en-m-wikipedia-org-wiki-Apotropaic_magic

Definition: Apotropaic magic (Greek: αποτρέπω, apotrépō) is designed to ward off harm or evil influences, deflect misfortune, and avert the evil eye.
Traditions and Superstitions: Common practices include good luck charms, amulets, and gestures (e.g., crossed fingers, knocking on wood).

Rituals: Practiced apotropaic magic through household rituals invoking deities like Heka, Taweret, and Bes to protect against evil spirits.
Magical Objects:
- Ivory Apotropaic Wands: Popular in the Middle Kingdom for the protection of mothers and children.
- Healing Waters: Using libation vessels shaped like Taweret for pouring healing water.
- Stele: Later, stele featuring Horus were used, pouring water over them for medicinal purposes.

Protective Symbols: Greeks used amulets (apotropaia), talismans, and offerings to avert evil.
Usage of Amulets: Infants wore protective amulets and suspensions from evil spirits, with figures like Peisistratus using symbolic objects for protection.
Cultural Customs:
- Spitting on Clothes: A protective gesture against enchantment.
- Dressing Boys as Girls: To ward off the evil eye, a custom noted in Achilles' youth.

Brigid's Cross (Ireland): Woven from rushes to protect homes from various calamities.
Parshell: A cross fixed above doorways to ward off misfortune during Samhain.

Eye-Cups: Kylikes from the 6th century BCE had exaggerated eyes to prevent evil spirits during drinking.
Stylized Eyes: Painted on fishing boats and in other cultural contexts like the Turkish nazar boncuk.

Gorgon: Widely feared image among Greeks, featured in door frames and protective stone carvings.
Gargoyles and Grotesque Faces: Carved on churches and castles, intended to frighten evil away.

Horseshoes: Traditionally hung near doorways for good luck.
Buried Objects: Items like witch bottles were hidden in walls to deter witchcraft.
Apotropaic Marks: Patterns scratched on buildings to prevent witchcraft, often flower-like.

Need-Fire: Kindled to protect livestock, with customs to drive cattle between two fires still observed in some areas.
Bonfires: Lit during Beltane and Samhain believed to have protective powers.

Cultural Significance: Names given during illness to confuse death or protect against misfortune, with examples from Jewish, Serbian, and Chinese traditions.

Rituals and Actions: Include magic circles for protections and various hand gestures or rituals aimed at deflecting negativity.
Custom Practices: Narratives around protection from envy in Roman culture, where humor was employed with grotesque imagery.

Apotropaic practices reflect a significant human belief in the power of magical objects and rituals to provide safety and security against perceived threats.