Warding Evil and Welcoming Luck: Protective Amulets of the Ancient World

Ancient Origins

In the past, human life was vulnerable to disaster; Disease, wars, famine, natural disasters and many other factors could easily claim the lives of individuals. For this reason, people sought all kinds of protection they could get their hands on. This also implied protection of the supernatural sort. Amulets were the most widespread protection of this kind.

 People would go to witches, wizards or specialized merchants who knew how to make such objects, and sold them—sometimes at quite a high price. However, people used to pay because protection of their lives was more valuable to them than money. Made out of wood, metal, clay, stone or other materials, many amulets have survived up to the present day. They display a wide range of symbolism which fascinates even the modern man.

Turtle shaped amulet, Sioux People of North America. (1880-1920) “Decorated with beading, this turtle-shaped amulet made from animal hide is thought to contain an umbilical cord. The amulet was worn by girls until they reached puberty, to ward off illness. In many Native American belief systems, turtles were thought to look after women's diseases.” (Wellcome Trust/ CC BY-SA 4.0 )

Making Magic and Producing Protection
 It was believed magic was a source of protection to those who needed it. Thus, a multitude of amulets and talismans appeared, each with different uses. The creation of an amulet was a ritual in itself and an amulet could only be made by an initiate. Each amulet was based on a symbol and among the most well-known amulets are: the Ankh, the Yin-Yang, the pentagram, the Chinese symbol of luck, the nazar, the mystic knot, the all-seeing eye and the Egyptian scarab.

The Ankh (held in the right hand), during the reign of Hatshepsut (1508–1458 BC) ( Public Domain )

 The symbol of Egyptian sovereigns par excellence, the Ankh is the symbol of eternal life. It was placed in the sarcophagus of all Egyptian pharaohs in order to provide protection and to offer them the chance to live forever in the afterlife. Also, the Ankh was proof of the power and rank of the Pharaoh. Another symbol of Egyptian sovereigns, the scarab symbolized long life. Also, it was believed to possess the power of transformation, and when used as a hieroglyph it meant “to come into being by taking on a given form,” “to be”, and “to become.”

Universal Harmony
The symbol of universal harmony and of the perpetual laws of the universe, the Yin-Yang represents unity in diversity. It was thought that where there is light, there will always be darkness, and where there is darkness, light will also follow. Yin represents the dark, feminine element, while the Yang is the bright, the masculine. From the opposition of the two forces, results universal harmony.

The Yin Yang symbol. (Flickr/ CC BY 2.0 )

The pentagram has been a very powerful mystic symbol since the dawn of time. It was believed to defend its bearer from all evil and attract good fortune. All these qualities were due to the fact that an element was associated with each corner of the pentagram. Thus, the elements united together attracted beneficial influences.

The five-pointed pentagram symbol. (Flickr/ CC BY 2.0 )

Good Fortune
The Chinese character for good luck appears as an amulet in many forms. It even now appears on medallions, on buildings, in traditional Chinese calligraphy paintings and in many other examples. It was felt that by wearing this letter, luck was attracted.

A papercut showing the luck character Fú written in 100 different ways. ( CC BY-SA 3.0 )

Warding Evil
The Nazar or “the blue eye” was thought to have the power to protect against the evil eye and to reject negative energies. This symbol may even now be worn as an amulet, but it can also be seen on airplanes, buildings, cars or in other places.

Left, the blue Nazar ( CC BY 2.0 ), and right, the Ruby Eye Pendant from an ancient Mesopotamia ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ). Many amulets were used to protect against the evil eye.

Originally from Tibet, the mystic knot represented the Samsara, the eternal cycle of reincarnation. Also, it represented unlimited wisdom and the strong connection between knowledge and applied method. A powerful symbol, it was believed to attract the benevolent energies of the ancestors to their descendants.

The all-seeing eye was thought to have the power to provide knowledge. It was said to see and reflect the past, the present, and the future. Because knowledge is power, legend the one who had it could become the most powerful man on earth.

Maneki Neko is a popular cat symbol with its raised paw meant to invite good luck. The higher the paw is in the air, the greater the invited luck. Also, it sometimes holds a Koban, a Japanese coin meant to ensure financial luck. Widely used in Feng Shui, Chinese coins with lucky symbols are believed to attract financial luck. In most cases, they have represented on them a dragon alone, or a dragon and a tiger together, in order to attract the positive energies of these two mythological beings.

