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To: alt.magick,alt.lucky.w
From: catherine yronwode 
Subject: Swastikas and Inscribed Amulets 
Date: Thu, 08 Jul 2004 05:46:55 GMT

Alexander Mulligan wrote:
> 
> In alt.magick, catherine yronwode wrote:

> > I have many lucky swastika items in my collections,
> > including contemporary pieces. The swastika is the
> > particular symbol of the elephant-headed god Ganesh, sacred
> > to many Hindus in India. It is also a sacred symbol to this
> > day in Bhutan, and i have wonderful woven-thread Buddhist
> > swastika amulets from that nation made by folding a prayer
> > paper up into a small square and then weaving colourful
> > embroidery thread over the packet until it forms a swastika
> > pattern,
> 
> > These are worn as necklaces, much in the manner of
> > a Catholic scapular, under the clothes, for health and
> > protection.

> So wearing this will bring health and protect a person?

Buddhists in Bhutan believe so, for these are common
articles and come in a number of patterns. In addition to
those with swastikas, i carry some with a stupa pattern
woven into them and others on which a tiny holy print of one
or another of the Tibetan boddhisattvas is glued. They are
very close in size to a Catholic scapular, except there is
only one piece per necklace and scapulars have two, one in 
the front and one behind. 

> From what? 

People seek protection from a variety of troubles -- dangers
while travelling, contagious disease, arrest and
imprisonment, et cetera. The protection can be general, or
specific to the case of the person for whom the talisman is
made. Some inscribed amulets are worn for good fortune, in
addition to protection from evil. 

> How does it work?

Inscribed amulets are a very ancient form of magical
talisman. They are generally religious as well as magical
and in many cultures they are made by priests rather than by
folk magicians, probably because literacy is limited to
certain classes in some countries. The earliest inscribed
amulets i know of are ancient Egyptian. They can be found in
Jewish, Roman, Tbetan, and Greek religious magic from
ancient times onward. Their purposes vary from protection
from harm to repelling of illness and attracting of good
fortune, love, and money. Catholic scapulars relate to a
belief that those who die while wearing one will be pulled
from any afterlife punishment by Our Lady of Mount Carmel
(an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary). The writing on
inscribed amulets may consist of general prayers for safety,
specific requests concerning the individuals for whom they
are made, or sigilized and codified emblems representing
larger religio-magical concepts. Based on their physical
structure, i classify inscribed amulets into three types -- 

     1) Those in which the inscription is on paper, 
        parchment, papyrus, or printed cloth and is. 
        encased in a metal, stone, or leather container.
             Examples:
             Tibetan Gau: http://wwwluckymojo.com/gau.html
             Ancient Egyptian inscribed amulets
             Afghani and African Koranic amuletic jewelry

     2) Those in which the inscription is not enclosed in a 
        container, being carried on the person or is simply 
        folded or sewen into a covering of cloth.
             Examples:
             Himmelbrief (Pennsylvania Dutch)
             Carmelite Scapular
             Bhutan swastika prayer paper
             Mongolian protection packet
             Taiwanese Taoist priest-written paper charms

     3) Those in which the inscription is engraved onto or 
        cast into an enduring permanent substance such as 
        stone, plastic, or metal. 
             Examples:
             Runic talimans carved on bone (Nordic)
             Solomonic seals cast in metal
             Gnostic Gems
             Koranic Surahs cast into plastic pendants 
             SATOR square carved on a silver coin            

> *Does* it work?

I believe that i have been protected through the use of
incribed amulets. I cannot answer that question for you, of
course. I suggest that if you are truly interested in the
field of inscribed amulets, you create or obtain one and
work with it and see how it goes. 

cat yronwode 

Lucky W Amulet Archive --------- http://www.luckymojo.com/luckyw.html

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From: catherine yronwode 
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Alexander Mulligan wrote:
> 
> > In alt.magick, catherine yronwode wrote:

> >> I believe that i have been protected through the use of
> >> incribed amulets. I cannot answer that question for you, of
> >> course. I suggest that if you are truly interested in the
> >> field of inscribed amulets, you create or obtain one and
> >> work with it and see how it goes.

> Someone feels, or smells, or sees, or even just thinks of
> the symbol, an amulet in this case, and the beliefs/spells
> it represents are energized/reinforced as they are brought
> to the foreground of consciousness for a moment or more.
> 
> There must be some kind of relationship between geometry/
> shape/color(s)/scent of a sculpure (which it seems to me
> these amulets are) and the beliefs/spells they represent,
> but a piece of paper with the symbols (letters-words)
> pulled out of your pocket would do as well, I think.
> 
> A sculpure created by a real artist (which is more of
> a state of being accessible to all than anything else)
> designed to convey the spell would be a plus, but it
> would be much better if you did it yourself, perhaps
> under the guidance of a more advanced mage.
> 
> I guess these amulets are sort of painting/sculpture
> hybrids, which adds another dimension.

No, you are missing the point. Inscribed amulets, by their
very nature, contain WORDS. They are not merely symbols
(like a horseshoe or snake or star) and they are certainly
not "sculpture." Rather, they conist either of words and/or
prayers alone (as in ancient Egyptian inscribed amulets,
Koranic amulets from Africa and the Middle East, Jewish
Mezzuzehs, German True Length of Christ charms, etc.), or
they comprise words and/or prayers included within or
alongside a figural image (as seen in Gnostic gems and
Himalayan Buddhist inscribed amulets). 

Remember how in my previous post i said that inscribed
amulets are often created by priests rather than folk
magicians in cultures where literacy is limited to certain
social classes? -- that is because the common folks in those
cultures are not always literate. 

Now, in some cases the written words on the amulet are
contorted in a glyphic manner and thus are not easy to read.
Too, some are written in obsolete alphabets, but even so,
they are words, not symbols -- and most of them, like the
Himmelbriefs of Pennsylvania, the text from the Torah found
inside a Mezzuzeh, and the Koranic Surahs found on Muslim
amulets, are easy enough to read if you know the language.
Think of those rolled pennies you can buy at carnivals --
the ones with the Lord's Prayer incscribed in tiny, tiny
type -- those are inscibed amulets. 

> I have a pentangle amulet that represents the 5 master
> spells and the 5 components of a spell.

That is a symbolic amulet, not an inscribed amulet in the
sense that the term is generally applied. 

But now you have me wondering -- what are "the 5 master
spells" and "the 5 components of a spell" according to your
understanding? 

cat yronwode 

Lucky W Amulet Archive --------- http://www.luckymojo.com/luckyw.html