As I told you a few weeks ago, my co-blogger, Leanne is dealing with some scary health stuff right now. It was recently discovered that she has a hole in her heart and will have to have open-heart surgery to fix it. She is understandably frightened by this, but especially so because she has a five month old son. So not only is she frightened, but she's feeling a bit depressed too. That is actually a major understatement, but you get my meaning.
Anyway, I decide to write a healing spell and make some charms for her, which I am sharing with you. Well, the charms anyway. I decided to keep the spell back, I think it will be more effective that way, and so it won't be making an appearance on this blog unless Leanne wants to share it after her healing has run it's course.
What I found interesting while creating the charms is that they ended up with two-fold purpose: 1) to aid the physical healing (my intent); and, 2) to aid in emotional/spiritual healing (the fun bonus). So these charms will, I think, help with healing both a physical and metaphorical broken heart! It was a pleasant surprise to say the least.
This is a fairly simple knot charm, tied with red string, and in the shape of a Celtic heart. I'm a big fan of knot charms. They're quick, their easy, and can be quite beautiful. For me, the most difficult thing is learning how to do the fancy knots, because you've got to get it tied while concentrating on your intended purpose. Otherwise, it's just a piece of string knotted prettily.
To make one of these, and to make it magical, you should:
1) Find and prepare your string or cording. It can be as thin as thread, or as thick as rope. Silk, linen, hemp, jute, cotton, or something synthetic. Pick your color, something that radiates your intent. To me, RED is the color of love, strength, and courage, and while it may not be relaxing, I find it to be healing because of those attributes. My string is some kind of synthetic, mostly because it's affordable and easy to work with. I cut it the length I need and scorch the ends. It's also very forgiving, so I can untie and retie the knots until I have them just right.
2) Learn the knot. There are so many different things you can do with rope, so many knots you can tie. This heart knot I thought appropriate for this healing as it represents the part of Leanne's physical body that needs to be healed, also the bits of her spirit that need bolstering, and, well, my love for my best friend.
Practice the knot until you can do it without really thinking about it. You'll want to concentrate on the healing/bolstering while tying, and don't want to have to break that concentration to figure out how the pattern comes together. Now, I don't know these knots perfectly and usually have to go over them a couple of times to make myself comfortable with them. I also still think about the tying of the knot, it's just in the background.
You can learn how to tie this knot here or by watching the video below:
Anyway, I decide to write a healing spell and make some charms for her, which I am sharing with you. Well, the charms anyway. I decided to keep the spell back, I think it will be more effective that way, and so it won't be making an appearance on this blog unless Leanne wants to share it after her healing has run it's course.
What I found interesting while creating the charms is that they ended up with two-fold purpose: 1) to aid the physical healing (my intent); and, 2) to aid in emotional/spiritual healing (the fun bonus). So these charms will, I think, help with healing both a physical and metaphorical broken heart! It was a pleasant surprise to say the least.
Charm 1
To make one of these, and to make it magical, you should:
1) Find and prepare your string or cording. It can be as thin as thread, or as thick as rope. Silk, linen, hemp, jute, cotton, or something synthetic. Pick your color, something that radiates your intent. To me, RED is the color of love, strength, and courage, and while it may not be relaxing, I find it to be healing because of those attributes. My string is some kind of synthetic, mostly because it's affordable and easy to work with. I cut it the length I need and scorch the ends. It's also very forgiving, so I can untie and retie the knots until I have them just right.
2) Learn the knot. There are so many different things you can do with rope, so many knots you can tie. This heart knot I thought appropriate for this healing as it represents the part of Leanne's physical body that needs to be healed, also the bits of her spirit that need bolstering, and, well, my love for my best friend.
Practice the knot until you can do it without really thinking about it. You'll want to concentrate on the healing/bolstering while tying, and don't want to have to break that concentration to figure out how the pattern comes together. Now, I don't know these knots perfectly and usually have to go over them a couple of times to make myself comfortable with them. I also still think about the tying of the knot, it's just in the background.
You can learn how to tie this knot here or by watching the video below:
3) Intent. Think on what you want your outcome to be, write a few lines of spell or prayer and mutter them while tying. I picture myself capturing wispy bits of love and healing with every turn of the cord, like a knot that traps and holds the wind. Concentrate on that. It's a meditation, and outflowing of energy, and a binding of that energy to your will.
4) Combine the above to create the charm. As simple and as complicated as that.
Charm 2
Another knot charm, this time in the form of a very simple friendship bracelet. What can I say? I cam of age in the 90s, and these were all the rage. It's a simple pattern, just the repetition of two colors of embroidery floss. These are knots I can tie in my sleep, no reminders necessary.
The colors I chose are true healing colors: blue for calm and patience, and green for physical and emotional healing. With every knot I tied I focused on calm and healing, hoping to ease my friend's fear and strengthen her body.
The steps are the same as the single knot above, just with more repetition.
You can, if you want, make a far, far more complicated pattern, and if you want to do that I recommend Friendship-Bracelets.net to get an idea of what is possible. I felt that my simple and familiar rope-like bracelet was fine for my purpose, so that is what I created. It can also be used as keychain, if the person you're making it for doesn't want to wear it. Or, of course, it could just be set on a shrine or altar.
Charm 3
I found this little mesh(-ish) bag in my bedroom, the green of new growth, and knew I had to send it to Leanne. It's another weird synthetic fabric, but, hey, it was free. I really have no idea where I got it. I decided to make a little bag filled with healing herbs and this was perfect.
Here's what I put in it:
- 1 bay leaf
- fennel seeds
- mint
- thyme
- dried orange peel
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 bloodstone
I put a little over 1/2 teaspoon of each herb in the bag. All the herbs are known for their healing capabilities, and the mixture smells divine.
I added the bloodstone because for some reason or another I bought a bunch of bloodstones a few years back, and because it seemed appropriate. According to one website:
"Bloodstones are also known as stones of courage. It improves physical strength, enhances self-esteem and self-appreciation, and calms anxiousness . . . And it strengthens the heart."Plus I just like the stone. It seems to have a calming effect on me, and I thought to pass that on to Leanne.
Charm 4
This one I like best.
I cut two hearts out of felt. One I left blank, the other I stitched the word HEAL in Ogham. Then I glued the two pieces of felt together. One side represents the whole, healed heart–the ideal; while the other side represents the damaged heart healing–the reality. I chose Ogham, because I'm studying Irish Polytheism right now, and because I think it looks like stitches. Again, it seemed appropriate.
If you can't see my photograph well, here's what HEAL looks like in Ogham:
᚛ᚆᚕᚂ᚜
I found this Ogham Transliterator online, which was just so useful. I'm totally going to use it again.
The most difficult task was choosing what word to stitch onto the heart (though my stitching leaves a lot to be desired, it's not that hard). In addition to HEAL, I considered HEALING, HEALTH, STRENGTH, HEALTHY, RESTORE, and several others. HEAL, though, is a command and not a description; ultimately, I felt a command was what was needed in this situation.
So those are the charms I made for Leanne. Add to their magic by sending healing thoughts her way. I'll post again at the next full moon, and maybe have an update on Leanne.
