The opposite of stress is kindness…

When I was a kid I was always a little in love with that moment in the movie where someone gives the main character a keepsake.. just before they are sent on a journey or made to stay home from one .. a pendant or an object hung on a bit of string that they then kept secretly around their neck. 

A talisman. 

I loved everything about it … the meaningful exchange, the power of the object… powerless in itself and yet, imbued with a hidden secret magic giving strength and a certainty of belonging and love to the wearer.

For me…. the simpler the object, the more magical… a feather.. a stone with a hole in it… a bead .. or just a simple effigy of a meaningful creature.

I have spent my life looking for my special ‘thing’, my talisman. Sometimes I honestly think this is why I became a jeweller.

Creating new pieces of jewellery, imagining each time that this is the one… this is the piece that I will tie around my neck on a piece of chord and wear forever.

But … it never is … 

 Let’s face it… I’ve Never even managed to settle on a wedding ring! I’ve always joked that changing my wedding ring every five minutes was a jewellers perk ..but truthfully I’ve just never found that connection… so I have a few different ones, I’m sure that one day… it’ll make itself known to me. 

This one ! 

Like the ‘One Ring’ it will speak to me and be … my precious. 

Jewellery, for me, is so much more than fashion, or decoration .. every piece we make .. or buy ( yep, I still love to buy other peoples jewellery too!) has to have a meaning, a relevance. I have to be able to imagine that for someone, this will be their forever piece .. the one thing that they will tie around their neck or wrist or place on their finger and never take it off. The charm that they touch automatically… subconsciously when they’re feeling unsure 

.. the soothing softness of the smooth silver feather between their fingers … 

In this way each piece becomes magical.

For me, jewellery is also a form of armour, like make up, or clothing, depending on my emotional state can determine which pieces and how much jewellery I wear. 

If I’m feeling particularly anxious about a meeting or an event I find myself grabbing an extra ring, or necklace.. even sometimes, if I’ve run out of fingers I’ll just pop a ring or a pendant in my pocket .. like a little secret good luck charm. It’s as if by carrying this little piece of metal with me I am reminding myself who I am, where I am safe so that I can go forward with my day with confidence… or at least with an external confidence. 

At times, this has also flipped … the ring or necklace I have been wearing has become ‘responsible’ for something negative.. something unhappy that has happened whilst wearing it and my coping strategy has involved the decision that this poor unassuming bit of metal played some kind of evil role in my destiny! So much so that during a particularly turbulent time I have been known to throw a ring into the sea … 

Obviously, I know the ring wasn’t to blame but as a symbolic gesture it can be super empowering both as a form of secret talismanic protection or as cleansing and moving on. 

Humans have been imbuing inanimate objects with power for ever. History shows that from gemstones to effigy’s we have placed an almost mystical magical potency to jewellery, gemstones and sculptures.

Different to a simple show of wealth, these pieces, in a similar way to religious icons have an almost sacred resonance.

The Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford defines the term ‘amulet’ as ‘Anything worn about the person as a charm preventative against evil, mischief, disease, witchcraft, etc.’, whilst a charm is described as ‘Anything worn about the person to avert evil or ensure prosperity’  (Pitt Rivers Museum, 2017)

Clearly both the prevention of bad luck and also the protection of good.

Samuel Pepys was said to have carried a hare’s foot which cured him of stomach discomfort. Hag stones (stones with natural holes in them) have been collected throughout history, threaded on string and hung above beds to ward off nightmares. There were even metal pendants worn to protect against rabies.

My dad used to say that it was the hole in the hag stone that was the magic bit .. he’d call them ‘holes with stones ‘round’ rather than stones with holes in them.

I was listening to a fascinating podcast recently in which the concept of the mind body connection was explored.

I’ll pop a link to the podcast at the bottom of this blog if you fancy a listen…

It was an interview with Dr. David Hamilton who has been researching the incredible link between our minds, the way we think about things and our physical health. 

He explains that there is proven scientific evidence that thinking kindly and with compassion changes the physiology of your body. 

Thinking kind, positive thoughts releases chemicals into your body that are opposite to the hormones and chemicals released by stress. 

You can literally lower your stress levels just by thinking about kindness. 

‘The opposite of stress is kindness’.

He explains that when you’re in a stressful situation you don’t feel stressed because of the situation itself, you feel stressed because of the chemicals released by your body. So simply  by thinking kind thoughts we can counter the stress hormones and replace them with ‘kindness hormones’ … reducing the levels of stress in the body. 

So … surely then, an amulet or talisman will work in a similar way? 

We are not necessarily actually imbuing the object with any magical power as such, but rather it’s physical presence can act as a symbol to think differently… to believe that you are protected, confident, safe … successful even? 

A process proven time and again with the use of placebos in medicine… if carrying a hare’s foot causes your brain to release calming hormones then it follows that a stress induced stomach problem may disappear. 

FYI I am certainly not advocating the use of hare or rabbit feet as amulets… I’d much rather see their feet firmly on the ends of their legs as they run through the fields ..!!

Al and I are firm believers that signs and symbols appear in your world as guides. I’m not saying that they are magically put there by some omnipotent being … but that we can on some subconscious level seek out meaningful symbols, shapes that appear in the wispy clouds or animals that suddenly appear everywhere you look.. either physically or in illustrations, tv shows, art, books … just everywhere. 

Like tuning your eyes to find seaglass on a beach (also thought by some to be lucky!) .. we subconsciously tune our minds to see the symbolism that we need at the time. 

We often like to mention the powerful symbolism behind a new creature or piece of jewellery that we create for A Wolf and I. Whether you believe in it or not, we feel the suggestion of positivity behind each piece brings it an authentic power, a kindness and inner positivity enveloped within the metal.

And who doesn’t need a bit of that? 

So.. in all my searching for the ‘one’ thing that I will wear forever, I have come to realise that just as I am an ever changing entity .. so are my emotional needs. So this week a piece of turquoise may be my magical talisman.. next week a silver bear pendant and in a month I could be back to my mermaid again.. who knows? 

It’s fluid … we change 

Sometimes … the day may just call for all of them at once! 

Oh..but of course……black cats are real magic.. that’s just fact!

Here’s a link to the podcast if you fancy a listen..

Delicious Ways to Feel Better - ‘Why changing your mindset can change your health’

Apple Podcast : https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/delicious-ways-to-feel-better/id1428704212?i=1000547373415

Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/episode/0LZcAkiF79pa1ejQcgWW4O?si=1TfW9OOaQsqLy24plFZjhA

I will leave you with a little spell to try…

Taken from ‘The spell book for new witches’ by Ambrosia Hawthorn.

Protection Sigil.

When to perform this spell : On a Saturday or during a new moon

Tools: Pen and paper, Black permanent marker, flat stone. (maybe a hole with a stone around??)

Focus your intentions.

Write the word ‘PROTECT’ on a piece of paper.

Deconstruct the letters of the word into their basic strokes, like curves, dots, dashes and lines. draw these strokes below the word on the same paper.

Still on the same sheet of paper, combine the strokes to form the outline of a shape. This could be a square, a heart, a cross, or a triangle. Place any remaining circles, arcs and dashes along the lines around the shape.

This shape is your protection sigil.

Draw your sigil, now coded with your intentions, onto the stone to carry with you.

From my heart to yours x