May 21, 2020
Marks usually scribed onto stone or woodwork to protect inhabitants and visitors from witches and evil spirits.
The word 'apotropaic' comes from the Greek word for averting evil. The marks were usually scribed onto stone or woodwork near a building’s entrance points, particularly doorways, windows and fireplaces, to protect inhabitants and visitors from witches and evil spirits.
They date back to times when belief in witchcraft and the supernatural was widespread. Magical symbols and ritual objects were a common part of life from around the 16th to the early 19th century.