Malocchio! A Multicultural Guide to The Evil Eye
What Is The Evil Eye?
The evil eye is an ancient curse that has been believed in for centuries. The belief is that when someone is envious of you, they have the power to give you an 'evil glare' and send bad luck your way.
Due to this belief, protection from the evil eye is something that many people actively seek after. Often cultural practices of folk magic are used to protect from the evil eye. In many countries, the official church, such as the Roman Catholic Church, reject the notion of the evil eye. So it is left up to the people and their own magical beliefs, which often fall outside the bounds of the church, to fend off the evil eye.
Folk magic, at its core, is about recognizing the resources in your natural environment and then making magic out of those resources. When our ancestors were faced with the threat of the evil eye, they didn't have the ability to log on to the internet and Google a remedy. The rituals, spells, and prayers they used to diagnose and cure misfortune and ill health were born out of necessity and a belief that the mundane and the miraculous could intersect.
The Evil Eye and Religion
Christianity: while the Roman Catholic Church officially rejects the notion of the evil eye, Catholic people, especially Irish, Mexicans, and Italians, still maintain a serious belief in the evil eye. Often incorporating both Christian and Pagan elements in their magic to cure and protect from the evil eye. In the Christian east, the Orthodox Church does officially believes in the evil eye and even has an official exorcism prayer to remove it. The Scottish Episcopal Church and its top exorcists also tend to believe in the evil eye along with other spiritual phenomena such as poltergeist and hauntings, things that other denominations tend to reject.
Islam: Like most believers in the evil eye, Muslims believe it is the cause of numerous physical ailments and medical conditions, from pain and fever to sexual dysfunction and sterility. Other symptoms may include rapid weight loss, headaches, lethargy, and anxiety. According to Islamic folklore, an envious or malignant stare can even lead to death. According to Hadith (the collected traditions of the Prophet Muhammad) the Prophet said: “The evil eye is real. If anything were to overtake the divine decree, it would be the evil eye.” Muslims employ numerous practices to combat it; these practices include the recitation of specific verses and rituals rooted in folk magic. Many Muslims believe that the Prophet even prescribed a cure for the Eye, instructing the afflicted to “perform ablutions” (baths) to dispel its harmful effects.
Judaism: According to Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, the legendary Hasidic teacher, the Evil Eye should never be dismissed as mere superstition. “Take care, there is much power in a glance. If accompanied by a malicious thought, it can cause harm. This is what is known as the evil eye. Have a good eye. Always see good in others. Spiritual awareness depends on it. Spiritual awareness is lost when people dull their hearts with jealousy and develop an evil eye.”
Hinduism: In the Hindu faith, the evil eye is known as nazar. Here, as usual, the evil eye is rooted in envy, jealousy, and general ill will. Belief in nazar is widespread among Hindus. The prevalence of nazar is particularly interesting from a theological perspective, as Hindus believe in the concept of karma, a universal law that determines an individual's experience of life based on past good or bad deeds. Countless Hindus, however, blame illness or misfortune not on their own karma but on nazar. In addition to chanting mantras and making offerings to deities, many Hindus may hang in their homes an image of a fearsome demon in hopes that it will scare away the eye. When it comes to protection, among the most popular Hindu deities are Vishnu, Ganesha, and Shiva. Folk practices are common among Hindus, especially where the evil eye is concerned. To ward it away, a Hindu might wear a nazar or a yantra. To break the curse of the eye, a Hindu might smash a coconut in front of a statue of Ganesha. Like most other religions and cultures, practices vary widely.
Paganism: The notion of the evil eye has its origins in the earliest forms of Paganism. Being a largely nature based and magic centric faith with a deep belief in the power of personal energy and manifestation, nearly every form of Pagan religion believes very deeply in the evil eye phenomena.
Women, Gays, and The Evil Eye
Within the west, Catholicism and Evangelical Protestants tend to be the two most popular denominations of Christianity. Both of these denominations reject the notion of the evil eye and its power while the common lay person still holds very deeply to the belief in the evil eye phenomena. Because of this, in communities where the empirical church rejects the evil eye, it was and is often queer and woman healers, witches, and mystics that take on the job of casting out and curing the evil eye as well as providing the means to protect from it.
Queer and women healers have often filled the gap for people who believe in the evil eye and may be experiencing its terrible effects yet cannot seek comfort in the institutional religion that rejects the very notion of the thing that is afflicting them. So, the people turn to the fringes of society, to the queer outcast and woman healers who possess the magical cures and remedies the church refuses to offer. Even within Judaism, a religion that officially acknowledges the evil eye, in times of old it was the women and the mothers who wielded a very significant and potent power to cast out and cure the effects of the evil eye.
