Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m just a little bit superstitious. My lucky number is 17 (I’m fascinated by numerology), I’m the proud owner of Gary Goldschneider’s personology guide The Secret Language of Birthdays, and I look for meanings and symbolism EVERYWHERE. 

Just today a random ladybird went out of her way to cross my path so now I know luck, prosperity and protection are on their way 🍀🪽 

The Best Tote Bag For Spiritualists

As a human, Woman, Mother and business owner making my way through 2026 I’ll take every bit of help I can get when it comes to energy protection and warding off bad vibes. 

My current go-to is the PROTECTED tote bag I designed for What Charlie TOTE and my research into whether wearing words can really change the way we walk through life got me thinking about just how powerful it is to walk through the world boldly wearing the word PROTECTED. Especially when it’s a tote bag designed to be a discreet, stylish shield against negative energy any weapons that may be formed against me. 

Your typical (if you can call them that) spiritual person, who believes in a higher power, womanifestation and energy exchanges, will no doubt have a wardrobe filled with items that beautifully reflect their beliefs and how they live. 

The What Charlie TOTE PROTECTED tote bag is the perfect tote bag for spiritualists and believers because it acts as an additional tool in their spiritual armoury. 

Research shows that wearing certain items can completely change our mindset and how we approach life. In this instance a PROTECTED tote bag has the power to offer security, confidence and real comfort to the wearer, completely changing the way they walk through the world. 

That research is called enclothed cognition. 

How Enclothed Cognition Works 

Enclothed cognition (Adam & Galinsky, 2012) is the concept created by Hajo Adam and Adam D. Galinsky through their 2012 research that clothes are scientifically proven to influence how we think and behave.

The findings show that clothing activates associated mental concepts in our brains and that repeated cognitive priming (when exposure to a word, image, or idea activates related psychological concepts), makes these concepts more and more accessible to us.

This is proven to be particularly relevant with clothing because the priming is not just fleeting moment when the words are consistently placed on our bodies, in full view and directly connected to us. 

Self-Signaling With A PROTECTED Tote Bag

In behavioural economics and identity psychology the self-signaling theory means that as well as signaling to others, we also signal who we are to ourselves based on how we behave. So a simple slogan on a tote bag tells me something about myself that causes my consistency-loving brain to align behaviour with this image of myself I’m publicly displaying through the words I’m wearing. 

And suddenly I’m walking through the world and approaching life with the energy of a woman who believes she’s divinely protected.

How To Protect Yourself From Negative Energy

Obviously we believers also have other tools in our survival kits - here are a few of my own I’d love to share with you.

The Evil Eye

The power of the evil eye comes from the idea that envy carries energetic harm, and that a jealous glance, whether intentional or not, can cause illness, bad luck, or misfortune.

The evil eye is not actually the blue glass bead we’re all so familiar with, that originates from Turkey and is called a Nazar. 

The evil eye is what it protects against and use of this symbols was first recorded in Greece, Turkey, Italy and across the Middle East. 

Today you’ll find it in high street shops, market stalls and hogg end jewellers all over the world. It can be worn as earrings, a bracelet, anklet, pendant, ring (my chosen style) or printed on clothes, bags and accessories. 

Symptoms traditionally blamed on the evil eye include sudden illness, headaches, babies crying inconsolably, fiinancial setbacks, relationship issues, and general life challenges where it seems everything was fine, until it wasn’t. 

The Italian Horn & Chillies

In southern Italy, you’ll see red horn charms called cornicelli (little horns) that look like chillies — long, curved, and bright red.

I have some attached to my car keys, brought back by a Friend who went travelling there last year. This is important because for cornicelli to be truly powerful they need to be given as a gift not bought for ourselves, so the protection stems from a wholesome relationship and is not tainted by ego. In some traditions they must be hand carved and made from coral or gold too.  

A cornicello might look like a chilli but technically it’s a horn. Its origins date back to ancient times and we think it first represented an animal horn and symbolised strength and virility, or the crescent-shaped horn of the moon for fertility and divine feminine energy. 

The colour red was chosen to represent vitality, blood and the energy of life force.

Cornicelli protect against the evil eye (evil looks), malocchio in Italian, guarding against envy, jealousy, bad luck, misfortune - and impotence. 

In Italy you’ll see some homes have actual red chillies hung in kitchens and doorways, protecting spaces through their symbolic shape, strength and spice.

Palo Santo

Palo Santo is South American holy wood from trees native to parts of Peru and Ecuador. It’s traditionally used by Indigenous communities for spiritual cleansing, energy clearing and protection from negative spirits

I burn the wood and waft the smoke around each room in my house (and  hover passive aggressively over my teenage kids when they’ve been particularly challenging) (or just returned from their Dad’s house and their energy needs clearing) (iykyk). 

Palo Santo wood is sacred and should be used respectfully and ethically sourced. I’m in Australia and I get mine from my friend Tahi, the founder of Pachamama Remedies, because I know she wouldn’t procure it any other way. 

Sage

Sage is great for smoke cleansing and spiritual protection. When people talk about burning sage for cleansing they’re  referring to white sage (Salvia apiana), which is traditionally used by Indigenous peoples in what we now call the USA. 

Side note: when we cook with sage (think brown butter sauce or stuffing), we use common sage (Salvia officinalis), same plant family as burning sage but not the same plant.

White Sage has silvery-white leaves and a strong, sharp, medicinal scent. It’s native to parts of southwestern USA and it’s traditionally used for ceremonial smoke cleansing, Indigenous ceremonies and folk purification rituals, as well as some new-age reinterpretations.

Burning sage is called “smudging” when referring to an Indigenous ceremonial practice (not just casual smoke wafting) and this creates smoke that’s used to cleanse the energy of a person or space, especially after illness or conflict.

This is another one I get as an oil from Tahi at Pachamama Remedies, my preferred formulation is a room spray and I’ve used essential oil drops in the past too. 

Unlike other totem protections that deflect, sage clears. It’s believed to energetically remove negative energy, drive out spirits, clear emotional residue, and restore spiritual balance.

Salvia apiana has deep ceremonial significance for Native American peoples who consider it to be sacred medicine and use it in blessing rituals, purification ceremonies, prayer preparation and community healing.

It’s worth noting that there’s rightfully a significant amount of conversation around cultural appropriation, over harvesting and ethical sourcing of sage as shifting trends increase its popularity and risk chipping away at its rich Indigenous cultural heritage. 

Energy Protection in 2026 

There’s a whole lot going on in the world in 2026, parts of the world at war while we’re at war with parts of ourselves. 

We’re allowed to make the moves we need to ease the weight we carrying and if a nazar or cornicelli or PROTECTED tote bag is the best tote bag or protection totem to help us carry our shit better as we walk through life, then so be it: we’re worthy of softness and support.