Personal Power Talisman

Your personal power is based on your strengths, abilities, and potential. A Personal Power Talisman is a tool that can help you to overcome doubts, build self-confidence, succeed with spells, live a magickal life, and achieve your full potential. Its magick begins as soon as you begin to think about making it. The talisman is most powerful when made slowly, over time, with deep thought, great care, and exquisite attention to detail.

The spell for the final enchantment of the completed talisman is best cast at midnight on the night of a Full Moon (use a calendar to time it). You can make these talismans for other people, but they are best made personally by the one who wishes to fully activate his or her powers.

Some of the many ways to use this talisman include handling it before performing divination, such as casting the I Ching or reading tarot cards; placing it on your altar while you cast spells; keeping it at hand while you study or take tests; putting it under your pillow to augment your dream work; and touching it whenever you need a magickal boost. To make a Personal Power Talisman you will need:

a piece of cloth in your favorite color and texture needle and thread to sew a mojo bag a piece of gold cord or ribbon that is long enough to tie eight knots in eight personal power charms (See the list below.) cinnamon powder, essential oil, or a cinnamon stick a pentacle or pentagram (Any type will do, even the

symbol drawn on a piece of paper.) your favorite incense a candle in your favorite scent and color paint, markers, beads, or embroidery thread with which to decorate the mojo bag

Preparation

Use the cloth and the cord to fashion a mojo bag that is small enough to easily fit into a pocket, handbag, briefcase, or backpack. Draw, embroider, or otherwise decorate the bag with a personal power symbol such as your power animal, your totem animal, or the symbol for your astrological sign (see below). This is your talisman, so you should make it in whatever way looks good and feels right to you.

The Spell

Fill the bag with eight small personal power charms. These should be things that resonate with power for you. For example, if you have a power animal or a totem animal, you could include a picture or other small image of it. If you have a “lucky” stone or coin that has been with you for years, you might wish to include that, and so on. Use whatever charms you like, but it is best to use natural things that have been acquired without causing harm, such as feathers that birds have shed, rather than feathers that were plucked from their bodies. Leaves or branches that have fallen from trees are preferable to those torn from living trees. Use seeds or flowers that have been gathered without leaving a plant unable to reproduce itself, and so on.

Charms that are purchased, such as spices, are just as effective as those that have been wildcrafted. Herbs and other plants are best used dried, rather than fresh, to prevent spoilage in the mojo bag. Images of animals might include pictures, small statues, carvings, and the like. If you work in a zoo and have access to the shed fur of a lion or live on a farm and have access to goat hair or horsehair, those are more powerful charms than images.

Astrology can be used to select personal power charms. If you know your Moon sign and your rising sign as well as your Sun sign, you may want to include charms to represent them too. Here is a list of signs and the charms you might include for each.

Aries: A talisman for an Aries is best begun on a Tuesday, their personal power day. Appropriate ingredients for it include alder bark or leaves, allspice berries, basil, bloodstones, red carnation petals, cayenne pepper, cedar (chips, tips, or shavings), cloves, crystals, cumin seeds, dandelion (roots, leaves, or flowers), red feathers, fennel seeds, garlic capsules, red geranium petals, candied ginger, chili peppers, gold coins or charms, iron rings, juniper berries, marjoram, mustard seeds, onion flakes, peppercorns, pinecones or pineneedles, images of rams, rosemary, red stones, thyme, and red wool.

Taurus: A talisman for a Taurus is best begun on a Friday, their personal power day. Appropriate ingredients for it include dried apple slices, dried apricots, small brass bells, images of bulls or cows, cardamom pods, carnation petals, cedar (tips, chips, or shavings), cherry pits, clover, copper coins or charms, daisy petals, dandelion (root, leaves, or flowers), hawthorn flowers, heather, hibiscus, jasmine, lilac, lily of the valley, magnolia leaves or flowers, images of minotaurs, oakmoss, orchids, raspberry leaves, rose hips, saffron threads, sage, green or blue stones, dried strawberries, thyme, images of white tigers, vanilla beans, violet leaves or flowers, wicker pieces, and willow bark or leaves.

