The word amulet comes from the Latin “amuletum”. According to the Oxford Dictionary of English a talisman or an amulet is an object, usually a ring, stone or a piece of jewelry, that is thought to possess magical powers and which does bring good luck, healing and protection from accidents etc. There is a wide variety of amulets out there, you can buy an amulet for almost everything.
There are two kinds of amulets, the so called natural amulets and the manufactured amulets. Natural amulets can be rabbit’s foot, or a tooth (from an animal or a person), or even a piece of hair. Anything that comes out of a living thing. Manufactured amulets can be a piece of jewelry worn around the neck or a ring, or an object that can be placed somewhere in the house .Another example of manufactured amulets which are widely used in some circles are the herbal amulets which are sown into a garment or which can be worn underneath regular clothing.
These small herbal packets are worn for the purpose of either protection, good luck or healing power. Another well known factor about amulets and talismans is the belief that these possess absolute and total power over evil spirits. That is why these are so widely used in witchcraft. A good example are the Pentagram of Salomon and the Hexagram of Salomon which are used for the sole purpose to obtain control over evil spirits. While amulets are used to obtain power over evil spirits and events, talismans are used to gain wealth, luck, honor etc.
Amulets and talismans are manufactured in different ways. They can be made of stone, paper, clothing, wood etc. Sometimes, not always they have writings on them. But whenever the writings are found upon them, these are usually magical words which contain some sort of formulae or power in the spiritual world. These are often engraved on objects of semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli, turquoise etc., and worn around the neck, but the use of mere metal(copper, tin, lead etc) is also widely used. Amulets and talismans are widely used in witchcraft and other aspects of the occult. The witch uses the amulet to invoke evil spirits to help her perform her witchcraft. But if you think that amulets and talismans are only used in witchcraft and the occult you are mistaken.
Many people who have no involvement in the occult whatsoever, do however, possess an amulet or a talisman of some form .Think about the good luck coin or good luck hat etc. One of the most popular amulets or talismans is the horseshoe which is believed to bring good luck to it’s owner. In order to bring one good luck, one must hang the horseshoe on a door with the two ends pointing up. In this way it will bring good luck, but if you hang it with the ends pointing down it will have the opposite effect, it will bring bad luck. Other fairly common amulets within society are, elephants, corals (even though these can also bring bad luck) or an ankh. All these are supposed to bring one good luck.
Interestingly enough, the cactus serves in some cultures as a good luck charm while in others, it is believed to brings destruction into the house and everything that lives in the house. I know for example that the cactus is used in witchcraft to bring dryness into a home. By dryness I mean literal dryness of one’s finances, marriage and one’s spiritual life. So if you have received a cactus for a present and your life has turned up-side-down ever since, you might have been cursed. Another famous amulet which has its origin in Medieval times, is garlic. This is supposed to protect one from evil spirits. The more garlic you had in the house, the less evil spirits would come. It is amazing though, to see that this amulet is still used in society today.
One use of amulets and talismans which concerns me greatly and which I see quite a lot nowadays, is the Egyptian necklace where your name is engraved in the Egyptian hieroglyphics.Some even have it tattooed on their bodies. But, have you ever given it a thorough thought as to what you are wearing around your neck?
Are you certain that what you are believing to have engraved is your name and not some sort of a curse? The Egyptian culture was a polytheistic culture which heavily relied on the occult. In fact, the occult has its origin in Egypt! Most of us have no clue as to the meanings of these hieroglyphics and thus have no idea if that which is engraved and worn around the neck, is really our name or not. You might be cursed without you even knowing it! You should never ever wear something like that on your neck without literally knowing what it says. People can try to convince you that it spells your name but do you know this for sure? If you do not have knowledge about these hieroglyphics you can not tell as to what they are saying is true or not!
I would caution you to wear something like that. Do not accept everything people tell you for truth. Especially in countries where the occult is rampant. Let me give you a stern warning here. I have counseled many people who in their ignorance bought such a necklace only to later find out that these symbols had an occult meaning. Subsequently these people suffered demonic attacks because of it. One counselee even started to hear a voice inside of him supposedly pertaining to one of the Pharaohs. Needless to say that he changed completely and his life was turned up-side-down as a result. He needed deliverance of this demon and only then was he freed from this ‘inner voice’.
To us Christians it sounds logical that these ‘inner voices’were demonic manifestations. Not so to secular people who do not believe in God. Or to New Age practitioners who really believe and co-operate with these identities in order to gain higher knowledge. These people will find themselves heavily entrapped in a net of lies of which they can only find freedom when they accept Jesus. And this is if the net opens for them to find Him. Satan holds on to his field and victories, and whatever he deems his, he will not easily let go. We need to discern much more what we are having hanging in our houses and what jewelry we are wearing. Our safety depends on it. These kinds of jewelry bring spiritual bondage and they will open doorways to demonic activity in your life.
