You may have a rabbit’s foot hanging from your rear view mirror, carry a lucky penny in your back pocket or have a horseshow hanging on your kitchen wall. All of these items are well-know lucky charms. But sometimes you are in need of a little something to keep you out of harm’s way, as well as extra power and energy in your life. This is when you will turn to an amulet or talisman. But what is the difference between all of these objects?
A lucky charm is a specific object that a person keeps in their possession because they believe it will cause them good luck in their life. Usually, you will notice that people tend to choose smaller objects as their lucky charms, carrying them in their pocket, purse or on their key chain, but some people prefer keeping lucky charms within sight like hanging them on a wall or positioned on a dashboard of a car. Some of the most common lucky charms are a rabbit’s foot; lucky pennies and coins; a lock of hair; as well as a four-leaf clover. The four leaves on the clover are said to represent fame, wealth, health and love. Lucky charms have been toted to a variety of events, including job interviews, sporting events, doctor’s visits and surgery, as well as during travel.
In ancient Egypt, people wore the “ankh” as a lucky charm, which stood for everlasting life and good fortune. The ankh serves as both a lucky charm, as well as an amulet, which is meant to ward off sickness. Amulets are meant to protect the wearer from harm. This selection has existed for thousands of years when many unknown and unexplainable occurrences scared those who inhabited the Earth at that time.
Amulets were used for protection against the things that endangered homes, family and economy. Originally, an amulet was identified as an object from nature, such as a bear’s tooth or gem, but today, anything can be considered an amulet, such as bells, photos or coins. Sometimes amulets are worn around the neck or could also be used to protect households, such is the case when someone pins an amulet over the doorway to their house.
When dealing with talismans, you should know that these objects are meant to gain energy or power by spiritual or astrological means. Talismans are primarily used when a person wishes to gain some sort of benefit. Stone and metal are some of the materials that are used to create talismans because it is easy to manipulate the material with words and pictures to increase its capabilities. Some cultures believe that a person can gain the qualities of a particular animal if they are wearing a talisman created from animal parts, such as a shark’s tooth or eagle feather.
One of the most well known talismans is considered to be a six-pointed star created from two triangles overlapping. There are elements that are associated with this talisman, where fire and the sky are grouped with male energy; water and the earth are associated with female energy on this six-pointed star.