A cross is a compound geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a saltire in heraldic terminology.
A mojo, in the African-American spiritual practice called Hoodoo, is an amulet consisting of a flannel bag containing one or more magical items. It is a "prayer in a bag", or a spell that can be carried with or on the host's body. Alternative American names for the mojo bag include gris-gris bag, hand, mojo hand, toby, nation sack,conjure hand, lucky hand, conjure bag, juju bag, trick bag, tricken bag, root bag, and jomo. The word mojo also refers to magic and charms. Mojo containers are bags, gourds, bottles, shells, and other containers. The making of mojo bags in Hoodoo is a system of African-American occult magic. The creation of mojo bags is an esoteric system that involves sometimes housing spirits inside of bags for either protection, healing, or harm and to consult with spirits. Other times mojo bags are created to manifest results in a person's life such as good-luck, money or love.
Necromancy is the practice of magic involving communication with the dead by summoning their spirits as apparitions or visions for the purpose of divination; imparting the means to foretell future events and discover hidden knowledge. Sometimes categorized under death magic, the term is occasionally also used in a more general sense to refer to black magic or witchcraft as a whole.
Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to random and non-random natural and artificial processes, and that even improbable events can happen by random chance. In this view, the epithet "lucky" or "unlucky" is a descriptive label that refers to an event's positivity, negativity, or improbability.
The maneki-neko is a common Japanese figurine which is often believed to bring good luck to the owner. In modern times, they are usually made of ceramic or plastic. The figurine depicts a cat, traditionally a calico Japanese Bobtail, with a paw raised in a beckoning gesture. The figurines are often displayed in shops, restaurants, pachinko parlors, dry cleaners, laundromats, bars, casinos, hotels, nightclubs, and other businesses, generally near the entrance, as well as households. Some maneki-neko are equipped with a mechanical paw that slowly moves back and forth.
Chinese knotting, also known as zhongguo jie, is a Chinese folk art with ties to Buddhism and Taoism. A Chinese knot is made from a single length of cord that is woven into different shapes, with each shape having a symbolic meaning. The most common color used in Chinese knotting is red, a color associated with luck in Chinese culture, although any color can be used. Charms, beads, and jade are sometimes incorporated into a Chinese knot. It is believed that Chinese knotting originated for recording information and exchanging messages before writing was commonplace. Traditionally, Chinese knots acted as good-luck charms to ward off evil spirits. Chinese knots are used today to decorate homes during festivities and are also commonly seen in traditional jade jewellery and traditional Chinese clothing.
In some cultures, a rabbit's foot is carried as an amulet believed to bring good luck. This belief is held by people in a great number of places around the world, including Europe, Africa, Australia and North and South America. In variations of this superstition, the rabbit it came from must possess certain attributes, such as having been killed in a particular place, using a particular method, or by a person possessing particular attributes.
A touch piece is a coin or medal believed to cure disease, bring good luck, influence people's behaviour, carry out a specific practical action, etc.
Gris-gris is a Voodoo amulet originating in West Africa which is believed to protect the wearer from evil or bring luck, and in some West African countries is used as a purported method of birth control. It consists of a small cloth bag, usually inscribed with verses from an ancestor and a ritual number of small objects, worn on the person.
Iron has a long and varied tradition in the mythology and folklore of the world.
Thokcha are Tibetan amulets which are said to have fallen from the sky in traditional Tibetan folklore. These are traditionally believed to contain a magical, protective power comparable to Tibetan dzi beads. Most thokcha are made of a copper alloy.
Yansheng Coins, commonly known as Chinese numismatic charms, refer to a collection of special decorative coins that are mainly used for rituals such as fortune telling, Chinese superstitions, and Feng shui. They originated during the Western Han dynasty as a variant of the contemporary Ban Liang and Wu Zhu cash coins. Over the centuries they evolved into their own commodity, with many different shapes and sizes. Their use was revitalized during the Republic of China era. Normally, these coins are privately funded and cast by a rich family for their own ceremonies, although a few types of coins have been cast by various governments or religious orders over the centuries. Chinese numismatic charms typically contain hidden symbolism and visual puns. Unlike cash coins which usually only contain two or four Hanzi characters on one side, Chinese numismatic charms often contain more characters and sometimes pictures on the same side.
Anglo-Saxon Amulets and Curing Stones is an archaeological study of amulets, talismans and curing stones in the burial record of Anglo-Saxon England. Written by the Australian archaeologist Audrey Meaney, it was published by the company British Archaeological Reports as the 96th monograph in their BAR British Series. Prior to writing the work, Meaney had published several books dealing with Anglo-Saxon burials.
Thai folklore is a diverse set of mythology and traditional beliefs held by the Thai people. Most Thai folklore has a regional background for it originated in rural Thailand. With the passing of time, and through the influence of the media, large parts of Thai folklore have become interwoven with the wider popular Thai culture.
Japanese numismatic charms, also known as Japanese amulets, Japanese talismans, or simply Japanese charms, refer to a family of cash coin-like and other numismatic inspired types of charms that like the Korean and Vietnamese variants are derived from Chinese numismatic charms, but have evolved around the customs of the Japanese culture. Although most of these charms resemble Japanese cash coins and the amulet coins of China, they contain their own categories unique to Japan. In the case of these coins, "charm" in this context is a catchall term for coin-shaped items which were not official money. However, these numismatic objects were not all necessarily considered "magical" or "lucky", as some of these Chinese numismatic charms can be used as "mnemonic coins".
Vietnamese numismatic charms, also known as Vietnamese amulets, Vietnamese talismans, or simply Vietnamese charms, refer to a family of cash coin-like and other numismatic inspired types of charms that like the Japanese and Korean variants are derived from Chinese numismatic charms, but have evolved around the customs of the Vietnamese culture although most of these charms resemble Vietnamese cash coins and the amulet coins of China. These "coins" were used at temples, as tokens within the imperial palace, and as everyday charms with supposed magical power such as having the ability to curse evil spirits and bogies. Some of these charms contained the inscriptions of real circulating cash coins but with added imagery.
Marriage coin charms are a category of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese numismatic charms that depict marriage, harmonious, and/or sexual imagery. These coin charms often imitate the design of Chinese cash coins, but can exist in many different shapes and sizes.
An aaskouandy is a charm which in Iroquois folklore is believed to either grant the holder luck in sports, hunting, fishing, and trade, luck in general, or even harm the holder.
Hanfu accessories refers to the various form of fashion accessories and self-adornments used and worn with hanfu throughout Chinese history. Hanfu consists of many forms of miscellaneous accessories, such as jewellry, yaopei, ribbons, shawls, scarves, and hand-held accessories, etc.
