Evil Eye
Alternatively known as Black Glance.
A supposed power bestowed on a person whereby his/her glance brings sickness, bad luck, calamity or death.
Also, any expressed desire that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other person, persons, a place, or an object.
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 were designed with this in mind.
See Witchcraft, Agrippa, Diviner, Divination, Wizard, Pythagoras, Witch, Warlock, Alchemy, Paracelsus, Devil, Kabbalism, Numerology, Alchemy, Magic, Satan, Evil Eye, Evil Eye in the Bible and Rabbinic Literature, Horror File Funfax: Evil Eye, How to Avoid the Evil Eye, Mal'Uocchiu: Ambiguity, Evil Eye and the Language of Distress, Melville, Shame, and the Evil Eye: A Psychoanalytic Reading, The Evil Eye: A Casebook, The Malevolent Eye: An Essay on the Evil Eye, Fertility and the Concept of Mana, Mystic Gifts and Charms - New Age Gift Shop & Wicca and Pagan Supplies, Curses! Broiled Again!: The Hottest Urban Legends Going, Curses: What They Are and How to Break Them, Omens, Curses & Superstitions: How to Remove and Reverse Them, The Book of Spells, Hexes, and Curses: True Tales from Around the World, The Breaking of Curses, Love Spells -- Use these powerful love spells to help you find and keep your true love, Unbroken Curses, The Tarot Store, Divination & Scrying Tools and Supplies, Unique Amulets, Talismans, Good Luck Charms, and Love Tokens, Powerful Witch Doctor Spell Kits, Powerful Spells - Cast by Andreika the Witch, Webmasters Make $$$, AzureGreen - Celebrating All Paths to the Divine, ISIS - Tools for Your Soul's Journey, and The Pyramid Collection - Myth, Magick, Fantasy and Romance.
Sources: (1) Spence, Lewis, An Encyclopedia of Occultism, Carol Publishing Group; (2) Pickering, David, Cassell Dictionary of Witchcraft, Cassell Academic; (3) The Encyclopaedia Britannica Eleventh Edition Handy Volume Edition, Oxford University Press.
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