of a slip of paper with the purpose of the talisman written on it and then smearing the talisman with the resulting ash, or rubbing it with an essential oil while repeating the purpose aloud; whatever seems best or most appropriate for that particular talisman. 4)Release the Circle Here is a selection of some of my talisman designs that will grow as I have time to render them in graphic form (no scanner urgh!). But remember the most effective talisman is one that you design for yourself and always keep the Rede and the Rule of Three in mind when you do. This is a talisman to attract wealth. It should be made out of gold (the metal) or sewn onto a piece of yellow cloth with purple thread. This is a talisman to give good and insightful dreams. It should be made out of silver or sewn onto a piece of purple cloth with silver thread. This is a talisman to help memory retention in school. It should be made out of aluminum or sewn onto a piece of orange cloth with blue thread. This is a talisman to discourage gossip. It should be made out of aluminum or sewn onto a piece of orange cloth with black thread. More to come soon...