Earthpulse Blog

Having explored some of the traditional talismans (e.g. the cross and the pentagram) and also talismanic stones, part two focuses on some more specific types of talisman. Inscriptive talismans and charms include those containing pictograms, words, sentences or even whole books while astrological talismans are clearly specific to certain belief systems.

Inscriptive Talismans

Inscriptive talismans include pretty much anything that can be written down, from simple pictograms (such as heiroglyphs or chinese characters) and single words to more complex phrases and religious scriptures. I have decided to concentrate on three types for now; names of power, magikal alphabets and religious scripture.

Names of Power

In ancient traditions, and in some modern belief systems, the breath carries the life force and so speaking itself becomes a magikal act. From this arose the belief that to name something is to manifest it and have a degree of power over it. This meant that knowing a person’s name could potentially make that person vulnerable to being magikally controlled and led to the concept of the secret magikal name. By the same token, to obtain the name of a powerful spirit, or saint or even God himself was seen as a way to attract the benevolence of higher forces.

One common example of a talisman featuring a name of power is the St. Christopher’s. St. Christopher is the patron saint of travellers and some people will wear this talisman to protect them when they have long distances to travel. Other patron saints include Cecilia (musicians), Michael (the sick), Expeditus (emergencies) and Dympna of Gheel (the insane).

Some traditions prefer to appeal to God directly, specifying the help they need by using one of several of God’s names. For example, kabbalistic thought posits ten separate names while in Islam there are ninety-nine names to choose from, from Al-Kuddus (the Holy) to As-Samad (the Eternal).

Magikal Alphabets

Some occultists took the idea of the power of words to an other level by creating (or possibly receiving) whole alphabets for use solely in their magikal work, including the design of talismans. One of the most famous of these is the Enochian alphabet used by Queen Elizabeth I’s astrologer, Dr John Dee. This language, which bears much similarity with Hebrew, was purportedly communicated to Dee’s clairvoyant colleague, Edward Kelley (right). Other magikal alphabets include the alphabet of the Magi, presented by French author Paul Christian (Jean Baptiste) in 1870, those created by Honorius the Theban and the three ‘angelic’ alphabets of Ambelain.

Religious Scripture

Of the mundane languages, Hebrew is often the one, particularly in the west, that has been credited with inate magikal power. One Jewish talisman consists of bands of written phrases or psalms, known as phylacteries, which are worn both on the forehead and arm. These were used to protect the wearer from harm and ward off the evil eye. A more well known talisman is the mezuzah, parchment containing verses from the Torah and hung from doorways.

Of course, the Jews are not the only tradition which uses religious text in a talismanic way. In fact, in Islam, the Qur’an is regarded as a talisman in and of itself, and miniature, readable versions have been created to be worn around the neck. The ten commandments are also readily available in talismanic form for Christians and Jews alike.

Astrological Talismans

As mentioned in Part One, many gemstones are related to the astrological signs and this forms a link between astrology and identity talismans, though you might be hard pressed to find an astrologer who considers talismanic magik. For the most part, talismanic design is straightforward in astrology once you have some idea of the body areas, colours, symbols and minerals that can be attributed to the signs and planets. Here is a brief list of sign correspondences taken from Skelton (1985), with one or two of my own additions:

Aries- head, kidneys; red; copper, ruby, diamond; owl, ram
Taurus – throat, sexual organs; pale blue, pink, dark green; copper, sapphire, topaz; bull
Gemini – ears, upper body; chestnut brown, yellow, rainbows; mercury, tourmaline, agate; magpie
Cancer – breasts, digestive system; silver, subtle greens and greys; pearl, amber; crab, turtle
Leo – heart, spine; gold, orange, golden yellow; gold, tiger’s eye; lion
Virgo – intestines, nervous system, general health; dark natural colours; mercury, sardonyx, peridot; the virgin
Libra – kidneys, adrenal glands; pink, pale blue, watery green; copper, sapphire, emerald; scales, elephant
Scorpio – genitals, throat; vermillion, dark red; iron, opal, ammoniate; wolf, lobster, beetle, scorpion
Sagittarius – thighs, hips, liver; purple, blue; tin, topaz, jacinth; horse, dog, centaur
Capricorn – bones, teeth, knees; black, dark grey, brown, deep green; lead, turquoise, black diamond; ass, goat
Aquarius – circulation; grey, electric blue; uranium, amethyst, glass; peacock, eagle
Pisces – feet, unspecific ailments; sea green, sea blue; tin, moonstone, pearl; dolphin, fish, beetle

For more correspondences, you can order a copy of this book at the Earthpulse bookshelf.

Although, as mentioned above, astrological talismans should be simple to design, one tradition weaves astrology, spiritual powers, plants, animals and stones into one of the most complete and elaborate talismanic systems ever known. This will form the subject for Part Three.

Please look out for the final part of this series, coming soon.

Reference: Skelton, R. (1985) ‘The magical practice of talismans’, Beach Holme, Victoria

Do you have any personal experiences with talismans, or precious stones, that you would like to share? If so, please leave a comment below.