Crafting Beautiful, High Quality Celestial Talismans on a Budget

With a small investment you can make several ethical talismans that are high quality and lasting!

With a small investment you can make several talismans that are high quality and lasting!

When I first began my explorations in various types of magic (both folk, ancient, and astrological), I didn’t have a lot of extra cash for high quality materials. Because most talismanic and phylactery items are a “house” for a spirit, the idea that this house was made from subpar materials really bothered me.

As an animist I don’t think it’s respectful or kind to put a spirit in something that is bad quality, easily damaged, and/or temporary. I also wanted to be as environmentally mindful as possible!

Making paper or wax talismans and phylacteries didn’t seem to be an option in my mind–while at the same time I didn’t have the cash to invest in jewels (which are an ethical quagmire thanks to how they are mined) or metal clay (which is an environmentally friendly and cheaper way of making jewelry without a forge, but nonetheless requires a few hundred dollars of initial investment all the way up to a few thousand if you buy a kiln).

To overcome this, I dove deep into one of my nerdy passions: the history of art materials and methodologies. At the time I was studying the life of Leonardo Da Vinci, and while reading his diaries an egg of an idea was laid in my mind.

Inspired by Old-School Art

You see, when Da Vinci was alive paper was a rarity (very hard to create at the time) and graphite was not yet a viable drawing medium. So they typically used vellum (the skin of animals), gesso (a gritty glue-type substance), and something called silverpoint or metalpoint. Metalpoint is a type of drawing “pencil” that consists of a wire metal in a holder of some sort. Usually this wire metal is made from various grades of silver, gold, and/or copper.

This medium is still used today, though it is not very popular anymore. Instead of vellum, you can use 100% cotton watercolor paper (or if you really want to get fancy, buy some acid-free thin cut birch wood panels). Gesso is commercially available and you can mix in a substance called bone ash to create a fine grit surface. And you can buy 0.5 to 0.9 mm fine metal wire from your local Home Depot, Lowes, or a metalpoint supply store, and simply put it into a mechanical pencil holder.

The total for these materials is somewhere between $60 to $75, and will empower you to make hundreds of talismans and phylacteries that are low-cost, hold the magical charge for a long time, look beautiful, and are built to last.

Why So Much Extra Work?

Why would you go to all this trouble? Because I believe in honoring the spirits, deities, and non-human intelligences that I am in relationship and doing magic with. High quality and more permanent housing for a spirit in a talisman or phylactery is a very simple way to respect and care for the entities who’ve consented to work with you.

Acid-free archival artist quality cotton paper is so stable that it takes over 100 years for it to break down, and acid-free birch panels will last a similarly long time. Gesso further stabilizes the surface and creates a texture the metal can catch onto. And of course we’ve seen how long the metalpoint drawings of Da Vinci have lasted–other than tarnishing (which happens to all metals as they age), his drawings are still entirely intact.

This also draws on the principle that fine metal holds magical charges for a long and stable period of time. Christopher Warnock advises in his various classes and blog that silver and gold can be used for any type of celestial talisman. Copper is a close third.

Lastly, this method of magical item making is very low-impact and environmentally friendly. Cotton paper is a pretty renewable surface–you could also go with linen paper. There are recycled versions out there (such as Khadi paper). Metal wires are often made from recycled metals from castaway electronics. Bone ash is made from calcinated bones, which is a form of utilizing every part of an animal after it is butchered (which is far more honoring than what we do with industrial farming).

The only outlier is commercial gesso, which contains some form of acrylic polymer (plastic). You could avoid this by making old-school gesso, but that can be a bit cost heavy and labor intensive–plus is it really much better to use rabbit skin glue? Not sure. I choose where I want my impact to be based on what sits right for me and the spirits I work with, and what is reasonable for the time I have to spare.

Supply List

So what will you need to get started with metalpoint talisman and phylactery crafting?

• 100% cotton hot pressed watercolor paper that is at least 300gsm, in a block form. A block simply means the paper has been glued on all sides with a small slit that you can run a butter knife or palette knife into to release the paper. You want it glued down because all paper, even watercolor paper, buckles when it is wet. The glued sides help it to dry flat again with zero effort on your part. I’d also recommend going with a smoother finish such as satin or hot press. It will make it easier to draw on. Some brands of hot press/satin 100% cotton paper include Arches, Fabriano, Khadi (which is recycled and all proceeds go directly to the makers of the paper in India), Fluid 100, Stonehenge, Paul Rubens, Arteza… There’s a lot of choices! Since you’re covering the paper in gesso I would worry most about making sure it’s pretty smooth, it’s heavy weight, and it’s glued on all sides so it can dry straight again. American Supplier and European Supplier.

• Gesso — I prefer clear gesso from Liquitex. There is a silverpoint gesso from Golden, but it doesn’t take very many layers of metal and it easily damages and scratches off of the paper. So I go with normal clear gesso (metalpoint may struggle to show up against a colored background). American Supplier and European Supplier.

