Skeleton Keys

[Hærfest Leah]

What all are skeleton keys symbolic of & what's the magical lore behind them? I searched and only found a thread on using them as pendulums. In my Cunningham book, "Magical Household" it mentioned several things on keys like hanging them over your front door for protection.

When we were in Lowes today I saw a set of two gold skeleton keys where you can get keys made and so something told me to buy them, so I did.

Do you use them and what for?

[Sage Rainsong]

Well skeleton keys is a master key that opens every door in a house so with that symbolism I would use it in spells to "open doors" for me.

[Theres]

the key is sacred to Hekate, and represents the ability to open the gateway to the Underworld. this is a symbol of Her role as psychopomp.

i use a skeleton key on my Hekate altar, and have three of them hanging from my staff. i got mine at an antique store, but i have bought a few of those Lowes' keys to use as offerings, etc. i cleanse them and anoint them with rosemary or lavender oil first.

[Hærfest Leah]

Thanks for the replies, their greatly appreciated.

[ShamanFeather]

anglo saxon women I believe had a key hanging from their belts to symbolize their independence or something.

[acorn elf]

I think viking women had keys from their belt to show that they are the head of the house, pretty much. That's what my Eyewitness book says. ^^

[David19]

the key is sacred to Hekate, and represents the ability to open the gateway to the Underworld. this is a symbol of Her role as psychopomp.

i use a skeleton key on my Hekate altar, and have three of them hanging from my staff. i got mine at an antique store, but i have bought a few of those Lowes' keys to use as offerings, etc. i cleanse them and anoint them with rosemary or lavender oil first.

I'm probably going to sound really stupid but what is a psychopomp?

[semi]

David, asking questions is not stupid. A psychopomp is a being that helps recently deceased spirits cross over to the afterlife or underworld.

Keys also relate to the orisha Eshu in Santeria and Ifa. He is the opener of doors and opportunities.

[Aidron]

Besides the association of keys (not solely skeleton keys since it is a relatively modern concept, but they serve as a much more powerful symbol as they open all doors in older homes) with Hekate, their lore and associations are quite obvious.

They represent transformation, for one, for just as you pass through a door from one place to another, you can so be transformed. They are opening mechanisms, allowing passage, entry, but also locking mechanisms, locking things in or out.

I wear an old rusty skeleton key my mother took from her grandmother's house she (my mother) was born in before it was to be burned down, for all the reasons I mentioned above and several more.

[Hærfest Leah]

David, asking questions is not stupid. A psychopomp is a being that helps recently deceased spirits cross over to the afterlife or underworld.


Funny thing...I was just reading in Gods & Myths of Northern Europe by H. R. Ellis Davidson and on page 141 it says..."Most interesting of the characteristics of Mercury is his function as a psychopompos, the guide of souls down to the underworld.This in particular was the aspect of Odin which must hold our attention when we come to consider him as God of The Dead."

It just made me think of your post because I had never heard of a psychopomp either before you mentioned it semi.

[TheTempestuous1]

cool topic!