Evileye Evil Eye Evil Eyes

Evil Eye

A supposed power bestowed on a person whereby his/her glance brings sickness, bad luck, calamity or death.

In witchcraft and black magic it is said that certain individuals have the power to cast evil spells or to project evil thought forms simply by looking at another person. The idea of this evil power is practically universal, and there exists in virtually every language an comparable term — the boser Blick in German, malocchio in Italian, mauvais veil in French; and from the Latin fascinum, which was originally associated with the idea of binding, is derived the English 'fascinate', which was originally connected with such ideas as binding by means of diabolical powers or pact.

The fact of the evil eye has given rise to numerous protecting devices against it. These incorporate a wide range of magical signs and amulets, reflective surfaces, and, in particular, a number of obscene or phallic figures and amulets which are intended to ward off evil — such as the corno, a curved horn, and the peculiar gesture involving a clenched hand with the thumb stuck through the middle and fourth fingers. Images of eyes are also used to avoid evil (see eye of horus), on the grounds of sympathetic magic, and many of the more ancient gems and symbols are designed with this in mind.

Turkish evil eyes Evil eyes Evil eye beads Evil eye decorative items Evil eye keychains Evil eye miscellaneous items Evil eye sterling silver Evil eye wall hanging Evil eye worry beads Evil eye jewellery

Witchcraft

From the Old English wiccian (meaning to practice sorcery), it is sorcery as practiced by witch or witches.

Sorcery denotes the pursuit of a certain end through magic, which might be harnessed through such varied means as simple herbalism, the use of waxen images or more elaborate spell-making. Common to all folklore traditions and to virtually all eras, sorcery relies upon the intervention of good and bad spirits but does not necessarily involve any deeper specifically anti-Christian purpose. A sorcerer might call on the assistance of demons, but in so doing there is no automatic presumption that he or she thereby denies the supremacy of God.

In the modern world witchcraft is a form of nature religion, also called 'wicca', that emphasizes the healing arts. The term is also applied to various kinds of magic practiced in Asian, African, and Latin American communities.

Witchcraft, sorcery and simple spell-casting are as ancient as humankind: there is some evidence from cave markings that Paleolithic man indulged in it. It is also universal. African tribesmen chanted much the same invocations as the witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth.

We may not fully realize the extent to which ancient magical ideas have colored our culture. Many of the customs of Western people who may not be in the least interested in magic derive from ancient beliefs. They also survive in children's rhymes. The mother who croons "Sing a song of sixpence" to her child has no idea that she is recalling the legend of the Celtic spirits of the Underworld to whom Rhiannon sent 24 blackbirds to announce the death of Man. Many of us, when children, were told how to cure warts perhaps by rubbing them with a piece of meat and then burying it: as the meat rotted, the warts would disappear. These are small examples of ritual folklore, or domestic magic. Real witchcraft, seen as far more attractive or repulsive, is something different.

What little is known about the history of witchcraft in Europe comes from hostile sources. In traditional European society witchcraft was associated with the worship of Satan, a doctrine formulated in the late Middle Ages. Just how many of the beliefs about witches were based on reality and how many on delusion will never be known. The punishment of supposed witches by the death penalty did not become common until the fifteenth century. The first major witch-hunt occurred in Switzerland in 1427, and the first important book on the subject, the Malleus Maleficarum appeared in Germany in 1486. The persecution of witches reached its height between 1580 and 1660, when witch trials became almost universal throughout western Europe. Geographically, the center of witch-burning lay in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, but few areas were left untouched by it. No one knows the total number of victims. In southwestern Germany alone, however, more than 3,000 witches were executed between 1560 and 1680. Not all witch trials ended in deaths. In England, where torture was prohibited, only about 20 percent of accused witches were executed (by hanging); in Scotland, where torture was used, nearly half of all those put on trial were burned at the stake, and almost three times as many witches (1,350) were killed as in England. Some places had fewer trials than others. In the Dutch republic, no witches were executed after 1600, and none were tried after 1610. In Spain and Italy accusations of witchcraft were handled by the Inquisition, and although torture was legal, only a dozen witches were burned out of 5,000 put on trial. Ireland seems to have escaped witch trials altogether.