Left, a Maneki Neko or Lucky Cat ( CC BY 2.0 ), and right, a Koban coin ( CC BY-SA 3.0 )

Throughout human history a multitude of magical rituals were conducted for different purposes and intentions. Magic rituals led to the appearance of magical objects such as amulets which are still believed to have different warding or welcoming properties, and are thought to be able to help the wearer in various regards. All these have improved man’s life or, at least, they have given him the feeling that he is under the influence of divine protection.

Featured image: Amulet of a Ba. Egypt, Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 B.C. Jewelry and Adornments; amulets. Gold with inlays of lapis lazuli, turquoise, and steatite. (Public Domain)

 By: Valda Roric

Old Norse Mystery: What Do the Couples Depicted on Thousands of Miniature Gold Amulets Symbolize?

Ancient Origins

By ThorNews In 2016, a miniature amulet made of gold was discovered on the Åker farm near Hamar in Eastern Norway – one of many thousands only found in Scandinavia. About three thousand Old Norse gold miniature amulets dating back to the Merovingian and Viking periods (c. 500 – 1066 AD) have been found in Scandinavia. They show a man and a woman embracing, holding or looking at each other. The researchers do not know who the images portray or for what purpose they were made. However, a number of different theories have been put forward.

The gold amulets are extremely tiny, like the size of the little finger nail. (Photo: Vegard Vike and Jessica McGraw / Museum of Cultural History, Oslo)

Microscopic Detail
The stamped and cut-out amulets measure only 8 to 10 millimeters in cross-section and are approximately 0.03 millimeters thick, or thin as leaves.

In Scandinavia the miniature amulets have got the name gullgubber, meaning “little old men of gold”, because it was previously thought they were depicting two men. This has proven to be wrong and they almost exclusively picture a man and a woman.

The woman wears a dress and an apron, but there are several combinations. The man wears a robe and sometimes pants. Both sexes can wear outerwear in the form of a short or long coat.

Both sexes can be pictured with items such as buckles, neck rings, drinking mugs or scepters. The scepter can be in the form of a twig with leaves.

It may seem as the gold amulets are trying to tell us a story, and the stamps used must have been made by extremely skilled goldsmiths.

The details are impressive and can best be seen when enlarged under a microscope.

Details seen on one amulet when viewed under a microscope (Photo: Museum of Cultural History, Oslo)

Found in or Near Special Buildings
The biggest discovery was made at the Sorte Muld in Bornholm, Denmark, where more than 2500 gullgubber were found.

The amulets are frequently found in connection with buildings that are often interpreted as houses of worship. It looks as if the miniature images are placed there on purpose, especially around the post holes in the center of the building.

During excavations in 2005 and 2008, in what scientists believe could have been a Norse temple at Vingrom in Eastern Norway, about thirty miniature gold amulets were discovered around one of the post holes.

The building was at least 15 meters long and located at the Hov (Old Norse: Hof) farm not far from the Vingrom church. The farm name suggests that there probably has been a house of worship located on the property.

Surprisingly, there were also found many pieces of iron that together with flint were used as fire starting tools.

The building archaeologists assume has been a house of worship was located not far from the Vingrom church. (Photo: kirkesok.no, author provided)

Archaeologists have concluded that it is a house of worship due to the lack of everyday items like sharpening stones, clay cooking pots, and so on.

Furthermore, the building was strategically located visible over long distances at the end of Norway’s largest lake, Mjøsa.

Freyr and Gerðr
There are proposed as many theories about who are depicted on the miniature amulets and what they symbolize as there are researchers. The only certain thing is that these images did not have a practical function, but a spiritual.

One interpretation is that they are Norse mythological depictions of the “holy wedding” between the Vanir god Freyr and the jötunn woman Gerðr.

Freyr is the god associated with virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather. He falls in love with the female jötunn Gerðr who, after some coercion, eventually becomes his wife. However, Freyr has to give away his magic sword that can fight on its own to get the woman he loves.

However, lacking his sword, Freyr is killed by the jötunn Surtr during the dramatic events of Ragnarök.

Skirnir's Message [from Freyr] to Gerd (1908) by W. G. Collingwood. (Public Domain)

Do the miniature images symbolize the marriage between Freyr and Gerðr and their unconditional love? Were the miniature gold amulets offered during wedding ceremonies to show that the married couple was willing to sacrifice everything, even their own lives for each other?

One of many other theories some researchers believe is that the amulets may have been a kind of entrance ticket for those who were found worthy to attend religious ceremonies.

Or do the miniature images represent something we simply do not understand?

