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Author Topic: Protective Properties of Iron  (Read 10716 times)

Aster Breo

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Protective Properties of Iron
« on: August 29, 2012, 08:15:18 am »
The recent thread about my daughter's night time "watcher" has prompted a couple of questions about iron.  I'm hoping someone will be willing to share their knowledge.

Why is iron considered protective against certain entities?

What kinds of entities does it protect against?

How is it used most effectively -- worn/carried on the person, hung on the wall, etc.?

Does the shape of the iron object matter?  If so, what shapes are preferred, what shapes should be avoided?

How pure must the iron be?  Does steel (iron + carbon, IIRC) have the same protective properties?

Does it matter whether/how the iron is worked -- e.g., cast vs. wrought iron?

If used as a protective charm, does it require cleansing and/or charging?  If so, are there preferred methods?

Are there reasons NOT to use iron as protective charm?  Any "side effects", do to speak?

Any other interesting or important tidbits?

Thanks!

~ Aster
"The status is not quo."  ~ Dr. Horrible

Tana

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Re: Protective Properties of Iron
« Reply #1 on: August 29, 2012, 08:30:58 am »
Quote from: Aster Breo;71293



I can give you my associations for iron.

Iron is earth+fire made tangible.
Also it is in our blood.

For me iron has grounding and strengthening properties.
It reminds you of your body, of your here-ness.

I know that it is said the faeries disklike iron.
But I think one has to differ here.

No human can go to Faerie without iron, we carry it in our bodies.
If we bring other iron along, the question is with what intent, and in which shape.

A dagger might not be perceived as friendly. An iron ring, or an iron pendant (I have a nice one, a spiral ;)) is another thing.
\'You had to repay, good or bad. There was more than one type of obligation.
That’s what people never really understood.….Things had to balance.
You couldn’t set out to be a good witch or a bad witch. It never worked out for long.
All you could try to be was a witch, as hard as you could.\'
Terry Pratchett \'Lords and Ladies\'

Confuzzled and proud. :p

Alex

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Re: Protective Properties of Iron
« Reply #2 on: August 29, 2012, 04:32:30 pm »
Quote from: Aster Breo;71293


What kinds of entities does it protect against?


Cold iron protects against the Fae. Cold iron is different than the iron in our blood.

Quote

How is it used most effectively -- worn/carried on the person, hung on the wall, etc.?


I carry iron on me when I am headed out to areas where the Fae are present--I usually throw a railroad spike in my backpack and put a smaller piece of railroad iron in my pocket. I also ward my home with iron on the windowsills of my bedroom, as the Fae like to bother me at night, and over the main door into my house. I like railroad spikes for this purpose. Some people nail a horseshoe over their door. Some say that an iron dagger buried under the entrance to your home keeps witches away [heh], and cemeteries have iron fences for a reason. Throw some iron nails in a witch bottle for protection, too.

Quote

Does the shape of the iron object matter?  If so, what shapes are preferred, what shapes should be avoided?


I've never seen the shape matter. It's more important that you have it, as not all Fae are friendly, than not.

Quote
How pure must the iron be?  Does steel (iron + carbon, IIRC) have the same protective properties?


Most railroad spikes are high carbon iron these days, but if you can find old ones, they are low iron. The lower the carbon content, the better.

Quote
Does it matter whether/how the iron is worked -- e.g., cast vs. wrought iron?


I've never had a problem with wrought versus cast. It's more that the carbon content is low than anything else.

Quote
If used as a protective charm, does it require cleansing and/or charging?  If so, are there preferred methods?


I will cleanse ONLY to remove anything that may have 'stuck' to the iron, nothing more.

Quote
Are there reasons NOT to use iron as protective charm?  Any "side effects", do to speak?


It will make the Fae sick and repel them from you, as well as repelling any number of other nasties, too.

Quote
Any other interesting or important tidbits?

 
Iron has a huge place in folklore and folk magic. I mentioned some of it above, but there's always more to read! Google shows a ton of stuff for 'iron in folklore'.

Hope this helps!

Alex

Devo

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Re: Protective Properties of Iron
« Reply #3 on: August 29, 2012, 04:43:10 pm »
Quote from: Aster Breo;71293
The recent thread about my daughter's night time "watcher" has prompted a couple of questions about iron.  I'm hoping someone will be willing to share their knowledge.

Why is iron considered protective against certain entities?

What kinds of entities does it protect against?

How is it used most effectively -- worn/carried on the person, hung on the wall, etc.?

Does the shape of the iron object matter?  If so, what shapes are preferred, what shapes should be avoided?

How pure must the iron be?  Does steel (iron + carbon, IIRC) have the same protective properties?

Does it matter whether/how the iron is worked -- e.g., cast vs. wrought iron?

If used as a protective charm, does it require cleansing and/or charging?  If so, are there preferred methods?

Are there reasons NOT to use iron as protective charm?  Any "side effects", do to speak?

Any other interesting or important tidbits?

Thanks!

~ Aster


I find that iron is a lot like hematite- it's grounding. It's solid. It's good for soaking up energies, in my experience.

Iron is bad for the fae. I try to work with the fae- so I make sure that nothing I offer to them on or with has iron in it. If you're trying to keep them away, iron would be something you'd want to wear it or have it around the house. I didn't like that the fae would screw with my rocks, so I started to leave a chunk of iron in there- which for the most part, kept them out.

In Egyptian stuff, iron is associated with the 'undying stars' (big dipper area). It was one of the strongest metals at their disposal, and it was incredibly rare. It had associations with Set, which may or may not be useful to you.

