My First Talisman

I’d been making jewelry for a few years when the opportunity for creating a healing talisman presented itself. One of my dearest friends, who happens to be a skilled herbalist, had a little grandson who was troubled by night terrors. Benjamin’s mom would sing, rock, and otherwise try to soothe him when he woke in the middle of the night terrified. They tried an assortment of nightlights and hall lights. His poor tired parents tried having the little tyke sleep in their bed and one of them sleeping in his bed. My herbalist friend prepared soothing room sprays, lavender baths, and probably other things to help little Ben. Everything had some positive impact, but nothing was solving the problem.

I asked if I could prepare a talisman for Benjamin, and was given the green light. So I began by doing lots of research into which gems might be of benefit. I looked for gemstones that are soothing and calming, gems that are protective, gems that enhance courage and power, gems that encourage pleasant dreams, and more. How would I decide which of these characteristics was most important?

As I was doing this research, I was thinking about the form of the talisman. This was a small child – only about 2 years old at the time. Obviously, something that he would wear or carry, particularly in bed, was out of the question. Beads are quite small, and I certainly wouldn’t want any kind of choking hazard, so something that would hang from his bedpost or get pinned to his pillowcase was also inappropriate. But I wanted it to be something Ben could see easily from his bed, whether it was before he went to sleep, when he woke frightened, or when he awoke in the morning.

Finally I arrived at a creative solution to the two problems – including multiple gemstones to provide multiple benefits and making something both safe and easily visible – a relatively large talisman that would hang from Benjamin’s window via a suction cup!

With that decision made I could proceed. I ultimately ended up with a talisman that contained 13 different gemstones, one in a particularly protective shape. Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? Well, here’s a photo of the finished piece, which I think is attractive & tasteful. (Sorry the photo quality isn’t better – I hadn’t yet mastered my digital camera.)

Ben's talisman

I mailed it directly to Ben, along with a page that explained what each stone was and their characteristics. His mom and grandma both reminded him who I was (we’d met a few times) and explained what the talisman was. He was really pleased to receive it, and to hang it in his bedroom window.

I can’t say that the talisman made dramatic improvements, nor, even three years later, can I say that this poor little guy’s nighttime problems are completely gone. But I do know that the next time I saw him after he’d gotten the talisman, he was eager to bring me to his room and show it to me, and was clearly happy that he had it.

So what healing gemstones did I use? Amber, amethyst, blue lace agate, fluorite, green aventurine, hematite, labradorite, leopardskin jasper, peridot, rose quartz, ruby, smoky quartz, and turquoise. The green aventurine was in the shape of a Zuni bear, a powerful creature in Native culture.

I’ll be covering many more gemstones in the future, but if you can’t wait, here’s where you can learn a smattering of information about healing gemstones.