Amulet

Amulet, amber, with ear of wheat, Roman period (69-96 AD)

A selection of omamori, Japanese amulets

Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or "Brown Scapular"

Sator Square, an ancient Roman amulet in the form of a palindromic word square

Amulet from Rajasthan, depicting the goddess Durga

Ancient Roman amulet from Pompeii in the form of a phallus

An amulet from the Black Pullet grimoire

Nez Perce talisman, made of wolf skin, wool, mirrors, feathers, buttons and a brass bell

Ancient Egyptian Taweret amulet, New Kingdom, Dynasty XVIII, c. 1539–1292 BC

Object believed to confer protection upon its possessor.

- Amulet

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Pendant

Loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, which may be known as a "pendant necklace".

Pushpaka Thali - Wedding pendant used by Pushpaka Brahmins of Kerala, India

Wedding pendant with 21 beads used by Saint Thomas Christians of India

Spanish pendant at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Carved agarwood imperial pendant, Qing dynasty, China. Adilnor Collection, Sweden.

Traveller's sundial pendant (a portable form of astronomical rings) used to tell time from the sun.

Protection (i.e., amulets, religious symbols)

List of lucky symbols

A good luck charm is an amulet or other item that is believed to bring good luck.

Apotropaic magic

Type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye.

An ancient Egyptian apotropaic wand shows a procession of protective deities. It was used in birth rituals, perhaps to draw a magic circle around the mother and child.

The Gorgon, flanked by lionesses and showing her belt clasp of serpents; the pediment of the 580 BCE temple of Artemis in Corfu. Archaeological Museum of Corfu.

Chalcidian black-figured eye-cup, circa 530 BCE. Staatliche Antikensammlungen

A 12th-century sheela na gig on the church at Kilpeck, Herefordshire

Apotropaic marking, Niemelä Tenant Farm, now at Seurasaari Open Air Museum, Finland

Amulets for specific purposes on sale at a Shinto shrine in Japan

Apotropaic observances may also be practiced out of vague superstition or out of tradition, as in good luck charms (perhaps some token on a charm bracelet), amulets, or gestures such as crossed fingers or knocking on wood.

Ankh

Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol used in Egyptian art and writing to represent the word for "life" and, by extension, as a symbol of life itself.

First Dynasty stone dish in the shape of an ankh embraced by a pair of arms representing the ka

A crux ansata in Codex Glazier, a Coptic manuscript of the New Testament, 4th to 5th century AD

Crux ansata signs on a piece of cloth, 4th to 5th century AD

The god Horus offers life to the king, Ramesses II.

Ankh-shaped mirror case from the tomb of Tutankhamun

The god Banebdjedet with a scepter combining the was and djed with the ankh

Frieze of ankh, djed, and was signs atop the hieroglyph for "all"

For these reasons, the Egyptologists Heinrich Schäfer and Henry Fischer thought the two signs had a common origin, and they regarded the ankh as a knot that was used as an amulet rather than for any practical purpose.

Talisman

Any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made.

Christian talisman (Breverl), 18th century

Islamic talisman engraved with a quote from the Quran, 7th or 8th century AD

Polygonal talisman inscribed with micro-calligraphy, 17th century India

Talismanic shirt, 15th–early 16th century Northern India

The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan leading the Mughal Army. In the upper left, war elephants bear emblems of the legendary Zulfiqar.

A flag from Cirebon with the Zulfiqar and Ali represented as a lion (dated to the late 18th or the 19th century).

An early 19th century flag of Ottoman Zulfiqar.

Talismans are closely linked with amulets, fulfilling many of the same roles, but a key difference is in their form and materiality, with talismans often taking the form of objects (eg., clothing, weaponry, or parchment) which are inscribed with magic texts.

Taweret

Protective ancient Egyptian goddess of childbirth and fertility.

This red jasper Ptolemaic amulet bears Taweret's likeness and represents a longstanding tradition of female hippopotamus amulets in ancient Egypt. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

Faience hippopotamus statuettes like this one were placed in tombs and temples to help the deceased be successfully reborn into the afterlife. Brooklyn, Brooklyn Museum.

Faience amulet depicting Taweret, Late Period (c. 600-400 BCE), held in the Louvre Museum, Paris.

Images of protective deities like Taweret and Bes were placed on the outer walls of Ptolemaic temples in order to keep evil forces at bay. Edfu, Egypt.

