Amulet, talisman and charm
Three overlapping names for objects believed to protect or help: an amulet guards, a talisman is made to give power, a charm is often spoken or worn.
Also: amulet, talisman, charm, lucky charm, phylactery
Writers often draw a line between the three. An amulet is a ready-made object, such as a stone, a hand or an eye, believed to ward off harm. A talisman is made or consecrated for a purpose, often under chosen conditions, and is said to bring a specific power or luck. A charm can be a small trinket or a spoken formula, the word coming from Latin carmen, a song. In practice the terms overlap heavily and different traditions use their own names, such as taweez in Islamic folk practice or the Jewish kamea. Archaeologists find such objects in graves and homes from the earliest periods, and scholars read them as records of what people feared and valued.