What is your "ruby slippers"?

The most transforming event in my life was probably the dig I did in utah, hence the chert and petrified wood. I think I need to set up a shrine. I have a good spot for it. I can review some old things and add what seems appropriate to cover a wide spectrum of life-events. After they sit together where I can reflect on them for a while, I think I can rotate various power items onto my person depending on my needs.

There ya go!

I have an onyx sphere I got in Mexico many years ago. If you look closely at it, you can see little concentric rings in it, in a certain light.

But I've never really had any sort of talisman or such, at least not that I've believed in.

Love that description of the Happy/Triumphant Photo, Soz. Wish I could see it.

Littlek--



Tap your toes and tap your heels. Then believe.

*****************************

I've been accumulating talismans for a long, long time--and then losing them because of weight-limited moves and other people's needs and a bit of personal embarrassment.

I have a small shelf--an altar, if you like.

There is a miniature mug, souvenir of a college reunion.

A bottle for smelling salts from my maternal grandmother.

An elaborate turtle I bought when I decided to create another independent life.

A very peculiar owl construct from an unmarried daughter-in-law.

A mass produced carving of the three little monkeys (hear not evil, see no evil, speak no evil) that was a gift to my mother from a mother-in-law whom she detested, but the monkeys were kept for the message.

A rather battered dove from a flower arrangement from my son and organized by my daughter-in-law.

Three bronze bells, signifying "Time is, time was, and time has been.

A little vase from my son who died.

Then the cypress knees....the conch shell carved with a cameo of Athena in warrior mode....an owl sun catcher....a set of beads designed and made by a friend...a Mardi Gras mask.

Mr. Noddy is fading mentally and I'm one of the walking widows without a lot of talent for Extreme Patience. My shelf calls up my past as a comfort and as reassurance I'll have a future.

I created an altar in a corner of my bedroom. I use it for prayer, and meditation. I call it my place of bliss. But, my most powerful good luck charm, and amulet is me.

That's what Arnie said, too!

I don't have any objects that I use such as others have described in this thread.

I draw my strength from my wife. When I'm down, or I need to talk, or I'm anxious, etc, I turn to my wife. She's everything to me.

what a lovely idea


i have a couple of pairs of earrings that give me confidence and feel 'lucky' - daft but they just make me feel good.

There's a carved wooden black and white cat that I love and that's very touchable and reminds me strongly of a much loved former pet.

There's a tag on my keyring that my daughter made when she was about 12 at school with MUMXXX on - she said she'd had to put up with so much teasing from her friends that I had better appreciate it! I did, do.

There are old school exercise books and bits of writing by the girls when they were young, tucked away in boxes - maybe I should think of doing something with them.

I need to work on creating a little sort of shrine for comfort - could do with it at the moment as I'm down and blue.

Thank you all so much for sharing your objects and thoughts about your objects.

I love littlek's question about charging a power object and I've been thinking a lot about this.

And I'm thinking about my keys...

I hate keys. I resent keys. I hate locking things up.

I only carry three keys on a PocketWizard lanyard (again with the lanyards) but I also carry a little divot doohickey from the 85th US Open that belonged to my grandfather.

I loved my grandfather and he was always kind to me but truth be told, the guy was a total dick.

So why do I carry this doohickey? I can't imagine it not being with me.....

Hmmm....

By carrying the doohickey you greatly reduce the chances that your keys will open Pandora's box.

I have a set of keys for a friend's NYC apartment--a powerful talisman.

Ooh!

I have some things that started out being a talisman for whatever reason, and then became truly talismanic just 'cause they had been for a long time.

Like, when I first went off to college, my keys kept disappearing. Stolen with my whole bag, then lost a few times. I was getting sick of it, and so grabbed something I'd had since I was very little to be my keychain -- a tin wind-up ladybug. (Not really wind-up, the kind you roll a few times, vroom, vroom, then set it down and it putters along under its own power for a while.)

Still have it. Finally detatched it from my keychain after it got too too beat up and pitiful, complete with sharp bits of tin sticking out, but it stuck around all that time, and so I feel all warm and fuzzy towards it for that.

I have a dragon on my key chain.

I don't really do talismans or altars as such, perhaps because I had a young life around too much altar.

I do however make my whole damn house talismanic.
I am very attached to my stuff - my many books and notes on italy down to the keychain from Siena that keeps falling apart after all this time, my photos from many years, my cookbooks and scraps of recipes with stains, my mother's furniture, which has gotten bedraggled under my aegis - I am always attaching and detaching. I'm a keeper but also a tosser. It is sort of a rich river... especially noticible as I have been packing to move. I know I've thrown away too much and I know I've saved, and it will cost me, a near obscene amount of stuff. But I have mental associations with all of it.

I am the penultimate unmodern, though I like that too.. spare.. in concept.

I too am a firm believer of minimalism, as long as a have a large enough space to store it all.

Yes...

me, I like to visit minimalism.

Minimalism? Pffft.

More is more.

Mine is the actual Ruby Slippers.

I made that twister happen, I spun that house like a lasoo and I made it drop on that b*tch of a witch,tried to get her sister too.

Then I went on a journey with 3 blokes. met some little people and some chick in a bubble.

It was a cool day, now i just wear the ruby slippers for nights out down the disco.

Evidently some people live in their altars. After deep thought, I've concluded that I'm in that number.