Ancient amulets
20 articles
Lucky charms of the world
20 articles
Talismans and seals
20 articles
Evil eye and protection
20 articles
Protective gems and metals
20 articles
Ten stories of protection
- The Ankh, Egypt's Sign of Life: History of a SymbolAncient amulets
- The Neapolitan cornetto: from ancient horn to red coralLucky charms of the world
- The etymology of talisman: from Greek télesma to Arabic ṭilasmTalismans and seals
- Baskania: the evil eye in ancient GreeceEvil eye and protection
- Coral: from Medusa's blood to childhood amuletsProtective gems and metals
- The Tyet, Knot of Isis: The Red Amulet of Ancient EgyptAncient amulets
- The hamsa: the protective hand of Islam, Judaism and the MediterraneanLucky charms of the world
- The planetary squares from Mars to the Moon: numbers and symbolsTalismans and seals
- Fascination among theologians and philosophers, Middle Ages to RenaissanceEvil eye and protection
- Silver, metal of the moon and of purityProtective gems and metals
Amulets and talismans: a history of lucky charms
«Amulets and Talismans» is an educational website that tells the history of the objects to which, in every age and every culture, human beings have entrusted protection and luck. Its hundred articles, in Italian and English, promise no effects and suggest no practices: they reconstruct where these objects come from, what they meant to those who carried and gave them, in which settings they were used and which sources, texts or archaeological finds, tell us about them.
The journey begins with Egyptian amulets, the ankh, the scarab, the Eye of Horus, the djed pillar and the knot of Isis, and continues with the Mesopotamian plaques against Lamashtu, the Greek gorgoneion, the Roman bulla and fascinum, and the carnelian scarabs of the Etruscans. Alongside antiquity come the lucky charms of the world: the Neapolitan cornicello, the horseshoe, the four-leaf clover, the Japanese maneki-neko, the hamsa, the Ojibwe dreamcatcher and the ladybird.
One section is devoted to the difference between amulet and talisman and to the long, well-documented history of the talisman: the etymology of the word, the magic squares of the planets, the Seal of Solomon, the pentacles of the Clavicula, Abracadabra, the Sator square and the Picatrix, read as a document of medieval science. Another follows the belief in the evil eye from the baskania of the Greeks to the Turkish nazar, from Neapolitan jettatura to the studies of Ernesto De Martino, through the lens of anthropology and history.
The site closes with a section on the gems and metals believed to be protective, from coral to amber, from jade to iron, told through Pliny the Elder and the medieval lapidaries. The project is curated by the Studio Esoterico Cornelio, whose network of educational websites documents the history of symbols and traditions, presenting beliefs as beliefs and legends as legends.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an amulet and a talisman?
In traditional terminology an amulet is an object that protects, warding off evil, bad luck or the envious gaze; the Latin word amuletum already appears in Pliny the Elder. A talisman, a term that reached Europe from the Greek télesma through the Arabic ṭilasm, is instead an object prepared and consecrated according to precise rules, often astrological ones, to draw down an influence. In everyday usage, however, the two terms are often confused.
What does the Eye of Horus mean?
The Eye of Horus, in Egyptian udjat or wedjat, means «the sound eye». According to the myth, the god Horus lost an eye in his struggle against Seth and had it restored, healed, thanks to Thoth. It thus became a symbol of wholeness, healing and protection, and was one of the most widespread amulets of ancient Egypt: it is found in faience, stone and metal, often placed among the wrappings of mummies.
Where does the Neapolitan lucky horn come from?
The red cornicello brings together several ancient legacies: the horn, a symbol of strength and fertility in many Mediterranean cultures, the phallic amulets the Romans used against envy, and coral, a material to which the ancients already attributed protective virtues. In Neapolitan tradition it became the remedy par excellence against jettatura; according to popular belief it had to be received as a gift rather than bought for oneself.
What is the nazar, the blue Turkish eye?
The nazar boncuğu is a glass amulet made of concentric circles of dark blue, white and light blue that form an eye. It is extremely common in Turkey, Greece and the eastern Mediterranean, where it is hung in homes, in cars or beside newborn babies to repel the evil eye. The idea that an eye can send the envious gaze back is very old, while the present glass form became established in the Ottoman period.
What does the word Abracadabra mean?
The first certain record of Abracadabra is found in the Liber medicinalis attributed to Quintus Serenus Sammonicus, between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The author describes the word written out several times, removing one letter on each line to form a triangle, as an amulet against fevers. Its etymology remains uncertain: Aramaic and Hebrew origins have been proposed, as has a link with the Gnostic name Abraxas, but none has been proved.
What is the Sator square?
It is a square of five Latin words, SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS, that can be read in every direction. The oldest examples come from Pompeii, and so date from before the eruption of AD 79; later it appears on walls, churches and objects throughout Europe and was long used as a protective formula. Its original meaning is still debated, and the word AREPO still has no agreed explanation.