• Bone ash. This is going to be a very fine powder that you add to your gesso. You can usually buy this from your local pottery art materials supplier. Here’s two nice shops that gives you the real deal: American Supplier and European Supplier.

• A very soft brush such as a goat hair hake brush. You want a brush that is medium to large and very soft so it does not leave streaks when you apply the gesso. Make sure to clean it as soon as you finish your application, to keep the brush in good shape. Clean with warm water and a little bit of dish soap, then rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear. Reshape the brush and allow it to dry. American Supplier and European Supplier.

• 0.5 – 0.9 mm mechanical pencil. You can also buy a “metalpoint holder” but I find them to be heavy, cumbersome, and unnecessarily expensive. A mechanical pencil can do the job of holding the metal wire with a good deal of stability and they’re easy to find. If you’re just copying sigils, I recommend going with the 0.9 size. For full drawings, it’s a good idea to have a range of widths to get various details.

• Sterling Silver, Gold, or Copper wire in a 0.5 to 0.9 mm gauge. If you’re just drawing sigils, stick to the 0.9. For drawing, you’ll want a range of widths to get various details. I personally buy these from suppliers of metalpoint drawing materials (American Supplier and European Supplier) , rather than a home-wares stores on a spool. Twisted wire is hard to straighten out, and a 1-2 inch length of straight wire will last you for 1-2 years even if you’re drawing every single day. Also, metalpoint drawing suppliers give you a variety of metals to choose from at varying levels of purity. So you can buy 100% fine silver, sterling silver, various grades of gold, rose gold, copper, platinum, and more. Avoid tin, iron, or lead. Tin is extremely soft and does not hold its shape. Iron is prone to rust if there is ANY moisture in the air, and will break your paper down — which defeats the purpose of what we’re doing. Lead is highly toxic and can leach into your skin.

• A nail file or sanding block to give your metalpoint pencil a point.

• Various erasers to lift errant lines as you draw. I use Tombow Mono Zero erasers. It won’t totally erase the metalpoint, and you want to be careful about how hard you erase so you don’t destroy the gessoed surface; but erasing can lighten things if you have an accident and need to correct it. To reduce the possibility of making mistakes and avoid the need for erasers, I draft out my art on tracing paper first and then transfer to my final gessoed surface. I give instructions on that below.

Optional but nice:

• Tracing paper to copy sigils from Agrippa, Picatrix, etc. or to just draft out your drawing.

• HB graphite pencil to draw out your initial sketch and to also cover the back of your tracing paper when you’re ready to transfer.

• 2H graphite pencil to use for the transfer (it’s nice and hard and will work better for transferring than a soft pencil).

• Fine point micron liners (I prefer a 0.5 sakura pigma micron pen) to go over your final line work and make it easier to see on the tracing paper when you’re ready to transfer.

Preparing Your Surface

Here are the steps for preparing your paper. Anything more than 3-4 layers of gesso is unnecessary, so just stick to this:

1. Get a bowl and pour ¼ cup of gesso into it. Add 1-2 spoonfuls of bone ash to create a very fine texture. If you are making a celestial talisman, you can also finely crush dried herbal material (you only need a little bit!) with a mortar and pestle and add to your gesso mixture.

2. Wet your hake brush and then dry it so it’s only damp. Now dip lightly into the gesso. Apply the gesso with light strokes to the paper IN ONE DIRECTION. Allow it to dry until the paper is completely flat. You can also check if it’s dry by very very gently pressing the back of your hand to the paper; if it’s cool to the touch it hasn’t fully dried yet. Rinse the brush between applications. Cover your gesso bowl with a damp paper towel to keep it from drying out.

3. Once the first layer is dry, do a second layer going in the opposite direction. Wet your hake brush and then dry so it’s only damp. Lightly dip into the gesso. If your gesso is starting to dry and become tacky, add just a little bit of water. Apply the gesso in the opposite direction. Allow the layer to dry until the paper is completely flat. You can also check if it’s dry by very very gently pressing the back of your hand to the paper; if it’s cool to the touch it hasn’t fully dried yet. Rinse your brush. Cover your gesso bowl with a damp paper towel to keep it from drying out.

4. Once the second layer is dry, do a third layer going in a diagonal direction. Wet your hake brush and then dry so it’s only damp. Lightly dip into the gesso. If your gesso is starting to dry and become tacky, add just a little bit of water. Apply the gesso in ONE diagonal direction. Allow the layer to dry until the paper is completely flat. You can also check if it’s dry by very very gently pressing the back of your hand to the paper; if it’s cool to the touch it hasn’t fully dried yet. Rinse your brush. Cover your gesso bowl with a damp paper towel to keep it from drying out.

