A talisman is an object that carries an emotional value or charge imbued by the creator, the intention being to bring positivity to an endeavor or journey which the holder of the object is embarking upon.

Brian created the first baby figurine for me with the intention of easing the labor and delivery of our first child. It was such a beautiful gesture. Well beyond the beauty of the object itself, my awareness of his intention is what transferred a calming energy to me when I first held it. 

I carried that silver baby boy with me for weeks before delivering. I became so accustomed to the weight of it in my front pocket in fact that when it happened not to transfer to another pair of jeans I had put on, I had a sense that something was missing. 

After our daughter was born (my expectant mother's hunch was wrong about her being a boy) I continued to carry the sculpture and when I had to return to work it came along with me where it served as a source of comfort in my absence from her whenever my eyes rested upon it.

Brian cast a silver baby girl figurine for me shortly after our oldest was born and that figure also has deep sentimental significance. But the piece I carried as a talisman in the weeks prior to her delivery carries a quality of energy that can only be characterized as memory; a registry if you will, of its exposure to her last trimester of growth and birth.

Six years later we had another girl. This time I guessed right and Brian cast a bronze baby girl figure in advance of her birth. I carried it with me for weeks, channeling positive thoughts about labor and delivery as well as reflections on the threshold we stood before as a family of three, about to become four.  Whenever I have to travel without Brian and the girls, both baby figures come with me; they resonate an energy of our time together that comforts me when physical distance separates us.

The use of talismans dates back to antiquity. To read more about this subject click here for a link to an article titled Objects of Power by Madisyn Taylor.