Many witch trials were provoked, not by hysterical authorities or fanatical clergy, but by village quarrels among neighbors. About 80% of all accused witches were women. Traditional theology assumed that women were weaker than men and more likely to succumb to the Devil. It may in fact be true that, having few legal rights, they were more inclined to settle quarrels by resorting to magic rather than law. All these aspects of witchcraft crossed over to the Americas with European colonists. In the Spanish and French territories cases of witchcraft were under the jurisdiction of church courts, and no one suffered death on this charge. In the English colonies about 40 people were executed for witchcraft between 1650 and 1710, half of them in the famous Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Witch trials declined in most parts of Europe after 1680; in England the death penalty for witchcraft was abolished in 1736. In the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries one last wave of witch persecution afflicted Poland and other areas of eastern Europe, but that ended by about 1740. The last legal execution of a witch occurred in Switzerland in 1782. Beginning in the 1920s, witchcraft was revived in Europe and the United States by groups that considered it a survival of pre-Christian religious practices. Some forms of modern witchcraft follow the traditions of medieval herbalists and lay healers; the supreme law of the 'Craft' is called the Wiccan Rede; 'An' [If] harm none, do what ye will'. Witches do not worship the Devil and blood sacrifice is forbidden.

Black Magic

The conscious use of supernatural powers for the exercise of evil, the perversion of white magic. In occult lore white magic is concerned with expanding consciousness and improving the common good. Black magic is the selfish and squalid perversion of magical arts to destroy others, or for personal gain.

The black magician is, quite simply, a person who wants power for him/herself, or self-aggrandizement. They want to be able to vent their spite on enemies and to satisfy all of their desires. A magician may summon the Devil or one of his demons and remain a white magician, so long as the purpose for the summoning is benevolent. Black magicians are usually defined as those who made a pact with the Devil. They invoke diabolic and infernal powers for their personal use and gain; in short, a perversion of legitimate mystic science.

"In Black Magic human perversity found the means of ministering to its most terrible demands and the possible attainment of its darkest imaginings. To gain limitless power over god, demon and man; for personal aggrandizement and glorification; to cheat, trick and mock; to gratify base appetites; to aid religious bigotry and jealousies; to satisfy public and private enmities; to further political intrigue; to encompass disease, calamity and death—these were the ends and aims of Black Magic and its followers."

Evil

The opposite of good. What hinders the realization of the good. Wickedness; wicked; arising from or caused by real or supposed wickedness. What is very harmful. A source of wickedness, sorrow and distress; someone or something set on doing wicked things or whose actions are extremely wicked, harmful and/or destructive. The sum of everything that is bad, wrong, wicked and immoral.

Magic

The use of a certain ritual action to bring about the intervention of a supernatural force, either in human affairs or in the natural environment, for a specific purpose.

Magic has existed universally since ancient times, and varies in form from primary rituals involving the well-being of an entire community, to minor, peripheral, private acts of magic.

All forms of magic are traditionally secret arts taught only to initiates, although in some cultures magical knowledge can sometimes be bought and sold or can be passed on through inheritance. A distinction is usually made between black magic, used destructively to bring misfortune or death, and white magic, which is used to ward off such attacks as well as to prevent natural calamities. In itself magic is not good or evil, it is the magician's intentions that make the difference.

The very earliest forms of magic were designed to produce some desired effect, such as rituals for successful hunting. This simple magic, also called sorcery, involved practices such as tying and untying knots, blood sacrifices, and sticking pins in wax images or little dolls or poppets. Sorcery is also called sympathetic magic — by imitating the desired result, it will happen in reality. Harmful sympathetic magic usually requires some personal effect of the victim, such as a lock of hair, a fingernail or article of clothing; it is also important that the victim be aware of the spell, which increases the likelihood of a successful result.

Magical acts may be performed by individuals on their own behalf, or a magician with specialized knowledge of the rites that may be consulted. In some societies, associations of magical specialists exist. Magical practitioners may be called witch doctors, wizards, sorcerers, diviners, witches, warlocks,wise women, cunning women, and so on.

