1476 – 3 Church Keys

Physical description:

7 large keys.

Museum classification:

Protection

Size:

188 x 52 x 8, 143 x 48 x 10, 125 x 52 x 13

Information:

A visitor to the museum has provided us with some more information about the use of keys as protection charms. The number of keys used may depend on the type of home to be protected. A set of three iron keys and a hagstone have been passed down through her family for generations as a protection charm for a farm. Another family member, who lives in a town, has seven keys and a hagstone; while a third family member has nine keys and a hagstone. For protection, the keys have to be old iron ones. Modern keys, however, can be used as good luck charms. It is also often the custom in her family to give a small gold key charm as a gift to a baby - to unlock good luck for the future.
In Switzerland, for keys to have magical protecting power they must be church keys, and the end should be in the shape of a cross. It was also believed that if a vicar looked through the hole in the centre of the cross-shape during the Sunday Service, he would be able to see which members of the congregation were witches. (Information supplied by Wicca Meier-Spring of Hexenmuseum Schweiz.)

Resource:

Object

Materials:

Metal

Copyright ownership:

Treetrunk Ltd.

A visitor to the museum has provided us with some more information about the use of keys as protection charms. The number of keys used may depend on the type of home to be protected. A set of three iron keys and a hagstone have been passed down through her family for generations as a protection charm for a farm. Another family member, who lives in a town, has seven keys and a hagstone; while a third family member has nine keys and a hagstone. For protection, the keys have to be old iron ones. Modern keys, however, can be used as good luck charms. It is also often the custom in her family to give a small gold key charm as a gift to a baby - to unlock good luck for the future.
In Switzerland, for keys to have magical protecting power they must be church keys, and the end should be in the shape of a cross. It was also believed that if a vicar looked through the hole in the centre of the cross-shape during the Sunday Service, he would be able to see which members of the congregation were witches. (Information supplied by Wicca Meier-Spring of Hexenmuseum Schweiz.)