All Hallow's Eve

Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Image via.

It’s Halloween!
Well, the witching hour is nearly upon us once again. As a child, being Canadian, Halloween was almost as important to me as Christmas. The excitement would set in as soon as the calendar was turned to October. I’m not sure if it was the sweets or the costumes or the fact we were always allowed hot dogs for dinner on the night, but the powerful combination of all those good things at once meant it could never come quick enough.


When I first moved to the UK, you barely heard the word Halloween because the word on the street was ‘penny for the guy’ but I can’t recall the last time I saw kids with a guy in a shopping trolley parked outside the supermarket asking for pennies. Admittedly, by the time I hit these shores, they were after more than pennies but the saying remained the same.

A very cool contemporary child's Halloween costume from Stella McCartney, inspired by the film Maleficent. Image via.

Inside the shops it is now aisle after aisle of witches and fairies. It makes me a little sad that those North American traditions have somewhat elbowed out some fine old British ones but there is no denying there is nothing a child likes better than to become a superhero or a princess or a goblin or a witch whenever possible.

As it is a time of spookiness and mysticism, I thought today I might consider the connections that silver has in the spiritual world.
In folklore, silver can turn water into a healing potion. Water is said to spoil less quickly in a silver pitcher and as a result, it has long believed that silver has magical properties. I suppose because of silver’s antibacterial properties it's no coincidence that there is a link between silver and ‘good magic’.

Sip that potion and feel those magical powers. Click here to view on our website.

Did you know the magical ruby slippers in the Wizard of Oz are actually meant to be silver shoes, according to the book, as written by L.Frank Baum?

An antique pair of sterling silver shoes that we have here in the shop. Contact for further details.

There is much use of silver in witchcraft. You will find silver used for swords, bells, chalices, wands and a thames (ritual knives). The pentacle (six pointed star) will also often be made in silver owing to the metal's lunar connections and feminine powers. So, should you find yourself before a witch's altar, you will be gazing upon a host of silver objects.

A pair of Georgian cauldron salt cellars to grace the table of any stylish witch. Click here to view.

A silver bell will keep evil spirits at bay. Click here to view on our website

Silver is also said to ward off evil. Did you know just brushing a bad fairy with silver will cause him or her to burst into flames?

Or what do you use to kill a werewolf? A silver bullet, of course.

You can easily spot a vampire if you hold up a silver coated mirror and don't find their reflection staring back at you. In fact any evil spirit you might come across can probably be dealt with using the power of silver.

Though much thought is given to silver in legend and folklore it all has a basis in science as silver has long been used in medicine and it has been revered for its conductive abilities.
So the power of silver goes beyond its beauty and tactility. It is the stuff legends are made of.