By the Middle Ages in Europe magical arts had become divided between low magic, such as sorcery, and high magic, which meant exploring the esoteric traditions of the kabbalah and hermetica, often through elaborate ceremonial magic (see Freemasonry, Order of the Knights Templar, Rosicrucians). In ceremonial magic the aim of the ritual is to commune with God or a deity to achieve a higher consciousness. The spiritual and mystical elements of hermetic knowledge and the Jewish kabbalah were aimed at facilitating the communication between human beings, spirits and the Divine at different levels of spiritual consciousness.

Magic was discredited by the Scientific Revolution in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but interest revived in the nineteenth century, and various occult societies and magical fraternities were established (see Crowley, Aleister). Modern neo-pagan witchcraft (or wicca), includes both low sorcery (but not black magic or blood sacrifice) and high ceremonial magic.

Amulet

An object, image, drawing or inscription imbued with magical properties to ward off the evil eye or evil; also worn to bring good luck as a kind of mascot or lucky charm. Simple amulets are objects which have an odd shape or color that catches the eye, or are very rare, such as a four-leaf clover.

Amulets are often worn around the neck or as rings, especially in the form of jewelry. Virtually anything can become an amulet, depending on the different beliefs in different cultures. Some are designs or symbols on buildings, holy places and tombs. Semiprecious stones were particularly common as amulets, as were eyes; the best-known eye amulet being the ancient Egyptian Eye of Horus. Organic amulets, such as fruit, vegetables, berries, nuts and plants are also common in certain parts of the world, as in the use of garlic to ward off vampires. Various metals are also commonly ascribed amuletic powers against evil, for instance, iron is universally believed to guard against demons and witches.

Eye of Horus

The highly stylized eye of the falcon-headed solar and sky god Horus (the Latin version of Her), which is associated with regeneration, health, and prosperity. It was very common as an amulet in ancient Egypt.

Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis was called 'Horus who rules with two eyes'. His right eye was white and represented the sun; his left eye was black and represented the moon. According to myth Horus lost his left eye to his evil brother, Seth, whom he fought to avenge Seth's murder of Osiris. Seth tore out the eye but lost the fight. The eye was reassembled by magic by Thoth, the god of' writing, the moon, and magic. Horus presented his eye to Osiris, who experienced rebirth in the underworld.

As an amulet, the Eye of Horus has three versions: a left eye, a right eye, and two eyes. The eye is constructed in fractional parts, with 1/64 missing, a piece Thoth added by magic. The Egyptians used the eye as a funerary amulet for protection against evil and rebirth in the underworld, and decorated mummies, coffins, and tombs with it. The Book of the Dead instructs that funerary eye amulets be made out of lapis lazuli or a stone called mak. Some were gold-plated. Worn as jewelry fashioned of gold, silver, lapis, wood, porcelain, or carnelian, the eye served to ensure safety, preserve health, and live the wearer wisdom and prosperity.

Sympathetic Magic

Type of magic where any action inflicted upon a representation of a person, animal or thing, it is simultaneously experienced by the real person, animal or thing. It is best exemplified by the myth of the voodoo doll.

Talisman

Specially prepared objects — of stone, metal, wood, parchment and so on — inscribed with magical signs, characters or drawings. Once endowed with magical properties, the object is believed to bring the owner good luck, success, health and virility.

The power of a talisman can derive from nature, directly from God, or from a magical ritual, such as those described in the grimoires, textbooks of ceremonial magic.

Turkish Talisman (Evil Eyes)

Turkish Talisman, (Evil Eyes), is an object which you believe has magic powers to protect you or bring you luck. Turkish people believe that it absorbs bad energy coming from evil eyes. Usually, no one leaves Turkey without purchasing a blue and white evil eye charm. No place of business or home is without one. They come in many styles, from simple to ornate. Usually, they are made of glass but also can be made of plastic. Legend has it that it protects you from "bad luck". "Bad luck" translates into evil or harm wished upon you from another. When a child is born, an evil eye is pinned to the garment on his or her right back shoulder for protection from other people's evil wishes.