Charms, amulets and talismans
Made and worn things: the nazar, the hamsa, the omamori, the mojo bag and the witch bottle.
Charms, amulets and talismans are things made or chosen to carry a purpose. The blue glass nazar in Turkey, the hamsa hand across North Africa and the Middle East, the Japanese omamori, the Haitian pwen, the Italian cornicello and the Hoodoo mojo bag all belong here. They are small, portable and personal, and found on every continent. This page looks at what they are said to do and how they are made, sold and understood.
Amulet or talisman
The two words are often used loosely. An amulet is usually said to protect by what it is, such as a blue bead against the evil eye. A talisman is made or empowered for a purpose, often with writing, a name or a date. Islamic, Jewish, Taoist and Hindu traditions all have written talismans: the Taoist fu, the Jewish kame'a, the Hindu yantra and the Muslim hirz. The common thread is that something small and personal is believed to hold a purpose on behalf of its owner.
Making and keeping
Many charms are made by specialists, then blessed or sold at a temple, shrine or market. Others are made at home, such as a red thread, a knotted cord, or a horseshoe nailed over a door. Practitioners usually say a charm should be kept clean, respected and not shown off. In Japan an omamori is returned to its shrine after a year. Charm makers are often women, jewellers, scribes or temple staff, and the person who makes a charm may not be the person who blesses it.
Faith and suspicion
Religious authorities disagree on charms. Some Islamic scholars allow Quranic verses carried as a reminder and reject objects held to work by themselves. Many Christian churches have blessed medals and scapulars while condemning amulets of folk origin. Sikh teaching rejects charms altogether. Anthropologists read them as ways to hold fear and uncertainty in a form a person can carry. Interpretation is divided within religions too, so one family may treat a bead as decoration while a neighbour treats it as a serious shield.
Market and appropriation
Charms are big business. Evil-eye beads sell as fashion on every high street, and the hamsa appears as a decoration far from its homes. Fakes are common, and some sellers promise outcomes in ways that amount to fraud, particularly in expensive gemstone or lottery charm schemes. Sacred designs used as a logo can offend the community they come from. Designers have taken eyes, hands and runes as motifs, and while many communities are glad to see them shared, others ask that sacred symbols not be turned into trivia or used by brands.
Charm on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
🇯🇵 Japan and 3 moreManeki-neko招き猫
A Japanese figurine of a beckoning cat believed to bring luck and prosperityCharm · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreJoss paper金紙
Paper burned as money and goods for ancestors, gods and the deadCharm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreSky lantern天燈
A paper hot air balloon lifted by flame to carry wishes and blessingsRite · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇯🇵 JapanDaruma doll達磨
A round Japanese talisman that rights itself when knocked overCharm · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreChinese guardian lions石獅 (shíshī)
Stone lion pairs placed at entrances to ward off harm and welcome fortuneCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanOmamori御守/お守り
Japanese amulets from shrines and temples for luck and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreFulu符籙
Taoist talismans with cryptic symbols used for healing and protectionCharm · Healing · Protection Living
🇯🇵 JapanOfudaお札/御札 (ofuda)
Paper and wooden talismans from Japanese Shinto shrines and Buddhist templesCharm · Protection · Cleansing and purification Living
🇯🇵 JapanOmamori (sample)お守り
A small shrine charm in a brocade pouch.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanTeru teru bōzuてるてる坊主
A white paper doll hung outside to ask for sunny weatherCharm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanSaruboboさるぼぼ
A faceless red doll from Japan, given as a charm for family and fortuneCharm · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreGood Luck Flag寄せ書き日の丸 (yosegaki hinomaru)
A Japanese national flag signed by loved ones to wish a soldier safety and victory.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanKin no unko金のうんこ
A Japanese charm shaped like faeces that is believed to bring good fortuneCharm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanHamaya破魔矢
A blunt arrow given at shrines to ward off evil and secure good luck for the new yearCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanFukusuke福助
A kneeling Japanese doll believed to bring wealth and honorCharm · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreCoin-sword辟邪劍 (bì xié jiàn)
A Chinese numismatic talisman made of cash coins strung on a rod to ward off evil spiritsCharm · Protection Living
🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreJapanese numismatic charm絵銭
Coin-shaped charms from Japan used for protection, luck, and blessings.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreZhengde Tongbao正德通寶
A fantasy cash coin used as a Chinese and Vietnamese amulet for luck and protection.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreCash方孔錢
A round copper coin with a square hole used in China and East Asia for two millennia.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇨🇳 ChinaDragon turtle龍龜 (Lóngguī)
A Chinese mythic creature with a dragon body and turtle shell, used as a Feng Shui charm.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
🇯🇵 JapanAkabeko赤べこ
A bobbing papier-mâché toy from Japan believed to ward off illnessCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇳 ChinaEight Treasures八寶 (Bābǎo)
A set of eight symbols in Chinese art and amulets representing good fortune.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇹🇼 Taiwan and 1 moreAuspicious train ticket吉祥語車票
Train tickets with station names that form lucky phrases through wordplay.Charm · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanSuzu鈴
A hollow Japanese bell with inner pellets, used in Shinto rites and shrines.Charm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 JapanOmamori御守/お守り
Japanese amulets from shrines and temples for luck and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇯🇵 JapanMagatama勾玉
A curved Japanese bead used as jewelry, status symbol, and sacred object in Shinto.Charm · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 JapanOkiagari-koboshi起き上がり小法師
A Japanese roly-poly doll that rights itself when knocked overCharm · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sarubobo: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Good Luck Flag: takato marui, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Daruma doll: Crisco 1492, Public domain, source
- Kin no unko: enmoto, CC BY 2.0, source
- Hamaya: Tomomarusan, CC BY 2.5, source
- Fulu: Youle26, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ofuda: 教派研究 (Sectarian research), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fukusuke: Nesnad, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Maneki-neko: Su--May, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chinese guardian lions: Pvt pauline, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Omamori: Leongboy1, Public domain, source
- Sky lantern: Richy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dragon turtle: Jonathan O'Donnell, CC BY 2.0, source
- Magatama: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Coin-sword: Etnografiska museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- Okiagari-koboshi: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cash: User 冷玉 on zh.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Joss paper: Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Akabeko: Wdqh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Eight Treasures: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- Auspicious train ticket: SSR2000, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Suzu: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Teru teru bōzu: Novaric at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source