The evil eye is a popular sign in the world of folklore and occult. Due to its popularity, a lot of people are asking “what is the evil eye?” It sounds quite common enough, so some people tend to think it is basically harmless. But there’s actually more to the concept than meets the eye – no pun intended- .
So what is this phenomenon exactly? The eye has been around for a long time and has been traced to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Essentially, it means to send someone a negative or intrusive thought conveyed in a single look. Most of the time, the reason for this look is the fact that the source is said to be envious or coveting. Due to this, depending on varying beliefs, the evil eye is often related to witchcraft. The belief even if some call it a superstition has become a phenomenon primarily because when someone gives you an evil eye, the image stays with you or in your thoughts afterwards. Through the years, it has also been associated with various unfortunate incidents that follow after someone flashes another person the look that is said to give the effects. This simply lent even more fuel to the phenomenon.
As the phenomenon that it has become, there are now translations of the concept in different languages. Various cultures have various beliefs about it and therefore some cultures might even have multiple phrases even within the same language. The Italians call it the malocchio. In Spanish, it is the malojo, which is a translation of “bad eye,” another English term used to refer to the phenomenon. The concept is also known in Scotland as droch shuil. There are several other translations such as avin harsha in Arabic and avin horeh in Hebrew. The French know it as mauvais oeil, and the Germans as bosen Blick. Among the classical Romans, the lucky eye is called the oculus malus. Like in the Spanish translation, most of these terms are based on the term “bad eye.”
There is some confusion about the evil eye and the lucky eye. To clear things up, the latter is used to counter the effects of the former. It is often used as a protective measure as well. This is why lucky eye jewelries and pins are widely available, although they are sometimes called evil eye jewelries and pins or amulets.
So when referring to jewelries and protective charms, these objects point to the same thing. They are paraphernalia that protects against the curse or negative effects often associated with the belief itself. Regardless of the term you use to call it, the objects work like lucky charms. They are very common among the believers of the evil eye concept, though evil eye jewelry also make good gifts especially for newborns, or a new house etc. basically anything that might cause the envy and jealousy of others.
People have different beliefs about the eye, and treat the lucky eye charms differently. Lucky eye charms come in various forms nowadays, just as there are many terms used to refer to evil eye in different languages and there are many different beliefs about the concept in various cultures. What’s important is for every believer of the this concept, an evil eye jewelry is a must.