5. Once the third layer is dry, do a final layer going in the opposite diagonal direction. Wet your hake brush and then dry so it’s only damp. Lightly dip into the gesso. If your gesso is starting to dry and become tacky, add just a little bit of water. Apply the gesso in the opposite diagonal direction. Allow the layer to dry until the paper is completely flat. You can also check if it’s dry by very very gently pressing the back of your hand to the paper; if it’s cool to the touch it hasn’t fully dried yet.

6. Clean your brush and gesso bowl with warm water and some dish soap. Reform the shape of the brush and allow it to dry. These brushes last a long time if you take care of them!

7. Using a palette or butter knife, insert it into the little opening on your block of paper and carefully cut away the paper you’ve prepared on each side. Now you’re ready to use it! If you’ve made a rather large piece of paper, you can always cut it down to size for several talismans.

8. The directions are the same if you choose to use a wood panel, though you may want to lightly sand it between applications to keep the surface from getting “hairy” from wetting the wood. Some people also prepare the wood separately with a primer for this reason. I don’t have a lot of experience with this, but there are plenty of resources if you take a look around the internet.

How To Use Your Finished Surface With Metalpoint; Transferring Your Drafted Images to the Gessoed Surface

Now your substrate (surface) is prepared and ready to be used! To use it, take your metal wire and insert into the holder of your choice (such as a mechanical pencil). Make sure it’s held very tightly, as the more stable the wire is, the easier it will be to use. To give it a point when it starts to wear down, simply sand at an angle against a nail file or a sanding block.

It is a lot like drawing with a pencil, except that you can never fully erase it (though the lines can grow faint if you softly erase to pull the metal off the surface). You can’t really “blend” as you would with graphite, but instead build up tone with layers of hatching.

This is why I recommend first sketching out what you want to create on tracing paper using an HB pencil and eraser (you can also just copy the sigils directly from Agrippa, Picatrix, Christopher Warnock’s books, etc.). Go back over the final drawing with the micron pen so it’s easy to see and it’s permanent. Then cover the back of the tracing paper with HB graphite (a graphite block is handy for this, but a pencil can do the job). Place that tracing paper with the graphite covered side down on top of your gessoed paper. Then use a harder pencil such as a 2H to go back over the pen lines and faintly transfer the image to your gessoed paper. Now you can go back over this and fully render it with your metalpoint pencil.

OPERATION TIMING AND DEVOTIONAL WORKS

If you know anything about astrological magic in particular, you know that an election window can be quite small. I rarely start and then complete a metalpoint project within the tiny window of the election. So there are a couple of ways around this and different magicians will have different opinions about this. I say ask the spirits that you’re in relationship with what they prefer. Here’s my working method:

1. Well before the election I prepare my gessoed surface (usually with the appropriate crushed herb mixed into the gesso). I also will draft out my drawing or sigil on tracing paper, as I described above, and transfer it to my dried gessoed surface.

2. Well before the election, during an appropriate planetary hour I’ll work on the drawing over several days or weeks. This is a beautiful way to meditatively deepen your relationship with the celestial spirit you’re working with. I like to put on lectures or history about the planetary body and celestial spirit as I am doing the work, so I can sink deeper into understanding the spirit. This is a beautiful act of connection and devotion. I draw up to 97% of my artwork previous to the election so it’s ready to go for my invocation and consecration window.

3. However, if you’re just doing the sigil you could wait for up until just the day before your election, and at the right planetary hour draw 90% of your sigil so it’s ready for your election window. This is especially handy when you are doing multiple talismans at a time.

4. During the actual magical election time window I finish the last part of the drawing or sigil, and I invoke the spirit and consecrate the talismanic object. Then I allow it to incubate in a dark (non-sunny) place for a full moon cycle (sometimes longer, depending on the operation).

5. Sometimes I don’t get a chance to get the drawing close to finished before the election. In that case, I prioritize having the sigil on the paper and finished during the election so it can be invoked and consecrated. I allow it to incubate for a full moon cycle. Then I continue to work on the art at the appropriate planetary hour, until it is finished.

The Result

(Sorry guys, I won’t be showing you what I’ve done as it’s a part of my devotion to keep most of my workings private.)

The finish of metalpoint looks a lot like a pencil but with a high lustrous shine when you move the paper. Over time it will tarnish into something beautiful. Silver turns a golden-gray color, Gold turns quite dark, and Copper creates that famous greenish patina. This is beautiful to watch and is just a natural part of the metal aging and oxidizing. As I stated earlier, drawings made from metalpoint have lasted for hundreds of years!

The best part of working your magical craft like this, is that once you buy these initial supplies you can make several talismans. So instead of buying one decent quality stone (which was probably mined in seriously unethical ways) and a metal setting for $75+, you can create multiple talismans, phylacteries, and devotional art works with beautiful fine art materials. It lasts a long time, it’s a meditative and devotional act to the spirit you’re working with, and it holds the charge better than a plain paper or wax talisman because you’re using fine metals.

If you decide to give this a try let me know on my Instagram! I love to hear how people are putting respectful craft back into their magic!