To make a long story short.... the Hamsa is an ancient symbol, of an open human hand (referring to the hand of God),  used as a protective charm by both Jews and Muslims. The word “Hamsa” is derived from the Semitic word that mean the number "five" – which will sound like “hamesh” (that is if one can pronounce it…) or חמש in Hebrew. The Muslims refer to the Hamsa as the “hand of Fatima”, Mohammed daughter.

So it does not matter if you call it Chamsa or Hamsa, because it is a word that is translated form Hebrew/Arabic to English. There is no equivalent sound to the Hebrew letter "ח" (Het) in the English language. We just have to pick one way to use in English and we did! Our חמסה (which is the Hebrew word) is written as Hamsa.

The visual symbol of the Hamsa is represented by the 5 fingers of a human hand. The hand is open as if to stop any approaching evil or enemy.

Many times the Hamsa is combined with other amulets to double the power of protection. This is why many Hamsa have in them the blue eye charm , which "mirrors back" the blue of the evil eye and thus "confounds" it. The colors turquoise, blue and red are also known to protect against wicked forces.

The Hamsa is usually worn as a charm on a necklaces or bracelet . It is also hung on walls or over doors as guard. In recent years, you could see Hamsas on key chains, house blessing and more.

Today, the Hamsa it is the most popular good-luck charm in the Middle East. Some of its popularity can be credit to the use that artist make in lending traditional believes and symbols, of protecting against evil existence, onto their contemporary art. Evidence to this trend can be seen in our own collection, as Neta designed a bracelet with red thread in it. The red thread is also believed to protect against evil forces.

The belief in the power of the Hamsa symbol is the reason for gifting people we care about with a Hamsa jewelry; We hope that the person who wears the Hamsa will be protected from evil of any kind.

We hope that you enjoyed reading this, and that your necklace of knowledge is one bead longer than it was before you read this page.

As the blessing say:

חמסה חמסה עליך
Which literary translate as: Hamsa Hamsa on you
Meaning: The Hamsa will protect you

Kathy Bareket
Sabra Originals