The Monkey is well known for his mischievous charm, great agility and playfulness but he can also be loud and erratic. This animal's personality is ideal as a spirit influence for amulets as it has a balanced mix of resources to draw from. While the Monkey is frolicsome and delightful in his manner he will also have no problem expressing his opinions and may sometimes do the unexpected. The versatility and wide range of the Monkey's expressivity allows them to be strong and independent. As this creature is so versatile and emphatic his essence within symbolic objects makes them equally so. The Hindu's associate the God Hanuman with the Monkey and consider him a great protector and symbol of strength. This deity had an army of Monkeys and the mention of his name is said to quickly dissipate negative forces.
To the ancient Mayans the Monkey was highly respected and was described as silver tongued due to its persuasive behavior. Their symbolism and importance here was due to their admired flexibility of expression and creativity. In the Philippines it is believed that the creator of the World Bathala became lonely as so tried to create Man. He began working on a piece of clay and had nearly finished when he dropped it. As the workable material hit the ground it formed a tail shape and created the Monkey instead. It is told that the deity then went on to make Man on his second attempt. These two examples place the perceived image of the Monkey very early in Earth's history. Many remains from these civilizations have been uncovered. These feature these people's perception and homage of the Monkey and have included a plentiful collection of Monkey Amulets.
The Chinese view the Monkey as being an intelligent, agile, quick witted and influential creature. It is assigned the honor of being one of the 12 zodiac animals and has a year dedicated to it in the twelve yearly cycle of the astrological calendar. Any individual's born in those particular years are thought to be typically ambitious and presumed destined to be high achievers in life. The Buddhist patron of the Monkey is the God Dainichi who represented the Sun. This deity also has the honor of representing people with birthdays in the official Year of the Monkey. In China many ancient artworks illustrate the Monkey riding a Horse and include the phrase 'Ma Shang' meaning good luck indicating the positivity attached to Monkey's. A folklore tale at this time tells of a Monk travelling to China from India who chose the Monkey as his companion to protect him from evil spirits.
The Japanese have a popular lucky Monkey charm that they call Migawari-zaru that is presumed to eliminate bad luck. Japan is also one of the possible origins of the well known See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil Monkeys where they are referred to as Sanzaru. The See No Monkey's name is Mizaru and he covers his eyes. The Hear No Monkey is called Kikazaru and he has his hands over his ears. The Speak No Monkey is Iwazaru and he has his mouth covered. Their combined message is thought to be a reminder for us to not allow any source of negativity into our life's. These three Monkeys and their symbol of wisdom, some in amulet form have been found all over the world. They emphasize this animal's spirit of protection and ability to banish bad influences by the avoidance of things that may attract them.
The tail of the Monkey
helps them to have an extremely good balance for climbing and swinging from the branches of trees. Monkeys tails also have a symbolic meaning of mobility and the formation of connections. When we seek equilibrium of our physical and emotional being a Monkey Amulet can help with the focus and coordination of our efforts. The caring and sharing nature of the Monkey is evident from observations of groups of these animals. They lovingly groom each other and work in unison together in a community type setting. This attention to the welfare of others and their protective, nurturing approach are some of the guiding powers contained within a Monkey Amulet. It can encourage and teach the wearer to be less selfish and more aware and in tune with the feelings of the people around them.
To the ancient Egyptians the Monkey was believed to be capable of acting as a vessel that the Gods could inhabit. In Cairo at the temple of Babylon there once stood a green monkey statue as a representation of the town God. Green monkeys were called Cercopithecus Aethiops and Red monkeys were Cercopithecus Pata and thought introduced to the country by trade. They were popular among the rich and often kept as domesticated pets as the people found their nimble antics highly amusing. Figures of these Monkeys were sometimes placed at the entrances of or within burial grounds. Artwork and ceremonial objects discovered from this early period show the Monkey to be regarded in high esteem in Egypt. These favored creatures were on occasion mummified and buried in the same manner as, or along with, important people.
A Monkey Amulet is a good choice for a person looking for a strong, comforting and effective protection that can help with being more assertive. The Monkey spirit is supposed to direct us to be more understanding and assist us to communicate better and stand up for ourselves. The touch of aggression existing in a Monkey is redirected in a Monkey Amulet to generate courage rather than anger. Individual's with short tempers may benefit from the calming and harmonizing powers of a personal Monkey Amulet. These amulets are often well suited to younger people who have not yet quite mastered the value of patience and effective communication. These animals seem to have the right mixture of confidence and boldness and through their spirit can impress these attributes upon the owner of a Monkey Amulet.
Comments: The Monkey Amulet and Symbolic Talismans