Brass

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, its proportions varied to change its colour and its mechanical and other properties, though copper usually makes up the larger share, typically about two-thirds. It has been in use since prehistoric times, and it is prized for its bright, golden look, its low melting point and how easily it is worked, which have made it a favourite for door furniture, sculpture and utensils. As an alloy of variable make-up it has no formal name of its own. Cunningham calls it a yellowish gold metal and gives it to the Sun and fire as projective. He says it has long stood in for gold in magic, without all of gold's virtues, and uses it chiefly to draw money: brass bells rung over green candles at sunrise, money-drawing stones laid on a piece of brass during prosperity rituals, and a small piece inscribed with a pentagram and carried to draw wealth. He also records healing charms, a brass ring against stomach cramps and a brass key at the nape of the neck to stop a nosebleed, and calls it protective, worn to guard the body and used to turn negativity back on its sender.