top of page
Writer's pictureImaginarium Magazine

The Evil Eye


From ancient times until today, people are divided over whether the evil eye really exists or whether we should simply dismiss it as a superstition that has a logical explanation.


The evil eye is the superstition that it is possible for a person to negatively influence someone because of a glare. The glare has a destructive and evil nature, however, the person who glares does not always have to do it with a malefic intention. Many times, without realizing it or without wanting to, one can give the evil eye at another as a result of human nature which is prone to jealousy. There are many ways to banish the evil eye energy as well as ways to prevent it. The superstition in the evil eye is especially prevalent in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean countries. The Italians call it 'mal d'ochio' and in fact, those who give it to someone without wanting to, people like psychic vampires; the Italians call them 'jettatura'. In Hebrew, it is called 'ayin hara', evil eye, and in Arabic simply 'ayin', meaning eye. References to the eye can be found in the Qur'an and Hebrew texts such as the Talmud.


In Greece, as in some other Mediterranean countries, there is a belief that light-coloured eyes can give the evil eye curse more easily. This belief stems from the fact that in these areas light-coloured eyes are rarer. For this reason, in Turkey and Greece amulets that have the ability to protect from the eye are in the form of blue eye talismans called nazars, or very often they are just a blue bead worn on the hand or neck.


In northern Europe, on the other hand, they target black skin, while red-haired women were often considered a reason to be more careful...The eye was a tool that promoted racism and the targeting of certain races.


But when and where did the superstition begin and how did it spread to so many areas? The beginning of the evil eye dates back to Chaldea and from there it probably spread to Greece, Italy, and the rest of Europe. The belief in the evil eye was widespread, not only among the common people of ancient Greece and Rome but also among the so-called wises men of antiquity. For example, Aristotle, Plutarch, Virgil, and Cicero acknowledged the evil eye, and some of them, such as Plutarch and Aristotle, tried to give a rational explanation for the phenomenon.


The evil eye can affect everyone but not everyone is equally sensitive to negative vibrations. Those who are most at risk are brides, pregnant women, babies, children, and horses. The men were not particularly sensitive to the eye although they believed that their genitals and sperm were!


The Romans had the children under the protection of the goddess Cumina who had the role of preventing the evil eye.


In the Orthodox Church, the Holy Fathers believe in it and attribute it to the intervention of the evil spirit, meaning that the result of the curse is not done by the human eye, but it is the work of the devil. They believe that Vaskania -as it is called in Greek- is bad not only for the one who gets it but also for the one who causes it.


Ways to prevent and banish the evil eye


How do we understand that we got the evil eye? In Greece in particular, people are very familiar with this superstition. Every time things suddenly go wrong and one obstacle follows another, while illness suddenly knocks on the door, then most of us know that we have probably been victims of the evil eye curse. In other cultures, persistent lice are a sign of the curse as well as the loss of energy, vitality, and even fertility. It is also recorded that the sudden and excessive biting of the lips, especially during sleep, is another tell-tale sign of the evil eye.


In all cultures, we are convinced that in order to avoid the eye we should be as humble as possible about our happiness and our successes. There is a belief that it is especially unwise to brag about your good luck, especially in front of those who are less fortunate.

The most common way to protect ourselves from the curse - in addition to the humble behaviour in front of others - is the use of amulets, prayers, magic spells, and practices.

From ancient times the Greeks used amulets and periapts to neutralize the evil eye. The amulets were gestures, symbols, stones, metals, animals, and plants. One of the most famous gestures is spitting, which was known to the ancient Greeks and is still used today. "Spit on your body", we say very often and it is a phrase used from ancient times. In ancient Rome they hung the "fascinum", a phallus-shaped amulet on the neck of the children to protect against the evil eye.


The use of amulets is still widespread today among all people. Even Eastern religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, Brahmanism, and Shamanism believe in amulets. Christianity also has not been able to eliminate their use, despite its efforts. Specifically, at the Sixth Ecumenical Synod, the church had appointed a dismissal from the clergy and an aphorism for the priests who were giving bundles of silk threads, woven with hair as amulets to their flock. Eventually, the church was forced to establish amulets condemning only those associated with heretical traditions or Jewish ideas and magical and mystical symbols. Today the most common are the bead and other amulets from sacred places. Sanctification and Holy Water also have the use of an amulet.


According to tradition, a prayer requires water, water, and oil, which is the most well-known method of cleansing; with the prayer being passed down from generation to generation, mainly from man to man. In Turkey, they also use beads and inscriptions with the name of Allah invoking his protection. As for the mystical and occult traditions of the East, man is considered to be surrounded by the aura which can be pierced by the energy of the evil eye. The healer when he does the cleansing moves his hands over the body of the victim and basically closes those areas of the body that the negative energy could invade and fills them with vital energy called "qi" for the Chinese and "prana" for the Indians. Reiki art, for example, works with exactly the same philosophy.


Imaginarium Magazine 6

Anastasia Diakidi



39 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page