Boy, oh boy. Has someone ever given you the “evil eye?”
I’ve been on the receiving end of this a couple of times in my life. But what does it mean, really?
According to the Mr. Webster and his dictionary, to give the evil eye means to “look at someone in an unpleasant way.”
Yeah, but it goes much deeper than that.
According to most sources, “the evil eye” is a curse from Greek culture. This curse, or its meaning, has been passed through many decades and still exists today. In many cultures. It states that when someone dislikes you or is envious of you, they will have the power to give you an “evil glare.” And once they do, they send bad luck your way.
As a result of this belief, many people have sought protection from the evil eye. For this reason, in modern times, people sometimes use special jewelry as protection against bad luck.
According to a folklore specialist named John Roberts, about 40% of the world’s cultures believe in some form of the evil eye. People in history have written extensively about it. There is mention of the evil eye in Roman and Greek texts, as well as the Quran and Bible. In fact, the evil eye curse has a long history as far back as 3,000 BC.
The evil eye is a curse that’s unleashed by a glance or a stare. It comes from a place of envy and jealousy. But it could also be born of resentment, anger, or greed. In most cases, when someone gives you the evil eye, the curse is intentional. But, there also seem to be those “oops” moments in the Universe when it is doled out unintentionally.
The evil eye stems from the ancient belief that the eyes are conduits for energy. This can be either positive or negative.
But when directed with malice, even a passing glance, it can send a bolt of bad juju or bad luck to the recipient.
Okay. Sidebar here. I used to work with a couple of sisters. Their entire family was born in Yugoslavia, which is smack dab in the area where all of this originated. We worked with the public. In a store. Some days, someone would come in, or something would happen, and they would make hand gestures and spit, especially down their shirts, to their chest areas. They did this to ward off bad luck.
Another sidebar. My sister-in-law calls it “the stink eye.” This cracks me up.
Okay, back to it.
A dude named Plutarch, a great Greek philosopher and historian, once described the evil eye some 2,000 years ago. He said that the emotions of the mind could increase the violence and energy of the body’s powers. So. When a person is overcome by jealousy, their body literally fills up with evil. From head to toe. And. Because the eyes are so physically close to the mind, the evil energy shoots right out of the eyes as a nasty glare, and into its victim. Kapow. The evil eye.
What are the effects? According to these beliefs, ANY bad outcome can potentially be traced back to the evil eye.
Many people in the world believe fully in the power of the evil eye and take measures to ward off the bad energy, from wearing jewelry to brandishing tattoos or markings on the body. The Nazar is an eye-shaped amulet believed to protect against the evil eye. It is one of the most common protectors used worldwide.
There are entire books on the subject. One was written recently by Antonio Pagliarulo. He explains all there is to know about the subject. But mostly, he says this:
“Energy is energy; the evil eye is out there,” says Pagliarulo. “But rather than focus on fear, you can focus on awareness and taking positive steps to protect yourself and your loved ones.”
Who can say if it is true or not. But from this point on, I may have a hard time making eye contact with anyone.
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”
― Albert Einstein
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
“Man is the cruelest animal.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
“May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house.”
― George Carlin
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
The Evil Eye. It stinks.
