apotropaic:
Apotropaic magic (from Greek apotrepein “to ward off” from apo- “away” and trepein “to turn”) is a type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye. [Wikipedia]
From the Artifact column of Archaeology (November / December, 2016):
Found during recent renovation work [at St. John’s College at the University of Cambridge], behind the wainscoting between a window and a fireplace, the well-worn shoe was put there almost three centuries ago as an apotropaic item intended to ward off evil and bad luck. Popular magic of this kind was a relatively widespread phenomenon in England between the sixteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries, with shoes being the most common items secreted, explains [archaeologist Richard] Newman. While the discovery of concealed items is by no means uncommon, he says “it’s always exciting because practical magic represents a silent tradition—there is no documentary record of the practice of concealment—and archaeology allows us to explore an otherwise little-known facet of the social lives of those in the past.”
