This post recalls my personal journey in creating and consecrating an amulet for the specific intent of falling pregnant, together with spellwork and practices to support manifesting this intent.
Before I start, allow me to state that my personal blend of magic is what I like to call folk magic, or natural magic, or dirt magic: that is, practices that work with the natural rhythms of nature, the natural elements of earth, fire, water and air, the herbs and trees and rocks and literal dirt of our earth. It is simple, yet potent, and the core of its potency lies in the practitioner’s personal relationship to nature, or Mother Earth, or any name you may wish to give the great sentient being that is our planet. I cannot stress this enough: how you see the earth, or nature, and how you relate to Her, is fundamental to the outcome of your magical practice.
This is not ceremonial magic, which I do not care for although I acknowledge it as a valid practice for those so inclined, and despite my love of language there are no chants in latin, or rhyming verses (though if you like that, by all means, improvise accordingly). It is not a definitive “how to” guide that you follow and reiterate without personal meaning; it is my own personal journey of how I crafted an amulet and used it to successfully fall pregnant.
In short, I will not give you a set recipe for spellwork, because your own creativity is central to the practice (besides, there are plenty of spell books out there), however my own experience and methodology may serve as a useful starting point.
The impetus for the practice outlined below was me and my partner’s attempts, for close to a year in 2014, of falling pregnant without success. Granted, there were quite a few stressors during that time, such as his father’s death, dealing with ugly scenes regarding the home inheritance, then getting rather heavily (for us) into debt in order to secure the house we now call home. It was all a bit intense and not exactly the romantic setting for starting a family, yet still, I knew I needed to take matters into my own hands and do what a witch has gotta do…
Getting started on the process
Above is a photo of my (rather messy) table on the day of creation and consecration. The key items of relevance are:
A tarot card to aid/support the process
Circular cloth material for the amulet bag
Sewing needle and heavy thread
Natural materials to place in the amulet bag
Sacred sage for smudging/ clearing/ protecting the work space
Charcoal and frankincense for burning and consecrating
I will go into further details on each of these below.
Making an amulet bag: what you need
I took my inspiration and guidance for creating an amulet from John Michael Greer’s The Encyclopedia of Natural Magic:
Of the many different ways to put natural magic to work, amulets are at once the simplest and one of the most useful. An amulet is simply a small amount of some substance with magical powers, put someplace where its energies will have a desired effect. The most common and most useful way to make an amulet, one used all over the world, is to make a little bag of cloth or leather, fill it with the appropriate materials, and put it to use.” John Michael Greer, The Encyclopedia of Natural Magic
To make the this type of amulet (a bag amulet), you only need a circular piece of cloth, a needle and heavy thread, and the natural materials you intend to place in the bag. Heavy thread is recommended, rather than sewing thread, because if the amulet is to be suspended from this (as it commonly is), it needs to be strong enough to hold it – this is especially relevant if you place crystals or heavy items in your bag. Material and thread colour is up to the practitioner, however Greer notes it is common to use red material for protection or healing, and white for other purposes, while the thread be the same colour as the bag material; however I did not have heavy thread in white (my chosen material colour), and so used the next best colour I thought would be suitable, which was green. Improvisation, as you will come to learn, is another key aspect of working in the realm of natural magic.
One thing that I would strongly advocate for, is the use of natural materials such as cotton, hemp, wool or bamboo, and preferably organic if you can. If you were in agreement with my earlier comments on natural magic, and one’s relationship to Mother Earth, this should come as no surprise. The only white natural cloth I had was an old cotton shirt I had stored in my sewing material stash, so that was what I used. I didn’t even bother sewing the slightly frayed ends (clearly a bit more pre-planning wouldn’t go amiss! however it did the job just fine as it was).
To make the bag, you simply thread the needle and sew running stitches about an inch or so from the edge, as shown below. You then place your chosen materials in the centre, gather the ends of the thread and pull these to draw the bag closed.
My simple cloth bag amulet made from white cotton and green thread
So far, so good, however next comes the tricky part: what natural materials do you choose? I admit my elan was rather deflated when I realised, after meticulously going through my herbal magic reference library, that I had none of the herbs usually recommended for pregnancy (again, some prior planning wouldn’t go amiss, but alas I am a fire sign and planning is not quite my forte). So I had to think about what I had, or what was growing around me, that was symbolic of fertility, and it didn’t take long to recall I had a big stash of carrot seeds I had harvested from my garden. The carrot crop was prolific, and the seed heads abundantly filled with more seeds than I knew what to do with: and there was my answer.
