Today's Challenge -- Craft a Felt Penny Spell Packet for Healing or Good Fortune (or both!)
I was looking through some of my files and found one of my favorite spellcasting techniques -- the Penny Spell Packet. So fun and easy to make -- they don't take that long to put together and last for years. Versatile too, you can carry them in your pocket, make a brooch out of them, slip them between the pillowcase and pillow and so much more. Penny Spell Packets in the form I show here, track their history back to the 1800s, starting around the time of the Civil War. Thrifty homemakers would use scraps of wool or felted wool from old clothing, blankets, and hats to create designs for mats or rugs. Using coins as templates, they created circles and each piece was then stitched in blanket stitch fashion. (Thus, the name "penny" rug). Sometimes, the mats or rugs were backed with old burlap bags or feed sacks. Often a penny was stitched inside the mat to make it lie flat." -- Wikipedia
Newspaper articles from the first half of the 1900's mention packets of cloth wrapped around herbs and paper charms created by Brauchers/Pow-wow's and Hexenmeisters to protect the bearer, enhance healing, or bring good fortune. This project turns those plain packets into art -- using felt, herbs, pennies and other objects to create amazing little spells that pack a good punch. You can make just one PennyWise Packet, or several to fashion a spell mat or other artful, ritual idea. You can even string them together to create a necklace or simply use one as a pendant. Sew several empowered PennyWise Packets onto a vest, sweater, scarf, handbag, duffle bag -- jeans! or use them as a brooch with a pin back. Hang them on a ritual staff, on the front door, on your magick belt or cords. PennyWise Packets exemplify the "art" of magick.
Supplies: In the above picture, I show many of the supplies I used to create a Success Pennywise Packet. Felt of different colors cut into circular shapes, embroidery thread (but, you could glue yours together if you like), a penny, a lodestone, an acorn, glass beads, chamomile herb, and chamomile fluid condenser.
For a Healing Pennywise Packet, I went outside and took a spirit walk, collecting speedwell, selfheal, acorns, and dandelion. You can dry your fresh herbs in the oven at the lowest temp your unit will go, air dry them (will take a few days), or use a food dehydrator. If you have a collection of dried herbs in your kitchen cupboard, you can use garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary, and basil for a good healing combination, particularly for colds and flu. Have a good collection in your magickal cabinet? Then consider lavender, horehound, white sage, and hyssop. I also like to add holy basil. Use rose quartz for emotional healing, clear quartz for general healing, jasper and turquoise for physical healing. I dress my stones with Marigold Fluid Condenser.
Instructions: Cleanse and bless all supplies before you begin. Empower a penny, the herbs and any other object that you will slip between the felt pieces. You can also cut a circular piece of paper and add magickal sigils along with your intent statement to your packet. The addition of a photo of the person or an image of a totem animal can also boost the intent of your packet.
The PennyWise packet goes together like a sandwich with the larger piece on the bottom, and the smaller circles stacked on top. The packet is easiest to sew if you make two large bottom pieces the same size. On one of these pieces, stack the others, adding decorations as you go. Once the top pieces are stacked and decorated, sew on the matching bottom piece leaving an opening to add your herbs and other spell items. Stitch closed and dress with either magickal success oil or Chamomile Fluid Condenser. Once your Pennywise Packet is finished, empower and place on your New Year's Altar.
You can make PennyWise packets for any purpose -- healing, protection, love, etc. The most important ingredient is the penny -- which holds the charge for a period of time. Re-empower your PennyWise Packet every 30 days. PennyWise packets are perfect bits of magick to incorporate during your quarantine and are a great way to keep kids and restless artists occupied!
Summary - 76 Possible Stars!
Throw or Give One Thing Away - Earn 1 Star Today's Challenge -- Make and empower a pennywise packet - 50 Stars Remember to do your Rattle Bath! Do one Evening Jog -- where you jog through the house/apartment and pick up as much clutter as you can. (Use a basket to capture more stuff!) - earn 25 Stars
Big Hugs
Peace with the Gods Peace with Nature Peace Within!
Silver http://www.whispermagick.com
