protective charm
Sep 30, 2026
Nian and the Red Door
A record of Nian, the beast of Chinese New Year folklore, and the customs of red paper, fire and noise still said to keep it from the door.
Read more
Sep 14, 2026
The Threshold Must Be Guarded
A look at the old European practice of laying salt and iron at doorways to bar witches, spirits and the fae from crossing into the house.
Read more
Sep 13, 2026
The Guardian Cat of Bubastis
A visit to the ruined temple town of Bubastis, seat of the cat goddess Bastet, and a look at how a working household animal became a ward against unseen harm.
Read more
Sep 6, 2026
The Hammer Carried Close
A small cast pendant, shaped like a hammer with a short handle, was worn at the throat across Viking-age Scandinavia as protection against the disorder of the world. I went looking for what it actually meant to those who wore it, and found the answer was never quite settled.
Read more
Aug 14, 2026
The Line Nothing Crosses
A short account of the salt circle, a protective boundary drawn against unwelcome spirits, and why so many unrelated traditions arrived at the same substance and the same shape.
Read more
Aug 9, 2026
The Rearing Cobra of the Delta
A journal entry on Wadjet, the cobra goddess of Lower Egypt, whose rearing form once guarded the brow of every pharaoh and still guards the doorways of the dead.
Read more
Aug 1, 2026
The Fire That Must Not Go Out
A journal entry on the old, near-universal duty of keeping a fire alive through the night, from the Vestal flame in Rome to the smoored peats of the Scottish Highlands.
Read more