Just one of the many carrot seed harvests I had that year: a great symbol for fertility, in my opinion at least
The only crystals I had that is associated with fertility were these two small carnelian crystals
In addition to the carrot seeds, I also added a carnelian, a small crystal associated with fertility – again, I am sure there are many other suitable alternatives, however this was all I had.
And now I had my complete amulet bag: just two simple ingredients.
Next, I consecrated the bag in a small ritual at home. Note that consecration is not strictly required. Greer in particular writes,
It’s common to bless or consecrate an amulet of this kind with a ceremony of some kind, simple or complex, and in this way combine the powers of ritual and natural magic; still, this isn’t required… an amulet made from magically potent substances will have an effect even if it’s not consecrated by ritual means. (That is, after all, the whole point of natural magic.) John Michael Greer, The Encyclopedia of Natural Magic
The process for the ritual went something like this:
Rose and Star of Bethlehem frankincense
choosing the right Moon sign (a fertile sign) and phase (Full Moon, although waxing would also be suitable)
cleaning the space or the room the ritual is to take place in
having a shower or bath before the start: energetically and physically cleaning oneself
smudging the space with sacred sage
lighting charcoal tables and placing frankincense for burning on the charcoal
After smudging my room, lighting the charcoal tablet and placing the frankincense on it, the atmosphere was altered to allow for focus and meditation. This is when I take a few minutes, maybe half an hour or more, to sit still with the energy and think about what I am asking for. I invoke any spirits, deities and/or ancestors and ask for their help, thanking them in gratitude. This is very personal and it’s up to the practitioner to think of what relationship they have built, fostered and nurtured with the spirit realm, and whom to call for help.
Burning frankincense on a charcoal tablet
I then hold the amulet over the burning frankincense, focus on it, focus on what I want it to manifest, and formally make my request to the divine. It is, in many ways, a prayer, and I firmly hold that for all my work in the field of natural magic, a prayer from the heart is the most potent form of magic.
Consecrating the amulet over burning frankincense: one month later I fell pregnant
Once done, I placed the amulet on my body and carried it with me each day: in a pocket, or worn around the neck, until manifestation occurred. Once manifestation takes place, the amulet can be buried in the earth, set into a flowing stream, or burned, or any other method you are comfortable with.
Supporting practices and spellwork
In addition to the amulet bag, there were a couple more practices I undertook to support my work above. These were:
Working with a tarot card
Before I started making the amulet, I took out my Dark Goddess Tarot deck, and asked for one Goddess to work with in requesting help, support, and as a general benefic energy to help me. I randomly drew this card, and got the Empress card, which is represented by the Black Madonna in this deck.
I drew the Black Madonna from the Dark Goddess Tarot deck for help and support
I knew immediately that I was supported in my endeavour, since the Empress card is associated with fertility and creation process in general in tarot, and the Black Madonna is depicted carrying a child. I placed this card in a small frame, and kept that by my bedside until I fell pregnant.
I also added a small container of carrot seeds by its side, and began taking one each day with a glass of water while focusing on my intent.
Working with the moon
Throughout history the Moon has been associated with women, and womens’ fertility. Moon magic is one of the most potent practices I know, and I started to work with the Moon very early on in my journey. On a Full Moon, I would venture outside and brave the swarms of mosquitoes while standing under Her light, bats flying overhead, crickets chirping in the bush, now and then the howling of a dingo in the far distance. It’s quite the eerie energy, and when you sit still with Her, connect with Her, that energy has a profound impact.
Greeting the Full Moon setting early one morning, view from our verandah
So every Full Moon, I would go outside on the night the Full Moon would be closest to exact, and work with that energy and light, acknowledging and asking Her for help. I take it as no coincidence that my son was born under the astrological sign of Cancer, which is the only sign ruled by the Moon.
A few final notes…
As you may have gathered by now, my take on natural magic and spellwork is highly flexible and adaptable. While I always support a personalised approach that does not follow rules “by the book”, nonetheless I see merit in trying to work with the elements of the earth as much as possible, and researching what various authors have to say on the subject, particularly for herbal correspondences which can vary across different authors.
Furthermore, it goes without saying that the practice of natural magic is nothing without the personal practice of empowerment, such as looking after one’s health, particularly when doing spellwork on health related topics. Your own energy must align with the energy of the intent, so that eating the correct foods, taking the correct herbs and looking after your body in general supports what you are trying to achieve. This is the reason I no longer do health readings for people that don’t look after their health, do prosperity spells for those who have not learned to budget, and so on.
I hope this provides some guidance to anyone thinking of creating and practicing spellwork, I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have on this.
Warm blessings,
Monica