Amulet for Protection in Childbirth

In the name of Him who was, is, and will be, I have adjured and decreed upon you—you, the constellation of Leo—that you stand with all strength, might, power, and force to overcome all the beings that harm, bring pain, and cause sickness to the woman, Ḥabibah bint Zuhra, and that you stand on her behalf, in prayer and supplication before the King—King of Kings, the Holy One—to remove from upon her: all kinds of male and female demons; Lilis and Liliths, destructive, damaging, harmful, and injurious beings, both male and female; and all types of fear, trembling, cowardice, weakness of the heart, seizures of the heart; and all sorts of pain in her limbs or sinews, in such a manner that she should be healthy and guarded from any evil matter all her days, especially

if she has inside her any of those seven spirits that rise into the innards of women and crush their seed, and that she should not miscarry the fruit of her womb. Regarding all of it, I adjure and decree upon you that you should not omit anything from all that is written here, to pray for her in the name of Shaddai of Hosts, the Lord, and through the strength of this holy combination, which is YBA‘ BSYA LM VA AB CH YM YMH BYL VCT TSVA LT ML MYY MBY MYTS YMAV MALY RBT VRTC AYM; do not violate this oath of mine, by the power of the appointed angel, the one who is appointed over you, who is Sarbiel, and by the power of these seven angels who are appointed over the seven days of the week—namely:

Michael, Gabriel, Samael, Rafael, Tsadqiel, Haniel, Kaftsiel—that you give honor to the Lord, God of Israel and to the holy names, by which I adjured you, and fulfill all that is written here, and you will receive a good blessing, Amen.

I further adjure and decree upon all of you types of male and female demons, Lilis and Liliths, damaging spirits, harmful, and injurious beings, both male and female, whether from fire, from water, from air, or from earth, and especially those seven spirits—taught by Ashmedai, king of the demons, to King Solomon—which rise into the innards of women and crush their seed.

And on these too, and their types—I decree upon you all kinds of destructive, damaging beings and damaging pains, and all sorts of vomit, diarrhea, aches, irritations, and weaknesses that are in the body of the woman, Ḥabibah bint Zuhra. In the name of El Shaddai, before whom you tremble and fear, and in the name of Michael, your master, and in the name of Ashmadai, your king, and in the name of all those appointed, who rule over you, you should remove yourselves, and go away, and uproot yourselves, and distance yourselves from this woman, and you shall never approach her again. Flee, flee, from upon her to somewhere else, and do not go near her, by the power of this holy combination, which is SS TSM TAT TSMH NKHY, such that she should not suffer any pain, neither during her time of menstruation nor during her time of purity, and that she should remain healthy all her days. Amen.

And if you violate this adjuration of mine, I will beat you with an iron stick of the four holy mothers: Bilhah, Rachel, Zilpah, Leah. Therefore, you should fulfill this adjuration of mine, and then you will receive a good blessing. Amen.

Source: CUL T-S K1.18 + T-S K1.30.

Translated by Avi Steinhart.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.

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This Aramaic amulet, found in the Cairo Geniza, was composed for the protection of Ḥabibah bint Zuhra during childbirth. The amulet requests that the zodiacal sign Leo prevail over any forces that might endanger Ḥabibah during this dangerous time. Several powerful spirits, both good and evil, are identified in this text, which also invokes the biblical matriarchs Rachel and Leah and the concubines Bilhah and Zilpah. Like many such texts, it includes magical letter combinations. A rather lengthy example, this amulet survives on two pieces of paper.

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