In ancient times one of the best things that could happen to you, aside from not being tortured or eaten by an animal, was to find, or be given a talisman. A talisman was an object that brought extremely good luck to its owners. It was thought about in a supernatural way. It's usual definition is an object that protects people from evil and harm and sometimes gives then some power. This is my definition. An amulet sometimes is believed to have mystical and amazing powers. This definition is from the Wikipedia Encyclopedia. Actually the word amulet is hardly used anymore, I guess it sounds too much like omelet. Do you have an amulet, yeah do you want it with cheese? Amulet is rather a complicated word, it is much easier to say lucky object. When we talk of amulets we are talking about objects that protect people from harm. There are many similar definitions. Amulets and talismans are about the same thing. Notice the plural of talisman is talismans, that in itself seems strange.

There are many stories that are based on talismans or amulets and one of these is the story of the fallen Elder God Shinnok and Shinnok's Amulet. He tried to use it to conquer the newly formed earth thousands of years ago but Raiden thwarted him after a 'war that almost destroyed the earth. The earth was plunged into darkness for hundreds of years. Raiden had discovered that Shinnok was entering the earth by using his amulet and this allowed him to keep the other gods out and from interfering with his plans to conquer the earth. Do you recognize any of this yet? Let me go on, Raiden got hold of the amulet and banished Shinnok to the Netherealm. I could go on with this story, but if you don't recognize it, ask you child about it. You see, this is the opening premise for Mortal Kombat. Why would I be talking about a video game? Ask yourself this question, how do we know that some of the ancient legends we have seen carved on stone were not some sort of ancient game? Maybe some day, someone will read the story of Mortal Kombat and think that we actually believed it.

There are many objects that have gained the reputation of having magical powers over the years. One might say that this is only for the foolish and dim witted but let's examine this a little more closely. Heinrich Luipold Himmler, the terror of the Nazi regime, was cruel, no one would ever deny this. When people were in his company, most were extremely careful not to incur his wrath, after all, his was the head of Hitler's SS. I don't think anyone thought of him as stupid, but here was someone that believed in the mystical. He had convinced Hitler that the Reich would win the war because it had the spear that had pierced Jesus's side. He claimed that owning the spear guaranteed victory for Germany. So where is that spear today? The question is not so easily answered since there are several spears that could be it, but the one with the best chance of being "the spear" is in the Hofburg Museum in Vienna, Austria. But why this spear above all others? It is because it can be traced back further than the others. It can be traced to the fourth century. It is believed that this is the spear that had belonged to Gais Cassius, the Roman centurion that stuck Christ with it. The lance was said to have been passed to many different people over the years including Theodosius Alaric who sacked Rome, Charles Martel, Charlemagne and Frederick Barbarossa. This is when the legend started that whoever had the spear could not lose in war. This was founded on the fact that those who had it previously had all won great battles. Even Napoleon tried to get the lance, but it was taken out of the city of Austeriltz before he could get his hands on it. Hitler knew of the spear, because as a young man, he used to visit the Hofburg Museum where it was on display. He also knew of it's reputation so it didn't take much for Himmler to convince him that he should get it. Hitler began to believe that the lance would connect him to ancient German leaders of the past who were great conquerors. I Guess the spear didn't have mystical powers after all, because Hitler had ordered the spear sent to him in 1938, or maybe he had the wrong spear.

The ancient Egyptians were great believers in amulets. They wore these objects to protect themselves from evil or injury. They did us one better, however. Many of them took their amulets with them when they died. A lot of mummies have been found wearing amulets. I guess the amulet business was a good one to be in, in those days. Its funny, I can't help but think of this. When we talk of mummies we sort of think of them as something other than dead people. Did you ever notice that? If we would refer to them as corpses, I think we would feel a lot different about them. Egyptians liked scarabs and they were often copied into jewelry that was considered an amulet. Egyptians even had stone amulets, as did the masons.

People today have their equivalent of a talisman. What in the world am I talking about? I am talking about things like medical bracelets, good luck charms and the such. At least the old talisman had history behind it. Some of them earned their reputations from things that happened during their ownership. I am not saying that they had any powers, please don't misunderstand me, I am just saying that you could see how these legends began. Why anyone would think that one of these medical bracelets is a talisman is beyond me. I really don't think that anyone will find an amulet or talisman on sale for,$19.95 or even $29.95, and yet, I know of at least one of these companies that actually calls itself talisman. The claim today is that some mysterious energy comes from these objects that will heal or make you feel better. Many independent agencies have run tests on these objects and all have stated that they could find nothing. I am sure that this would have been true for the ancient talismans as well.

I don't know about you, but I think that I will stick with my trusty four leaf clover.