Friday 1 September 2023

Amulets & Talismans: A Pewter Purse for Wealth

Medieval people might have been Christian rather than Pagan, but they still used folk magic to help them get through the troubles of life. 

I photographed this replica of a Medieval purse amulet at the Lionheart Replicas stall at a living history fair last weekend. Amulets such as this were commonly worn by pilgrims. This would have been to attract wealth - or at least enough money to live on - while on their journey. 

It particularly interested me because magic for abundance seems to be in the air at the moment. A group of fellow self-employed creative pagans I'm working with has been doing magic to help us all earn a bit more money, while my friend and fellow author Sheena Cundy has just launched her new book Riches for Witches.

Back in the early 15th century, we might have been wearing things like the pewter charm in the photo, and of course there's nothing to stop us buying one of Lionheart's delightful reproductions and doing so today. It represents a three-tasselled purse in two halves. Nestled in the middle is an imitation coin. The original can be seen in  Salisbury Museum and was found in the River Avon. The collection includes several other amulets. 

I'm intending to blog more about amulets and talismans in the future, but you can find some of my earlier posts on the topic with the links below:

http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2021/06/thomas-becket-christian-miracles-or.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/01/folklore-horseshoes-for-protection-and.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2020/06/witchcraft-sun-moon-amulet-for-travel.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2020/10/scrying-for-spell-poppet-charm-for.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/10/pagan-eye-medusa-mozaic-at-dion-in.html

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