Now Might Be a Good Time for a Talisman

In November 1922, archaeologist Howard Carter descended a limestone passage in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. Holding a flame up in the darkness, he peered through a small hole chiseled into a sealed door. When asked if he could see anything, Carter famously replied, “Yes, wonderful things.”

More than one hundred objects were discovered within the linen bandages of King Tutankhamun’s mummy, including an abundance of amulets that Carter declared were “intended to protect against injury on that journey in the underworld.” Scarabs, serpents, vultures, lunar ornaments, ancient gods like Horus and Anubis carved from gold and lapis lazuli—all strategically placed on various points along the body.

Over 3,300 years later, these kinds of symbolic objects aren’t relics from a bygone era—rather, they play an ongoing role in our spiritual landscape.

Somewhat ironically, just look to TikTok for proof. Which, as Vogue Business reported, has over 9 million videos under the #WitchTok hashtag. It doesn’t stop there, of course. The profusion of tarot, crystals, astrology, talismans, and other permutations of spirituality has all drifted mainstream in recent years. “I think the core of authentic spiritual work is rooted in a thread that has always existed,” explains tarot reader Cory Sargeant Boehr. “But the way we engage with those practices naturally evolves alongside society.”

My curiosity around amulets and talismans is something of a contradiction. On one hand, I am staunchly skeptical of the metaphysical. But I can neither resist it. I am utterly obsessed with rituals (as a child, I would trace the Sign of the Cross on my chest because I was fascinated with the sacramental gesture—I was not catholic). And yet, if someone earnestly explores the merits of the zodiac or crystal healing at a dinner party, my inner cynic awakens.

But as it pertains to protective objects, I am somehow spiritedly on board.

The difference between an amulet and talisman deals largely with whether it exists in its original state, or if it has undergone some sort of ritual preparation. In Claude Lecouteux’s The High Magic of Talismans and Amulets (a book I strongly suggest reading on the subway if you’d like to spark a conversation with strangers), he explains that the amulet is an object “possessing natural virtues” while a talisman is an object that has been “invested with magic powers thanks to a ritual compelling.” Both can serve the purpose of protection, and in modern times, Lecouteux explains the term talisman has come to designate any magical object.

For Donnie Soddu, a shamanic practitioner and founder of High Light Rituals, the talisman is a physical object that’s been given a spiritual purpose. “It might be created for protection, courage, abundance, clarity, or to help someone stay connected to any particular intention or part of themselves,” she explains. Soddu makes jewelry talismans because they can be worn and returned to. “It becomes a physical anchor, or a reminder, that helps bring physical form to energy work.”

After the death of his grandmother, jewelry designer Presley Oldham recovered a rock in her desk drawers that she had kept there for as long as he could remember. “She would hold it as a sort of meditative object while working,” he says. The rock fit snugly in the palm and even had a spot for one’s thumb to rest on. “I’m sure she picked it up on a walk somewhere for this exact reason,” he says, adding that it brought him comfort while moving through waves of grief.

As Oldham was working on his first cast pieces, he made a mold of this rock and introduced a slightly re-sculpted version as a pendant. “I had been calling it a ‘worry stone’ and the name just stuck,” he says. “It felt like the perfect name for the piece and what it has the power to do.” He regards it as a talisman, and intends for his new hand-carved gem Worry Stones (crafted in crystal quartz, smoky quartz, jade, amethyst, lapis, and moonstone) to serve a similar function.

“Each stone has its own texture and striation, and slowly transforms from the owner’s touch over time,” he says, both literally in shape and on an emotional plane. The pendant is designed to fit perfectly in your hand and asks you to hold it and release what you need into it. “To me, that is a talisman—an object that allows you to alchemize your emotions.”

Stones, Soddu explains, have a very long history of being associated with energetic, medicinal, protective, and symbolic properties. She works with gemstones as “spiritual allies,” playing the role of intermediary between clients and the spirit world. “Most often, a stone will volunteer for a particular purpose or intention, and I use that information to guide the creation of the talisman,” she explains. Once it's made, Soddu holds a ceremony to bless and activate the piece according to the intention, then passes along guidance on how and when to wear it and use its affirmation. “The stone matters, but the relationship and ritual surrounding it matter just as much.”

Beyond stones and jewelry, talismans and amulets have historically encompassed a wide variety of objects: rabbit feet, four-leaf clovers, arrows, evil eyes, animal teeth, astrological seals, and so on. For Kindred Black founders Alice Wells and Jennifer Francis, even scent can be talismanic.

“Throughout human history, there is almost always an element of burning something scented during a ritual,” Francis says. Their studio is currently full of talismans—a horseshoe above the door, a carved snake guarding the window, a lucky dart hanging in the corner—but when they set out to design a home collection, they kept going back to this idea of shaping atmosphere through scent.

“So many ingredients have been used for millennia for their spiritual and protective properties,” Wells says. Neroli to ease nervousness, lilac to welcome new beginnings, rose and sandalwood to summon love. “We surround and adorn ourselves with objects that make us feel a certain way, the fragrance we surround ourselves with can be just as potent and powerful.”

All of their glass bottles and pieces for the home are created by artisan glassblowers. “They’re using the same ancient alchemy that has transformed sand into shape for more than two thousand years,” Francis explains, adding that there was a time when glass was thought to be one of the best mediums for summoning visions. “Our largest candles have heavy solid glass orb tops that recall the Victorian scrying orbs.”

Sodu believes in being open to having several talismans since each will likely be programmed to support a specific issue. “We move through different seasons of our lives, and we may need different forms of support in each one,” she says. Someone could have a deep connection to a talisman for decades, while choosing to retire another as they transition into a new chapter of life.

Talismans can be used as a conduit for manifestation. “As a tarot reader, I believe deeply in the power of intention to shape our reality,” Sargeant Boehr says, “and physical objects can become powerful vessels for those intentions.” If someone is calling in love, for example, she might suggest they keep an extra toothbrush at home for a future partner. This gives a desire a physical presence before it has fully materialized. “It allows the subconscious to begin relating to that future as something possible—and even something already on its way—which can shift how we move through the world and the choices we make.”

The most compelling aspect of owning a talisman, from my perspective, is that tether to our ancestors and the ancient world. I may not have Egyptian winged beetles placed over my heart when I am buried (or maybe I will!), but joining this tradition provides an ineffable sense of belonging.

And the talisman’s staying power, I’d argue, is its adaptability. “What I find particularly interesting right now is that many spiritual practitioners—including myself—come from careers that might traditionally be seen as completely separate from spirituality,” Sargeant Boehr, who has run a PR company for the last decade, says. “We’re able to bring those skill sets into our spiritual work, which I think is helping create a more grounded and contemporary approach—one that can honor ancient or intuitive practices while translating them into something practical and relevant to how people actually live today.”