Easy Ways to Ward Off The The Evil Eye
Wear a cornicello charm! In Italian culture, the cornicello is by far the most popular amulet to thwart malocchio. It is also referred to as a corno or cornetto.
Use Evil Eye beads! The Greeks believed that people with blue eyes were especially powerful at casting the evil eye. Therefore blue eyed beads have been used for centuries in talismans and jewelry in Greece, Turkey, and beyond to cast the evil eye back at the sender.
Make the Mano Cornuto gesture! If you fold your thumb over your bent middle and ring fingers while keeping your index and little fingers raised, you have the mano cornuto, or the horned hand. Make this hand gesture whenever you are in need of protection from the evil eye. This gesture especially protects men from impotency.
Make the Mano Figa gesture! This gesture is made by slipping the thumb between the index and middle and fingers of a closed fist, thus representing the act of sexual union. The theory behind the mano figa is that the obscenity of the image distracts or diverts the Evil Eye from “seeing” its target. This gesture especially protects women from infertility.
Wear red! Italians believe wearing red underwear on new years protects from the evil eye and brings good luck. In Mexico it is a popular custom to gift a newborn with a red string bracelet for protection from the evil eye. In many Mediterranean cultures red coral jewelry wards off the evil eye and brings good luck.
Use salt! Many cultures use salt, typically blessed by a priest, to protect the house from the evil eye. Some simply sprinkle the salt in the four corners of the home and leave it there. Others spill it all over the floor then sweep it out the front door with a magical broom.
Saints & Spirits That Protect From & Remove The Evil Eye
San Gennaro: A loving Italian Saint, known to grant any request, is said to be especially effective in removing the evil eye. Legend has it that a bottle of his dried blood mysteriously liquifies on his feast day every year.
Goddess Athena: The goddess of war and wisdom, Athena is credited with giving us the monstrous goddess Medusa who turns anyone who makes eye contact with her to stone. Said also to be the “owl eyed” goddess, she is known to remove the evil eye quite effectively.
Lord Ganesha: The elephant headed Hindu god Ganesha is known as the remover of obstacles. Wearing an amulet of Ganesha is considered highly auspicious by Hindus. He will eliminate obstacles and remove difficulties from one's path, and this includes negative energy in the form of the Evil Eye. Some believe his trunk distracts the Eye; others believe his trunk acts in a defensive gesture to cast it away.
Archangel Michael: Sicillians believe that this great Archangel’s spiritual essence is contained in garlic. The belief is that Saint Michael embodies garlic with his spiritual essence. Garlic is used, with prayers to Archangel Michael, to protect from the evil eye. The sacred sword with which he cast Lucifer into hell can also be called upon to protect from and remove the evil eye.
Saint Benedict: Known as the patron saint of exorcism, Benedict is a master at fighting demons and evil. In life, he designed an exorcism imbued medal known today as the “Benedict Medal”. It can be worn or placed in the house or even buried on one's property to protect from the evil eye. Animals can wear one on their collar to protect them as well.
References
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Norman, D. (2023). Burn a black candle: An Italian American Grimoire. Watkins Media Limited.
Fahrun, M. (2018). Italian Folk Magic: Rue’s Kitchen Witchery. Weiser Books.
Koltuv, B. B. (2005). Amulets, talismans, and magical jewelry: A Way to the Unseen, Everpresent, Almighty God. Nicolas-Hays, Inc.
My Jewish Learning. (2022, April 7). Evil eye in Judaism. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/evil-eye-in-judaism/
Protection from the Evil Eye: How? - Islam Question & Answer. (n.d.). Islam Question & Answer. https://islamqa.info/en/answers/20954/protection-from-the-evil-eye-how
Quattrocchi, V. (2006). Benedicaria- magical Catholicism. Lulu.com.
Gulbahaar Kaur, & Gulbahaar Kaur. (2023, May 10). No Nazar: Why does the “Evil Eye” hold such sway over Indian & South Asian cultures? Homegrown. https://homegrown.co.in/homegrown-voices/no-nazar-why-does-the-evil-eye-hold-such-sway-over-indian-south-asian-cultures
ReligionForBreakfast. (2022, November 4). What is the Evil Eye? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIO2FQ45t3Y
