From what I remember, vampire legends from non-Christian countries don't mention religious symbols repelling vamps.

Now I'm trying to remember if using a cross against vampires is something that Stoker came up with on his own, because I don't remember it in the pre-Dracula folklore; it was all about wild roses and garlic.

"In order to protect yourself from a vampire, the cross or crucifix was thought to be very powerful in the Christian countries. Little is known of how holy symbols were used as vampire protection before the Christian era, however, folk-cures were often employed." Yaaay for Encyclopedia Mythica.

Resistance to a cross increases with age, doesn't it? Angel has managed to keep his reaction to a wince (then snatching the cross from Kate's hand and embedding it in the wall) while lesser vamps actually cower.

Did research on this for an unrelated topic a while back.

Basically, the Christian cross is a symbol of God's covenant of true life forever with JC, rather than the false promise of immortality of a vampire. The vampire is repelled by the truth of that symbol.

My understanding of Jewish iconography is limited, but I think I can safely assume that the Star of David is not to JC's sacrifice on the cross for immortal life, and while it may have some symbolic meaning that I am not aware of, it would not affect a vampire in the same way, in an act of repelling

I've always thought the Tetragrammaton would be the correct Hebrew symbol to repel a vampire.

It would seem so, Connie. Hmm, wonder how being vamped at...ahem, midlife, would affect Our Antihero.(Of course, he may never speak to me again, since I said that.)

In one of the Anita Blake books (I know, I know, great research) some Jews comment that the Star of David isn't the symbol of the faith, but they've got some nice emblems of The Book (ie, The Word, or whatever Torah means) that do a good job of repelling the undead. In another book, they have to repel a true demon with prayer, and there's a whole lot of various prayers going up, including a couple of Hindu ones, and they all seem to work.

Did you just accuse Our Antihero of being middle-aged? I don't think he'd disagree, he's rather enjoying not having those aches and pains any more.

Now want Anita Blake to meet Vamp!Munchkin, just so he can sneer through her "ardor" thing. And because it's wrong. And it would really mess with LKH...not that she's watching, but she hates the fic. Connie, probably. But he'd probably hate that I announced it to a "room" full of women. :)

Well, the rules are always changing and flexible. For instance, stakes used to have to be made out of mountain ash, the same wood that the cross was made out of. So it was the mountain ash, Christ symobolgy, that was important. Now that is just any old no 2 pencil will do.

Nilly, if you are here, what is the symbology of the Star of David?