Apotropaic magic
Practices and objects meant to turn away harm, such as the evil eye, bad luck or hostile spirits.
Also: apotropaic, protective magic, warding
From the Greek apotrepein, to turn away. Apotropaic magic covers the horseshoe over a door, the blue eye bead, the red thread, the hand-shaped charm, the carved face on a building and the threshold rite performed when a family moves house. The idea is defensive rather than aggressive: harm is believed to be always near, and the object or act is said to repel it. Archaeologists find apotropaic marks in houses, ships and graves from many periods, which helps them trace what past households feared. Because such practices are widely shared, they are among the clearest cases of the same belief appearing under many names.