An amulet is a spiritual object believed to confer protection or grace upon its possessor. The word amulet comes from the Latin word , 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. The word phylactery is sometimes used as a general synonym likewise referring to any unspecified amulet, but also has a specific definition within Judaism. Certain amulets may also qualify more specifically as a devotional article, good luck charm, or even both in rare circumstances, but those categories represent only subsets of amulets (the proper, inclusive term).
Amulets are sometimes subdivided into two classes: those purported to carry extraordinary properties or impart fortune (these are typically part of folk religion including shades of paganism) and those that are not believed to have any inherent properties of their own without a qualifying faith or lifestyle (these are most common within Catholicism and usually involve a formal blessing by a clergyman). Lines in this area blur almost from the immediate outset: many from the latter group are not officially described as providing any preternatural benefit to a bearer who does not have an appropriate disposition or sacred objects of formalised mainstream religion as in Christianity, but the very text inscribed on others (such as the Brown Scapular) appear in conflict with this sanctioned definition (as do early practices involving the Green Scapular, which was believed to gain favor for someone of any faith if it was planted in their home by a member of the Catholic faithful, even secretly).
Talismans 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). Both amulets and talismans can be applied to paper examples as well. 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".Teeter, E., (2011), Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt, Cambridge University Press, p118 The oldest amulets found are from the predynastic Badarian Period, and they persisted all the way through to Roman times.Andrews, C., (1994), Amulets of Ancient Egypt, University of Texas Press, p1.
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.Ritner, R. K., Magic in Medicine in Redford, D. B., Oxford Encyclopedia Of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press, (2001), p 328
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".Teeter, E., (2011), Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt, Cambridge University Press, p171 Each treatment was a complementary combination of practical medicine and magical spells. Magical spells against snakebite are the oldest magical remedies known from Egypt.Ritner, R.K., Magic: An Overview in Redford, D.B., Oxford Encyclopedia Of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press, 2001, p 326
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 Greece and 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.
West Asia 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 regions (Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Iran). Usually, they were rolled up and placed in a metal container with loopsKarlheinz Kessler. 2008. Das wahre Ende Babylons – Die Tradition der Aramäer, Mandäer, Juden und Manichäer. In Joachim Marzahn and Günther Schauerte (eds.). Babylon. Wahrheit: Eine Ausstellung des Vorderasiatischen Museums Staatliche Museen zu Berlin mit Unterstützung der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. München: Hirmer. Pp. 467–486, fig. 338. 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).Christa Müller-Kessler, Trence C. Mitchell, Marilyn I. Hockey. 2007. An Inscribed Silver Amulet from Samaria. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 139 pp. 5–19. Most of them are composed in various kinds of Aramaic (Jewish Aramaic, Samaritan Aramaic, Christian Palestinian Aramaic, Mandaic, Syriac) and Hebrew,Joseph Naveh, Shaul Shaked. 1985. Amulets and Magic Bowls. Aramaic Incantattion of Late Antiquity. Jerusalem: Magness Press. Joseph Naveh, Shaul Shaked. 1993. Magic Spells and Formulae. Aramaic Incantattion of Late Antiquity. Jerusalem: Magness Press. Pp. 43–109, pls. 1–18. but there also sometimes exist combinations with Greek.Roy Kotansky, Joseph Naveh, and Shaul Shaked. 1992. A Greek-Aramaic silver amulet from Egypt in the Ashmolean Museum. Le Muséon 105, pp. 5–25.Roy Kotansky. 1994. Greek Magical Amulets. The Inscribed Gold, Silver, Copper, and Bronze Lamellae. Part I. Published Texts of Known Provenance. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag.
East Asia
In China, Taoist specialists developed a special style of calligraphy called , which they say is able to protect against evil spirits. The equivalent type of amulet in Japan is called an . are amulets. In Korea, where they are called () even usually in the tradition of Korean Taoist rituals, they 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 bedridden 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 (), the Chai necklace (though this is also worn simply to indicate Jewish identity), and inscriptions of one of the names of the god of Judaism - such as ה (He), יה (YaH), or שדי (Shaddai) - on a piece of parchment or metal, usually silver.Encyclopedia Judaica: Amulet. Counter-examples, however, include the Hamsa (an outline of a human hand) and the Seal of Solomon.
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."Guide to the Perplexed, 1:61; Mishneh Torah, Tefillin 5:4. Other rabbis, however, approved the use of amulets.For example, Shlomo ben Aderet ("Rashba," 1235–1310, Spain) and Nahmanides ("Ramban," 1194-1270, Spain). Ency. Jud., op. cit.
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 mezuzah and tefillin, with a correction made for errata on page 455 have been interpreted by some to be forms of amulet, but others disagree.
Rabbi and kabbalist Naphtali Cohen (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.Ency. Jud.: Katz, Naphtali ben Isaac. See also Naphtali Cohen#Biography.
Christianity