The Evil Eye is a belief starting in antiquity that willingly or unwillingly others can cast an ‘evil eye’ of jealousy, envy, or malice on a person or a personal object, which brings them harm or misfortune.
The belief in the ‘evil eye’ spans across centuries, civilizations, religions, languages, and cultures. Known by different words and different symbols, but nearly the same interpretation.
Jump To Section:
1. How it Works
2. Why is the Eye Evil
3. Evil Eye Symptoms
4. Evil Eye Symbol
5. Evil Eye Protection
6. Evil Eye Origin
7. Evil Eye Colors
8. Evil Eye with Other Symbols
9. How to Get Rid of Evil Eye
A look of jealousy, envy, or malice by another.
An Evil Eye is most often received by a look of jealousy, envy, or malice by another.
However, an Evil Eye can also be given by accident to ourselves, or by our loved ones.
This happens when indulging in excessive admiration, excessive love, or excessive praise, especially if it’s more than deserved.
The eyes can carry deadly rays, often deep from the heart of an envious person.
Since the dawn of civilization, ancient Indian and Greek philosophers have believed that eyes can carry deadly rays, often deep from the heart of an envious person.
These deadly rays, although invisible to the naked eye, can go on to cause harm or misfortune to their recipient.
It's also been theorized that these invisible rays from the eyes can heat the blood of the recipient, and the subsequent ill health or misfortune is the effect of this heated blood.
Experiencing a sudden bout of uncharacteristic or inexplicable bad luck, poor health, or accidental loss.
Evil Eye Symptoms or Signs of an Evil Eye include experiencing a sudden bout of uncharacteristic or inexplicable bad luck, poor health, or accidental loss. Especially after having attended a public event and receiving many compliments.
The object affected by the Evil Eye is often working perfectly till the compliment was received. It is also believed that women and young children are most susceptible to the Evil Eye.
Physical symptoms of an Evil Eye can include headaches, nausea, inability to think clearly, loss of appetite, weakness, fever, fatigue, lethargy, malaise, or stomach ache in adults.
Evil Eye symptoms in babies and children including developing a sudden fever, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive crying, or insomnia.
Evil Eye symbols are made to fight fire with fire.
Evil Eye symbols are made to fight fire with fire. They can deflect deadly Evil Eye rays, or absorb them inside, thereby keeping the wearer of the Evil Eye symbol, amulet or talisman safe and protected.
Before the alphabet, words, sentences, languages, and religions, there were symbols. The Evil Eye is one such symbol that has been with mankind since before recorded history and most modern religions.
Evil Eye Protection includes symbols, amulets, and talismans.
Attempts to ward off the curse of the Evil Eye have resulted in several Evil Eye Protection symbols, amulets, and talismans.
These Evil Eye Protection symbols, amulets, and talismans can be worn, carried, or hung in homes, and are said to turn away or turn back harm, thereby bringing good luck to those who possess or wear them.
Evil Eye Protection can be worn by all. It can be worn by men, women, and children. It can be worn by people of all religions.
The Evil Eye symbol is an ancient symbol of protection and good luck that spans modern-day countries, cultures, and religions.
The belief in the Evil Eye also finds mention in the Quran, the Bible, in ancient Hindu, Buddhist, and Judist texts.
You can purchase Evil Eye protection for yourself, though it is said to be more powerful if Evil Eye protection is gifted by others.
If your Evil Eye Protection breaks then that is good news.
It symbolizes that the Evil Eye Jewelry, Accessory, Wall Hanging, Home Decor, or any other were able to protect you from the Evil Eye of others.
If your Evil Eye protection breaks, you should purchase another and stay protected from the Evil Eye.
Protects you from the malicious gaze of others as well your own.
The Evil Eye symbol protects you from harm or misfortune, by deflecting the ‘evil eye’ or a malicious gaze of jealousy, envy, or malice cast by others.
The Evil Eye symbol also protects us from harm or misfortune caused by over adoration, over love, and overpraise, that we may accidentally cause to our near and dear ones, or even ourselves.
Ask for God’s Blessings.
Amongst the best ways to stay protected from the Evil Eye is to simply ask for God’s blessings.