I think the form would depend on what purpose you're wanting it to do.
 
Hopefully that's sorta helpful.

-Devo
dA | FB | LJ | WP

moxietoxic

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Re: Protective Properties of Iron
« Reply #4 on: August 30, 2012, 06:42:37 am »
Quote from: Alex;71360
I will cleanse ONLY to remove anything that may have 'stuck' to the iron, nothing more.


Why not cleanse all the time? Is there a benefit that NOT cleansing gets you? Or an unwanted effect that cleansing brings with it? (I have no idea, I'm not trying to argue I'm just curious)

Holdasown

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Re: Protective Properties of Iron
« Reply #5 on: August 30, 2012, 09:30:23 am »
Quote from: Aster Breo;71293
Any other interesting or important tidbits?

Thanks!

~ Aster


Since you have gotten good responses I will just add that steel is an alloy and I don't think it has the same properties. You can use horse shoes but make sure they are iron, new ones like nails are not. I use old iron nails above the doors and windows and when I warded the house around the yard. I know coffin nails are used in some spells.

Aster Breo

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Protective Properties of Iron
« Reply #6 on: August 30, 2012, 10:23:42 am »
Quote from: Ula;71447
Since you have gotten good responses I will just add that steel is an alloy and I don't think it has the same properties.

Any tips on where to find iron items (rather than the more readily available steel)?

Thanks?
"The status is not quo."  ~ Dr. Horrible

Tana

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Re: Protective Properties of Iron
« Reply #7 on: August 30, 2012, 10:32:38 am »
Quote from: Aster Breo;71460
Any tips on where to find iron items (rather than the more readily available steel)?

Thanks?


Check flea markets. Sometimes they have old tools and stuff, that is made from iron.
\'You had to repay, good or bad. There was more than one type of obligation.
That’s what people never really understood.….Things had to balance.
You couldn’t set out to be a good witch or a bad witch. It never worked out for long.
All you could try to be was a witch, as hard as you could.\'
Terry Pratchett \'Lords and Ladies\'

Confuzzled and proud. :p

MarieBay

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Re: Protective Properties of Iron
« Reply #8 on: August 30, 2012, 11:12:10 am »
Quote from: Aster Breo;71460
Any tips on where to find iron items (rather than the more readily available steel)?

Thanks?

 
Scrap yards!

Finn

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Re: Protective Properties of Iron
« Reply #9 on: August 30, 2012, 12:01:59 pm »
Quote from: Aster Breo;71460
Any tips on where to find iron items (rather than the more readily available steel)?

Thanks?

 
Frankly, I think it would be both kind of hilarious and awesome if you started carrying around a cast-iron skillet around. Very Tiffany Aching (http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/index.php/books/the-wee-free-men). :p
Fight evil: read books.

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Holdasown

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Re: Protective Properties of Iron
« Reply #10 on: August 30, 2012, 12:56:58 pm »
Quote from: Aster Breo;71460
Any tips on where to find iron items (rather than the more readily available steel)?

Thanks?


Junk stores and ebay.

Alex

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Re: Protective Properties of Iron
« Reply #11 on: August 30, 2012, 02:54:12 pm »
Quote from: moxietoxic;71424
Why not cleanse all the time? Is there a benefit that NOT cleansing gets you? Or an unwanted effect that cleansing brings with it? (I have no idea, I'm not trying to argue I'm just curious)

 
It's not that I don't cleanse, it's that I only cleanse off what sticks to the iron--say, I only clean off Fae energy, but don't cleanse any energy that is inborn to the Iron.

Quote from: Aster Breo;71460
Any tips on where to find iron items (rather than the more readily available steel)?

Thanks?


You can hunt around railroad tracks for discarded/spun off spikes. You can also buy them online. A lot of occult or rootwork suppliers have them.

Aster Breo

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Protective Properties of Iron
« Reply #12 on: August 30, 2012, 03:39:47 pm »
Quote from: Alex;71487
It's not that I don't cleanse, it's that I only cleanse off what sticks to the iron--say, I only clean off Fae energy, but don't cleanse any energy that is inborn to the Iron.


I would think it would be pretty difficult to cleanse away energy that is inherent to the iron itself.

Quote from: Alex;71487

You can hunt around railroad tracks for discarded/spun off spikes. You can also buy them online. A lot of occult or rootwork suppliers have them.

Wouldn't modern railroad spikes be made out of steel?
"The status is not quo."  ~ Dr. Horrible

Alex

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Re: Protective Properties of Iron
« Reply #13 on: August 30, 2012, 04:05:57 pm »
Quote from: Aster Breo;71490
I would think it would be pretty difficult to cleanse away energy that is inherent to the iron itself.


It's really not that hard if you're not careful. It's like dealing with virus software--sometimes stuff comes up that's a part of the good stuff of a computer, but if you remove it you turn the computer into a useless brick.

Quote
Wouldn't modern railroad spikes be made out of steel?


Sometimes. The older the better and I should have put that in my previous post. I haven't gone hunting for them in years, as I have what I need, but antique iron is usually purer.

Catherine

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Re: Protective Properties of Iron
« Reply #14 on: August 30, 2012, 06:26:19 pm »
Quote from: Alex;71360
Cold iron protects against the Fae. Cold iron is different than the iron in our blood.


I keep hearing and reading this, but I've never known it to be true. I've had all sorts of iron things around my place, even on my altar, for years. I've never seen it keep fairies, or any other entities away. I've never intentionally tried to use it for that purpose either. So I'm guessing that "intent" might have a lot to do with it.
 
Quote
keeps witches away [heh],


I know that one isn't true ;)

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