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The Evil Eye
Chances are you've heard of or seen the "evil eye" many times. The evil eye is essentially a specific type of magical curse, and has its roots in magical thinking and superstition. Curses, including the evil eye, are an answer to the age-old question of why bad things happen to good people. The evil eye is one of the strongest symbolic images in the world; its meaning dates back almost 3,000 years to ancient Greece and Rome, and it has symbolism in almost every country and religion in the world. The evil eye is a look given to inflict harm, suffering, or some form of bad luck on the person that is on the receiving end. Giving someone "the evil eye" is a look which clearly states that one intends for something bad to happen to the other person, either out of jealousy or pure malice. The evil eye meaning has symbolism in almost every country in the world and in every religion. It is even included in the Bible (Proverbs 23:6: "Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats.")
It is believed by many cultures that the person who receives this glare will have disaster and misfortune brought into their life, as well as physical and mental illness. In many cultures, excessive praise or receiving admiration beyond what is truly deserved can bring upon the scorn of the evil eye. Ashkenazi Jews believe that excessive praise causes a vulnerability to the evil eye, and will repeat a Yiddish phrase, “Keyn aynhoreh!” meaning “no evil eye” in order to protect against it.
Although having the glare of the evil eye cast upon you is considered harmful, wearing an evil eye is believed to provide protection against evil forces. The evil eye is a popular trend in jewelry today and can be seen on many celebrities as a stylish jewelry statement.
A family friend went to Greece a few years ago and brought us back an evil eye. It has been hung up on the wall near our garage door for about 2 years now.
http://www.livescience.com/40633-evil-eye.html
http://jewelryinfoplace.com/symbolism-in-jewelry/
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Awesome post. I like how you connected many different cultures to a single belief. It gives that belief much more power when different cultures from all over the world recognize it.
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