This is especially true for an Evil Eye that may be accidentally given to yourself or your loved ones.
Owing to this, in many cultures it’s common to say “God bless you” after a compliment to avoid any accidental Evil Eye.
Other common phrases include “Mashallah” or “God wills it” in Arabic, “Chashm-e-Baddoor” or “May the Evil Eye not fall on you” in Persian, Urdu, and Hindi, “Keinehora” or “No evil eye" in Yiddish, and “Bli ayin hara” or “without an evil eye” in Hebrew.
All cultures have their own unique ways to stay protected from the Evil Eye.
Some of these include wearing cornicello jewelry, adding a deliberate flaw to an otherwise perfect appearance, wearing a black or red thread, placing specific objects outside the home or automobile, and even making a 'Sign of the Horns' when in a pinch.
In some cultures rock salt, green chillies, neem leaves, and lemons are hung outside homes or on automobiles to deflect the “Evil Eye”.
You may also notice sculptures of scary ogres outside big houses, or painted on walls and automobiles in bright colors.
These are all meant to deflect the ‘Evil Eye’ and help keep the house or automobile protected.
Another popular way to prevent the ‘evil eye’ is to introduce a deliberate flaw, on an otherwise perfect appearance.
This can range from putting a black mark on babies, children, and young women’s faces. To making a deliberate construction flaw in a new house, or adding a few wrong stitches or a color flaw in a new dress.
The colors black and red are believed to dispel the ‘Evil Eye’.
It's common in some cultures to see kids and adults wearing a red thread around their wrists. Similarly, in other cultures, tying a black thread around the neck, on the right arm, or the right ankle is believed to help keep away the 'Evil Eye'.
Often attached to the black thread is a small metal cylinder containing holy prayers, known as a ‘taveez’ or ‘ta'wiz’.
Cornicello, or Italian for ‘little horn’ is a long, gently twisted horn-shaped amulet, similar to the color and shape of a chili pepper.
Historically made from gold, silver, or carved out of bone or coral. It is also known as 'corno portafortuna', or the ‘horn that brings luck’.
Usually colored red, which in the Middle Ages had a double meaning, symbolizing victory over enemies, and also symbolizing good luck.
The Cornicello can be seen in modern-day Italy hanging in people's houses, outside windows, inside automobiles, worn as jewelry, and more.
The ‘Sign of the Horns’ or ‘manu cornuta’ in Italian, literally translating into ‘horned hand’, is made by extending the index and little fingers, while holding the middle and ring fingers down with the thumb.
When confronted with unavoidable situations and events, making the Sign of the horns is believed to ward off further bad luck.
Curiously, the Sign of the Horns is also found in ancient Buddhism, as a gesture or mudra to ward off negative energy.
In India and China people often use mirrors to deflect back bad energy and stay protected from the Evil Eye.
While in India small mirrors are sewn into clothes or worn on the body. In China a special six-sided mirror is hung on the front door.
The Evil Eye symbol originated in 3000 BC in ancient Egypt.
The Evil Eye symbol originated in 3000 BC in ancient Egypt. It is believed to have come from the ancient Egyptian symbols of The Eye of Horus and The Eye of Ra.
The Eye of Horus and The Eye of Ra were both protective symbols to the ancient Egyptians. Symbolizing protection from the gods, and protection from hate, violence, and destruction.
From ancient Egypt, the Evil Eye meaning and Evil Eye symbol went to be adopted into all cultures it encountered around the world through the centuries that followed.
From Egypt, by 1500 BC, the belief in the Evil Eye Meaning and Evil Eye Symbol carried to ancient Mesopotamia.
In these parts, the Evil Eye is now known as the Turkish Evil Eye or “kem göz“, and the Turkish people have long used a “nazar boncugu”, or the blue Turkish evil eye bead to ward off the Evil Eye.
It can be said that the Evil Eye symbol is most popular in modern-day Turkey, with it being omnipresent across houses, cars, jewelry, ornaments, accessories, and more.
Learn more about the Turkish Evil Eye.
The belief in the Evil Eye also carried to ancient Greece by 700 BC, where it’s now known as ‘kako mati’ or the ‘Greek Evil Eye’.
