Bat Nut/Devils Head Pods

The Bat Nut, also known as Devils Pod, Goat Head, Bull Nut and Buffalo Nut, is the seed pod of Trapa bicornis,or Water Caltrops an aquatic plant orginating in Asia. This interestingly sculpted botanical oddity looks like a leering goat-horned devil, an enraged bull, or a flying bat. People have long used the Devil Pod to Ward Off Evil, and for that purpose they place it above a doorway, facing outward as an apotropaic charm, much as in the manner of a Roman Janus or Tibetan door demon. Some people also carry a Devil Pod in a red or black bag and anoint it with Protection oil to ward off those (or that) which would cause them harm.