Ancient Egypt Amulets

In ancient Egypt magic and spirituality were part of everyday life. It was known that negative entities were responsible for many ailments. Because of this knowledge it was known that if you healed the soul the body would follow. Many treatments were supernatural in origin. Many healers used incantations and magic to treat these ailments. Most cures were derived from plant and animal sources. The ingredients were chosen based on the symptoms of the patient. This is the principle of “simila similibus” which means “similar with similar” and can be found throughout the history of medicine. Modern homeopathy was built on this foundation. Amulets were especially popular. They had amulets that classified as homeopoetic, phylactic and theophoric. Homeopoetic amulets usually portray an animal or part of an animal. They are worn so the wearer can gain the positive attributes of the animal. An example of this could be strength or speed. Phylactic amulets protect the wearer against negative entities. A popular example of this would be the Eye of Horus. Theophoric amulets represent Egyptian Gods. An example would be people wore amulets of The Girdle of Isis, this was intended to stem the flow of blood at miscarriage. These were usually made of bone and hung from a leather strap.