The Ancestral Power of Amulets, Talismans, and Mascots

The Ancestral Power of Amulets, Talismans, and Mascots is an illustrated exploration of the origins and history of amulets, lucky charms, talismans, and mascots.

It looks at the age-old spiritual principles, folklore, and esoteric traditions behind the creation of magical objects. This includes the use of numbers, colours, sigils, geometric emblems, knots, crosses, pentagrams, and other symbols.

The book explores hundreds of artefacts, such as hagstones, Norse directional amulets, car hood mascots, objects made from bones and teeth, those connected with plants and animals, charms associated with gambling, and religious relics. It also includes photos of artefacts from the author’s extensive collection.

Nigel Pennick examines these objects from a magical perspective, from ancient Egypt to the present. He explores magical charms and objects manufactured from bones, teeth, claws, and horns, and those that include symbols of the human body. Additionally, Pennick discusses religious relics as well as the combining of charms to create more powerful objects, ranging from the bind runes of the Norse and the crowns of ancient Egypt to the Mojo hand and the medicine pouch.

Revealing the lasting power of amulets, talismans, charms, and mascots, Pennick shows that these objects and symbols have retained their magic across the centuries.