The fish, a denizen of life-giving waters, has been a motif symbolic of fertility and good

fortune from early times, and appears frequently in various decorative forms. It is found

in Jewish ornamentation where it may have evoked the Sabbath meal.  For example,

Roman writers noted the Jewish partiality for fish during the Sabbath. From the second

and third centuries CE it served as a Christian symbol, when it was used by early

believers to covertly identify each other — since for Christians, the Greek word for fish, is

an acronym for Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour. In addition, the fish was a symbol of

baptism; the baptismal font was referred to as a piscina (Latin for “fish pond”) and the

baptized were pisciculi (“little fish”).

The five-pointed star in Christian tradition is the sign for health. It appears on a variety of

amulet rings, frequently with the words hygieia “health” or salus “well-being”. It is

termed the pentalpha and is one of the most powerful amuletic signs in the Late Antique

lexicon of magic. Moreover, as a Christian symbol, it associated with five stigmata of

Christ.