Gemini: A talisman for a Gemini is best begun on a Wednesday, their personal power day. Appropriate ingredients for it include two almonds, aniseed, two caraway seeds, two pieces of citron peel, clover, two crystals, two images of deer, two dill seeds, two fennel seeds, gladiola petals, hawthorn (bark, blossoms, or leaves), two horehound candies, two iris flowers, lavender, lily petals, lemongrass, mace, marjoram, orris root (whole or powdered), parsley, two pear seeds, two peppermint candies, yellow rose petals, snapdragon blossoms, images of twins, lemon verbena, and two bicolored, iridescent, or multicolored stones.

Cancer: A talisman for a Cancerian is best begun on a Monday, their personal power day. Appropriate ingredients for it include small aloe spears, amber, beach glass, catnip, chamomile, images of crabs, daisy petals, driftwood, eucalyptus leaves, gardenia, white geranium petals, silver glitter, honeysuckle, jasmine, larkspur petals, lemon balm, lemon peel, lotus nut, marigold, mimosa (bark, leaves, or flowers), moonstones, moonwort (also called honesty), pansies, poppy seeds, pastel stones, white rose petals, rose quartz, sand, scarabs, sea shells, images of the Moon, silver coins or rings, lemon verbena, and violet leaves or flowers.

Leo: A talisman for a Leo is best begun on a Sunday, their personal power day. Appropriate ingredients for it include acorns, angelica, aniseed, bay leaves, chamomile, chicory, cloves, dill seeds, gold coins or rings, gold glitter, goldenseal, hazel nuts, juniper (bark, leaves, or berries), images of lions, marigold, nutmegs, oak leaves, orange peels, peony petals, rosemary, saffron threads, sunstones (sparkling feldspar), images of sphinxes, images of the Sun, yellow or golden stones, sunflower seeds or petals, and tiger'seyes.

Virgo: A talisman for a Virgo is best begun on a Wednesday, their personal power day. Appropriate ingredients for it include almonds, amethysts, aster petals, images of brown bears, caraway seeds, citron peels, cornflowers, cypress bark or leaves, dill leaves or seeds, fennel seeds, grape leaves or vine tendrils, hazelnuts, horehound candies, lily petals, mace, marjoram, morning glory vines or flowers, moss, narcissus bulb or petals, nickels, peppermint, raisins, rosemary, savory, violet leaves or flowers, and gray, brown, or tan stones.

Libra: A talisman for a Libra is best begun on a Friday, their personal power day. Appropriate ingredients for it include small aloe spears, dried apple slices, catnip, copper coins or charms, black feathers, royal blue glitter, lilac blossoms, magnolia leaves or flowers, marigold petals, marjoram, orchids, rose petals, pennyroyal, spearmint candies, blue stones, sugar cubes, toy swords, thyme, vanilla beans, vanilla sugar, lemon verbena, and violet leaves or flowers.

Scorpio: A talisman for a Scorpio is best begun on a Tuesday, their personal power day. Appropriate ingredients for it include allspice berries, anemone petals, ash bark or leaves, basil, red chrysanthemum petals, cloves, copper coins or charms, cumin seeds, cypress bark or leaves, dill seeds, small geodes, iron rings, ivy leaves, nettles, obsidian, pine cones or needles, pomegranate seeds, saffron threads, images of scorpions, steel bands or rings, dark red stones, thistles, yucca leaves, and eagle, vulture, or hawk feathers.

Sagittarius: A talisman for a Sagittarius is best begun on a Thursday, their personal power day. Appropriate ingredients for it include acorns, amethysts, aniseed, aster petals, arrowheads, toy bows and arrows, purplish carnation petals, images of centaurs, cedar (tips, chips, or shavings), patterned cloth, red clover, daffodil petals, dried figs, candied ginger, holly leaves or berries, images of horses, juniper (bark, leaves, or berries), myrtle leaves or blossoms, nutmegs, rosemary, sage, spruce cones or needles, star anise, purplish stones, tinfoil or tin charms, and turquoise.

