I've always had a fascination with old keys... I really love them and I have loads of them around my home...
 
Keys are a symbol of power... physically and energetically, they lock and they unlock. Keys represent freedom or lack of it - to be given a key is to be presented with choice - to come and go as one pleases, to gain knowledge or to lock away secrets, to travel onwards or to keep ourselves safely settled and sheltered.
 
The Roman god Janus (for whom January is named) is a god of doors and new beginnings and is often depicted holding a key. Similarly, the apostle Peter, the keeper of the gates of Heaven, often holds a key.
 
 In terms of magical workings, keys can be used to open up the gate to new possibilities but they can also be useful when trying to CLOSE a door on a past experience or situation.
 
One of my favourite associations with keys are their link to Hecate...
A Hecate Key symbolizes the act of unlocking hidden potential. In the realm of magic and mysticism, Hecate is revered as a guide to the unseen, a guardian of secrets, and a conduit to hidden realms. Her key represents the ability to access latent talents and dormant wisdom within ourselves. Thanks to her association with boundaries and the liminal spaces between worlds, Hecate is also recognized as a chthonic (underworld) goddess. As the holder of the keys she can unlock the gates between realms.
 
You can use keys to journey in meditation, hang them around the home for protection, anoint them with oils to unlock success in various facets of life or wear them around your neck as protective talismans...
 
This key might be a little too large to hang around your neck (you do you, though, as always!) but you could instead suspend it from your belt with a cord if you wanted to use it as protection when you're out and about. It's definitely ready for use on your altar for ritual and ceremony or as a representation of Hecate during your magical workings.
 
The items I sell are mostly pre-loved and sourced from my travels and explorations so when they're gone, they're gone!