We will probably never get the answer to this Old Norse mystery and we have to acknowledge that some puzzles will remain unresolved.

Top image: Gold miniature amulet (front and back) from the Åker farm in Hamar, Eastern Norway: Both male and female are depicted without hair, something that is unusual. (Photo: Vegard Vike and Jessica McGraw / Museum of Cultural History, Oslo)

 The article ‘Old Norse Mystery: What Do the Couples Depicted on Thousands of Miniature Gold Amulets Symbolize?’ was originally published on ThorNews and has been republished with permission.

Pharaoh-Branded Amulet Found at Ancient Copper Mine in Jordan

By Megan Gannon

A detail of the scarab found at Khirbat Hamra Ifdan Credit: University of California, San Diego

While exploring ancient copper factories in southern Jordan, a team of archaeologists picked up an Egyptian amulet that bears the name of the powerful pharaoh Sheshonq I.
The tiny artifact could attest to the fabled military campaign that Sheshonq I waged in the region nearly 3,000 years ago, researchers say.
The scarab (called that because it's shaped like a scarab beetle) was found at the copper-producing site of Khirbat Hamra Ifdan in the Faynan district, some 31 miles (50 kilometers) south of the Dead Sea. The site, which was discovered during excavations in 2002, was home to intense metal production during the Early Bronze Age, between about 3000 B.C. and 2000 B.C. But there is also evidence of more recent smelting activities at Khirbat Hamra Ifdan during the Iron Age, from about 1000 B.C. to 900 B.C. [The Holy Land: 7 Amazing Archaeological Finds]
The hieroglyphic sequence on the scarab reads: "bright is the manifestation of Re, chosen of Amun/Re." That moniker corresponds to the throne name of Sheshonq I, the founding monarch of Egypt's 22nd Dynasty, who is believed to have ruled from about 945 B.C. to 924 B.C., according to a description of the artifact published online last week in the journal Antiquity.
The lead author of the paper, Thomas E. Levy, an anthropology professor at the University of California, San Diego, said the function of scarabs changed throughout Egypt's history.
"Most of the time, they were amulets, sometimes jewelry, and periodically, they were inscribed for use as personal or administrative seals," Levy said in a statement. "We think this is the case with the Sheshonq I scarab we found."
The scarab wasn't found during excavations; rather a grad student picked it up from the surface of the ground while Levy was giving a tour of the smelting slags at Khirbat Hamra Ifdan. Though the artifact was not discovered in its original archaeological context, it could provide evidence for the extent of Sheshonq I's legendary military campaign in this mineral-rich region, Levy and colleagues said.
The discovery of the scarab dredges up an old controversy over the date of the southern Levant's ancient copper mines — and their ties to biblical events.
In the 1930s, American rabbi and archaeologist Nelson Glueck claimed he found King Solomon's fabled mines when he discovered copper production sites in the region. But in the years that followed, archaeologists became more wary of how much they could use biblical accounts to guide their interpretations. In the 1970s and 1980s, archaeologists who excavated in southern Jordan argued that the Iron Age did not begin there until the seventh century B.C. — much later than the 10th century B.C. reign of King Solomon.
However, in a 2008 study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Levy and colleagues used radiocarbon dating to show that artifacts at Khirbat en-Nahas — another ancient copper mining and smelting site in the Faynan that's so huge it can be seen from space — were actually as old as the 10th century B.C.
"In my opinion, the debate over dating copper production in the Faynan region is over," Levy told Live Science in an email. "We produced over 130 high-precision radiocarbon dates for the main production sites and a range of other data. As for Solomon, without inscriptions, we still don't know who controlled the copper production at this time for sure."
But now, they apparenly have inscriptions linking the region to Sheshonq I. In the 2008 study, Levy and colleagues had identified a major disruption in industrial copper production in Faynan during the 10th century B.C., which they attributed to Sheshonq I's military campaign.
The Hebrew Bible references the exploits of the Egyptian king "Shishak" — thought to be Sheshonq I. The Egyptian king was said to have invaded the region five years after King Solomon's death in 931 B.C., conquering cities in Jezreel Valley and the Negev area and even marching on Jerusalem. Inscriptions at the Karnak temple complex in the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes also brag about Sheshonq I's military campaign in the region.
Levy and colleagues previously found scarabs in Khirbat en-Nahas that resembled popular amulets from Sheshonq I's reign. But the new scarab contains the first written evidence the researchers have to link the disruption to the pharaoh's forces, Levy said.

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