Talisman

a consecrated object or charm supposed to have supernatural influence over the bearer, especially in averting disease or sudden death. Under different forms and names the talisman may be traced through ancient and medieval history. The Egyptians carried images of their gods and sacred animals, especially the ibis and the scarabaeus. The Hebrews made broad their phylacteries and inscribed thereon passages from the Old Testament. Even the Greeks carried tablets bearing magic words copied from the inscriptions on the feet, the girdle, and the crown of the statue of Artemis at Ephesus. The Romans carried charms by little chains, no doubt the prototype of the modern necklace. The Arabians and Turks still place confidence in the power of sentences from the Koran to avert misfortune. In the Middle Ages the astrologers engraved heavenly signs and other figures and characters on stone and metal for the use of the superstitious. It was important that the talisman be made at the right astronomical moment, as when the proper star was in the ascendant. Scott weaves the belief into his medieval tale of The Talisman.