Amulet

An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a person from trouble". Anything can function as an amulet; items commonly so used include statues, coins, drawings, plant parts, animal parts, and written words.

Amulets which are said to derive their extraordinary properties and powers from magic or those which impart luck are typically part of folk religion or paganism, whereas amulets or sacred objects of formalised mainstream religion as in Christianity are believed to have no power of their own without faith in Jesus and being blessed by a clergyman, and they supposedly will also not provide any preternatural benefit to the bearer who does not have an appropriate disposition. Talisman and amulets have interchangeable meaning. Amulets refer to any object which has the power to avert evil influences or ill luck. An amulet is an object that is generally worn for protection and made from a durable material (metal or hard-stone). Amulets can be applied to paper examples as well; however, the word 'talisman' is typically used to describe these. Amulets are sometimes confused with pendants, small aesthetic objects that hang from necklaces. Any given pendant may indeed be an amulet but so may any other object that purportedly protects its holder from danger.

Ancient Egypt

The use of amulets (''meket'') was widespread among both living and dead ancient Egyptians.Teeter, E., (2011), Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt, Cambridge University Press, p170 They were used for protection and as a means of "...reaffirming the fundamental fairness of the universe". The oldest amulets found are from the predynastic Badarian Period, and they persisted all the way through to Roman times.

Pregnant women would wear amulets depicting Taweret, the goddess of childbirth, to protect against miscarriage. The god Bes, who had the head of a lion and the body of a dwarf, was believed to be the protector of children. After giving birth, a mother would remove her Taweret amulet and put on a new amulet representing Bes.

Amulets depicted specific symbols, among the most common are the ankh and the Eye of Horus, which represented the new eye given to Horus by the god Thoth as a replacement for his old eye, which had been destroyed during a battle with Horus's uncle Seth. Amulets were often made to represent gods, animals or hieroglyphs.Andrews, C., (1994), Amulets of Ancient Egypt, University of Texas Press, p2. For example, the common amulet shape the scarab beetle is the emblem of the god Khepri.

The most common material for such amulets was a kind of ceramic known as Egyptian faience or ''tjehenet'', but amulets were also made of stone, metal, bone, wood and gold. Phylacteries containing texts were another common form of amulet.

Like the Mesopotamians, the ancient Egyptians had no distinction between the categories magic and medicine. Indeed for them "...religion was a potent and legitimate tool for affecting magical cures". Each treatment was a complementary combination of practical medicine and magical spells. Magical spells against snakebite are the oldest magical remedies known from Egypt.

The Egyptians believed that diseases stemmed from both supernatural and natural causes The symptoms of the disease determined which deity the doctor needed to invoke in order to cure it.

Doctors were extremely expensive, therefore, for most everyday purposes, the average Egyptian would have relied on individuals who were not professional doctors, but who possessed some form of medical training or knowledge. Among these individuals were folk healers and seers, who could set broken bones, aid mothers in giving birth, prescribe herbal remedies for common ailments, and interpret dreams. If a doctor or seer was unavailable, then everyday people would simply cast their spells on their own without assistance. It was likely commonplace for individuals to memorize spells and incantations for later use.

Ancient Rome

Amulets were particularly prevalent in ancient Roman society, being the inheritor of the ancient Greek tradition, and inextricably linked to Roman religion and magic (see magic in the Graeco-Roman world). Amulets are usually outside of the normal sphere of religious experience, though associations between certain gemstones and gods has been suggested. For example, Jupiter is represented on milky chalcedony, Sol on heliotrope, Mars on red jasper, Ceres on green jasper, and Bacchus on amethyst. Amulets are worn to imbue the wearer with the associated powers of the gods rather than for any reasons of piety. The intrinsic power of the amulet is also evident from others bearing inscriptions, such as ''vterfexix (utere fexix)'' or "good luck to the user." Amulet boxes could also be used, such as the example from part of the Thetford treasure, Norfolk, UK, where a gold box intended for suspension around the neck was found to contain sulphur for its apotropaic (evil-repelling) qualities. Children wore bullas and lunulas, and could be protected by amulet-chains known as '' Crepundia''.