Witches know this only too well. That is why they use amulets and talismans so often.Even though you may think that such things have no power attached to them, you may find yourself in for a big surprise. You may think that because you cannot see anything evil attached to it, therefore it has no evil. You may be wrong. Especially concerning Egyptian artifacts and jewelry. Remember Moses. God told him to go to the Pharaoh and request him to let the Israelites go out of Egypt. The Exodus thus. But the Pharaoh did not want to comply. He needed the Israelites, because he needed their labor. At that time, Israelites were being used as slaves you see. The Pharaoh often consulted his magicians of which we could say where his political advisers in a manner of speech.
You see, Egyptian magicians were quite powerful and could perform many rituals. God, in order to make His point, performed many miracles through Moses in order to convince the Pharaoh that he should let go of the Israelites. But every miracle God performed, the magicians of the Pharaoh counterfeited. They just laughed at the miracles. They knew they could perform them also. That is how powerful these were. (read the whole book of Exodus) Eventually the Pharaoh had to let them go because God is always more powerful. But that is not the point here, for it is obvious that God is much more powerful.
You need to understand that witchcraft and witchcraft related objects do carry spiritual power that is attached to them, and this power will work in your life whether you close your eyes to this reality or not. Another good example of the power of amulets and talismans is religion. Some religions have so called amulets as well. A good example is the Roman Catholic faith which relies heavily on their saints and relics (in my view nothing more and nothing less than amulets and talismans for these were supposed to bring healing, luck etc). Catholics have patron saints for almost every aspect of life, such as protection for children, luck, health, etc). These patron saints are prayed to whenever the specific need arises.
I remember a Catholic girl from my school who relied on a specific saint to perform an operation on her while she was asleep. She prayed to this saint every night and eventually she found the removed organ in a glass of water, which was purposefully placed on the night table for this purpose. The saint required it. I believe she was helped, but I do not believe her help came from God! Another good example is the Rosary, which is used in prayer to obtain absolution from sin. We all know that Jesus and His work on the Cross at Calvary gave us the freedom from sin and not some Rosary. Some people believe that their Rosary has spiritual power and whenever they touch it they get healed. Witchcraft? Yes, by all means. To name another example of amulets that are widely accepted as parts of religion is the evil eye to protect them from evil spirits.
And you know what? Many Christians are buying this evil eye believing it to protect them and their families from evil spirits. They even wear evil eye jewelry. Have you any idea what you are bringing into your home? Have you any idea what you are wearing? Have you not noticed an increase in demonic activity in your life after hanging this amulet in your home or wearing it around your neck or arm? Think hard. The evil eye is another amulet that has spiritual power attached to it. This power comes not from God! Therefore what you are bringing into your home is demonic!
I hope I have convinced you that amulets and talismans are closely related to the occult. Their origin lies almost always within the occult, no matter how you view it and no matter how innocent or harmless they may look or be. Even the so called innocent horseshoe or lucky coin, has its origin within the occult. If you possess a lucky coin, you are giving it a spiritual power whether you like it or not. That coin has become magical in the spiritual world. We as Christians are supposed to understand that no matter how innocent looking these objects might be, if they serve the purpose to bring good luck, or healing etc, we ought to get rid of it a.s.a.p!! Remember this: Satan will bring you luck through such an object but he will for certain take something very dear from you in return. Nothing he ever gives comes free!
The same goes for the so called religious amulets. These most certainly have occult power attached to them and their power is NEVER the power of God! These amulets have their origin in witchcraft! If you have any Roman Catholic amulets, statutes of saints and relics which are said to pertain supernatural powers get rid of them at once! God does not work through objects. He does not need lifeless objects to show his power. Remember that. Objects that have spiritual power are not of God. NEVER EVER.
God does not need a statue of Buddha to bring you wealth. He does not need to work through a horseshoe either, or through a rabbit’s foot to keep you from harm. God has His angels that keep you from harm (Ps. 91). God tells us that He will provide for our needs according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ (Phi. 4:19). We do not need any amulets nor talismans to take His place nor His providence. Neither do we need them to gain authority over evil spirits through amulets for through the name of Jesus we have received this authority (see Lk 10:19; Mk 16:17 etc.)
As Christians we ought to solemnly rely on Jesus and His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will guide us and tell us everything we need to know. Yes, the Holy Spirit will even tell us if we are in danger or not. Think of the gift of discernment. Whenever you are in danger you discern that you are. This is the Holy Spirit at work. We do not need a talisman to keep us safe. In fact, every use of an amulet or a talisman goes against God’s commandments (Ex. 20:4-5). All we need is to focus on God and rely on Him to provide for us. He is faithful and He will do so. All the amulets and talismans will only bring you more bondage and will make you susceptible to demonic attack. Take heed to good advice and get rid of them. The same goes for certain gems and stones.In order to know more about it, read my article called: Gems and stones