Capricorn: A talisman for a Capricorn is best begun on a Wednesday, their personal power day. Appropriate ingredients for it include birch bark or leaves, pieces of coal, dark red or russet carnation petals, chervil, crystals, cypress (bark, buds, or leaves), flax seed oil capsules, holly leaves or berries, horny goatweed, lead, images of goats, goose down or feathers, holly leaves or berries, magnolia leaves or flowers, mint, oakmoss, poppy seeds, rue, sassafras, slippery elm, sorrel, black stones, thyme, and zircons.

Aquarius: A talisman for an Aquarian is best begun on a Saturday, their personal power day. Appropriate ingredients for it include almonds, aluminum foil or charms, amber, amethysts, aniseed, ash leaves or bark, aspen leaves, bittersweet berries, buttercup flowers, citron peels, white coral, clear quartz crystals, cypress leaves or bark, daffodil petals, dandelion (root, leaves, or flowers), fennel seeds, flax seed oil capsules, lavender, lead, mace, images of otters, peppermint, pine cones or needles, poppy seeds, rosemary, sage, snowdrop blossoms, images of stars, silver coins or charms, lemon verbena, and violet leaves or flowers.

Pisces: A talisman for a Pisces is best begun on a Wednesday, their personal power day. Appropriate ingredients for it include alder bark or leaves, amethysts, aniseed, ash bark or leaves, blue, white, or green carnation petals, catnip, cloves, coral, pale blue or sea-green cotton thread or cotton cloth, eucalyptus leaves, fish oil capsules, images of fish, gardenias, blue hyacinth florets, lemon peel, lilac blossoms, mother-ofpearl, Norfolk Island pine needles, nutmegs, rue, sage, star anise, tinfoil or tin charms, and willow bark or leaves.

After filling the bag, add the cinnamon, and tie the mojo bag shut with eight knots. If you are using essential oil of cinnamon, anoint the bag with it after you tie the knots. Place the completed talisman on a pentacle, and position it to charge in moonlight for one or more nights.

The Spell

Choose an appropriate day, such as your personal power day, or a day when the Sun or Moon is in your astrological sign (an astrological almanac will have that information). Midnight is the best time for the working.

When you are ready to cast the spell, collect the incense, candle, pentacle, and mojo bag. Get into a magickal mood, and create sacred space around the area where you will be working.

Place the pentacle on your altar or other working surface, and place everything else atop it in a manner that is pleasing to you. Light the candle, then light the incense from the candle. Raise power. Use your projective hand to hold the talisman in the incense smoke, turning it so that the entire mojo bag will be smudged. As you do this, say:

By moonlight and midnight,

By starlight and insight, By smoke and candlelight, I accept my birthright.

Beginning with North and working deosil, face each direction in turn as you hold the talisman up and say:

Charged on this day, and at this hour,

To help me grow and let me flower,

By the powers of the Lord of each Watchtower, This talisman will stimulate my personal power.

By the powers of the Lord of each Watchtower, This talisman will activate my personal power!

Place the talisman back on the pentacle when you finish, and leave it there until the candle and the incense have burned out. Monitor them until they finish burning. Concentrate on pouring all the power of the spell into the talisman. Envision the way you expect the talisman to work for you. When the candle guts out, ground the power that you raised and clean up.

Afterward

The more that you use it, touch it, and think about it, the more powerful this talisman will become. Keep it with you whenever possible. To renew its magick, place it in moonlight overnight, or smudge it with incense.

When you feel that you no longer need your talisman, it can then be buried, burned, thrown out, put away in a safe place, or disposed of in whatever way seems best to you. Charms such as stones may be cleared (see “stones” under “Spell Ingredients” on page xviii) and retained for future use, if you like.

^1.Translation Note: alfy layla wa layla is Arabic for

“one thousand and one nights”; ifta, ya simsim is

Arabic for “open sesame.”

Pronunciation Note: Both phrases have been rendered in English exactly as they sound in Egyptian-dialect Arabic.