Copper

Of all the materials I enjoy working with copper is near the top - it's malleable, feels good to wear and to work with, and I love the colour.

But under the surface, there are many reasons to wear copper—as long as you take into consideration tarnish, which can be mitigated by the use of Renaissance wax.  Light buffing with this wax helps maintain the shine and limits the greening of skin that can happen to some people when wearing copper.

Copper has long been known to have antimicrobial and potential antiviral properties, as this excerpt from a study shows:-

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9033467/

Copper surface

The behaviour of three strains of E. coli, a pathogenic O157:H7 strain, and two K12 strains, on a copper surface were studied.⁴¹ Using a dry inoculum, the pathogenic strain survived for longer than the other two strains but all were non-viable after 10–20 minutes of exposure to the copper surface in comparison to stainless steel which still had live bacteria after 30 minutes. Staining with rhodamine 123 (where cells with intact membranes fluoresce) showed that fluorescence was rapidly lost on exposure to the copper surface indicating membrane disruption. Protection was detected by copper ion chelators alongside d-mannitol, which offered more protection than the superoxide anion quencher, suggesting most of the ROS present were hydroxyl radicals. This confirms the generation of ROS by a mechanism independent of the Fenton reaction, as proposed by the authors.

For those of us with a mystical bent some of the correspondences of Copper Include:-

• Angel: Haniel
• Gods/Goddesses: Shamash, Inanna, Astarte, Ishtar, Aphrodite,  Venus
• Chakra: crown, heart, solar-plexus
• Element: Water
• Astrological Sign: Taurus
• Planet:  Venus
• Sabbat: Midsummer or  Litha
• Tree of Life: Netzach
• Tarot: The Empress

Very much a metal connection to - well... connection, love, communication, fertility, and balance.  

Wear copper to connect with the earth, the Feminine archetype and joy in life and living.   

If it helps keeps the microscopic nasties away that's another plus in my book.