What is charm casting?
Charm casting, or intuitively drawing charms, works much like tarot and other forms of divination. Charms are essentially symbols, which means they hold special meaning and bear intuitive messages when used in divination.
What does each charm mean? That’s up to you! Many of these symbols exist in our collective unconscious or hold widely accepted cultural & spiritual meanings, which you can read below and adopt. For example, owls mean wisdom and butterflies mean transformation. The Eiffel Tower commonly means romance or travel. But if you grew up in Paris, maybe for you it symbolizes childhood. Listen to your intuition and have fun!
Dictionary of Charm Meanings
(Note: This dictionary, like the inventory of my charm casting shop, Within Charm’s Reach, will be updated and expanded regularly. So bookmark this page and check back often!)
Apple: health, harvest; teaching, learning, receiving an education; forbidden fruit, temptation, fall from grace or loss of innocence
Aquarius: see Tarot and Astrology
Aries: see Tarot and Astrology
Arrow: divine power and light, as in the arrow of Apollo, Diana, or Cupid; clarity in direction and precise aim; pure, genuine, and straightforward, as in a “straight arrow”
Axe: necessary battle, particularly out of loyalty or moral obligation, as in “having an axe to grind;” inescapable death or destruction for survival
Basket: womb, incubation; mysterious gifts or treasures from nature or the divine; associated with spring and fertility rites
Bat: darkness, the unknown, and the underworld; cycle of death and rebirth; second sight and alternative ways of knowing; associated with the Devil in tarot
Bath: purification and cleansing; baptism and rebirth; self-care and pampering
Bear: animal instincts; fierce protectiveness, particularly of young; raw, crude, unrefined manner
Bee: work, industry, and creative productivity; monarch, particularly feminine
Bell: arrival of message or long-awaited news; inauguration or culmination of a waiting period; signal from the divine or spiritual realm
Bird: winged symbol of spirit and the soul; bearer of message from the spiritual realm; freedom, migration; associated with the element of Air and the suit of Swords in tarot
Boat: vehicle indicating slower travel or gradual transition; need for gentle rocking or lulling, as in a cradle or a mother’s arms
Bone: indestructible, inviolable core of an issue or person; framework or foundation; diminishment or dissolution down to “bare bones”
Book: knowledge and study, particularly of esoteric or intellectual subjects; receiving truth, clarity, or instruction on a difficult matter
Bull: virility, determination, power, and brute force; associated with the zodiac sign of Taurus and Divine Masculine energy and father archetypes, including the Emperor and the King of Pentacles in tarot
Butterfly: transformation and rebirth, particularly after dismantling and destruction; the transitory and ephemeral aspects of life and the universe
Caduceus: healing of illness and disease; convalescence, especially in order to restore balance
Cancer: see Tarot and Astrology
Capricorn: see Tarot and Astrology
Castle: the care and protection of home and household, as in “a man’s home is his castle;” security and prosperity; overly romantic or idealistic outlook
Cat: sacred feminine, mysticism, witches, and the moon; self-sufficiency and independence; resilience and resurgence as in “having nine lives”
Circle: completion, unity, perfection; eternal life and the infinite abundance of the universe; symbol of the sacred and spiritual realm, as in “casting a circle” in witchcraft or ceremonial magic
Clock: the passage of time or the notion of timing; perpetual forward motion and the inability to reverse, rewind, or stop
Cloud: mutability, transition, and metamorphosis; potential burst of creativity or thought
Cow: nourishment, particularly from the mother; holy and sacred, especially sacred feminine
Cup: the psyche or spiritual self; emotions and relationships; in tarot, the suit of Cups symbolizes emotions and relationships and is associated with the element of Water
Donkey: humility, patience, and hard work; sacrifice or exploitation, particularly in association with labor
Cross: Christian symbol of salvation; suffering and sacrifice (as in the crucifixion), particularly to the judgement and misunderstandings of others at the expense of recognizing one’s true and divine nature; crossroads, contradiction, ambivalence
Crutch: mechanism of support, either necessary to promote healing or unnecessary due to insecurity or lack of confidence; a trauma or wound that must be healed so that it does not become a weakness or hindrance in life
Dog: faithfulness and loyalty, as in “man’s best friend;” evolution, domestication, or repression of our wild, instinctual selves; associated with the Fool and the Moon in tarot
Dolphin: sociability and communicativeness, extraversion
Dove: peace and new beginnings, particularly in matters of love; devotion and sacrifice; symbol of Spirit or Divine Guidance; associated with the Ace of Cups in tarot
Dragon: in Western traditions, ego, our “evil” or baser instincts (including hoarding and a lack mentality), and obstacles to be slain and overcome; in Eastern traditions, good luck and fortune, a symbol of imperial power, fertility, and prosperity
Eagle: war, swiftness, victory, and power, especially of the Divine Male; sun and light; bearer of divine prophecies
Egg: birth and new life; spring, regeneration, and growth; potential and possibility
Elephant: strength and wisdom; eternity and memory; particularly good omen if trunk is raised
Eye: True sight, clarity; third eye chakra eye and sign to heed intuitive messages and psychic visions
Fairy: divine intervention – either protective or mischievous; synchronicity and signs from other realms
