Hi Yejide, long time follower, first time asker snd I'm sorry if you've answered this before but I know you are/were deeply engrossed in Buddhism and I wanted to see your opinion on wearing the Hamsa hand as I was recently gifted a necklace with one on it and it got me thinking. ~Bex
Hey Bex! Thanks for following, and it’s lovely to hear from you (:
Sorry, I know I just posted this update, and I didn’t properly clarify some things! I’m still just as Buddhist as always, and I’ll always be Jewish because I was born Jewish. It’s really just my path within the realm of ATRs right now that’s up in the air. I updated my about page to reflect this, and I’ll always try to make sure it’s up to date so there isn’t any confusion!
The hamsa is a very cross-cultural symbol that has been used and adopted by multiple religions from ancient Mesopotamian religion to Islam (Hand of Fatima), Judaism (Hand of Miriam), and Christianity (Hand of Mary). You mentioned Buddhism, and I’ve heard speculation of hamsa being shared by Buddhism as well, but I’ve never seen hard evidence or academic confirmation of this - so I’m not too certain about that tbh. The hamsa is the most prevalent in the Middle East, but it’s so extensive across different faiths and cultures that it’d be difficult to reasonably argue that it’s a closed symbol - especially since it is believed to have originated from an ancient religion that is considered open (Mesopotamian tradition).
I would just urge you to check and make sure that you are respectful of the special iterations and names for the hamsa hand that belong to minority religions and closed religions such as Judaism and Islam. For example, don’t write a special Hebrew prayer on a hamsa hand or refer to it as the Hand of Miriam unless you’re Jewish.
In general, if you’re appreciating the symbol from a broader perspective or for what it means to you personally, that’s more than okay because of its origins and very multicultural usage. At least, this is my current understanding of the hamsa. If someone has different information or corrections about what I’ve said, please do share!
As a fun side note, I use hamsa hands with evil eyes on them as a part of the protections in my home <3 For me, it’s very much about the Jewish meaning, and the Christian + Muslim aspects are nice also for my ancestors who belonged to each of those faiths.
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