Amulet
An object worn or kept to protect its holder, usually passive and made long before it is used.
Also: amuletum, protective charm, phylactery, apotropaic object
An amulet is a thing believed to protect its owner from harm: illness, the evil eye, theft or a bad journey. The word comes from the Latin amuletum, used by Pliny the Elder in the first century CE. Amulets have been made of stone, metal, shell, seeds, bone, paper and cloth, and some hold a written prayer or verse. Egyptian scarabs and Eyes of Horus, the Jewish kamea, the Muslim tawiz and the Japanese omamori are all kinds. Scholars often say an amulet differs from a talisman in that it is worn for general safety, but the line is blurred in practice. Archaeologists find amulets in graves and houses of nearly every period, many hung on children.