Satanism Today - An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore and Popular ...

Amulet 5
owner. They attract some benefit to the possessor,
whereas the amulet acts as a shield to repel harm.
Many ancient magical symbols are regarded as
being both amulets and talismans, able to attract
good fortune as well as repelling bad luck.
Examples of these are the swastika, the ankh, the
five-pointed star or pentagram, and the sixpointed
star or Solomon’s seal. The actual origin
of these symbols is hidden in prehistory, and they
have been carried all over the world. The word
amulet is derived from the Latin amuletum.
Amuletum was the name for the cyclamen, which
people planted near their homes in the belief that
its magical influence prevented any poisonous
drug from having power to harm.
The idea of the amulet is ancient. The earliest
amulets were likely to have been natural objects
with unusual shapes or colors. Later, amulets were
crafted into symbolic shapes. A figurine of one’s
god(dess) has been and continues to be a popular
amulet theme. Catholics utilize figurines and
pictures of certain saints in a similar manner.
The ancient Egyptians used eye amulets to
protect good health. They also used the Udjat eye
on pottery, rings, and other amulets to ward off
the forces of darkness. The Udjat eye was the characteristic
stylization of the eye of the youthful
Egyptian sun god Horus. The Udjat eye was placed
on rings in ancient Egypt. The scarab beetle
symbolized resurrection after death and protection
against evil magic. Mummies wore a “heart
scarab” as an amulet on their breasts. Seals and
jeweled charms in the form of scarabs protected
wearers against evil.
The Hebrews, as early as 2200 B.C., wore crescent
moons to ward off the evil eye and attached
bells to their clothing to ward off evil spirits. In
ancient Rome (753 B.C.–A.D. 476) bronze figures of
hands stood in houses to ward off evil. This
amulet derives from the instinctive gesture to put
the hand in front of the face to ward off the evil
eye. The position of the fingers on these pre-
Christian amulets was the same as that used today
for blessing, namely with the thumb and first two
fingers upright and the other two fingers closed.
Arabian amulets included dust gathered from
tombs and carried in little sacks as protection
against evil. Also worn were pieces of paper on
Amulet from the book of the Angel Raziel (Fortean
Picture Library)
which were written prayers, spells, magical names,
or the attributes of God, such as “the compassionate”
and “the forgiver.” A popular amulet of
Islamic peoples beginning in the sixth century was
the Hand of Fatima. The Hand of Fatima is
frequently made of silver and jeweled with semiprecious
stones. It is named after the daughter of
the prophet Muhammad. Hands were also used as
amulets on gates of Islamic buildings. Holy books
of every culture (Koran, Torah, Bible) are considered
to have protective powers. Pieces of parchment
with scripture quotes, carried in boxes or
pouches, are amulets in various religions.
Amulets with inscriptions are sometimes
called charms, a term that also applies to spoken
incantations. “YHWH,” the Hebrew name for
God, appeared on many amulets and talismans in
different spellings to help magicians conjure
demons and protect them from attack by the
spirits. The “Sator square” consists of some
magical words arranged in the pattern of a square.
It was inscribed on walls and vessels as early as
ancient Rome (753 B.C.–A.D. 476) and was considered
to be an amulet against sorcery, poisonous
air, colic and pestilence, and for protecting cow’s
milk from witchcraft. Similarly, circles inscribed
with the names of God were used in England as
recently as 1860 to repel demons. Eyes and phallic