I do not think of myself as a superstitious person. Apart from a deep belief in the power of any number of magpies to predict my future, I believe in little else beyond the exchange of energy in the universe and the family of polka dot fairies I truly hope are living at the bottom of my garden…
Outdoors I would run under ladders all day long, while making quick excursions inside to frighten the Gods that be, by opening my umbrella before I have left the house: I am, I am sure you will agree, a woman who likes to play with fire…
But at home it is a different story. In fact wander around my house and you would mark a variety of objects I can only regard as talismans. Objects I hold in something like revere, believing in all the powers I have bestowed upon them and feeling deeply superstitious of their influence on my life and rather beholden to rituals I have associated with them….
First on my list of superstitious wot-nots? My Guatemalan Worry Dolls – a set of little people to whom I convey my worries, then pop them under my pillow in their little sleeping
I have had a set of Worry-Dolls since I was a child and when Finley was little gave him a set of his own and taught him the same ritual and when he went through a rather dramatic worry-wart stage, these little darlings were a God send…
Next up, my current Vintage Muse, Merle Oberon. This is a ritual I talk about in Muse, encouraging you to seek out your own vintage muse, and asking you to take your troubles to her, and when stuck ask yourself, What would Merle do? Works every time…
On my list next: a horseshoe. I have no particular explanation for this beyond the fact that my Mum has always had a horseshoe hung somewhere in the house or garden and if she does it, chances are I am going to need to do it too! That aside horseshoes are traditionally gypsy talismans of good fortune as they are thought to capture bad luck when hung as above, by the door and who am I argue with tradition?
Then, my darling Buddha. Obviously I am not a Buddhist, but all representations of Buddha to me promise calm and as peace of mind remains my number one ambition of life, my lovely white Buddha has pride of place on my dressing table and to him I offer little gifts of beads, coins and
This is my Nana’s watch. Though she died when I was eighteen, My Nana, and her romanticized view of what must have been a hard life, remains one of my foremost inspirations. This, a love of Frank Sinatra and a card she sent me when I was seventeen are the only things I have left of her, and I treasure it, and feel discombobulated if I cannot see her watch at my bedside…
Then there is my swan incense – a ritual I associate with feeling deeply stressed or worried, and one that I am currently combining with a Digipill “Increasing Comfort”
Next up are my purse tokens: a message I live by and a darling little angel of hope. I bought both of these for myself when life felt at it’s darkest and now they live in a tiny little zipped section of my purse and I take them out occasionally when life feels a bit rubbish…
And then finally there is my dream-catcher. As someone both tortured by and utterly thrilled by the dreams I am harassed by on a nightly basis: I am deeply superstitious about trying to dictate the content of each so my days aren’t ruined by the taste of bad dreams lingering at the forefront of my mind!
The thing is this: I haven’t got a clue whether dream-catchers are supposed to catch bad dreams or harness good ones but I’m taking no chances… This little darling hangs from the Venetian mirror at the side of my bed and seems to be doing a rather ineffectual job of either… but hey ho, I’m not in any hurry to tempt fate to harass me any further by taking it down…
Are you like me? Superstitious (and silly!)? Do you have treasured talismans of your own? Or am I utterly mad all by myself?
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You and me both … best purchase ever was a set of worry dolls for my little girl in Mexico, she uses them pretty regularly!
Years ago, I developed the habit of thinking this way about something I was worried about:Can I do anything to avoid or mitigate the feared event?
If yes, I do it. If no, I verbally express the fear, verbally turn it over to God, and dismiss it from my mind anytime it pops up after that. It’s been such a habit over the years that I can’t remember the last time I was really worried about anything. Even when my husband was out of work with a back injury, or when he started his own business, or when I was facing any of my drug-free home births. I simply pray that God’s will be done, and ask for strength to endure what must be endured.
I love the prayer in The Scent of Water.
“Lord, have mercy. Thee I adore. Into Thy hands.”
Things have always worked out just fine.
Am I like you Alison? Dear Lord it is positively scary!
I’ve learned over the years not to put my faith in inanimate objects. I do find putting it into people, including myself, works well though. However I understand the comfort a person might get from having a familiar item near.