Creating Paper Charms - A Lesson in Folk Magic

I've said it before and I'll say it again: folk magic is made to use the materials around you. Whatever you have on hand - in the kitchen, in your local area - are your MOST potent materials. Paper charms or "paper charm bags" are a testament to this.

I'm not sure if I'm the first to create this, and I highly doubt it - charms like the ABRACADABRA have been written on pieces of paper and cloth for centuries as protective charms and paper charms in themselves have a rich, vibrant history in a variety of folk practices. 

Some examples of Paper Charms or resource I've found from various cultures that may or may not consider it "magic" - remember that folk magic is rooted in culture and traditions. A lot of folk practitioners don't do "magic", they just do things to ensure luck, etc.

An example of a yellow talisman paper/good fortune paper from Korea. Sourced from Reddit, r/korea.

A book from Troy Books discussing Abracadabra & more British Spells & Charms.

Paper is an invaluable material for us folk witches - we write our petitions on them. We write sigils on them. We put them under candles, in shoes, in clothes. I once attempted to put a sigil on a piece of paper in my underwear. Paper is versatile, and most importantly - it is accessible. Many different and previous conversations around paper charms led me to creating a "paper charm bag". I utilized a specific formula that I tried once, was wildly successful, and then continued to work with for the past year. 

These are small, easy-to-make spells that are versatile and can be created for a variety of purposes. When I made the first of these spells, I was in a situation that needed a working. I, unfortunately, didn't have any fabric on hand to make an embroidered breve bag and honestly didn't want to spend that much time on it, so I utilized paper. It allowed me the ability to write the sigil and a petition on the paper then work it until the outcome was what I wanted. 

I am also a practitioner that utilizes a lot of sigils. This is something that comes primarily from my background as a witch, way before I considered myself a folk practitioner, and a time spent studying chaos magic and sigil making. I usually start by charging these sigils a variety of methods, and recently have found that creating these paper charm bags is a fantastic method for doing so. The sigil is kept close to materia that is associated with it and consistently fed oils, sprays, and more to help continue to charge the symbol.

I find these paper charms to be readily accessible when I am in a pinch or need a quick working - so let's talk about how to make them, how to dispose of them, and more.

An example of a petition I did that was turned into a charm bag for my winter embroidered intention veils launching this Friday.

Materials

• a piece of paper (for workings that need a bit more oomph, I recommend a petition paper like Nathaniel Drake's, but any type of paper will do!)
• three to six herbs that are associated with the sigil/petition. So if you're doing a working for protection, materials like rue, rosemary, and salt. 
• a candle of your choice - the color can be in reference to the sigil, or completely unrelated. 
• one or two oils or sprays that are related to your petition/sigil
• a pen

Start off by writing your sigils or your petition on one side of the piece of paper. For particularly potent workings, I like to write the petition that created the sigil on the piece of paper.

Flip your piece of paper to the other side and draw your sigil or a symbol that is associated with your petition. If you don't have one, you can leave this side blank.

Turn back to the petition side and make a small pile of herbs over the petition. You may have to make this really small depending on the size of your paper. Make sure you wake up your herbs and tell them what they're doing!

A now-finished paper charm bag filled with lentils and pomegranate.

Take your oil and/or spray and anoint all of the materials, including the herbs, paper, and candle. 

From here, gently fold up your piece of paper with the sigil facing outwards. Light your candle and seal the paper bag shut with your wax.

A finished paper charm bag.

After finishing, these charm bags can be kept on altar spaces, given to spirits, and fed oils and materials to help them come true for as long as needed. While these works can be utilized for situations requiring a sense of urgency, they can also be made and kept around on altar spaces quite a while. Part of the reason I love utilizing paper is it's something I always have on hand as opposed to fabric, can be carried with you and fit into wallets, and is easily disposed of when the working is over by burning it, burying it (depending on the wax and materials used), or throwing it in the trash.

You could hypothetically do these types of workings with fabric, however I love the ease of writing a sigil and petition as opposed to embroidering it and I love the formula used - three herbs, one or two oils/sprays, a sigil, done. 

I haven't yet had this type of working fail me - in fact, every single one that I've done has come to fruition, and I'm happy to be sharing this formula and spell type with you all in hopes that it assists you in some of your everyday.

For networking, success, and creating opportunity: lentils, pomegranate seeds, basil

For protective workings: rue, ash, and salt

For anything in the area of Mercury (safe travels, opening the way, etc): any types of seeds, bay leaf

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