disclamer - this is not written by me , it's taken from the book "the withc book , the encyclopedia of witchcraft , wicca & neo-paganism written by raymond buckland .
The concept of the evil eye seems to be found univerally , it is the idea that someone may be able to negatively influence another person or thing simply by looking at him or her , the person with the evil eye may or may not be aware that he or she is causing harm , in some areas it is said that you have been "overlooked" if you are adversely affected by the evil eye . in ireland , the term is "blinked" , in some areas , the use of the evil eye is termed
"fascination"
Fray Martin de Castañega , a sixteenth-century Spanish writer , claimed that the evil eye was actually a natural phenomenon , caused by foul thoughts producing evil emanations from the eye , Other writers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries agreed with him , The evil eye was recognised by the Sumerians , babylonians , assyrians , and ancient egyptians from as early as 3,000 BCE
A glance from one with the evil eye may cause a cow to run dry , chickens to stop laying , a child to become sick , a field to go barren , or even death , It is frequently the usual eye that is considered "evil". in the mediterranean and other areas of dark-eyed people , a person with blue eyes is viewed with caution , while in areas of fair-haired , blue-eyed people , a dark eyed person is thought to have the evil eye , and an old man or woman might end up on the gallows based soley on the fact that he or she has a squint , a cast or a cataract
Pope Pipus IX (1846-187 cool was believed to possess the evil eye , as was Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903)
There are many amulets to protect from the evil eye , those of the Greeks and Romans are similar to many available today , Bright blue beads are recognized defence against the evil eye , So , too , are various hand gestures and carved amulets of those gestures . The Romans' mano pantea is a hand with the thumb and first two fingers upright and the other fingers turned down . The Italian mano cornuta , or "horns" has the first and little finger up and the others down , themano in fica , or "fig" has all fingers curled down with the thumb stuck between the first two fingers , this last is also a fertility sign , and a sign of life is a defence against evil.
Doreen Valiente mentions that twining or interlacing knots were also considered a deterrent , the reasoning begin that the evil eye would be distracted by the confusing pattern , Valiente says that the elaborately patterned belts traditionally worn by English nurses owe their design to this evil eye defence .She says "in olden days a good deal of sickness was blamed on to the evil eye ; so a nurse in particular had to be able to protect herself
Talismans in the form of frogs and other unpopular creatures were thought effective as a defence since they would attract the evil eye and draw the power to them rather than to the wearer , Another popular antidote was to spit , This practice was found in ancient Greece and Rome , among other places , and is also found today among Gypsies , Shamrock , garlic , barley , jack beans , red ribbons , and bells are all considered usefull in protecting from the evil eye .
if you'd like to provide more information , i would be GLaD to hear it
The concept of the evil eye seems to be found univerally , it is the idea that someone may be able to negatively influence another person or thing simply by looking at him or her , the person with the evil eye may or may not be aware that he or she is causing harm , in some areas it is said that you have been "overlooked" if you are adversely affected by the evil eye . in ireland , the term is "blinked" , in some areas , the use of the evil eye is termed
"fascination"
Fray Martin de Castañega , a sixteenth-century Spanish writer , claimed that the evil eye was actually a natural phenomenon , caused by foul thoughts producing evil emanations from the eye , Other writers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries agreed with him , The evil eye was recognised by the Sumerians , babylonians , assyrians , and ancient egyptians from as early as 3,000 BCE
A glance from one with the evil eye may cause a cow to run dry , chickens to stop laying , a child to become sick , a field to go barren , or even death , It is frequently the usual eye that is considered "evil". in the mediterranean and other areas of dark-eyed people , a person with blue eyes is viewed with caution , while in areas of fair-haired , blue-eyed people , a dark eyed person is thought to have the evil eye , and an old man or woman might end up on the gallows based soley on the fact that he or she has a squint , a cast or a cataract
Pope Pipus IX (1846-187 cool was believed to possess the evil eye , as was Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903)
There are many amulets to protect from the evil eye , those of the Greeks and Romans are similar to many available today , Bright blue beads are recognized defence against the evil eye , So , too , are various hand gestures and carved amulets of those gestures . The Romans' mano pantea is a hand with the thumb and first two fingers upright and the other fingers turned down . The Italian mano cornuta , or "horns" has the first and little finger up and the others down , themano in fica , or "fig" has all fingers curled down with the thumb stuck between the first two fingers , this last is also a fertility sign , and a sign of life is a defence against evil.
Doreen Valiente mentions that twining or interlacing knots were also considered a deterrent , the reasoning begin that the evil eye would be distracted by the confusing pattern , Valiente says that the elaborately patterned belts traditionally worn by English nurses owe their design to this evil eye defence .She says "in olden days a good deal of sickness was blamed on to the evil eye ; so a nurse in particular had to be able to protect herself
Talismans in the form of frogs and other unpopular creatures were thought effective as a defence since they would attract the evil eye and draw the power to them rather than to the wearer , Another popular antidote was to spit , This practice was found in ancient Greece and Rome , among other places , and is also found today among Gypsies , Shamrock , garlic , barley , jack beans , red ribbons , and bells are all considered usefull in protecting from the evil eye .
if you'd like to provide more information , i would be GLaD to hear it
