Magical Almanac: Practical Magic for Everyday Living - Lauryn Heineman 2018

Hamsa by Dallas Jennifer Cobb
Fire Magic

There is a magical image that appears in many, many places these days: blazoned on T-shirts, stylized as tattoos, and even artistically represented in jewelry. Gaining popularity in the media, this image of a hand is being worn by movie and music personalities and popular culture figures. But what is this open-hand symbol, where does it come from, what does it mean, and how can it be used magically?

What Is the Hamsa Symbol?

The symbol of the open hand with five distinct fingers is an ancient and enduring symbol of the divine feminine called the hamsa. Its history is long and multilayered.

Hamsa has its origins in the Arabic word khamsa, meaning “five,” and has also enjoyed a variety of other spellings, including hamesh, khamesh, and chamsa, which all loosely translate to “the hand” or “five.” Hamesh, meaning “five” in Hebrew, is a sacred reminder of the five books of the Torah and the necessity to use all five senses to praise God. In Arabic, khamesh means five and symbolizes the Five Pillars of Islam: faith, prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage.

This enduring symbol, which appears in many cultures and is woven through the iconology of most major religions, is finding new meaning and widespread use in these modern times.

Where Did It Come From?

With its origins in early Paleolithic society, the hamsa was originally known as “the hand of the Goddess.” Artifacts adorned with the hamsa symbol include vessels and statues honoring Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, sex, fertility, warfare, and political power. Associated with the planet Venus, Inanna was honored as far back as the Ubaid period in 5300 BCE. As time progressed, the hamsa was used in Mesopotamia in approximately 3500 BCE to honor Ishtar, a goddess possessing similar qualities and powers to Inanna.

At different times, and in different cultures, the hamsa has been known as the Hand of Inanna (Sumerian), the Hand of Ishtar (Mesopotamian), the Hand of Aphrodite (Greek), the Hand of Venus (Roman), the Hand of Mary (Christian), the Hand of Fatima (Islamic), the Hand of Tara (Buddhist), the Hand of Miriam (Jewish), and the Hand of Hamesh. The Christian hand of blessing, an open hand with the pinky and ring fingers folded over the palm, also has its origins with hamsa, initially called Mano Pantea, meaning the “Hand of the All-Goddess.” The hamsa has ancient roots in the United States too. In Moundville Archaeological Park on the Black Warrior River in Hale County, Alabama, an engraved stone pallet decorated with a hand symbol much like the hamsa was found. This site was used by Mississippian Native Americans between the tenth and sixteenth centuries.

While it is uncertain how the amulet symbol made its way into so many cultures, faiths, and religions, the transmission of the amulet’s use from Mesopotamian goddess culture to Israel’s Christian culture is documented. It is said that Ishtar’s priestesses used the hamsa symbol when they “performed some version of the rite each year in the temple of Jerusalem, where the virgin form of the Goddess was called Mari, Mari-Ana, or Miriam,” writes Barbara Walker.

Recently, the hamsa has become a symbol of peace in the Middle East, with the image being drawn on prayer flags that flap in war-torn zones of conflict. Because it is a symbol that exists across the borders of culture, country, and faith, the hamsa is thought to be something that can bring unification through identification with a symbol that predates modern religion and is held in common by both Jews and Muslims. Hamsas for peace have become a symbol of the hope for peace in Israel and the Middle East.

Different Uses

Generally speaking, the hamsa is an amulet used to banish evil and negativity and provide protection. Simultaneously, it is used to receive blessings, good fortune, happiness, and luck. While it can be used in these very different ways, it is also used in different hand positions.

In Buddhism, circa fifth century BCE, statues of the Buddha were built showcasing many different mudras, or hand positions. It is said that the five fingers symbolize the five perfections: generosity, morality, patience, effort, and meditative concentration.

Two of these mudras could be related to hamsa: the abhaya mudra and the varada mudra. The abhaya mudra is the right hand held at shoulder height, with the elbow bent and palm facing out. It is much like the “stop” gesture used by traffic cops. It symbolizes strength and inner security and aims to instill fearlessness of others. The varada mudra is made with the left hand, with the arm hanging long by the side and the palm facing forward with the fingers extended. It is the mudra that symbolizes charity, compassion, and wish granting.

In some statues only one mudra is represented, but in many statues the varada mudra is commonly used with the abhaya mudra, with the right hand held up and the left hand held down, dispelling evil and negativity and receiving blessings at the same time.

In the Pagan tradition and for many body and energy workers the dominant hand is known as the projecting hand, and the nondominant hand is known as the receiving hand. Because so many more people seem to be right-handed, it makes sense to me that the Buddha is represented as projecting protection (and deflecting negativity) with the right hand and receiving blessings and luck with the left hand. Often, in sacred circles, Pagans will stand with one hand up and one hand down, palms facing the center, as they “hold” sacred space.

