+2 Amulet of Protection, originally uploaded by rubicon.

"An amulet blessed by a buddhist priest. It was given to me by my mother when the family left for china.

I was born in the year of the ox in the lunar calender, hence the picture of it. On the reverse is a representation of the goddess Guan Ying.

The chinese characters can be translated into 'safe and sound for life.' The swastikas are a buddhist symbol and have nothing to do with Nazism.

I'm not religious, but I keep it in my wallet anyway. "