Hmmph. And personal talismans

[cupcake_goth]

I am having something of a low day. Which, upon reflection, isn't terribly surprising, because even tho' I had a good phone call about something the other day and some fantastic socializing, those aren't enough to offset how this year has been so far.

Anyway, it's the sort of day where I feel the need to drape myself with talismans. In addition to the Necklace That Only Comes Off For Baths (silver ankh, flanked by silver skeleton keys from Rocklove^*), when I go run errands today I am going to be wearing my usual giant rings (I feel naked if I leave the house without them), the Big Jingly Key Necklace, and probably the mourning brooch that my beloved pix_kristin gave me. One of these is for fidgeting with when I feel agitated, one is for reminding me of my safety net of loved ones.

What sort of jewelry talismans do you wear, if any? I love hearing about other people's amulets or iconic jewelry.




^*Hello, I am a gothy girl of A Certain Age. I collect ankhs and skeleton keys, and have done for YEARS (even before I ever read The Sandman). I gleefully embrace my clichés, thankyouverymuch.

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[fufaraw]

I have a collection of tree pendants, from Yggdrasil in shiny pewter to a silver Tree of Life with roots in celtic knotwork and fruit and symbols in her branches, including a tiny man and woman, to a blue-enameled silver oval engraved with the White Tree of Gondor.

I have four fringed bags made of seed beads, in Guatemala, each in a different color combination and pattern. In one is a shell I found wading, in another a carved jade loon that was a gift, another holds a pewter heart. I have two hand-dyed silk drawstring bags on silk cord, and each holds a small stone, a feather, a bit of petrified wood, or a gemstone of meaning.

Other than the necklaces, I wear a bracelet of wooden beads: small black and medium brown ones of sandalwood interspersed with small brown skulls. Another of labradorite beads, and two silver bangles, one twined with vines and leaves in heavy relief, the other a vintage piece engraved with fernlike curves. On the right wrist, a cuff bracelet engraved with PNW totem animals.

Earrings vary. My wedding ring is hallmarked by an Irish silversmith. It has a cabochon moonstone in a yellow gold bezel, flanked by applied wirework that coils in a spiral, then wraps the diameter of the ring to spiral bracketing the moonstone. My fingers swell occasionally, and when the band is too tight, I wear a stack of mismatched silver rings on my wedding finger. There are black onyx and hematite, cabochon carnelian and labradorite stones set in silver rings that migrate from finger to finger.

What I'm wearing and not taking off right now are a pair of silver keys: one is a miniature replica of a key from the NC house. And my Adagio medallion with the snail. What I wore before the snail was a square silver crow medallion, and a silver owl and crescent moon.

I rarely wear anything purely for decoration--it's all talismanic, to one degree or another.