Making Jewelry with Meaning The things you collect - the ticket stubs, the coins, the pieces of shell from a beach - hold meaning and significance, reminding you not only where you've been, but also where you're capable of going. Making these items into wearable pieces of art - amplifying their power to become amulets and talismans - is a rewarding experience that's easy to do. Working with the most basic of tools, you will learn cold-connection jewelry techniques to expand your creative process. In addition to basics like creating jump rings and using a file, you will also: • Make your own hook and latch clasps • Cut windows from sheets of metal • Inlay designs into polymer clay • Incorporate concrete into your work • Achieve patinas with heat • Journal your thoughts onto faux bone • Turn paper pulp into realistic rocks • Create "time capsule" beads from Plexiglas • And much, much more! Discover the rewards of making your own amulets and talismans by learning new techniques to drive your creativity in an entirely new direction.

Orozco's stories portray, in impressionistic, and dreamy language, a childhood spent in a small town on the Argentine pampas.

A comprehensive study of the use of talismans and amulets in the Western Mystery Tradition • Provides an in-depth look at the medieval and Renaissance use of amulets and talismans, including the work of Agrippa, Albertus Magnus, and Athanasius Kircher • Provides a full summary of the magical knowledge required to make an amulet or talisman, including the invocations required to activate their powers • Reviews different kinds of amulets and talismans, from ancient jewelry and magical objects to the modern rabbit’s foot or lucky horseshoe The use of talismans and amulets stretches back nearly to the dawn of man, from everyday items magically prepared, such as horns or coins, to intricate and beautiful jewelry imbued with protective powers. Drawing on his private collection of medieval manuscripts as well as his privileged access to the rare book archives of major European universities, Claude Lecouteux provides a comprehensive history of the use of talismans and amulets for protection, healing, and divine influence. He explores their use in the Western Mystery Tradition as well as Eastern and Middle Eastern beliefs about these magical objects and their incorporation--despite Church anathema--into the Christian tradition of Medieval Europe. Reviewing many different kinds of amulets and talismans used throughout the ages, such as a rabbit’s foot, horseshoe, gris-gris bag, or an inscribed parchment charged through ritual, he details the principles and symbology behind each object and shows that their use is still as widespread today as any time in the past. Lecouteux explains the high magic behind the hermetic art of crafting amulets and talismans: the chains of sympathy, astrological geography, and the invocations required to activate their powers. He explores the work of adepts such as Agrippa, Albertus Magnus, and Athanasius Kircher, including an in-depth look at Kircher’s work on planetary seals in his Oedipus Aegyptiacus. Illustrated throughout with period art depicting magical symbols, seals, and a wide array of talismans and amulets, this comprehensive study provides a practical guide to the historical development and step-by-step creation of magical objects.

Tools & Talismans is the story of how Liz Kalloch developed and grew a painting practice and also created a studio diary of sorts - a record of stories from 100 women about their most treasured tools and talismans. This book is filled with stories {both in words and watercolor} about work, life, family, memories and milestones - stories about what's of value to these women, how they spend their time, how they share their gifts, where they choose to put their focus, and how they share their experiences of life.

This is Howard Moss's gripping novel about Captain Josh Randolph, USAF, an astute, brave pilot of F4-E jets during the Vietnam War. Lucky in love and air battles, Josh kisses his talismans before missions - a St. Christopher medal given him by his mom and a small Buddha presented to him by his gorgeous Thai lover, Malinee. Successes are many, but Josh also experiences loss of comrades, flight crashes and ill-fated rescue missions. The big question is whether he can survive the bittersweet trauma of love. Howard Moss, himself a highly-decorated combat pilot who once was Officer-in-Charge of the Tiger FAC program during the war, has the experience to tell this story about human emotions and conflict among different cultures in an engaging manner that is authentic, humane and often humorous. Kiss the talisman and enjoy the journey!

KEYNOTE: A fascinating and culturally significant study of Thai beliefs, design appreciation, and a document of the daily existence of Bangkok taxi drivers Strings of beads and amulets hang from rear-view mirrors, swaying as the driver negotiates his taxi through Bangkok's chaotic streets. Statuettes of Buddha glued to dashboards sit patiently beside flower garlands and beribboned objects. Buddhist ritual patterns adorn the ceilings, and photos of monks are everywhere. Dale Konstanz, artist, freelance designer, illustrator, and academic has spent over three years documenting the interiors of Bangkok taxis, photographing the iconography and asking what it means to the drivers. In this book he recollects and ruminates about these mini-altars, photographs the myriad of talismans, sacred objects and icons and documents the various explanations and beliefs of the Bangkok cabby. AUTHOR: Dale Konstanz is an artist, freelance designer/illustrator, and academic. He has exhibited his work internationally and currently teaches Communication Design at Mahidol University International College in Bangkok. He has also taught at several art and design colleges and universities and museums in the US, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has been living in Bangkok for seven years and during this time, has done considerable research on Thai art and culture. For the past two years, he has been maintaining a blog on Thai taxis. http://lifeinmovingvehicle.blogspot.com 150 colour illustrations

The Talisman Cock!, debut novel from award winning poet and short fiction writer Henry Joseph Russell, follows sixteen-year-old David Smith, a talented cross country runner from Cape Cod who believes he's living his "Personal Destiny" when he earns a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school near Boston. Alas, David's new roommate, a notoriously womanizing and wildly confident ice hockey prodigy named Johnny Connolly, doesn't believe in Destiny. A sort of metaphysical libertarian (and libertine!), Johnny claims "Jesus powers" of meditation and visualization have helped him fashion his "perfect reality," a life defined by countless one-night-stands, lofty athletic glory, and his most cherished "creation: " a rather large male organ he's lovingly named his "Talisman Cock!" But, when David becomes a hesitant disciple to Johnny's bizarre teachings, he unveils a stranger secret hidden behind his roommate's spiritual bravado: a Greater Destiny they both share. The Talisman Cock! is a modern, coming-of-age classic for young adults and adults alike. Tackling dynamic theological and philosophical issues with humor, eloquence and grace, Russell has penned an American, boarding-school yarn worthy of the pantheon beside A Separate Peace and The Catcher in the Rye.