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Similarly, the Chinese Bagua mirror is usually installed to ward off negative energy and protect the entryways of residences. [citation needed] An example of the use of shiny apotropaic objects in Judaism can be found in the so-called "Halsgezeige" or textile neckbands used in the birthing customs of the Franco-German border region.
Daniel Defoe wrote dismissively about Londoners who posted the word on their doorways to ward off sickness during the Great Plague of London. [16] In the early 1800s, the word was used as an example of what magicians would say. [17] Abracadabra is now more commonly used in the performance of stage magic as a magic word at the culmination of a ...
This condition lends itself to the Ilocano word for nightmare, "batíbat" (or bangungot in Tagalog). To ward off the batibat, one should bite one's thumb or wiggle one's toes. In this way, the person will awaken from the nightmare induced by the batibat. [1]
A nazar, an amulet to ward off the evil eye. An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's Natural History describes as "an object that protects a person from trouble". Anything can function as an amulet ...
It is also believed to ward off evil eye and protect oneself from evil. [citation needed] In these countries, an amulet of a hand performing the fig sign is worn as a good luck or protective charm. [5] In Asturias, these amulets are made from Jet, and it is usual to give them to young kids to protect them from evil eye.
The word witch ball may be a corruption of watch ball because it was used to ward off, guard against, evil spirits. They may be hung in an eastern window, placed on top of a vase or suspended by a cord (as from the mantelpiece or rafters). They may also be placed on sticks in windows or hung in rooms where inhabitants wanted to ward off evil. [2]
Some birds and insects use defensive regurgitation to ward off predators. The northern fulmar vomits a bright orange, oily substance called stomach oil when threatened. [53] The stomach oil is made from their aquatic diets. It causes the predator's feathers to mat, leading to the loss of flying ability and the loss of water repellency. [53]
Saliva traditionally was supposed to have demon-banishing powers and, in various cultural traditions, spitting three times over someone's head or shoulder is a gesture to ward off evil spirits. A similar-sounding expression for verbal spitting occurs in modern Hebrew as "Tfu, tfu" (here, only twice), which some say that Hebrew-speakers borrowed ...