The "Evil Eye"

The “Evil Eye” sounds negative to someone who hears it for the first time. However, it's very ironic since this symbol isn't evil but rather protective and lucky. The Evil Eye, should be viewed as a guardian angel. There is no country in the world people of which are not familiar with the evil eye and where they do not have their own means of Evil Eye protection. The Evil Eye belief is that a person, otherwise not malefic in any way, can harm you, or your kids, your livestock, or even your fruit trees, by simply *looking at them* with envy and praising them. 

For most people, this just means that we were given a nasty look. However, the Evil Eye dates back to ancient times and it is taken very seriously as a curse in some cultures.

In Hebrew it is "ayin ha'ra" (the evil eye); in mainland Italian it is "mall occhio" (the bad eye);  in Spanish "mall ojo" (the bad eye or just the eye);  in Sicily it is "jettatore" (the projection from the eye) and in Farsi it is "bla band" (the eye of evil); in Greece it is "to kako mati" (the bad eye).  

A summary of Evil Eye beliefs:

Perpetrators:

• Envious people 
• Those who praise children 
• Those who suffer from covetousness 
• Those with blue eyes (xenophobia among brown-eyed racial groups) 
• Childless women 
• People born with the unfortunate propensity to inadvertently project the eye

Etiology:

• Overlooking (old British term; means gazing too long upon coveted item or child) 
• Praising without touching or spitting to void the damage 
• Projection from eye (Sicilian term for one who gives mal occhio is jettatura, from the same root-word as ejaculation and projection)

Victims and possible symptoms:

• Nursing infants (they sicken and cry; their mother's milk may dry up) 
• Young children (they sicken and cry; they may vomit or become listless) 
• Milk cows and milk goats (they dry up) 
• Fruit trees (they wither and die or they do not bear fruit) 
• Fathers and sons (orphans or fathers who have lost sons envy them) 
• Adult men (they become impotent)

Some people that are exposed to the influence of the evil eye, may be very vulnerable and moody in the wrong environment which may harm their social functioning. If you and someone you love feel the influence of other people's negativity or their evil eye, the best thing to do is to ward it off with amulet with this symbol on it. This popular symbol is common to see it on almost anything, from babies to walls!  Colorful beads, rings, bracelets, necklaces, talismans and amulets. 

Believe it or not it’s good to have one :)