English Version | In search of the lost amulet

13 Mar 2023
By Pedro Vasconcelos

The jewelry we wear has a value far beyond its aesthetic. Since time immemorial, we have used talismans and lucky charms as a way of attracting luck.

The jewelry we wear has a value far beyond its aesthetic. Since time immemorial, we have used talismans and lucky charms as a way of attracting luck.

Two thousand and twenty-three is the year of the rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. When I realized this fact I was genuinely excited since this is the animal that represents my sign. Based on the little knowledge I have about the subject, I assumed that this was an excellent omen, a guarantee of good luck for the coming year. However, my illusions were shattered when I met a friend of Chinese descent. He was quick to inform me that, according to superstitions, the year coinciding with our zodiac animal is full of bad luck. The notion is based on the belief that we offend the ancestral god of age when we enter that year. The possibility of my existence opposing the divine is not a concept that is foreign to me, even more so as a gay man, but the prospect of bad luck for twelve long months was enough to terrify me. My New Year's resolutions fell to the floor and I went into despair. After seeing the panic he had instilled in me, my friend revealed that there was an antidote to the superstition: wear a gold pendant in the shape of our zodiac animal. With the breaking of this curse in mind, I started furiously looking on the internet. This desire of mine, to safeguard my destiny through a piece of jewelry, is not a recent idea - in fact, it goes back to a time far removed from the online stores that I submerged myself in. For centuries mankind has sought to anchor its luck in precious possessions.

The association between precious goods and luck can be summed up in one word: amulets. Its origin comes from the Latin amuletum, meaning a good used by superstition as protection against illness, curses, and every conceivable ailment. Although the term can technically be applied to a myriad of objects, from coins to statues, jewelry is its most common materialization. The creation of the word we use today dates back to the 16th century, but the origin of the talisman is much more ancient - perhaps "ancient" isn't even enough to explain the antiquity of the concept. Let's say primitive, then. From the little we know about the societies present at the dawn of humanity, one fact is clear: we have always adorned our bodies with jewelry. The variety of pieces existing in early human societies is astonishing for the limits of our ancestors' resources. From stones to wood, from animal teeth to shells, the rule was: if it's strong, it's good for adornment. This premise was due, in part, to one of the purposes of these objects, physical protection. But the jewelry of our ancestors was not merely a shield against the dangers of this world, it was also a defense against spiritual evils.

The refinement of skills led to the association of progressively luxurious materials. Gold replaced wood and diamonds replaced shells. But long before we associated status with the possession of goods, these raw materials were ways of following in the path of the divine. The beauty of metals and precious stones was not manipulated as an outward symbol of wealth, but rather as a way to access the sacred. Such was the case with the Egyptians who, as creative as they were spiritual, used glazed ceramics so brilliantly that they were believed to capture the blessing of the sun. Infamous for ritualizing death, Egyptian civilization also adorned the bodies of those destined to pass from this world to the next. The jewelry that the dying wore in their transition to the afterlife carried with it their luck for what came next. But the luxury of jewelry was not only given to the dead, the living were also lucky enough to enjoy it. Some of the most popular amulets included the amulet of the goddess Taweret, depicted through a magnificent figure in blue faience. The blue, almost turquoise pottery was molded in the shape of the goddess, a woman with a tiger's head. This was given to pregnant women as a way to protect the health of the baby. As soon as a woman gave birth this talisman was exchanged for an amulet of Bes, the goddess protecting children. One thing is certain: the use of jewelry was quite practical in the civilizations of the past. Understandable, considering that these amulets were the only protection against the unpredictable force of the natural world. Before we were equipped with modern science, we anchored our luck in jewelry. Amulets were part of notions of magic and religion that has, for the most part, ceased to exist in modern times. In Ancient Rome, talismans were used to imbue the power of the god represented in a jewel. All the inhabitants of Mount Olympus had a crystal associated with their deity. Mars was jasper, the red crystal that reflected the wrath of the god of war. Dionysus, on the other hand, was associated with amethyst, an uncreative symbol for the god of wine. Most jewelry bore the inscription vterfexix, Latin for "good luck." It was not the natural world that the Romans feared, but the supernatural. Roman amulets were thought of as true shields against evil forces. The association between jewelry and the luck it guaranteed was so strong in Ancient Rome that every child wore a talisman for protection against the evil eye. Girls wore a lunula, a pendant with a moon-shaped amulet, and boys protected themselves with a bulla, a circular medallion.

We have evolved quite a bit since the days of Ancient Rome, but surprisingly, many of the symbols we associate with luck date back to that civilization, which, along with Ancient Greece, was rich in mythology and occultism. Not to be outdone, the famous "Turkish eye", also called the "Greek eye" or "Nazar" is, even today, one of the most sought-after pieces for those who want to protect themselves from evil eyes. Modern jewelry still harks back to ancient iconography - after all, if it's not broken, why fix it? Proverbs aside, even though modern amulets go back to the mysticism of the past, there are new symbols of luck. Think of the Alhambra collection by Van Cleef & Arpels, which through the reinterpretation of a four-leaf clover has been, since its creation in 1968, one of the world's most coveted jewelry/amulets. From the advent of mankind to the 21st century, the desire for good fortune has forged the bond between mankind and fire jewelry.

Translated from the original on The Good Luck Issue, published march 2023.Full stories and credits on the print issue.

Pedro Vasconcelos By Pedro Vasconcelos

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