The Evil Eye has been a common theme in Greek literature through the ages. With numerous Greek philosophers including Plato, Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus, Theocritus, Pliny the Elder, and many others theoriz ing about its cause and effects.
Learn more about the Greek Evil Eye.
From ancient Greece, the belief in the Evil Eye is said to have reached ancient Rome by 500 BC.
This belief is still with the people of modern-day Italy where the Evil Eye is known as "Malocchio" or the Italian Evil Eye.
In Italian, ‘Mal’ means evil, while ‘occhio’ means eye. So Malocchio translates to “Evil Eye”.
Learn more about Malocchio or the Italian Evil Eye.
The belief in the Evil Eye was also absorbed by the people of the Iberian Peninsula, where it is now known as "Mal De Ojo" or the Spanish Evil Eye.
In Spanish, “Mal” means evil, “Ojo” means eye, and “de” means of. So “Mal De Ojo” translates to “evil of the eye”.
With the Spanish conquests in 1500 AD, the Evil Eye was also introduced to the people of the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Philippines.
Learn more about Mal De Ojo or the Spanish Evil Eye.
‘Nazar’, meaning ‘sight’ in Arabic, Hindi, and Urdu, is the continuing belief in the Evil Eye across the people of modern-day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey.
In Hindi and Urdu, the words ‘buri nazar’ means ‘bad eye’, and ‘nazar lagna’ or ‘nazar lag gayi’ means to have received the evil eye.
It is also common to say ‘nazar na lage’ or ‘may the evil eye not touch you’, as well as ‘buri nazar wale tera muh kala, or ‘O evil-eyed one, may your face turn black’.
Learn more about Nazar.
The belief in the Evil Eye spans centuries, civilizations, religions, languages, and cultures.
Known by different words but nearly the same interpretation.
The Evil Eye is known by over 25 different names around the world. Including:
1. Albania - "syri i keq" (bad eye)
2. Ancient Rome - "oculus malus" (the evil eye)
3. Ancient Persia - "bla band" (the eye of evil)
4. Armenia - “char atchk” (evil eye or bad eye)
5. Azerbaijan - "göz dəyməsi" (being struck by an eye)
6. Brazil - “mau-olhado” (act of giving a bad look)
7. China - “xié yǎn” (evil eye)
8. France - "le mauvais” (The bad eye)
9. Finland - "paha silmä" (evil/bad eye)
10. Germany - "böser blick" (evil gaze)
11. Greece - “matiasma” (casting the evil eye) or "kako mati" (bad eye)
12. Hungary - “szemmelverés” (beating with eye)
13. India - “nazar” (afflicted by the evil eye), “kannu veykkuka” (to cast an evil eye), “kan padudhal” (casting an eye)
14. Iran - "چشم زخم" (injurious look/eyes causing injury)
15. Ireland - “drochshúil” (evil eye)
16. Israel - “áyin hā-ráʿ” (eye of evil)
17. Italy - “malocchio” (evil eye)
18. Japan - "jashi" (evil vision)
19. Mexico - “mal de ojo” (evil from the eye)
20. Netherlands - "het boze oog" (the angry eye)
21. Poland - "złe spojrzenie" (evil look)
22. Portugal - "mau olhado" (greedy eye)
23. Romania - “durnoy glaz)” (bad/evil eye)
24. Saudi Arabia - “ayn al-ḥasūd” (the eye of envy)
25. Scotland - "droch shuil" (evil eye)
26. Spain - “mal de ojo” (evil from the eye)
27. Turkey - “kem göz" (evil eye)
28. Wales - “y llygad drwg” (the evil eye)
Different evil eye colors have come to symbolize different meanings and purposes for the traditional Evil Eye talisman.
While it is believed that the color blue is historically associated with the Evil Eye due to the glass-making techniques in ancient Egypt.
Over time, however, different evil eye colors have come to symbolize different meanings and purposes for the traditional evil eye talisman.
These include Blue for fate and karma protection, Green for personal success, Yellow for physical and mental health, Orange for happiness, Red for courage, Brown for protection from the elements, and Pink for friendship and relationships.
Purple to energize from depression, Black for power and prosperity protection, White for purity in thoughts and actions, Grey for protection against sorrows, Transparent for clarity and mindfulness, and Rainbow for hope and all Evil Eye benefits.
