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Charms carried, worn, hung and cut into buildings against harm — and the group in this catalogue where the gap between what is documented and what is claimed is widest. Two corrections do most of the work here. The Vegvísir and the Ægishjálmur are attested in nineteenth-century Icelandic manuscripts and are sold worldwide as Viking symbols; there is no Viking-Age evidence for either. And these are separate traditions that resemble each other, not one tradition that spread: the red thread on a wrist has independent Jewish, Hindu, Chinese and Balkan histories, and merging them erases what each actually means. The apotropaic marks cut into English buildings — hexafoils, VV marks, deliberate burns — are the best-evidenced group, because Historic England records them and their positions at thresholds tell you what they were for.
An iron horseshoe hung as a charm, conventionally with the ends upward.
A twisted horn-shaped pendant, usually red, worn against the evil eye.
A hand with index and little finger extended, the others folded.
A closed fist with the thumb pushed between index and middle finger.
A six-petalled rosette drawn with a compass inside a circle.
Two overlapping V shapes scratched as a protective mark.
A deliberate teardrop-shaped scorch burned into a timber beam.
A painted circular geometric design on Pennsylvania Dutch barns.
A five-by-five letter square reading the same in four directions.
A word written repeatedly with one letter dropped each line, forming a triangle.
An eight-armed Icelandic stave, each arm ending in a different device.
An eight-armed Icelandic stave with trident-like terminals.
A seated cat figurine with one paw raised in a beckoning gesture.
A small brocade pouch amulet sold at Japanese shrines and temples.
A stoneware or glass bottle filled with pins, hair and urine, buried as a counter-charm.
Two closed loops interlaced with one another in a flat symmetrical figure.
A woven rush cross with four arms and a square centre.
Three interlaced arcs forming a three-cornered knot.
Two rowan twigs bound with red thread into an equal-armed cross.
A small metal votive shaped as a limb, an organ, a person or an animal.
A red string or thread worn on the wrist as protection.
An acorn carried or displayed as a charm, and used as a decorative finial.
Rings drawn inside one another, incised as a protective mark.