Noa-name
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A noa-name is a word that replaces a taboo word, generally out of fear that the true name would anger or summon the force or being in question. The term derives from the Polynesian concept of Noa, whi
Portuguese mariner Bartolomeu Dias named the Cabo das Tormentas ("cape of the storms") in southern Africa but the king John II of Portugal renamed it Cabo de Boa Esperança ("cape of good hope").
Apotropaic magic
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Apotropaic magic or protective magic is a type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye. Apotropaic observances may also be practice
Noa-name
…gauche, Spanish izquierdo, Romanian stângă. Also Greek created ἀριστερός (aristeros), a derivation from ἄριστος (aristos, "best") to avoid λαιός (laios). Apotropaic names are negative words applied to ward off evil. Avoidance speech, a sociolinguistic phenomenon found in some aboriginal languages…
Medieval apotropaic marking on the inside of a church in Suffolk, England
The Gorgon, flanked by lionesses and showing her belt clasp of serpents; the pediment of the 580 BCE temple of Artemis in Corfu. Archaeological Museum of Corfu.
Jewish apotropaic neckband sewn with coins to deflect the evil eye. 1944, Basel, in the Jewish Museum of Switzerland's collection.
An ancient Egyptian apotropaic wand shows a procession of protective deities. It was used in birth rituals, perhaps to draw a magic circle around the mother and child.