A bracelet (or sometimes, an anklet) upon which can be attached numerous small trinkets, or charms. Nowadays, they are most often worn by pre-teen girls, though they used to be a fairly common fashion accessory.

Sometimes, the charms are considered to be lucky, but usually, they are just for decoration or personal expression. Charms can include everything from cheap Cracker Jack toys to fancy (and fairly pricey) plastic or metal charms in a variety of shapes.

Charm bracelets are often young girls' first piece of jewelry, and they allow them to jangle loudly as they walk down the hall at school, which is also considered a plus.

Charm bracelets, as well as being a fashion statement (as in Jet-Poop's writeup above), can also be used for symbolic reasons, as charms to bring luck or other desirable things, or to keep at bay undesirable occurrences. These charm symbols (listed below) are based on ancient archetypes and legends, though they first began to be used as charms in the current way back in the 1800s. Use any one of these on a charm bracelet for yourself or for a gift to attain desired results.

This list of charm symbolism was taken and expanded from page 6 of Patricia Telesco's The Magick of Folk Wisdom, © 1995.

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