White Copper Seven Stars Talisman

The Seven Stars are the Northern Dipper; grain and stipend joins grain with salary, one for food and clothing, the other for official pay. The name puts the two together, the usual stacking of auspicious phrases on folk ornaments, wanting the words to come out even. The pendant is small, patterned on the front and flat behind, so it sits steady against the chest. A narrow line runs around the edge of the back, and turned over, the finishing is clean. The hole sits just above centre, so the cord hangs it straight.

The seven stars of the Dipper carry weight in folk belief. The Records of the Grand Historian, in the chapter on celestial offices, calls the Dipper the emperor's carriage, turning at the centre, tying the sky to human affairs. Daoist rites of pacing the stars and of worshipping the Dipper all depend on these seven. The handle turns with the seasons, and the old world set its calendar by it, with farm work following. Each of the seven has a name, from Tian Shu to Yao Guang, and once learned you can count them against the night sky. An altar for the Dipper rite holds seven lamps, one for each star.

Grain and stipend used together is an old phrase: grain in the granary and a post in hand, both ends covered, is what steadiness meant. Nobody talks that way now, and carving it on a pendant keeps an old word alive. The depth of the characters depends on the mould, and made shallow they wear flat in a season. The floors of the strokes are flat rather than pointed, since a pointed floor chips at the edge over the years. Both characters were common on old documents and now appear only on ornaments. One takes its radical from standing grain, the other from the altar.

It is filed under pendants, and cord or chain both work. The size is small, so choose a fine cord; a thick cord on a small pendant looks top-light. The hole is centred, so the pendant hangs true instead of turning sideways. Do not use too thick a chain, which cannot carry it well and rubs the plaque edge instead, and keep the length so it sits at the chest. Use a dark cord, since a light one shows dirt. With a chain at chest length, the plaque falls outside the clothing.

White copper in its own colour, hollows darkened. The channels on a small pendant are shallow, so a soft brush cleans them and a needle is not needed. Copper dislikes sweat left standing, so wipe it after exercise. It contains nickel, so sensitive skin should test-wear. The pendant is small, so do not carry it in the same pocket as keys; a knock cannot be polished out. The seven stars are laid out in the Dipper's shape, and whether the bowl faces up or down differs between traditions. Wipe the copper with a soft cloth when it dulls, but leave the dark in the hollows so the characters stay legible. On a small pendant, the strokes will gather a layer of black over time.