The Evil Eye is the name for a sickness transmitted. Usually without intention, by someone who is envious, jealous, or covetous. It is also called the invidious eye and the envious eye. The "evil" in of the Evil Eye indicate that it is thought to be situational in nature and that it is caused by a failure to restrain envy within proper social bounds.
Hakim Bey describes Evil Eye in the modern world as invidious envy. Some are described to themselves as victims, as patients, as passive focal points of misery, deprived of this or that commodity or "right" or quality which they most desire. He explains that the opposite of the gaze of love is not the gaze of hate, but that of envy, passive, unliving in itself, vampirically attracted to the life in others.
Known universally since ancient times, Evil Eye is a specific form of evil, and the protective charms and spells that have developed around it are also quite specific in nature. The design of these charms varies from one area to another. The simplest are threads or cords, often red. More conspicuous are the amulets, often in the form of an eye, a hand, a horseshoe, or a combination of two elements, such as the popular eye-in-hand and horseshoe-and-eyes. There are other, locally popular charms as well, such as the Hamsa hand, Hamesh hand, Hand of Fatima, or Hand of Miriam, that derive from other iconographic and symbolic sources.
In ancient times, the Moon Goddess was invoked as a protectress of babies, nursing mothers, and milk animals, so her lunar crescent was used as an apotropaic charm. The use of a horseshoe to represent the lunar crescent is also ancient. Throughout Europe horseshoes are nailed to doors to prevent the evil eye from entering houses and barns.
Blue is the color of the sky and happiness, air and light against the earth and the shadow of envy. Disks or balls, consisting of concentric blue and white circles (usually, from inside to outside, dark blue, light blue, white, dark blue) representing an evil eye are common apotropaic talismans in the Middle East, The "Eerie Eye Charm" in folklore, represents the staring eye which are supposed to “mirror back” and bend the malicious gaze back to the sorcerer.
I wanted to share a bit of history with you regarding Evil Eye as it exists in our everyday lives and modern society. My personal experience with Evil Eye has made me realize that jealousy and envy halt progress for those who fall victim to it. Prosperity, abundance and happiness cannot be obtained when one allows themselves to “wish” and hope for the same abundance and success of others as it works against them immobilizing personal growth, advancement, and ultimate success. My belief is that it gives that much more power to the person for whom it is intended. If one can recognize this form of deprivation and weakness which is being directed towards them, it can then be averted and used to strengthen, thus empowering oneself to reach their highest potential.
As you browse etsy’s metaphysical items, you will find several sellers who unfortunately possess Evil Eye. Since I opened the White Magick Shoppe on etsy, I have been so blessed with abundance and success and I thank all of my wonderful customers who appreciate the handmade quality, love and magick I put into all of my unique magical wares. I also hold my new friendships I have been blessed with dear and I am thankful to be able to be able to work and make a living crafting magickal potions, spells and candles and sharing them with all of you. If only some of these other sellers weren’t so encumbered with envy. They have capitalized on my shoppe and my wares by replicating several of my items, creating “spin-offs” blatantly copying some of my items and packaging designs to a “T”. One seller even suggested I leave etsy as she believes that the White Magick Shoppe is “stealing her fire”. I have received hate emails from people who call themselves Pagans and have to wonder why the call themselves such as this sort of behavior is not even consistent with the Pagan path. Many of you have written me to express your concern and I appreciate that you are aware of what is going on and the support you have given me. But I don’t believe it will ever end. So, with that said, I forge on independently and ignore their attempts to cast their Evil Eyes upon me. For it is not me who is the victim here. It is their choice to give their power to envy and jealousy which is preventing them from finding and utilizing their own unique creativity, thus creating their own unique shops, products and success. I wish them well ~
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