The evil eye is essentially a specific type of curse, with its roots in magical thinking and superstition. Many cultures believe that receiving the evil eye will cause bad luck, misfortune, or injury. It begins with the subconscious thoughts of someone who is jealous or covetous. One who casts the evil eye onto another person is always envious of that person. It is helpful to imagine the evil eye as an arrow. When shot with intention, it is meant to strike a target. While it may not always hit its intended prey, the motivation is malicious.

The victim's fortune, health, or physical appearance may unwittingly serve to provoke an attack by someone with the evil eye. If the object attacked is animate - a person or animal, it may fall ill. Symptoms of illness caused by the evil eye include loss of appetite, fever, excessive yawning, hiccups, and vomiting. If the object attacked is an animal, its milk may dry up or it may develop a disease; if a plant or fruit tree, it may suddenly wither and die.

It is believed that the evil eye can affect objects and buildings. The evil eye cast upon a vehicle may cause it to break down irreparably, while a cursed home or office may soon develop a leaky roof or an infestation of insects or rodents. Just about anything that goes wrong (with or without reason) may be blamed on the power of the evil eye.

The History of the Evil Eye

First recorded by the people of Mesopotamia about 5,000 years ago in cuneiform on clay tablets, the evil eye may have originated as early as the Upper Paleolithic age. It was believed that this eye saw all the wickedness in the world. When Horus, the Egyptian god of the sky, opened his eyes, the world was enlightened. When he closed them, it became dark. From Egypt, the eye talisman spread throughout Europe, the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

The Arabic word al-‘ayn - the evil eye refers to a person harming another with his eye.In Spanish mal ojo or el ojo - the bad eye or just the eye. In Hebrew it is called ayin ha'ra, which is Yiddish for ayin horoh, ayin hora, or ayen hara. In Italian it is mal occhio - the bad eye.

The symbol of the evil eye is found across Jewish, Christian and Muslim cultures as well as Buddhist and Hindu societies. It is mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman texts, as well as in many famous literary works, including the Bible - in Proverbs 28:22, "He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him" and Proverbs 23:6, "Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats".

It is important to point out that no culture believes that all eye contact is evil. The harmful power comes from emotions such as envy or greed, meaning that its victims are people who own something coveted by others: a child, a happy relationship, wealth, fame, or healthy crops and animals. The evil eye fixes on these fortunate things and, in turn, causes them to suffer from illness, failure, and conflict.

Countering the Evil Eye

The association of special powers with the eyes is not hard to understand. Eyes are the gateway to a person's soul. People do not always give you the evil eye consciously. The conscious mind of a common person is not typically strong enough to alter reality to such an extent. The evil eye is a result of underlying negative emotions people carry of which you happen to play some role of opposite and therefore happen to function as an object of jealousy or hatred or both.

It is believed that there are three types of evil eyes. The first are unconscious evil eyes. These are unintentional, and harm people and things, without meaning to. The second type intends to harm. The third one is unseen, hidden evil which is the most potent and frightening of the three. There have been numerous techniques and practices by people of many different religions and cultures to protect themselves from the evil eye and the unseen forces and energies that accompany it.

The most common and universal form of defense against the evil eye has been through talismans — physical objects created as a shield against the glaring curse. The most recognized design for the protective talisman is what the Turkish refer to as Nazar Boncuk: the black dot of pupil surrounded by concentric circles of blues and white. The image appears on bracelets, amulets, and charms, and is worn by men, women and children around the world.

The Nazar Boncuk, or Evil Eye Bead, is an "eye" often set on a blue background. As a mirror reflects our image, the bead reflects the evil intent back to the onlooker. It stares back at the world to ward off evil eye and keep you safe from harm. The color of the bead is not coincidence. In Turkey or in Greece and surrounding countries, the most popular evil eye charm color is blue. Turkey is in a dry part of the world, where water is precious — with water things prosper and grow, and without it, things shrivel and die. The color blue reminds people of fresh, cool water.

Even today, in Turkey and its surrounding areas, these simple glass designs are hung inside and outside homes, in trees, in cars to add a bit of extra protection from outside forces that mean to do its owner harm. The added benefit of the talisman’s design is that it is an eye itself, is always on the watch for evil and malicious intent, and in effort the talisman returns the negativity back to its sender.

People around the globe affix the Against Evil Eye Talisman to everything they wished to protect from the evil eyes, from their farm animals to their children to their household belongings. In Italy, the evil eye is said to affect men as well as children, nursing mothers, crops, and dairy animals. It is believed to bring on impotence. Common protective traditions of combating the evil eye include the hand gestures known as the mano cornuto or horned hand and the mano fico or fig hand.

Those of Jewish descent may spit three times or say "peh-peh-peh", throw salt, or refer to a “keinehora”, an expression said to ward off the evil eye or bad luck. Jewish people also hang Hamsa talismans from their doorways to offer them protection from jealousy and harm. Muslim people take a spiritual approach to the evil eye.

To ward off the evil eye from your children, light a charcoal disk and burn over some fresh Ruda plant. Recite a spell against the evil eye and fan the smoke around the child. In some families it is customary to combine Lobelia herb and Frankincense with the fresh Ruda to make a more powerful mixture.

To ward off the evil eye, start by anointing an Against Evil Eye pillar candle with Go Away Evil oil. Place a small bowl full of water on your altar. Light the candle and allow it to burn for a few minutes while you focus your intention on reversing the evil eye that has been cast on you. Once a decent amount of melted wax has accumulated on the candle, carefully lift it off of the altar and tilt it over the bowl of water. As the wax drips into the water, recite the following:

As water meets fire, this spell is come undone,
As water meets fire, this spell is now broken.
As water meets fire, I am free, Blessings to the Gods, so mote it be.

Another excellent way to remove the evil eye is to take an uncrossing bath. Start by lighting a Double Action Evil Eye Multicolor 7 Day Prayer Candle. Draw a bath of very warm water. Once the bath is full, place a Go Away Evil bath bomb into the water. Soak in the tub for ten minutes, concentrating on your goal. Wash your body with Go Away Evil soap and recite the following prayer as you allow the fragrance of the bath bomb to envelop you:

If spirits threaten me in this place,
Fight Water by Water and Fire by Fire,
Banish their souls into nothingness, and remove their powers until the last trace.
Let these evil beings flee,
Through time and space.

Once the bath bomb has fully dissolved, step out of the tub and allow yourself to air dry. Once you are completely dry, sprinkle some Victory Over Evil sachet powder onto your body. Put an Against Evil Eye talisman or Control Evil Spirits amulet in your pocket or wallet to destroy any evil energy that surrounds you. The sacred blue eye is always watching over us, waiting for the next mishap or danger to rear its evil head. With careful diligence and vigilant practice, we can spot these signs ahead of time and face them with our own positivity and light, and with our evil eye to protect us.