Random Evil Eyes Can Actually Curse You (12 items)

• 

  (#2) The Curse Has Been Known To Have Actual Physical Symptoms

  The thing about curses is that nearly anything negative can be attributed to them, and this holds true with the evil eye as well. People who are known to have been cursed by the evil eye can experience a decrease in appetite, vomiting, fever, hiccups, and - strangely enough - excessive yawning. They may also have insomnia, exhaustion, depression, or diarrhea. 

  Since the evil eye can curse both objects and animals, not just people, there are symptoms that extend beyond the physical that can indicate the presence of a curse. A cursed cow may stop producing milk, and a cursed plant or tree may stop bearing fruit. A cursed vehicle could stop working, and a cursed house could suddenly get termites. 
• 

  (#4) Different Cultures Have Some Interesting Ways Of Dealing With The Curse

  If you suspect you've been cursed by the evil eye while in Mexico, worry not - you just need to grab yourself an egg. A raw egg can allegedly remove the evil eye from your body by being passed over your forehead. Then, the egg is broken and you must look into the shell of the egg to see if the cure has worked. If you see an oval or eye shape inside the egg, then you've been successfully cured.

  In Bangladesh, drawing a black dot on the forehead of children or behind the ears of attractive women is said to protect them against the curse. In Greece, Armenia, and Assyria, the cure is even more simple - you just need a quick pinch on the butt. 
• 

  (#9) The Hamsa Can Help Protect You

  The hamsa, also known as the Hand of Fatima, Hand of Miriam, or Hand of God, displays the evil eye on the palm. This popular symbol, often used in jewelry or amulets, is one of the most popular and simple ways to protect yourself from the curse of the evil eye. It's most popular in the Middle East and Africa, and appears frequently in Judaism and Islam. It's even one of the national symbols of Algeria. 

  The first known use of the hamsa was by the Phoenicians, a civilization that ended about 300 years before the common era. They saw it as a representation of the hand of Tanit, the patron goddess of the Phoenicians' capital city, Carthage. It then spread to Judaism, where it became known as the Hand of Miriam, named after the sister of Moses. In Islam, it became the Hand of Fatima, named after the daughter of Muhammad.
• 

  (#10) The Evil Eye Has Origins In Ancient Greece

  The evil eye as we know it today dates back to the ancient Greeks, who saw it as the gods' way of bringing mortals back down to their appropriate level if they'd been praised too much or developed too much of an ego. As such, Greeks took measures to protect themselves against the curse, often using a cross or incense. New mothers were particularly keen on protecting themselves and their children, and would sometimes keep strings, a nail, gunpowder, bread, salt, garlic, a ring, silver buckles, or indigo blue on their heads or under their pillows. Each of these items had a special purpose to help the mother protect herself and her child. 

  If those means of protection failed, or weren't employed in the first place, people could burn a bear's fur or ask a gypsy to massage their forehead to nullify the curse. Plutarch attributed the curse's power to the eye itself, saying that the eye possessed energy that could kill and harm. Even in Greece today, you will see the evil eye amulet everywhere.
• 

  (#6) The Curse Isn't As Common In The US As In Other Cultures

  Though it's relatively common to see the evil eye appear in fashion or jewelry, the cultural significance of the evil eye (and its curse) is simply not as prevalent in the US as it is in so many other cultures worldwide. And it has nothing, or at least very little, to do with religion - it's because of the American culture of excess. 

  In ancient societies, the concept that there was never enough of everything to go around - be it food, resources, and the like - was highly prevalent. So, if you were complimenting someone on what they had (e.g. good crops or healthy children), it meant that you were in some way jealous and wanted those things for yourself. Hence, praise and the evil eye became deeply intertwined.

  But that's simply not how Americans operate. As anthropologist Alan Dundes pointed out, Americans "go all over the world praising things and scaring people to death." But in America, literally known as the "Land of Plenty," complimenting someone has rarely been associated with envy or evil.
• 

  (#12) The Evil Eye Isn't Just A Pagan Thing

  Though curses may not sound very Christian, the evil eye is actually present in both the Old and New Testaments. The Christian Bible is far from the origin story of the evil eye, but the book of Matthew does recount Jesus's mentioning of the evil eye in the Sermon on the Mount: “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness…” (Matthew 6:22-23). Proverbs 22:28 too says, “A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth and does not know that want will come upon him.”

  To an extent, the Bible's references to the evil eye make a lot of sense; stinginess, jealousy, and envy are all sinful qualities, and the evil eye is a manifestation of those qualities. Particularly in the Old Testament, references to the evil eye seem to call out individuals that have much not sharing with others.

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking