Protection
Warding off the evil eye, spirits, illness and bad luck: amulets, wards and thresholds.
Protection is the most widespread aim of magic. People hang, wear, bury, burn and recite things to keep out the evil eye, harmful spirits, illness and bad luck. The blue nazar, the hamsa, the horseshoe, the red thread, the Japanese omamori and the Ethiopian protective scroll all serve it. This page covers what is guarded, who is thought to need guarding, and how different societies see the practice. It is a good place to start with the subject.
What is guarded
The most guarded are the vulnerable and the valued: newborns, brides, pregnant women, livestock, new houses and travellers. Doorways, windows and crossroads get special care, since they are where inside meets outside. Practices include hanging a lemon and chillies in India, a horseshoe in Britain and Ireland, an eye-bead in Turkey, a mezuzah on Jewish doorposts and a spirit house in Thailand. Beyond doors, people protect journeys, wells, boats and herds, and the guarded thing is usually whatever the family can least afford to lose.
Against what
The danger named varies. In the Middle East and Mediterranean it is the evil eye, a harm said to come from envy or praise. In sub-Saharan Africa it is often witchcraft or a rival's sorcery. In Europe it was witches, fairies and the devil, and in East Asia hungry ghosts and ill-fortune. Protective practice therefore tells a researcher what a community fears and who it suspects. Some marks are drawn in chalk, paint or henna and renewed each year, and others are made once and left to fade.
Faith and the objects
Religions deal with protective objects in different ways. Many Muslim scholars accept verses of the Quran recited for protection and disapprove of beads or knots believed to work by themselves. Catholic Christians use blessed medals, holy water and the sign of the cross. Sikhism rejects talismans, while Buddhist monks bless protective threads and tattoos in Thailand and Cambodia. Official teaching often differs from practice in the village, where one household may wear a charm quietly and say a prayer at the same time.
Scholars and the market
Psychologists suggest protective objects ease anxiety and give a sense of control. Sceptics note that no test has shown them to prevent harm. Commerce is large: charms are mass-produced, and some sellers charge heavily for items promised to ward off disaster. Anyone in real danger or illness should turn to practical help first. Believers usually say the protection is a matter of trust and care, and many say the object matters less than the intention and the community that stands behind it.
Protection on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreUraeusjꜥrt
An ancient Egyptian rearing cobra emblem of royal power and divine protectionCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 morePalladiumΠαλλάδιον (Palladion)
A wooden statue of Athena said to protect cities, stolen from Troy and brought to Rome.Charm · Protection Historical
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 1 moreManaia
A composite guardian spirit in Māori art and beliefBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇹🇭 ThailandPla taphianปลาตะเพียนสาน
A woven palm leaf fish mobile hung as a blessing for health and plentyCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇪🇬 EgyptMenatmnj.t
A beaded necklace and rattle linked to Hathor for protection and luck in ancient EgyptCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 3 morePalladium
A sacred image or object believed to guarantee the safety of a city or nationCharm · Protection Historical
🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreMărțișor
A red and white string charm worn in early spring to welcome the seasonTradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic and 5 moreZemi
A Taíno deity or ancestral spirit housed in a carved object used for worship and protectionBeing · Protection · Healing Historical
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreGargoylegargouille
A carved stone waterspout shaped like a creature, used on Gothic buildings to shed rainwaterCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreNavaratnaनवरत्न
A nine-gem talisman set in gold or silver, linked to Hindu astrology and planetary worshipCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreChaiחי
A Hebrew word and symbol meaning 'alive', used as an amulet and in Jewish culture.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 moreGod's eyeOjo de Dios
A woven yarn cross believed to grant spiritual sight and protectionCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇺🇸 United StatesGhost shirt
A sacred garment of the Ghost Dance believed to protect the wearer from bulletsCharm · Protection Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreTroll crosstrollkors
A carved or bent iron sigil used in Sweden and Norway to ward off harmful magic and creatures.Charm · Protection Revived
🇯🇵 JapanOmamori御守/お守り
Japanese amulets from shrines and temples for luck and protectionCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇷 GreeceMinoan sealstones
Carved gemstones and amulets from Bronze Age Crete used for identification and ritualCharm · Protection · Power and authority Historical
🇲🇳 Mongolia and 1 moreOngon
Ancestor spirits in Mongolian shamanism, represented by consecrated idols and talismansBeing · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇯🇵 JapanAkabeko赤べこ
A bobbing papier-mâché toy from Japan believed to ward off illnessCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇬🇦 Gabon and 2 moreMbulu Ngulu
Wood and metal figures guarding ancestor relics in GabonCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇩 IndonesiaTunggal panaluan
A carved magic staff of the Batak shamans in North SumatraCharm · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreDried cat
A dried feline body hidden in walls to protect a home from harmCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaDrishti bommai
A fearsome doll hung at homes and vehicles to ward off the evil eye in South India.Charm · Protection Living
🇫🇮 Finland and 1 moreFrog coffin
A Finnish folk magic burial of a frog in a tiny coffin to steal luck or reflect harmRite · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical
🇳🇴 NorwayBergen rune charm
A four-sided wooden stick with runic verses for love and protection from medieval Norway.Charm · Love and attraction · Protection Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaEight Treasures八寶 (Bābǎo)
A set of eight symbols in Chinese art and amulets representing good fortune.Charm · Luck and prosperity · Protection Living
🇮🇶 Iraq and 3 moreMandaic lead rolls
Lead sheets inscribed with Mandaic incantations, rolled and worn as protective talismans by Mandaeans.Charm · Protection Historical
🇯🇵 JapanHōko這子
A Japanese soft doll used as a protective talisman for mothers and childrenCharm · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 United KingdomFairy FlagA' Bhratach Shìth
A tattered silk heirloom of Clan MacLeod, said to hold fairy magic and ancient power.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreBesomвеник
A twig broom used for sweeping, folk magic, and fire responseCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Living
🇪🇸 SpainIndalo
A Bronze Age pictograph used as a protective house charm and lucky symbol in Almería, SpainCharm · Protection · 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
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Ongon: Vyacheslav Kirillin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Omamori: Leongboy1, Public domain, source
- Uraeus: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Manaia: Sarang, Public domain, source
- Menat: Anagoria, CC BY 3.0, source
- Palladium: Marie-Lan Nguyen ( Jastrow ), Public domain, source
- Zemi: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Gargoyle: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Navaratna: Pradeep717, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chai: BASWIM, CC BY 3.0, source
- God's eye: Douglas P. Perkins, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ghost shirt: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Troll cross: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Minoan sealstones: Andree Stephan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Akabeko: Wdqh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mbulu Ngulu: Sailko, CC BY 3.0, source
- Tunggal panaluan: Tropenmuseum, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dried cat: The Voice of Hassocks, CC0, source
- Drishti bommai: Chrissy starsi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bergen rune charm: Bengt A. Lundberg, CC BY 2.5, source
- Eight Treasures: Etnografiska Museet, CC BY 2.5, source
- Fairy Flag: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Besom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cox_(artist), Public domain, source
- Indalo: Ismael Olea, Public domain, source
- Suzu: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Pla taphian: Mr.Peerapong Prasutr, CC BY-SA 4.0, source