Amulets of Early Christianity ~
Firstly, what are amulets?
"Amulets are objects imbued with magical properties that protect against bad luck, illness and evil. Amulets are universal and are answers to age-old needs: to be healthy; to be virile and fertile; to be powerful and successful; to have good fortune." -Occult World
Back in ancient Rome, at the beginning of Christianity, early Christians resorted to the traditional practice of using amulets to protect themselves from harm and to bring blessings. Christian preachers insisted on their fellow Christians to make the sign of the cross or use holy water or holy oil from a priest or monk as a replacement for amulets, but the use of amulets still continued to be practiced by the early Christians.
Amulets composed of animal and vegetable matter have perished throughout the centuries but amulets made in the forms of figurines, carved stones, papyrus texts, parchment, potsherds, wood, and metal have survived. Written amulets give an insight on how Christian prayers and worship effected how these amulets were made, including a collide of Paganism and Christianity in certain texts. Some amulets contained short spells with artwork of Christian symbols. This is one example of a merge between Paganism and Christianity within the writing of an amulet, “I bind you, Artemisian scorpion, 315 times. Protect this house with its inhabitants from every evil, from all bewitchment, […] from the sting of scorpion and snake.” The spell then follows with, “Give protection, O Lord, son of David according to the flesh, born of the Holy Virgin Mary, O holy, highest God, of the Holy Spirit. Glory to you, O heavenly King. Amen.”
Some amulets contained Christianity mixed with a Greco-Egyptian chant. Other amulets had chants that were dedicated to calling out for the assistance of a saint or biblical figure, a common saying in these chants were “now, now, now, quickly, quickly, quickly”. These amulets also relied on the use of words snd works from the bible, rather than using such things from non-Christian amulets.
Many amulets consist of bible passages or passages from liturgical services. Psalm 91 was popular among amulets, even with Jewish amulets. The Lord's prayer was also popular. Occasionally, amulets spoke of the correspondence between Jesus and King Agbar of Edessa, for healing and protection due to this being in Jesus's promise. Some amulets seem to have the intention of being used in rituals to exorcise evil spirits with the use of the creed.
When looking at the amulets, they show the different skills of their creators. Some amulets seem to have been written by a high skilled scribe while others seem to have been written by people who could barely write. Most amulets were found in common places, documents, letters, and personal copies of books. Some words were written as they would have been pronounced, instead of in proper Greek. This shows how some amulets were probably written by memory for chants and devotional texts.
Here are some examples of amulets
Source: Archeological Views: Christian Amulets-A Bit of Old, a Bit of New
