Page 505

[Alexandr Korol]

“Obereg — spells, incantations, words and rituals against the evil eye, curses; charms, whisperings, to destroy or prevent harmful magic; talisman, amulet, pendant against the evil eye, against fire, water, snakes, livestock plague, wedding curses, illnesses.”

Apotropaion — a magical object which in antiquity was believed to protect people, animals, dwellings from evil forces, a source of apotropaic magic. The notions of obereg and apotropaion are close, even to the point of complete identification. In the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, examples of apotropaia include not only wearable amulets but also architectural reliefs in the form of animal faces.

Talisman — an object which, according to superstitious belief, brings happiness and fortune. It also serves as a protective charm. The dictionaries of Ozhegov and Ushakov also mention luck. In these dictionaries, wearing a talisman on the body is not specified. Thus, the talisman is the most general concept: talismans may not only perform a protective function but also bring success; some talismans are worn on the body, others are not (for example, an animal may be considered a talisman).

In foreign languages, the words denoting “amulet” and “talisman” may likewise either be synonyms or differ in meaning; these differences may not coincide with those in Russian.”

Such thoughts immediately came to me. Indeed, with rock musicians — as has often been shown in films — and with football teams, they truly do have some kind of talisman, and it can be an actual person or an animal. And I realized that during my own travels, there were clothes I did not take off, and it was as if when I wore them, I was unbelievably happy, happier than ever before. And that means I must absolutely protect these things — I must be their guardian. By that I mean, they must not be thrown away or sold, but cherished. And I need to pay attention to exactly which things these are. It might be shoes, it might be a shirt — maybe it is all about the shirt — or it might be a cap. After all, I noticed very clearly that there were moments when, as soon as I changed and put on different clothes, it was as if the miracles immediately disappeared. Interesting.