Some  symbols are so powerful, so ancient, so tenacious, that even six thousand years of  patriarchy and ‘progress’ have failed to scrub them from the spiritual landscapes of  women.   Hidden in our homes, disguised as jewellery, or inked upon our our skins, but never forgotten. Whether seeking power or calling on protection – women of the world have always  known them and keep them alive to this day. Among the most trusted are these three ancient protection and power symbols for women;

Pentacles & Pentagrams

This symbol has a history spanning thousands of years. It has appeared in numerous pre-Christian cultures across the world. These days we associate it with European witchcraft, but the earliest recorded use of the pentagram is from pot shards found in Mesopotamia and dating back over 3000 years BC…

Pentagrams (or Pentacles when enclosed inside a circle) have had a bit of a moment in recent years. But they’ve actually been employed as protection against danger and dark entities in Europe and the North since at least the days of the Celts. And before that the five pointed star was already being used by Magi, Sorcerers, and holy-rollers of the near and middle east for centuries.

There are five pointed stars in Ancient Egyptian friezes, medieval churches, and 15th century Grimoires. King Solomon the great magician king had a pentacle ring given to him by a senior Angel which granted him power over  actual demons.

But It is almost sure that the symbol first appeared in Babylon, (later called Mesopotamia) – In a place called ‘Uruk’. Five, six, and eight pointed stars have been found on many ancient objects discovered there, and it seems that the Pentagram was first associated with Great Goddess of Love and War, Ishtar.

Some of the earliest pentagrams appear on pot shards, employed as a sort of protection amulet for the food stored inside them.

Ishtar was a both lover and a warrior, she was the morning and the evening star, She drove a chariot drawn by seven lions, and ventured through the very gates of the underworld. Entering hell and then returning again after rescuing Tammuz, the bringer of spring. One of her specific roles was also to provide and protect the harvest and the food yielded from it, knowing this, and that she was embodied in the stars,  her association with the very first pentagrams becomes clear. Ishtar is among the earliest greater goddesses ever recorded.

The oldest pentagrams I’ve personally come across for sale include beautiful early Pentagram glazed tiles from North Africa, and time worn bronze rings from early Britain.

(For more on Ishtar> check out this article<)

 

Crescent Moon

This is surely one of the most universal magical symbols. And unlike the Pentagram, which first appeared on food and water pots, the crescent moon seems to have been worn as amulet jewellery right from the start.

As protective jewellery, it appears in ancient Greek, Roman, Viking, and Celtic pieces, in bronze, silver and sometimes gold. (incredibly, it is still possible to find and buy these ancient pieces as they occasionally turn up in excavations or are unearthed by metal detectorists).

Old Bedouin and Berber jewellery is often dripping with moon symbols, as is some antique jewellery of the tribal women of South Asia. The Victorian and earlier ladies of Europe loved their moon jewellery so much that it can still be found all over the marketplace today.

We know moon is a powerful symbol of the feminine, and we know that it is probably the most beloved of all magical symbols to the women of the world. There are so many goddesses associated with the moon that it would take a whole book to list them. This formiddable list includes;

Arianrhod – Goddess of the ‘silver wheel’ and infamous sorceress of the Welsh coast

Artemis – Archer goddess beloved of the Amazons of ancient Greece

Coatlicue – life and death mother of Ancient Mexico who is sometimes portrayed wearing a vest of flayed human skins, and a skirt of swinging serpents hung with skulls.

Hecate – Fearsome – Thracian Goddess, ruler of Sorcery, Crossroads, and the dark of the moon.

Yemanja – Yoruba Goddess, protector of women, who is often portrayed as a mermaid.

Candi – who was just one manifestation of the magnificent Durga, Demon slaying warrior Goddess of the Hindu world.

The Hands of Protection;

Hands have also been used as protective symbols since antiquity, most famous these days is probably the ‘Hand of Fatima’.

You can still see this image of the forward facing, open right hand used frequently in North Africa and the near East. It’s on everything from key rings to jewellery, to front doors, and at one time was even used on Islamic battle standards.

In the Berber and Jewish traditions the same symbol is known as Khamsa, or ‘Hand of Miriam’ and sometimes has an eye in the centre of the palm as extra protection against the negativity of envious onlookers…

Abhaya’ is the name of the same hand position in Buddhism. Buddhist deities are often shown with their hands in special positions known as ‘Mudra’. Each Mudra has a spiritual meaning, and the Abhaya, which is an upright forward facing hand with the palm open, stands for

Fearlessness, Protection, and Self Compassion.

If you think of it, a raised open hand is our most instinctive and primordial STOP command, presented to anything coming too close to us for comfort.

In Japan an ink handprint pressed to the outside wall of a house was once thought to ward off robbers, and hand prints of pigment have even been found in prehistoric caves, although their meaning is now lost to time.

There are many other lesser known hand amulets out there, they really deserve their own post one day, but for now there is just one more I cant resist including…

‘Mano Figa’ (or ‘fig hand’) seems to have begun it’s story in ancient Etruscan Italy.

This symbol of the closed fist, with thumb pushed up between the first two fingers, has since then become an almost universal insult. As a proxy for the ‘obscenity’ of female genitalia and sex, these days you can use it to offend people on at least three continents.

But there are still a few places where its older, and more magical meanings have survived…

In the ancient world Mano Figa was a sign with enough power to hold back spirits of the dead. At the annual three days of the ‘Lemuria’ the patriarch of the Etruscan home would be charged with removing spiteful ghosts and restless spirits that had attached themselves to the household over the previous year.

This was a complex business that took place in the middle of the night, involving a lot of hand washing, spitting of food, and the noisy clashing of pots and pans. Until the ghosts had had enough and taken their leave, – they could be safely held back with a confident Mano Figa.

Tiny Fig Hand shaped amulets became popular at that time as a sort of miniature portable defence, not only against unruly spirits but also against bad luck generally and the evil eye. They can still be seen frequently in Brazil, and Peru, and occasionally in Portugal and Spain.

Antique Mano have been found in coral, silver, ivory, hard-stone, wood, shell, and crystal, with a few dating right back to ancient times. Old examples are not easy to find, but as with all of the Amulets I’ve talked about today, I still keep my fingers crossed at every Flea market…

 

For more posts on the types of authentic antique Amulets and other power objects that are out there check out ‘The Real World of magical Objects’ section. And in ‘How and Where To Buy’ I share more than 20 years of expertise on finding and identifying authentic pieces….

here’s to the hunt x