Near Eastern amulets

Metal amulets in the form of flat sheets made of silver, gold, copper, and lead were also popular in Late Antiquity in Palestine and Syria as well as their adjacent countries (Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Iran). Usually, they were rolled up and placed in a metal container with loops to be carried by a necklace. They were incised with a needle with manifold incantation formulars and citations and references to the name of God (Tetragrammaton). Most of them are composed in various kinds of Aramaic (Jewish Aramaic, Samaritan Aramaic, Christian Palestinian Aramaic, Mandaic, Syriac) and Hebrew, but there exist also sometimes combinations with Greek.

China, Korea, Japan

In China, Taoist experts called '' fulu'' developed a special style of calligraphy that they said would be able to protect against evil spirits. The equivalent type of amulet in Japan is called an '' ofuda''. Mamorifuda are gofu amulets, In Korea, This is Where Called Bujeok (부적) even usually in tradition of Taoist Korean Rituals, that are talismans encased inside in small brocade bags that are carried on the person.

Abrahamic religions

In antiquity and the Middle Ages, most Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Orient believed in the protective and healing power of amulets or blessed objects. Many pagan religions also believe in stone worship. Talismans used by these peoples can be broken down into three main categories: talismans carried or worn on the body, talismans hung upon or above the bed of an infirm person, and medicinal talismans. This third category can be further divided into external and internal talismans. For example, an external amulet can be placed in a bath.

Jews, Christians, and Muslims have also at times used their holy books in a talisman-like manner in grave situations. For example, a bed-ridden and seriously ill person would have a holy book placed under part of the bed or cushion.

Judaism

Amulets are plentiful in the Jewish tradition, with examples of Solomon-era amulets existing in many museums. Due to the proscription of idols and other graven images in Judaism, Jewish amulets emphasize text and names. The shape, material, and color of a Jewish amulet makes no difference. Examples of textual amulets include the Silver Scroll, circa 630 BCE, and the still contemporary mezuzah and tefillin. A counter-example, however, is the Hand of Miriam, an outline of a human hand. Another non-textual amulet is the Seal of Solomon, also known as the hexagram or Star of David. In one form, it consists of two intertwined equilateral triangles, and in this form it is commonly worn suspended around the neck to this day.
Another common amulet in contemporary use is the Chai (symbol)—( he, חַי "living" '), which is also worn around the neck. Other similar amulets still in use consist of one of the names of the god of Judaism, such as ה (He), יה (YaH), or שדי ( Shaddai), inscribed on a piece of parchment or metal, usually silver.

Among Jewish children in the 2nd-century CE, the practice of wearing amulets ( he, קמיעין) was so pervasive that one could distinguish between a Jewish child (who usually donned an amulet) and a non-Jewish child who did not usually wear them. During the Middle Ages, Maimonides and Sherira Gaon (and his son Hai Gaon) opposed the use of amulets and derided the "folly of amulet writers." Other rabbis, however, approved the use of amulets.

Regional traditions surrounding the birth of children often included amulets to ward off the devil, the evil eye, or demons such as Lilith. So-called miracle rabbi ( Ba’al Shem) would be responsible for writing text amulets and conjuring up the names of God and protective angels. Midwives would also create amulets, often filled with herbs, to protect mothers and their young children. In Southern Germany, Alsace and areas of Switzerland, young Jewish boys wore textile neckbands or collars for their Brit Milah. Coins or coral stones on these neckbands were meant to distract the evil eye away from the boys, thus serving as a form of protection. This practice continued until the early 20th century.

The wearing of phylacteries has been seen by others as another form of amulet, worn for protection.

Rabbi and famous kabbalist Naphtali ben Isaac Katz ("Ha-Kohen," 1645–1719) was said to be an expert in the magical use of amulets. He was accused of causing a fire that broke out in his house and then destroyed the whole Jewish quarter of Frankfurt, and of preventing the extinguishing of the fire by conventional means because he wanted to test the power of his amulets; he was imprisoned and forced to resign his post and leave the city.

Christianity

In Christianity, regularly attending church, frequently receiving Holy Communion, Bible study, and a consistent prayer life are taught as being among the best ways to ward against demonic influence. The Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Pentecostal

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