This isn't it, but I liked the picture and it captures the mood!

Some things in this witchy life are too fun not to share but they can’t be shared with the average populace.  So I’ll share it here.

Recently I decided, “Jessica, you really need to be a little more serious about protecting your home from negative people and energy.”  Good deal.  I did a lot of reading on it.  I have often done cleansing and some intense energy barriers but I thought perhaps some more permanent talismans might be in order as well.  Being a witch with a certain amount of interest in old-world magic, I decided that iron is a good foundation for some protective charms, with iron being so well known for dispelling dangerous spirits, etc.  Then, just add an herb pouch, stones or whatever.  I made a couple of really nifty things over Easter weekend and put them at the front and back doors of the house.  One was based on a set of large iron skeleton keys.  The other was made with a cross made of long iron nails.  Neat-o.

During my research phase I had also found something on ebay I decided to buy.  It was from a guy’s collection of oddities and assorted occult gear.  The guy’s wife was selling off all of these items now that the gentleman has passed and she has just way too much stuff in her basement.  The item was a pentacle star made from iron four-sided nails.  I think those technically count as coffin nails.  Coffin nails are extremely common in American folk magic for protective work (and to do bad things to enemies too but that’s not what I intended to do with it.)  So I ordered it.  It was coming from Canada so it took its sweet time getting to me.

While it was on its way, I was thinking more about the story of this item.  As I said, it was in some guy’s personal collection.  The wife reports that this item was placed in a small “coffin-like box” full of mullein.  (Mullein being often substituted for graveyard dust.)  Then this mullein filled box of iron pentacle was buried in the earth for one full moon cycle and then dug up.  That’s quite a lot of preparation, I would say.  According to the wife, it was created for spiritual protection.    Originally I thought, “oh sweet!” because it’s a really colorful story.  As I waited for this thing to arrive, however, I started to stew about it.  It started sounding creepier and creepier.

So it arrived finally, yesterday.  I took it out of the package and held it in my hand.  It’s pretty neat looking, about the size of my palm.  I also noticed that it had a very aggressive energy to it.   It was like a wild dog that might attack my enemies but might attack me too.  Like a dog that’s going to remove my face from my head.   Whether there is a real energetic issue going on or I just have myself convinced there is, I don’t even know.  Regardless, I didn’t even put it down.  I took it right upstairs to my collection of stuff, stuck it in a jar and covered it in salt and a blend of particularly chosen herbs.  I bound that mixture together with water from a natural spring I collected last summer.  It is now sitting on a shelf, in the glass jar, until I am darn well good and ready to take it out and see how it feels.

Only I, it seems, would manage to acquire something for protection that entirely freaks me right out.