Clickhere (Wikipedia) for a quick overview of a still-favored amulet that is common to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam...
What are your thoughts/reactions about the presence and popularity of such objects within monotheistic religions?
9 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Iv only associated this image with Buddhism, Iv never hear anything about this symbol in Christianity or Islam before. Through history it is shown that symbols can be adopted by other cultures and reinterpreted to have a connection with the desired group.
I have never seen this symbol before in any religion. I find it quite interesting how a group of people can give a sign or item such significance. This is not a bad thing as with good thoughts come good outcomes. I could see that believing in such an item would yield results
This is the first time I have seen this symbol and I think it is very beautiful. I find it fasinating because of how it changed over time, and that the Jesish religion once used this symbol and then decided not to because it seemed to superstious....? Odd.
The use of these types of objects in society seem to be more of a way to raise money than something that is held as a sacred item. It is sad that something that used to be treasured is now sold as a key chain.
I have seen this a lot, but I wasn't quite sure where it was from. History has shown that symbols are frequently shared and adapted by many different religions and cultures (e.g. the Ankh, swastika, cross, etc.), so that monotheistic religions have done so does not surprise me. Christianity in particular is notorious for adopted "pagan" traditions and symbols, for example the Christmas tree, Easter rebirth symbolism (the egg originally associated with Ishtar, the very *name* "Easter"), mistletoe, the whole harvest festival of Thanksgiving, etc.
It is very interesting though that the hamsa is used across so many different traditions.
I was intrigued by the use of inverse magic. The fact of having an eye on the hamsa wards off the evil eye correlates directly to our discussion last Wednesday. In my mind, I would want to protect myself with something opposite the malevolent force. For instance, a needle or something to blind the evil eye makes sense in my head. But I guess I don't know how magic really works.
I agree with Emily that it is a sad cycle to see sacred objects become souveniers. I see similar things happen with modern belief systems too. Another example would be prayer beads or rosaries. They are considered very powerful in prayer, however, they have been turned into a fashion necklace by pop culture.
I admit that I own a Hamsa pendant that a friend brought back from Jordan for me, as well as an evil eye piece from Turkey. It's true that these symbols have been commercialized, of which I am seemingly guilty of contributing to, but it doesn't necessarily diminish the meaning for those who truly value them. I've been familiar with the hamsa symbol of the open palm, and have even seen it in many cultures, but I never really made the connection that they could be related.
Humans usually have five fingers and toes on each hand and foot. Five is a very common number for our species, an a sacred number in many religions. A sign of a five pointed star was meant to ward off evil before Christianity subverted it into a symbol of evil. A hand shake or palm clasp or just putting ones hand up palm out is usually considered a sign of peace. It seems humans have developed a significance for five because of the hand and using five as a sacred number should be in a form humans can relate too such as the hand. In other words, it seams to have developed through some sort of self fulfilling prophecy on our part, but still very wise because a hand shake can solve many issues.
Indeed, Timothy, to what degree does our physiology contribute to our theology? One popular & well-researched book on this topic is 'The Body in the Mind' by Mark Johnson (1990).
As you note, Erica, these are very common items in some parts of the world (the Mediterranean & Middle East, especially!). I wonder, Emily, whether turning these symbols into key-chains and such is part of the point: an effective, accessible, and ubiquitous amulet to ward off evil!
9 comments:
Iv only associated this image with Buddhism, Iv never hear anything about this symbol in Christianity or Islam before. Through history it is shown that symbols can be adopted by other cultures and reinterpreted to have a connection with the desired group.
-Taylor E.
I have never seen this symbol before in any religion. I find it quite interesting how a group of people can give a sign or item such significance. This is not a bad thing as with good thoughts come good outcomes. I could see that believing in such an item would yield results
Tazheem Rubio
This is the first time I have seen this symbol and I think it is very beautiful. I find it fasinating because of how it changed over time, and that the Jesish religion once used this symbol and then decided not to because it seemed to superstious....? Odd.
Emily Peterson-Wood
The use of these types of objects in society seem to be more of a way to raise money than something that is held as a sacred item. It is sad that something that used to be treasured is now sold as a key chain.
Emily Peterson-Wood
I have seen this a lot, but I wasn't quite sure where it was from. History has shown that symbols are frequently shared and adapted by many different religions and cultures (e.g. the Ankh, swastika, cross, etc.), so that monotheistic religions have done so does not surprise me. Christianity in particular is notorious for adopted "pagan" traditions and symbols, for example the Christmas tree, Easter rebirth symbolism (the egg originally associated with Ishtar, the very *name* "Easter"), mistletoe, the whole harvest festival of Thanksgiving, etc.
It is very interesting though that the hamsa is used across so many different traditions.
Margaret Ransdell-Green
I was intrigued by the use of inverse magic. The fact of having an eye on the hamsa wards off the evil eye correlates directly to our discussion last Wednesday. In my mind, I would want to protect myself with something opposite the malevolent force. For instance, a needle or something to blind the evil eye makes sense in my head. But I guess I don't know how magic really works.
I agree with Emily that it is a sad cycle to see sacred objects become souveniers. I see similar things happen with modern belief systems too. Another example would be prayer beads or rosaries. They are considered very powerful in prayer, however, they have been turned into a fashion necklace by pop culture.
Deirdre Adams
I admit that I own a Hamsa pendant that a friend brought back from Jordan for me, as well as an evil eye piece from Turkey. It's true that these symbols have been commercialized, of which I am seemingly guilty of contributing to, but it doesn't necessarily diminish the meaning for those who truly value them. I've been familiar with the hamsa symbol of the open palm, and have even seen it in many cultures, but I never really made the connection that they could be related.
-Erica H.
Humans usually have five fingers and toes on each hand and foot. Five is a very common number for our species, an a sacred number in many religions. A sign of a five pointed star was meant to ward off evil before Christianity subverted it into a symbol of evil. A hand shake or palm clasp or just putting ones hand up palm out is usually considered a sign of peace. It seems humans have developed a significance for five because of the hand and using five as a sacred number should be in a form humans can relate too such as the hand. In other words, it seams to have developed through some sort of self fulfilling prophecy on our part, but still very wise because a hand shake can solve many issues.
Indeed, Timothy, to what degree does our physiology contribute to our theology? One popular & well-researched book on this topic is 'The Body in the Mind' by Mark Johnson (1990).
As you note, Erica, these are very common items in some parts of the world (the Mediterranean & Middle East, especially!). I wonder, Emily, whether turning these symbols into key-chains and such is part of the point: an effective, accessible, and ubiquitous amulet to ward off evil!
pdk
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