The evil eye. An account of this ancient and wide spread superstition

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X COMBINATION OF CHARMS 355
some it appears as a dolphin. The dolphin was the
special attribute of Neptune, but Diana-Proserpine
was a sea goddess, and it may as an amulet refer to
her, inasmuch as it is on her statue (Fig. 175).
Lastly, the flower must be intended for the lotus,
the symbol of Isis, i.e. of Diana.®^^
sum up :
we have in this highly composite
and therefore powerful amulet, no less than thirteen
and distinct symbols, any one of which by
itself may be taken as prophylactic against the
/ dreaded evil eye. These are: i, Rue; 2, Diana
Triformis ; 3, Silver ; 4, Hand ; 5, horned Crescent
6, Serpent ; 7, Key ; 8, Heart ; 9, Cock ; 10, Eagle ;
II, Sword or Dart; 12, Fish; 13, Lotus. ^^^"
Of all the many charms combined in the Cimaruta
we find on close study that there is scarcely one
which may not directly or indirectly be considered
as connected with Diana, the goddess of infants,
worshipped to-day by Neapolitans as zealously as
ever she was in old times by the men of Ephesus
and Rome ; the only change is in her name. Many
a Demetrius, who still makes her silver shrines,
flourishes near the Piazza Margherita, though nowadays
he knows her only as La Madonna ; she is,
however, his goddess, his " regina del Cielo, della
terra, del parto, ed anche del Inferno."
5^9 In addition to Isis and her descendants, the lotus is sacred to Lateshmi,
who, as the partner of Vishnu, is the goddess of prosperity, or the Indian
Abundantia. The flower in Egyptian mythology was also sacred to Horus,
who is very commonly represented seated on a lotus. In King's Gems this
is quite a favourite subject, also in Abraxas, etc.
The lotus was also the symbol of the Roman Ceres, the corn goddess, the
type of plenty. Lotus-seeds were mixed along with wheat-ears in the cornucopia
of Amalthea, the she-goat, the very emblem of abundance.
689a Probably there are other charms to be found in specimens not seen by
the writer. It is, however, curious that those recognised should be precisely
thirteen in number—an undesigned coincidence, but naturally connecting itself
with the number, on which we remark in Chap. XI.
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