Learn more about Evil Eye color meaning.
The Evil Eye symbol is also often paired with other symbols, including:
The Eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, restoration, and good health.
It is presumably the origin of the modern-day Evil Eye Symbol and Evil Eye Protection.
According to Egyptian myth, Horus lost his left eye in a battle, and the eye was magically restored by Hathor. This restoration came to symbolize the process of making whole and healing.
A symbol of purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration, and rebirth.
As even with its roots in the dirtiest of water, the Lotus produces the most beautiful flower.
An Evil Eye with Lotus flower symbolizes protection from the Evil Eye, along with the beauty, grace, strength, resilience, and purity of the Lotus flower.
A symbol of self-expression, spiritual awakening, freedom, and watchfulness.
In some cultures, peacock feathers are used to ward-off and even cure the Evil Eye.
An Evil Eye and Peacock together symbolize double the protection from the Evil Eye, with the added virtues of beauty and self confidence.
A symbol of spiritual rebirth, transformation, change, hope, and life.
An Evil Eye and Butterfly together symbolize protection from the Evil Eye, knowing that both good and bad times pass, giving us hope for a better future.
It also reminds us that life is short. So we should make the most of it.
A symbol of good luck and good fortune.
Lord Ganesha, the elephant god in Hinduism, is known as the destroyer of evil, remover of obstacles, and is also a symbol of strength, power, wisdom, memory, and vitality.
An Evil Eye with an Elephant symbolizes protection from the Evil Eye, also endowing the power and virtues of the majestic elephant to the wearer.
A symbol of our personal growth, resilience, strength, and beauty.
Like the branches of a tree growing stronger towards the sky, we to grow stronger with knowledge, wisdom, and experiences as we move through life.
The Evil Eye and Tree of Life together symbolize protection from the Evil Eye.
Along the the grounding, stability, wisdom, growth, learning, and longevity of a beautiful tree.
Divine grace is the polar opposite of the Evil Eye.
Asking for God’s grace and blessings and visiting a holy place, shrine, or healer is believed to help get rid of the Evil Eye.
There are also more elaborate ways to get rid of the Evil Eye in different cultures. These include performing a ‘Xematiasma’ in Greece and making a sign of the cross with olive oil in a bowl of water in Italy.
Sleeping with an egg under the pillow at night in Latin America, hitting the affected person with peacock feathers or bathing in rock salt in the Indian subcontinent, using a six-sided mirror in China, and more.
The act of curing the Evil Eye or ‘mati’ is called ‘xematiasma’ in Greece, roughly translating to “an undoing of the eye”.
It is believed that there are several ways to perform a ‘xematiasma’, with the most powerful being with ‘vaskania’ or ancient ‘xematiasma’ prayers.
To date, ancient ‘vaskania’ prayers are handed down generations in traditional Greek families, with mothers and grandmothers teaching it to sons and grandsons, and father and grandfathers teaching it to daughters and granddaughters.
If this cross-gender and cross-generation order is not adhered to, or if the secret prayer is not revealed under very specific circumstances, it is said that the ‘vaskania’ will lose its power.
Also while the exact content of these prayers is kept secret, they broadly contain a request to the holy divine, to rid the person of their ‘mati’, addressing the person inflicted by name, and asking the divine to remove the curse on the person’s behalf.
In Italy, it is said that to rid oneself of the Evil Eye or Malocchio, one needs to make the sign of the cross with olive oil in a bowl of water.
In exact, one needs to recite a silent prayer with the name of the person suspected of having Malocchio, and with their little finger, drop no more than five drops to make the holy cross in a bowl of water.
If the oil stays on the surface then the person is safe, but if the oil drops or dilutes in the water, then the person is said to have Malocchio.
The ritual above needs to be repeated three times to remove the spell.
In Spain and Latin America, a common remedy for the Evil Eye or “Mal De Ojo'' is to circle a raw egg over someone who is believed to be afflicted.
The egg is circled above their head multiple times, and placed in a bowl under their pillow for a night. If the raw egg becomes cooked or foggy overnight from the blood’s heat, then the person is said to have been afflicted by “Mal De Ojo”, but is now cured.