Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols - Adele Nozedar - Страница 200

Although, latterly, the fetish has erotic connotations, the origins of the word are from the French fétiche and the Portuguese feitiço, meaning charm. In sorcery, a fetish is something that is believed to have a spirit of its own, used for magical purposes. It is likely that the first fetish objects were stones of some kind, not necessarily small ones. The Black Stone at Mecca and the Stone of Destiny are good examples of fetish objects whose power, as such, has accumulated over the centuries that people have revered them. “Lucky” or “unlucky” numbers are fetishes, as are “lucky” or “unlucky” days of the week.

Bodily fluids or parts such as fingernails and teeth are fetish objects, considered to contain the energy of the creature of origin. Smaller fetish objects were carried in pouches or bags, a practice that continues today in many forms. These fetish or medicine bags should never touch the ground. The reason for this is that contact with the Earth is sacrilegious in some way for these empowered objects. It is for exactly the same reason that flags, symbols of national identity, also never touch the ground.