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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.[1]
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 meanings. 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.[2] 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.
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.[12] 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."[13] 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.[14] Children wore bullas and lunulas, and could be protected by amulet-chains known as Crepundia.[15][16]
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[17] 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).[18] Most of them are composed in various kinds of Aramaic (Jewish Aramaic, Samaritan Aramaic, Christian Palestinian Aramaic, Mandaic, Syriac) and Hebrew,[19][20] but there exist also sometimes combinations with Greek.[21][22]
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.
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."[27] Other rabbis, however, approved the use of amulets.[28]
A well-known amulet associated with Benedictine spirituality present in Christianity of the Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican traditions is the Saint Benedict medal which includes the Vade Retro Satana formula to ward off Satan. This medal has been in use at least since the 1700s, and in 1742 it received the approval of Pope Benedict XIV. It later became part of the Roman Ritual.[42]
There is a long cultural tradition of using amulets in Islam,[53] and in many Muslim-majority countries, tens of percent of the population use them.[52] Some hadith condemn the wearing of talismans,[52] and some Muslims (notably Salafis) believe that amulets and talismans are forbidden in Islam, and using them is an act of shirk (idolatry).[citation needed] Other hadith support the use of talismans with some Muslim denominations considering it 'permissible magic', usually under some conditions (for instance, that the wearer believes that the talisman only helps through God's will).[54][55][56] Many Muslims do not consider items used against the evil eye to be talismans; these are often kept in the home rather than worn.[52] Examples of worn amulets are necklaces, rings, bracelets, coins, armbands and talismanic shirts. In the Islamic context they can also be referred to as hafiz or protector or himala meaning pendant.[56]
Amulet is interchangeable with the term talisman. An amulet is an object that is generally worn for protection and most often made from a durable material such as metal or a hard-stone. Amulet can also be applied to paper examples, although talisman is often used to describe these less robust and usually individualized forms. [57]In Muslim cultures, amulets often include texts, particularly prayers, texts from the Quran, hadiths (recorded oral histories of early Islam) and religious narratives, and religious names. The word "Allah" (God) is especially popular, as many believe that touching or seeing it wards off evil. The ninety-nine names of God, and the names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his companions, are also used. The names of prophets and religious figures are felt to connect the wearer to the named person, protecting the wearer. The written stories of these people are also considered effective, and are sometimes illustrated with images of the religious figure or omens associated with them. Favoured figures include Solomon, Ali ibn Abi Talib and his sons Hasan and Husain, and the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. Devotional manuals sometimes also promise that those reading them will be protected from demons and jinn. Apotropaic texts may even be incorporated into clothing.[53] Weapons might also be inscribed with religious texts thought to confer protective powers.[58] Scrolls with Qur'anic quotations, prophetic references and sacred symbols were common during war in the Ottoman Empire with Qur'anic verses such as 'victory is from God and conquest is near' (Qur. 6I:13) found on ta'wiz worn in combat.[56] Texts packaged in ta'wiz were most often pre-made when used by the public, but literate wearers could change the verse upon their discretion. While criticized by some denominations, sunni muslims are permitted to wear ta'wiz as long as it consciously strengthens their bond with Allah and does not come from a belief the ta'wiz itself cures or protects.
Abstract symbols are also common in Muslim amulets, such as the Seal of Solomon and the Zulfiqar (sword of the aforementioned Ali).[53] Another popular amulet often used to avert the evil gaze is the hamsa (meaning five) or "Hand of Fatima". The symbol is pre-Islamic, known from Punic times.[60]
In Central and West Asia, amulets (often in the form of triangular packages containing a sacred verse) were traditionally attached to the clothing of babies and young children to give them protection from forces such as the evil eye.[61][62][unreliable source?][63][unreliable source?] Triangular amulet motifs were often also woven into oriental carpets such as kilims. The carpet expert Jon Thompson explains that such an amulet woven into a rug is not a theme: it actually is an amulet, conferring protection by its presence. In his words, "the device in the rug has a materiality, it generates a field of force able to interact with other unseen forces and is not merely an intellectual abstraction."[64][unreliable source?]
In the Islamic world, material composition and graphic content are important in determining the apotropaic forces of the amulets. The preferred materials employed by amulets are precious and semi-precious materials, because the inherent protective values of these materials depend hugely upon their natural rarity, monetary value, and symbolic implications.[66] Among the semi-precious materials, carnelian ('aqiq) is often favoured because it was considered as the stone of Muhammad, who was said to have worn a carnelian seal set in silver on the little finger of his right hand.[67][68] Besides, materials such as jade and jasper are regarded as to possess protective and medicinal properties, including assuring victory in battles, protection from lightning and treating diseases of the internal organs.[69][70] Sometimes, amulets combine different materials to achieve multiple protective effects. A combination of jade and carnelian, for instance, connotes fertility and embryogenesis. The reddish, transcalent quality of the cornelian resembles blood, which echoes the clot of congealed blood from which Allah created human (Qur. 96:2). Additionally, recurring apotropaic Qur'anic verses are often inscribed on the amulet, praising Allah as the ultimate bestower of security and power and as the provider of the Qur'an and Muhammad.[71]
Diminutive amulets made in the medieval Mediterranean Islamic world include prayers executed with a block print or die (tarsh). Through folding, these miniature paper amulets are often even further reduced in size in order to fit into a tiny wearable box or tubular pendant cases.[71] In other cases, however, these protective objects remain fully loyal to the book format as miniature Qur'ans, protected by illuminated metal cases.[72]
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