People have been using talismans and amulets since time immemorial, believing that they can help them solve their daily problems – for protection, for luck, success, to find love and more. It is important to clarify here the difference between amulet talismans – while amulets are used only for protection, talismans are used for all of the above.
Every culture in human history has its own talismans – Arabic talismans are called taweez, Scandinavian ones use futhark runes, the New Age movement brings to the fore and promotes the use of semi-precious stones, which have certain unproven properties. Over time, globalism and the free movement of goods and people around the world, it turns out that at one point, a person belonging to, say, a Western Christian culture, wears a Muslim taweez or Buddhist statuette.
And do amulets and talismans really work? We wish it were so, but no one can say for sure. Well, at least we didn’t go down without explaining ourselves first. Here we will tell about the most famous amulets and talismans used today:
– the hand of Fatima / the hand of the Virgin Mary or better known as Hamza. Used in cultures around the world, you can see it as a necklace, earrings, ring or keychain. No one knows exactly her origin, but it makes an impression that in whatever culture you meet her – the hand is associated with the feminine.
– Triskelion – triple spiral symbol used in many ancient cultures in Europe. The most famous theory is that this is the sign of the triple goddess Hecate. Another theory is that it is the symbol of the Holy Trinity in Christianity.
– cross and crescent – absolutely religious symbols of Christianity and Islam, although they were used long before the existence of these two religions.
– pentagram – in both its most familiar forms, a symbol used to this day – for protection or invocation. We must mention again that the symbols once used, such as amulets and talismans, have now become part of pop culture.
– Nazar – the blue eye of the gorgon jellyfish, an extremely common amulet in Turkey, you can see it everywhere. Mainly used to protect against the evil eye and curses.
– Ankh – Egyptian cross – according to mythology is used to prolong life on earth, and a guarantee of afterlife. In recent times it is used by various hippie subcultural movements.
– the eye of Horus – Attache – symbolizes health, healing and resurrection. It can be found in modern times not only in the form of jewelry but also a tattoo.
– Faravahar – the sign of the Zoroastrian religion, although it has Mesopotamian origins in the person of the god Ashur. It is accepted that this is the symbol of the personal spirit – the soul.
– scarab – Hepri – one of the symbols of Egypt. It is believed to increase intuition, sexual power and reassure its owner.
– Bismillah – the first words of the Holy Qur’an. Although some people say that wearing Islamic talismans – taweez is not right, Bismillah is often used to protect against spiritual attacks.
– red thread on the hand – an elementary amulet for mental and physical protection and health. It should be tied by the mother of a child with 40 knots on the left hand. In Bulgaria and its historical land in the Balkans, it is a tradition, left over from ancient times, to tie such threads in early spring. Similar threads are tied in other cultures – Israel, Iran, etc.