This clay statuette of Taweret was found in a foundation deposit under the enclosure wall of the pyramid of the Nubian King Anlamani (c. 623–595 BCE). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

This image (c. 1463 BCE) shows the astronomical ceiling of Senemut's tomb. A celestial form of Taweret can be seen towards the bottom in the center.

This faience vessel from the early Ptolemaic period (4th century BCE) is molded in the form of Taweret and was perhaps used to ritually cleanse liquid. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

This apotropaic wand (c. 1880 to 1700 BCE) shows a procession of protective deities, including a hippopotamus goddess. Such a wand would have been used in rituals associated with birth and were perhaps used to draw a magical circle around the mother and child. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

Protective amulets bearing the likenesses of female hippopotamuses have been found dating as far back as the Predynastic period (c.

Solomon

Solomon (, Šəlōmō), also called Jedidiah (, Yǝḏīḏǝyāh), was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament, a fabulously wealthy and wise monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel who succeeded his father, David.

The Anointing of Solomon by Cornelis de Vos (c.1630). According to 1Kings 1:39, Solomon was anointed by Zadok.

Luca Giordano: The Dream of Solomon: God promises Solomon wisdom

Solomon receiving envoys of the tributary nations

Solomon and the plan for the First Temple. Illustration from a Bible card published by the Providence Lithograph Co.

A sketch of Solomon's Temple, based on descriptions in the Scriptures.

King Solomon with his wives. Illustrated in 1668 by Giovanni Battista Venanzi.

The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon. Oil on canvas painting by Edward Poynter, 1890.

Renaissance relief of the Queen of Sheba meeting Solomon—Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise at the Florence Baptistry

"Vanity of vanities; all is vanity". Isaak Asknaziy illustrates an old and meditative King Solomon.

Solomon was said to have sinned by acquiring many foreign wives. Solomon's descent into idolatry, Willem de Poorter, Rijksmuseum.

The United Monarchy breaks up—Jeroboam rules Israel (blue) and Rehoboam rules Judah

Judgment of Solomon. Engraving by Gustave Doré, 19th century.

Solomon's Wealth and Wisdom, as in 1Kings 3:12–13. Illustration from a Bible card published 1896 by the Providence Lithograph Company.

Russian icon of King Solomon. He is depicted holding a model of the Temple (18th century, iconostasis of Kizhi monastery, Russia).

Mausoleum of Solomon, Aqsa Mosque compound, Jerusalem

Solomon at his throne, painting by Andreas Brugger, 1777

In later years, in mostly non-biblical circles, Solomon also came to be known as a magician and an exorcist, with numerous amulets and medallion seals dating from the Hellenistic period invoking his name.

Folk religion

In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized religion.

Botánicas such as this one in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, USA, sell religious goods such as statues of saints and candles decorated with prayers alongside folk medicine and amulets.

the use of shrines and amulets

Mezuzah

Piece of parchment, known as a klaf, contained in a decorative case and inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah ( and ).

Ashkenazi mezuzah, as accepted in Rabbinical Judaism; the case is tilted and features the Hebrew letter (Shin), as is commonplace in such.

A Sephardic Macedonian mezuzah, as accepted in Rabbinical Judaism; the mezuzah case is vertical and features the Hebrew letter (Shin)

President of Israel Reuven Rivlin putting up a mezuzah at Beit HaNassi, 2017

Samaritan Mezuzah in Israel, written exposed, in Samaritan Hebrew. This one reads, "Blessed is the One who said: I will look with favor upon you, and make you fertile and multiply you; and I will maintain My covenant with you. The LORD will open for you His bounteous store, the heavens, to provide rain for your land in season and to bless all your undertakings. "

The culture-comparative analysis suggests that the objects placed on domestic thresholds often bear the function of an amulet repelling the broadly understood evil.

Tefillin

Tefillin (Israeli Hebrew: תְּפִלִּין / תְּפִילִּין; Askhenazic pronunciation: ) or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah.

"Totafot" between your eyes: Ashkenazi Head Tefillin, Jerusalem, Israel

Leather moulded into shape for the head-tefillin

A Jewish woman praying with a tallit and tefillin

Praying with Tefellin at top of Pequeño Alpamayo (elevation 5330 m)

Arm-tefillin with ש (shin) pattern, according to one of the Ashkenazi opinions

Israel Defense Forces soldier Asael Lubotzky prays with tefillin.

Tefillin wrapping custom of the Rodrigues-Pereira family

For instance, Yehudah B. Cohn argues that the tefillin should be perceived as an invented tradition aimed at counteracting the popularity of the Greek amulets with an "original" Jewish one.