Charms and amulets

In popular religion, devices to assure the everyday protection of GOD or the gods. Charms are properly words or simple practices of quasi-magical signifi cance that are said or done to this effect, such as the frequent chanting of a mantra or short PRAYER under one's breath as one goes about daily work, or saying "Bless you!" to a person who has sneezed (originally in the hope that the soul would not escape through the sneeze), or knocking on wood for good fortune. Amulets, or talismans, are small objects worn for the same purpose, although the word charm has sometimes come to be applied to these objects as well. Amulets include religious medals worn around the neck, sacred stones or tiny divine images carried in purse or pocket, or nowadays religious pictures, small statues, or medals on the dashboard of a car. Sometimes, especially in HINDUISM and BUDDHISM, they may consist of a short sacred mantra or other text placed inside a small box. Many SHINTO shrines and other temples regularly present amulets to visitors. While the use of charms and amulets may be regarded by some as superstitious, it is important to remember that for many religious people they are seen not only as bearers of sacred power in themselves, but also as tokens of one's religious identity and reminders of one's spiritual commitment in the midst of the stresses of everyday life. Some people, of course, wear religious jewelry and other sacred objects as a general symbol of that identity, but without a belief in any special power in the object itself. Others hold that, in mysterious ways, special divine power can indeed by imparted in some degree to particular objects.