This is part 2 of a series on Enchanted Objects:

Enchanted religious objects

Religion and magick have a long history of both using enchanted objects and actively creating new ones. In fact, it’s often central to the practice.

Let’s look at two different approaches of enchanting objects in Orthodox Christianity, which I’m somewhat familiar with.

  1. The bread and wine are converted to holy communion through a ritual. The bread and wine at the start of the ritual is normal, and the bread could have been baked that very day. Through the process of saying some things (blessings), and doing some movements (ceremony), in specific clothing (priest’s robes), in a specific room (altar) within a specific location (church), a specific person of the religion (priest) enchants this bread. The bread has thus been enchanted and converted to the “body of Christ”.

  2. The “Holy Light” is candle light which is said to come from a cave in Jerusalem where it is said to burn forever. During the Easter eve, which is Saturday, it is flown from Jerusalem to Athens, then transported from there to all churches in Greece and shared with people later that evening. In this case, it is the provenance of the the light, where it came from, that matters to believers. They can then enchant their own objects, their candles, with that Holy Light, thus connecting to the chain of providence.

Enchanted objects

Up to now we’ve mostly discussed intentional acts, which begs the question: “Are there unintentionally enchanted objects?”

And in my opinion, very much yes: For example the soldiers who keep a bullet or fragment that almost took their lives.

Empowering or destroying enchantments

The strength of any enchantment is based on the belief of the beholder(s). The belief, in turn, requires the believer to be aware. One of the ways you can destroy the enchantment of an object is quite simply forgetting it. Many of your favourite childhood toys have probably suffered this fate. On the other hand, you can use memory to your benefit: you can note down the reasons why an enchanted object is meaningful to you at a given point in time, so that your future self will have the ability to better connect with that enchanted object. You can also name an object, which will help you personify it more, further strengthening that bond.

Next up: Read about Enchanting Digital Objects, and whether that’s even possible.

TODO:

  • Write about non-religious enchanted objects (e.g murder weapons, or works of art)
  • Add pics