25-08-2026, 07:23 AM
An additional graphic layer—a protective angelic amulet—is embedded within the rosette in the upper right corner.
The methodology for creating these protective amulets is described in the work *Shams al-Ma'arif wa-Lata'if al-Awarif*. Historically, *Shams al-Ma'arif* was translated into Ge'ez (Classical Ethiopic).
The spiral shape was not chosen by chance; it symbolized the eternal movement of the celestial spheres and the macrocosm.
When Ethiopian Christian clerics—specifically the *debtera*, who practiced folk magic and healing—adopted the diagrams from *Shams al-Ma'arif*, they modified them slightly. They often redrew the original Islamic magic squares, seals, and geometric figures as intricate webs of interlacing lines and knots, incorporating human faces and large, protective eyes intended to ward off demons. Islamic angelic names or verses were frequently replaced by Christian magical formulas in Ge'ez.
The methodology for creating these protective amulets is described in the work *Shams al-Ma'arif wa-Lata'if al-Awarif*. Historically, *Shams al-Ma'arif* was translated into Ge'ez (Classical Ethiopic).
The spiral shape was not chosen by chance; it symbolized the eternal movement of the celestial spheres and the macrocosm.
When Ethiopian Christian clerics—specifically the *debtera*, who practiced folk magic and healing—adopted the diagrams from *Shams al-Ma'arif*, they modified them slightly. They often redrew the original Islamic magic squares, seals, and geometric figures as intricate webs of interlacing lines and knots, incorporating human faces and large, protective eyes intended to ward off demons. Islamic angelic names or verses were frequently replaced by Christian magical formulas in Ge'ez.