When using only one of the images, remember that when the fingers of the hamsa point up, the hand looks like what it means: stop. The fingers-up hamsa is used to ward off evil and deflect the evil eye. It can be used to protect homes, rooms, spaces, and people, sending someone’s negativity back to them and deflecting anything undesirable so that it isn’t absorbed. When the fingers of the hamsa point down, it symbolizes welcoming and receiving blessings, luck, fertility, and good energy. Much of popular culture’s current use of the hamsa depicts the receiving hand position. Depending on what you want to use the hamsa for, you should carefully choose which position of the fingers suits your desired outcome.

Easy Hamsa Spells

Hamsa Home Protection

You can easily make your own hamsa protection symbol. Traditionally, the color red was used for protection. While in Inanna’s time it was often the blood of a sacrificed animal that was used, I suggest using watercolors or tempera paint. Coat the palm of your right hand evenly and fully. Press your hand onto a sheet of paper, channeling your protective and deflective energy into the image. Carefully peel your hand away and let your hamsa dry. Hang this hamsa with fingers turned up on the front door of your home or in the window of the entry door, facing out.

As you put it up, say,

Hand of Inanna, hand of mine,

I invoke your protection divine.

Deflect evil, sadness, and pain.

Peace and safety in this house sustained.

Each time you enter or exit through that door, pause and renew the energy of the hamsa by repeating the invocation.

Personal Protection

Wear the hamsa as jewelry for personal protection The symbol is available in a variety of jewelry options—rings, bracelets, necklaces, and brooches. You can even go to your local craft store and buy hamsa beads to make your own jewelry. Again, remember to select the fingers facing up if you want to deflect negativity or send someone’s evil eye back to them, and position the fingers facing down to welcome luck, fertility, and blessings.

I wear a hamsa with fingers facing up at my throat chakra to remind me to always use the gentle art of verbal self-defense. The symbol helps me remember that I don’t need to accept everything said to me or about me and that I have a powerful voice that I can use to speak truth softly.

Using a regular utterance associated with the symbol can help you get in the habit of affirming yourself using this powerful symbol. Try this common hamsa prayer:

Let no sadness come to this heart.

Let no trouble come to these arms.

Let no conflict come to these eyes.

Let my soul be filled with the blessing of joy and peace.

Banishment

In sudden, difficult situations you can simply use your own hand as a hamsa. Hold it at shoulder height with your elbow bent and your palm facing forward to make a banishing hamsa. Use this mudra or gesture to stop people who are speaking negatively or in a manner that drains your energy. When you hold up your hand, let it be a symbol to you that you are deflecting their negativity back to them and not absorbing it. This will help you resist engaging with negative people and their negative messages or energy.

While the Buddha used the right hand to stop negative energy, I believe that we can use either hand, especially in a pinch. As a symbol, the hamsa helps make us conscious of our ability to deflect negativity back to its source, banishing it from our own realm.

For Fertility, Babies, and Children

With historic connections to fertility, creativity, procreation, and children, the hamsa can be used by parents wanting to protect their children (fingers up to ward off negativity), parents who want to bestow blessings on their children (fingers down welcoming luck and good fortune), and women seeking to conceive

(fingers down welcoming fertility). For those who seek to birth creative babies, the hamsa can be used to welcome artistic creativity, inspiration, and ideas.

Conclusion

However you choose to use it, the hamsa is an icon of magical versatility and power. The symbol can be made with your own hand, worn on the body, mounted in the home, hung over or on a door, or even tattooed on the body. With such strong and long-enduring magical powers, the hamsa is a great go-to amulet and icon. It’s no wonder it has begun to appear—or reappear—in so many publicly visible places.

Selected Resources

“Ancient Site.” Moundville Archaeological Park. Accessed November 23, 2017. https://moundville.ua.edu/ancient-site/.

“Buddha Mudras: Hand Positions of the Buddha.” Lotus Sculpture. Accessed November 13, 2017. https://www.lotussculpture.com/mudras.html.

Burmese Art. “Mudras: Buddhist hand positions.” Accessed August 29, 2017. https://www.burmese-art.com/about-buddha-statues/hand-positions.

Department of Near Eastern Art. “The Ubaid Period (5500 to 4000 B.C.).” Metropolitan Museum of Art. October, 2003. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ubai/hd_ubai.htm.

Heaphy, Linda. “The Hamsa (Khamsa).” Kashgar. April 28, 2017. https://kashgar.com.au/blogs/ritual-objects/the-hamsa-khamsa.

Silvestra. “Inanna—Sumerian Mother Goddess, Queen of Heaven and Earth,” Goddess Inspired (blog), June 10, 2012. https://goddessinspired.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/inanna-sumerian-mother-goddess-queen-of-heaven-and-earth/.

Walker, Barbara G. The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1988.