Feather: message from spiritual world; lightness an faith; associated with the element of Air (see Bird)
Fish: abundance and plenty; gift or bounty from the gods, or the cosmos itself; associated with the suit of Cups in tarot and represent the emotional for subconscious realm, especially with the court cards of Cups
Flower: beauty and pleasure of life; blooming or blossoming of an idea or skill; appreciation, affection, and/or love
Fox: cleverness or wile; autumn
Frog: amphibious nature represents flexibility, transitions, and shape-shifting; transformation (as in, turning into a prince) and evolution
Gemini: see Tarot and Astrology
Globe: cosmos, macrocosm, bigger picture; travel, ambition, dreaming big; associated with the 2 of Wands in tarot
Grapes: luxury, pleasure, debauchery; fertility and abundance; associated with the suit of Pentacles in tarot
Hammer: creation and construction
Rabbit: fertility and birth; spring; sex and libido
Heart: affection, love, and compassion; prioritizing emotions over reason; vulnerability and sensitivity, as in wearing one’s heart on their sleeve
Horse: desire or goal – whether noble (as in agriculture) or destructive (as in war) – and the effort to accomplish it
Key: solving of a mystery, as in discovering what is behind a locked door; entry or acceptance, especially a long-awaited one; esoteric knowledge or spiritual secrets, as in the “key to life;” associated with the Hierophant in tarot
Knife: revenge or rage; cord-cutting, cutting ties with that which no longer serves
Lamp (or Lantern): spiritual wisdom, epiphany; associated with the Hermit in tarot
Leaf: new growth, a promising start
Leo: see Tarot and Astrology
Libra: see Tarot and Astrology
Lion: sun and royalty; strength, power, and leadership, as in “King of the Jungle;” associated with Strength and Queen of Wands in tarot
Mirror: truth, especially as it relates to the self; consciousness and self-awareness; vanity and the ego
Monkey: man’s baser nature or instincts
Moon: cyclical nature of life and the universe, as in the moon’s changing phases and the ebb and flow of the tides; menstruation and the Sacred Female; illumination and integration of the shadow self
Mountain: heaven or spiritual realm; achievement and accomplishment, especially after much preparation, determination, and persistence
Octopus: creativity, adaptability, shape-shifting; extreme intelligence
Owl: wisdom, intuition
Peacock: royalty and regality; pride, ego, competition
Pentacle: material or tangible realm; indicates abundance, as in a gold coin, and physical energy; in tarot, the suit of Pentacles symbolizes health, wealth, and earthly matters and is associated with the element of Earth
Pisces: see Tarot and Astrology
Pomegranate: fecundity and fertility; death and regeneration; the Divine Feminine, as in Persephone, Greek Goddess of the Underworld; associated with the High Priestess in tarot
Pumpkin: abundance and fertility, especially creatively; autumn and a bountiful harvest
Rose: beauty, perfection, consummation; passion and romantic or sexual love
Sagittarius: see Tarot and Astrology
Salamander: passion, inspiration, and creativity; action blessed by divine guidance, sorcery; associated with the element of Fire and the suit of Wands in tarot
Scales: justice, guilt, punishment, and matters of the conscience; balance and equilibrium; see also Libra
Scorpio: see Tarot and Astrology
Shell: creativity, productivity; fertility and the Divine Feminine
Skull: mortality; transmutation and alchemy
Snail: self-sufficiency and self-reliance; patience and slow-goingness; introversion
Snake: regeneration, reinvention (as in shedding one’s skin), immortality; in Christian contexts, temptation and evil
Spider: productivity and workmanship, as in the weaving of a web; illusion and entrapment; destiny or a divine plan
Spiral: recursive nature of all life and the universe, cycles of healing and growth, the Mother Goddess and the Divine Feminine
Square: the earthly realm, as in the four elements, the four seasons, and the four stages of life
Star: spirit, especially as a guiding, comforting force, as in a light in the darkness; purpose, destiny, or a divine plan, as in “it is written in the stars”
Sun: light, warmth, especially in a healing sense; bright optimism, as in a “sunny” disposition
Swan: beauty and purity, especially associated with femininity
Sword: psychic and mental decision-making; taking charge and responsibility, as in “falling on one’s sword;” in tarot, the suit of Swords symbolizes thought and communication and is associated with the element of Air
Taurus: see Tarot and Astrology
Thunderbolt (or Lightning): force of the universe or divine, as in an “act of God;” divine inspiration, especially of a powerful and speedy nature
Tree: growth, proliferation; life and longevity; sturdiness, groundedness, and roots, as in cultural or ancestral
Triangle: spiritual or supernatural powers; the divine or holy trinity
Trumpet: divine calling or soul’s purpose; guidance or message from spirit or angel realm
Turtle: the material and earthly realm; fearfulness and need for protection or hiding; patience, humility
Unicorn: magic and mysticism; purity and innocence; one-of-a-kind person, experience, or opportunity
Virgo: see Tarot and Astrology
Wand: divine potential; magical powers of manifestation; self-actualization; in tarot, the suit of Wands symbolizes passion and inspiration and is associated with the element of Fire
Whale: the vastness and mystery of the universe; diving into the depths of the subconscious
Wing: spirituality, lofty thought, imagination; spiritual guidance, as in the wings of a guardian angel
Wolf: wild, undomesticated, or uninhibited self; primitive, repressed, or shadow self; intuition or instinct
