![]() How to Protect Yourself from the Evil Eye Curse ![]() Why You Should Protect Yourself from the Evil Eye This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen. Other means of protection, common to many traditions, include the consumption of protective foodstuffs or decoctions the wearing of sacred texts, amulets, charms, or talismans (which may also be hung upon animals for their protection) the use of certain hand gestures and the display of ritual drawings or objects. Among some Asian and African peoples the evil eye is particularly dreaded while eating and drinking, because soul loss is thought to be more prevalent when the mouth is open in these cultures, the ingestion of substances is either a solitary activity or takes place only with the immediate family and behind locked doors. Asian children sometimes have their faces blackened, especially near the eyes, for protection. For example, some authorities suggest that the purpose of ritual cross-dressing-a practice that has been noted in the marriage ceremonies of parts of India-is to avert the evil eye. Measures taken to ward off the evil eye vary widely between cultures. Thus, in medieval Europe it was considered unlucky to be praised or to have one’s children or possessions praised, so some qualifying phrase such as “as God will” or “God bless it” was commonly used. More frequently, however, malice toward and envy of prosperity and beauty are thought to be the cause. The power of the evil eye is sometimes held to be involuntary a Slavic folktale, for example, relates the story of a father afflicted with the evil eye who blinded himself in order to avoid injuring his own children. Those most often accused of casting the evil eye include strangers, malformed individuals, childless women, and old women. ![]() Belief in the evil eye is ancient and ubiquitous it occurred in ancient Greece and Rome, in Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions, and in indigenous, peasant, and other folk societies, and it has persisted throughout the world into modern times.
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