Hamsa
Also called khamsa, Hand of Fatima, Hand of Miriam
A Mediterranean and West Asian apotropaic hand, older than either name
Jewish symbolsHamsa meaning
The hamsa is an open hand worn against the evil eye, used by Jews, Muslims, and others around the Mediterranean. “Hand of Fatima” and “Hand of Miriam” are two captions on one gesture.
An open hand against the evil eye.
The name. Arabic khamsa, five. The eye in the palm looks back at envy.
Where it comes from
Called the Hand of Fatima in Muslim houses and the Hand of Miriam in Jewish ones. The form is older and wider than both names: a palm hung, painted, or worn to turn back envy. Five fingers are glossed, locally, as the five pillars or the five books. The form is shared. The gloss is the household’s.
Islamic
Protection is not theology’s whole job
The hamsa is folk practice as much as doctrine. Some Muslim authorities dislike it for that reason, the way some dislike the star and crescent: a custom that grew up beside the religion and started to speak for it. The hand keeps being worn anyway, because envy is a practical fear.
Jewish
A hand in two names
Miriam’s name on the same palm as Fatima’s is the point. Neighbors shared a gesture for centuries and argued about the caption. The eye is the working part: being seen, and seeing back, so that a jealous look cannot land unanswered.
Near this
- Eye of HorusAn eye taken apart, restored, and used as a measure.
- Star and crescentA lunar blade and a star — a dynasty’s badge that went traveling.
- Star of DavidTwo triangles locked, asked to stand for a people.
- Eye of ProvidenceA claim that you are seen. The dollar bill did not invent it.
- Evil eyeA look that harms, and a glass eye that looks back.
Sources
- Levantine amulet practice
- Related, not identical: the nazar eye and the wedjat
Named when the entry depends on a text, a date, or a standard. Catalog numbers are not invented.
Your margin
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symbol.wiki, edited as Sigilla. Last reviewed 2 October 2026. A reading of public tradition, not a ruling.