Charm Bags

This week I had a project release - not necessarily a big one, but all eyes were still on us. This project had been a little bit chaotic; issues outside of my control has caused delays to an already ambitious deadline, dependencies had meant we had to push back further, etc. Considering all of this, I wasn't exactly feeling optimistic. Project releases make me nervous anyway, but this one felt like if it could go wrong, it would go wrong.


I have had success in the past creating sigils for successful releases, but decided to try something a bit different this time - a charm bag.


The beauty of charm bags is that there is no wrong or right way of making them! You can put in whatever you want, so long as it is symbolic of your intent. For example, if you are creating one for love, then putting in rusted nails may not have any effect at all.


Charm bags are known by many different names, but as always, one needs to be mindful when subscribing certain names to things. One term I hear used is 'mojo bags', a term from African - American culture stemming from hoodoo. These are also known as a gris-gris bag, root bag, conjure bag, conjure hand, lucky hand, mojo hand, trick bag, a toby, or a jomo. I'm from the UK and have absolutely zero ties to that culture, so I will always use the term 'charm bag'.


The idea of a charm bag is to fill it with symbolic representatives of your intent. You can absolutely anything in it, providing it is small enough to fit in a bag! Some ideas include:

• Herbs
• Crystals
• A few drops of essential oil
• Shells
• Stones
• Things you've found on a walk such as acorns, conkers, leaves, and small bits of twig
• Symbolic items, such as a white elephant charm for luck, or a horseshoes charm
• Small figurines of animals, such as a small model tiger for confidence
• Feathers

I'm quite into sea witchcraft, so in this charm bag I used shells:


Limpet Shell - Confidence, Courage, and Tenacity

Mussel Shell - Community/Teamwork, Stability, and enduring hardships (should anything go wrong)

Starfish - Good Luck, Strength

Whelk Shell - Good Fortune, Wisdom, and Guidance


I also included a herbal mixture which I have made to honour the Celtic sea Goddess Cliodhna.


To create the charm bag, I meditated with each item, charging it with the specific intent for each shell, before placing everything in the pouch. Then I said a little prayer to Cliodhna, asking her to bless the charm bag for a successful project release in the morning, and then left it to charge overnight in the crystal grid I usually keep my Reiki crystal in the centre of.


The next morning the release went smoothly, nothing went wrong (well, nothing that couldn't be corrected right away), and all in all it was one of the easiest releases I had managed.


Charm bags are great because they are cheap, quick and easy to create with whatever you have around you, and effective.


So, what could you create a charm bag for this week? Better sleep, happiness, success at work?