Charms, Spells, Amulets, and Taboos
An amulet is a material object on which a charm has been written,
Or over which a charm or spell has been cast. It is carried or worn in
the belief that it will protect from evil, or bring good luck. It
is used frequently as a shield against evil spirits or black magic,
as well as protection from disease, adversity, or danger. Amulets
are worn, for instance, by women during childbirth, individuals in
dangerous occupations, the superstitious (including many actors, gamblers,
and Gypsies), and by some who have been magically healed.
Amulets are common throughout the world, worn by the civilized and
uncivilized alike, and are of an infinite variety. The heathen wears
a human finger bone or tiger’s tooth, while his white cousin in the
city carries a rabbit’s foot, or a charm on his watch chain. Amulets
are found in the form of birthstones (this does not imply, of course,
that there are any occult associations in connection with the wearing
of rings with any of the various stones [ruby, jade, diamond, opal,
etc.] unless it is selected for wear by persons born within a designated
period out of superstition.), beads, garlic (worn to protect against
the evil eye, vampires, etc.), copper bracelets, Egyptian scarabs,
St. Christopher’s medals, four-leaf clovers, letters of protection
(carried by soldiers, for example), human hair, rings, lucky coins,
the cone from a hemlock tree (a fertility charm), lucky charm bracelets
(which are worn today by girls who are many times unaware of their
magical associations), and countless other objects.
A charm basically means a chant or incantation recited in order to
produce some good or bad effect magically (the term “charm” means
“to sing”). An object may be charmed in this manner, or the charm
may be written down. Such charms when worn or carried are amulets.
The distinction between a recited charm and the amulet is generally
overlooked and consequently the amulet itself which has been charmed
is usually called a charm.
A spell may be spoken or written and involves the use of magical incantations,
rituals, and symbols. The magician, charmer, or sorcerer cast a spell
in order to curse, injure, harass, and bind (hence the term “spellbound”),
or to bring to pass what he desires. Both humans and animals (as well
as anything else from crops to marriage) may be charmed or have a
spell cast over them in order to cure, harm, or protect, or to cause
some other desired effect.
The secrets of magical charming and casting spells were revealed by
Satan himself to his devotees and passed down through the ages. Satan
has established his own complicated rituals for charming and casting
spells, and the forces of darkness are obliged to act on behalf of
the sorcerer (or anybody else) if he observes the proper formulae.
Spells and charms are cast, and amulets worn, for any reason desired:
to give strength, to kill an enemy, to protect from evil, to assure
success in love, or to give victory in battle. Charms and spells are
used to cure diseases in humans or animals, to shield against demons,
or to cause a business to prosper, and so on.
Perhaps two of the most common spell or charm words having magicalmport and which are familiar to everyone are; Abracadabra and Hocuspocus.
The term abracadabra in an ancient word believed to have magical power
to ward off evil spirits, disease, or other adversity. The first recorded
mention of the term occurs in a written remedy for the cure of disease,
believed dating from the 2-4 centuries A.D. The term was to be written
on a paper in a certain manner, then folded and worn as an amulet
for 9 days, after which it was to be thrown backward before sunrise
into a stream flowing east, thus curing the disease.
The term hocus-pocus is generally used by magicians during sleight-of-hand
tricks, or in conjuring and incantations. It is believed to be a corruption
of the Latin hoc est corpus (“this is the body”) a phrase used by
Catholic priests in the ritual of the Mass when the bread is erroneously
believed to become mystically transformed into Christ’s body.
The term taboo is Polynesian in origin (from tabu). It signifies a
prohibition placed upon some person, place, object, or action because
it is sacred, unclean, or otherwise restricted for some reason, thereby
making it untouchable, unmentionable, and so on. The taboo is enforced
by social convention and tradition, or by superstition, whereby it
is believed that the individual violating it will suffer illness,
death, or some other misfortune.
Taboos may pertain to a wide variety of subjects, such as restrictions
placed upon eating certain foods, climbing a certain sacred mountain,
touching objects belonging to a tribal chief, violating magic ritual,
a married woman appearing in public without a veil, failure to remove
one’s shoes before entering certain religious shrines or temples,
killing a sacred animal, opening an umbrella indoors, whistling on
board ship, looking over someone’s shoulder into a mirror, allowing
a cat to enter a mine, a pregnant woman attending a funeral, stepping
on a crack in the sidewalk, and so on..
