2735 – Pentacle Pendant: Witch’s Ladder
- Physical description:
- A necklace consisting of jet beads grouped in magically significant numbers, with silver links and a pentacle at the end. The maker says that it is a modern version of a witch's ladder.
- Museum classification:
- Modern Withcraft
- Size:
- 660 long
- Information:
Made by the donor, who writes, "Beads like these are modern versions of the traditional Witch's Ladders made with feathers or knots as found in Somerset in the 19th century (Folklore Vol. 5) and the similar Witches' Garlands from Italy that Charles Geoffrey Leland wrote about (Chapter 5 of 'Roman Etruscan Remains'). They are used for meditation, spell-casting, healing, binding or pretty much anything magical, and are useful for counting repetitions of spells or charms.... Current versions of the Witch's Ladder usually (though not always) feature forty beads in various groupings using magical numbers like three, five, seven, nine and twenty-one.... This particular example is made with jet (lignite), because of its deep associations with Witchcraft and Wicca, hence its byname 'Witches' Amber', as well as being considered a magical substance by many cultures, including the Romans, who believed it capable of warding off the evil eye ('Religion in Roman Britain', by Henig)."
- Resource:
- Object
- Materials:
- Metal and stone (Jet)
Made by the donor, who writes, "Beads like these are modern versions of the traditional Witch's Ladders made with feathers or knots as found in Somerset in the 19th century (Folklore Vol. 5) and the similar Witches' Garlands from Italy that Charles Geoffrey Leland wrote about (Chapter 5 of 'Roman Etruscan Remains'). They are used for meditation, spell-casting, healing, binding or pretty much anything magical, and are useful for counting repetitions of spells or charms.... Current versions of the Witch's Ladder usually (though not always) feature forty beads in various groupings using magical numbers like three, five, seven, nine and twenty-one.... This particular example is made with jet (lignite), because of its deep associations with Witchcraft and Wicca, hence its byname 'Witches' Amber', as well as being considered a magical substance by many cultures, including the Romans, who believed it capable of warding off the evil eye ('Religion in Roman Britain', by Henig)."