The Evil Eye

The Evil Eye

In folklore and the occult the evil eye is generally thought to be a sign of
trouble. Few, will agree that there is an accurate definition of the evil eye.
To some the curses of the evil eye might be more accurately associated with old
wives' tales.

The belief in the evil eye is ancient. Virtually every culture has referred to
it. The oldest references to it appears in the cuneiform texts of the Sumerians,
Babylonians, and Assyrians, around 3000 BC.

The ancient Egyptians used eye shadow and lipstick to prevent the evil eye from
entering their eyes or mouths. Both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible
mentioned the evil eye. Superstitions surrounding the evil eye still strongly
persist in Mediterranean countries such as Italy, and in Mexico and Central
America.

The evil eye is either involuntary or deliberate. In the first incidences the
persons do not intentionally use the evil eye, and usually are not aware they
are doing so. No wrong doing or revenge is sought to another person.

The deliberate or malevolent use of the evil eye is called "overlooking." This
is thought to produce such misfortunes as illness, poverty, injury, loss of
love, or even death. In the Middle Ages witches were said to give anyone who
crossed them the evil eye. Also they were thought to be able to bewitch their
convicting judges with it, and this was why they were made to walk backwards
toward the judges.

Almost anything could cause the notion that some person possessed an evil eye.
If someone looked too long or lingering at one's children, or possessions, or
livestock. If a child got sick, or some possession was lost or stolen, or some
animals died, then the person was really suspected of having an evil eye.

If the evil eye and its effects could not be driven away, then it is time to
consult an older and wiser woman - usually a family member - hoping she knew a
secret cure. The evil eye can be listed as one of the earliest prejudicial
signs. A stranger in a village or town was most susceptible of suspicion. Any
person having an unusual characteristic could easily find himself in this
category, such as a blue-eyed person among brown-eyed people, or people having
body deformities. Some people were said to have been born with a permanent evil
eye, corrupting everything they looked at. Also they were often called demonic
possessed.

It is said the evil eye is most likely to strike in good times. Many believe
good fortune brings bad. Small children and animals are most vulnerable. In many
villages it was not considered wise to let children be seen too much. Likewise
possessions were not to be overly displayed or successes should not be bragged
about.

Animals under the curse of the evil eye were said to be "blinked" in Ireland
during the 19th century. The local wise woman or witch was sought out to produce
a cure. Cures against the evil eye's curses are practically as ancient and
numerous as the curses themselves. The primary cure or defense against the evil
eye is the amulet. It can be fashioned out of most kinds of material . For
witches the most "common shapes are frogs and horns, the latter of which
suggests both the powerful Mother Goddess (a bull is her consort) and the
phallus." The fig amulet, a clenched fist with the thumb thrust between the
index and middle fingers, also suggests the phallus.

The ancient roots and the use of the phallus amulet dates back to the Romans and
their phallic god, Priapus. Another name for this god is Fascinus, from
'fascinum'; the evil eye is occasionally called "fascination." The Romans
employed the phallic symbol as a defense against the evil eye. Today Italian men
still hold their genitals to ward off the evil eye or any misfortune. One is apt
to wonder in such an action is not only a legendary carry-over but also a
psychological assurance and comfort. Spitting is thought to be a powerful
aversion of the evil eye. This is a holdover from the Greeks and Romans.

There are many other defenses against the evil eye including tying bells to
horses' harnesses, tying red ribbons to children's underwear, surrounding
gardens by jack beans, the shamrock is used in Ireland, and garlic is used in
Greece.

In Hindu lore, barley is used to avert the evil eye. This is an universal remedy
supplied by the gods and the symbol of the thunderbolt of Indra, god of war,
thunder and storms.

Other cures against the evil eye include reciting secret incantations usually
passed down from mother to daughter within a family. Alone with this, in Italy,
a few drops of olive oil are dropped a bowl of water (occasionally salted). The
oil may scatter, form into blobs or sink to the bottom. The formations are then
interpreted to determine the source of the attack. Once this is done, more oil
is added to the water while reciting the incantations and making the sign of the
cross on the victim's forehead. If this fails, a powerful sorceress is sought
for a more effective cure.