Richard WebsterAmulets & Talismans for Beginners: How to Choose, Make & Use Magical Objects (Llewellyn's For Beginners, 48)

This book gives a basic history, definitions, and basic examples of amulets, talismans and Lucky charms. The brief history and examples are adequate and easy to understand for beginners.Webster also gives a brief description of the elements of making a talismans. Making a talisman takes a lot of steps and the perfect timing for what you want the talisman for. The descriptions for this seem easy to understand and apply. It's mostly about timing and concentration.Overall, this is a good started book that discusses the history and uses of amulets and talismans. It barely discuss how to make them though, so I plan on looking for more advanced books. You can never go wrong with more knowledge.Also, the appendix for this book will be a great reference for the future work.

Easy to read and comprehend. Full of lots of interesting info, a great book for anyone interested in making their own charms, amulets, or talismans!

If you've ever wondered about the meaning and reason behind these items, this is the book for you. It's a good lesson in how energy can affect our surroundings!

great

The book arrived unmarked.

Webster opens with a charming story from his boyhood, when he first encountered a lucky horseshoe nail worn as a protective charm by a farmer. Many of us have heard of or experienced a similar tale: a first awakening to the idea that inanimate objects can bestow fortune upon their owners.He goes on to define talismans as 'objects designed to give specific power, protection, encouragement, and energy to those who wear or own them. The important thing to note is that talismans always provide <I>specific benefits</I> to their owners and are usually made for specific purposes' (pg. 8). Whereas amulets are said to be distinctly different from talismans in that they are 'intended for more general purposes and usually provide protection from danger'. Webster states that 'while talismans are active, amulets are passive, reacting to events in the wearer's life rather than specifically creating something' (pg. 10). Lucky charms apparently 'combine the qualities of both amulets and talismans. They are active like talismans and generalized like amulets. Charms are intended to attract good luck and good fortune to whoever owns them' (pg. 11). Rather confusing, as it sounds more or less the same to me. Fortunately, he allows that it can be 'sometimes difficult to say if a certain magical object is an amulet, lucky charm, or talisman.' Further noting that 'in fact, it is not at all unusual to find one object performing all three functions depending on the beliefs of its owner' (pg. 12).Brief overviews of several traditional talismans and amulets are given, as well as examples for making and charging magical objects, including numerous associations, with numerology, colour, stones, horoscope and birthday month gems, both 'traditional' and modern, quabbalah, seals, Pythagorean magick squares and numerology - all within a fixed framework, though he notes that one can also choose what resonates well. Webster even includes a spin-off of the Spare method for sigil making, though he seems to miss the entire point of the exercise point in saying that 'it makes no difference what you do with the letters, <I>just as long as the message is instantly recognizable to you</I>, whenever you see it' (pg. 184, italics mine). In fact, in the Spare method it is fundamental that one <I>forgets</I> the meaning of the sigil for it to take seed in the subconscious mind, even to the point of leaving the finished sigil aside for days, weeks or even months. Further, it contains methods for charging and purifying amulets as well as destroying them once they're no longer of use.It is an easy to use guide and brief history of popular magickal objects, if a bit vague at times and somewhat repetitive. There's not a lot going on creatively with it; it relies heavily on 'tried and true' methods with an allowance for minor intuitive tweaking. Despite these criticisms, it is a decent introduction to talisman and amulet creation, and would make good start for a beginner interested in the basics.

Great book & Seller

This is a great book. I checked it out at the library and had to get it. This is a great book for the beginner and advanced. it has numerology and how to make magic squares also. This is the best book I have bought so far.

Good reading.