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You can follow the exact steps above to make yourself finger rings that can bring more grace and less grief into your life. Think about the different areas of your life and then create an entire collection of rings to sprinkle a little magic into those areas.

You can explore and discover dozens of marvelous stones from which to choose. Do you want to be more creative? Try tiger’s-eye. Need to find a job? Plume agate is your stone. Looking to add some pizzazz to your love life? Alexandrite will bring lots of zest. Feeling blue? Citrine or jet can banish dark days. Stressed out? Rhyolite races to the rescue!

If you want to make a pendant shaped like the crescent Moon, you've basically got three options: two horns up, one horn up, or two horns down. If you wanted to over-interpret, you could read these as Moon rising, zenith Moon, and Moon setting, respectively.

In that case, this one is Moon Come Down for sure.

The silversmith who, during the Baltic Bronze Age, made the original on which this little silver amulet is based chose the third option. What makes this lunula (“little Moon”) unique is its Double Moon shape. From one crescent grows another. One Moon holds another in its arms.

If you want, paradoxically, a static symbol of change, you'd go far to find one better than the Moon. This double Crescent redoubles that symbolism. It's a pregnant Moon, one Moon giving birth to another, to itself: Moon within Moon, as seed within seed, forever.

The dotted circles that dapple, crater-like, its surface intrigue me: their irregular distribution lends a certain visual dynamism, even a kinetic quality, to the piece. Do we see here merely the proverbial horror vacui of the Bronze Age craftsman? Or is there meaning to be derived?

Are they, perhaps, Suns? Shining with mirrored light, the Moon contains the Sun.

(Circles within circles, crescents within crescents.)

Or are they Full Moons, which every Crescent contains within herself?

I count twenty. If they're intended as Full Moons, along with the two Crescents, that makes twenty-two: a number of no obvious lunar (or, for that matter, solar) association. Either there's some symbolism here too recondite for my learning, or—this would be my guess—they're simply the number required to fill the space.

As I said, over-interpretation.

Witches, of course, have always been a people of the Moon. I kiss the little silver pendant and hang it around my neck.

The term “amulet” comes from the Latin word meaning “defense.” Indeed, amulets are a way to protect yourself that dates back from the earliest human beliefs. Pliny himself subscribed to the use of amulets and wrote about three common kinds used by the Romans of the classical age. A typical amulet of that era was a bit of parchment inscribed with protective words, rolled up in a metal cylinder, and worn around the neck. Evil eyes might be the most global of all amulets, the belief being that they could ward off a hex by simply reflecting it back to its origins. Phallic symbols have always been popular, too, coming in the shapes of horns, hands, and the phallus, of course. Some amulets were devoted to a specific god or goddess, and the wearer of such a piece would be protected by that divine entity. 

The peoples of the Mesopotamian plain wore amulets. The Assyrians and Babylonians favored cylindrical seals encrusted with precious stones. They also loved animal talismans for the qualities associated with different animals: lions for courage, bulls for virility, and so on. The ancient Egyptians absolutely depended on their amulets for use in burial displays, and we can see many preserved in the cases of today’s museums.  

Much to my chagrin, I couldn't remember how to say “evil eye” in Witch.

Truth be told, the evil eye is not a terribly active category in my thought-world. Still, I've been there myself, both on the giving end, and on the receiving. (Making eye contact with two young girls seated across from me on a bus in Malta, I was surprised to see them both cross themselves. It didn't occur to me until later that it was probably my green eyes that spooked them. Green eyes—well-known to be diabolical in nature—are rare in the Mediterranean world.) I'm quite confident that you, my friend, have as well; it's simply one of the hazards of social existence.

The friend with whom I'd been discussing the topic certainly has. She's both striking, and gifted; throughout her life, this a made her the target of envy.

I've been in the same position myself; that's what happens to those of us that stand out. (“To hate excellence is to hate the gods,” said Socrates.) I'm no great beauty, but I've always had the gift of charisma, which down the decades has not infrequently drawn the ire of those who don't, but wish they did. Like every other arena of endeavor, the pagan community can be a highly competitive place.

Stand-out gifts often draw the evil eye. You know it: the look that strikes like a blow. The look of envy, the look of ill-wishing. Sometimes it's accompanied by words of ill-intent, sometimes not. Some may not even realize that they're giving you the Eye, though they are.

Of course, there are ways and ways of ducking the Eye. Redirection is always a good tactic: you give them something else to Look at. Amulets blunt the blow of the first strike; that's their job.

There are verbal prophylactics, too, to startle and disrupt the act. “Five in your eye!” is a good one, especially if accompanied by an out-thrust hand with fingers and thumb joined.

When it comes to gods, the Horned preeminently protects against the Eye. The sign of the Horns usually does the trick: two horns, one to poke out each spiteful eye.

My friend and I had a good, rollicking discussion on the Eye and how to prevent it, as one would expect from two witches. Finally, just as our conversation was drawing down, I remembered how to say “evil eye” in Witch. In fact—maybe this was the source of my cognitive shortfall—it's not a noun, but a verb.

Amulets are protective adornments that date back to the beginning of human civilization. Evil eye amulets are perhaps the most globally popular, believed in most cultures to be capable of warding off a hex by reflecting it back to its origins. In some cultures, amulets were devoted to a god or goddess, and the wearer was protected by that divinity. Horns, hands, and the phallus have all been popular amulet shapes throughout history. We know from archaeological discoveries that the inhabitants of the ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia wore amulets. People in that time wore cylindrical seals covered in precious stones, as well as animal talismans to inherit the qualities associated with different animals.

 Ancient Egyptian amulets are on display at museums everywhere. They used their amulets in elaborate burial practices. To make the charms, they used faience, which is glazed ground quartz that is usually colored blue-green. The Egyptian royals and priests also wore precious and semi precious gems and crystals as amulets. The eye of Horus was the most significant, and usually this was made of lapis lazuli. Other creations included the lapis lazuli scarab, symbolizing rebirth; the frog, symbolizing fertility; and the ankh, representing eternal life.