When I was a kid, I had an overwhelming fear of things, people, spirits and/or aliens that lurk in the dark. I would imagine invisible people wielding chain saws and cutting through walls, stealing me from my bed or the bathtub. Aliens, spirits or strangers, breaking in during anytime of the night or day and kidnapping me, before committing terrible and violent crimes to my body. I would lie awake at night in fits of frozen terror, sometimes going to sleep at the foot of my parent’s door, when they wouldn’t let me in. I could almost feel, smell and see strangers hiding in corners outside my window, demon like creatures waiting to clasp the edges of my feet from under the bed. Who knows exactly from where these fears could have been sourced? All I remember are the rituals I would go through to try to calm myself. After a certain point, my parents didn’t offer much sympathy- telling me to “get over it,” “go to bed,” “it’s all in your head,” yadda, yadda, yadda. Unsurprisingly, these words were less than calming. One day my sister and I were staying with my grandparents and I was having my usual relationship to the still of a night, and my grandma gave me a talisman, some sort of coin with a sculptural relief of a patron saint on it. I can’t remember which saint it was… I want to say St. Christopher- but I’d rather it have been St. Michael the Archangel.. just for symbolic purposes. My grandmother handed me the round, gold coin and told me that if I held it tightly in between my fingers whenever I felt really scared, and prayed to God and to the saint for protection- that I would always be watched over with love and grace and strength, and that I needn’t worry- for even if I wasn’t praying or holding the coin- God was already with me, watching me, protecting me.
We weren’t Catholic – but were raised with a loose relationship to the church. We would definitely show our faces round the holidays and occasionally more regular bouts of attendance would occur. Even though I already sensed some level of hypocrisy by way of which I witnessed people practicing their faith around me, and questioned what seemed like contradictions in stories and lessons that were taught in Sunday school- this offering from my grandmother resonated with so much power inside of me, that I kept it with me for years. I held onto this coin during the night, and even in the day when I would become filled with fear, and frozen with dark thoughts, I would rub the coin with my thumb and forefinger, and pray for protection. After I lost the coin, I soon replaced it with worry stones, and then with pieces of silk, and then with just the thoughts in my head.
As an adult who has found some other kind of relationship to whom I believe to know as God- A vital and pure source of inspiration, energy and love found and worshiped in ever-expanding and vast kinds of belief systems and practices- I see a deep legitimacy in most kinds of religious and spiritual practice, and personally tend to align the idea of prayer with a pagan kind of ideology. Prayer being this beautiful practice where we can focus our energy and direct it toward any given set of circumstances, desired outcomes, people or even things. The power of manifestation, centered within our own ability to focus a thought, and direct it to some divine source outside of ourselves.. even if that divine source is the center of ourselves. Without a doubt, we are by definition, creative beings and prayer is a powerful tool that lets us align with the forces of God, nature and ourselves, however you know those relationships to be in yourself and/or the world. At some point, my practice of prayer was conducting Wiccan spells, at some point, it was praying to Jesus, and at some point it was sincere meditation. And these days, it might be a combination of all of the previously stated methods, and seems to be ever-growing. I don’t actually feel that the path by which one gets to where they are going is that important… so long as the path feels aligned with the person. So as we change, so might our paths. I value my friends who practice prayer in their lives and that we can share in the practice of inner knowing, and absolute faith in the divine- whomever, whatever, however that might be.
And now, I will share a collection of objects, practices and prayers that are in the name of protection.
xoxo
Chrys
Pentacle. For protection from the earth and all of her elements.
The Eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, royal power and good health.
The hamsa (Arabic: خمسة khamsah, also romanized khamsa, meaning lit. “five”) is a palm-shaped amulet popular throughout the Middle East and North Africa, and commonly used in jewellery and wall hangings.[1
Worry stones are smooth, polished gemstones usually in the shape of an oval with a thumb-sized indentation. They are also known as thumb stones or palm stones. They originated in Ancient Greece.Held between the index finger and thumb, rubbing them is believed to lessen one’s worries.
The legendary Griffin symbol is a fascinating creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. Variations of ancient lore say the griffin builds a nest, like an eagle (female?) and lays sapphires instead of eggs, and protects the gold. The feather of a griffin and the talon both are supposed to have medicinal properties so powerful that it can even restore sight to the blind!
Sparkle Bam Pow! Jewelry, Metalsmithing, Art. 