Curses, Envy and Psychology: The Origins of the Evil Eye

They say that the eyes are a window to the soul, but what happens when the soul in question is bitter with envy?  

Ancient folklore claimed that there were those possessed of an evil eye, able to inflict misfortune, sickness or even death on the subjects of their scrutiny.  It's proven a fairly persistent notion - and in fact, Pew Research Center claims that almost a third of modern day Greeks believe in the evil eye.  Even the least convinced countries (those in Scandinavia) hovered around 10% believing in its power.

So with that said, let's take a look at...

• The Mesopotamian Origins of the Evil Eye
• The Evil Eye in Greece
• The Turkish Nazar
• The Eye of Horus (Wedjat Eye)
• A Polish Folktale
• Balor of the Evil Eye
• The Psychology of the Evil Eye: Misattribution of Arousal
• The Psychology of the Evil Eye: The Placebo Effect... and the Nocebo Effect

Blue eyes were linked to the evil eye in the Mediterranean... (Matthew Ball)

The Mesopotamian Origins of the Evil Eye

Some of the earliest references to the evil eye come from thousands of years ago in Mesopotamia.  Of particular interest are ancient clay tablets bearing cuneiform incantations, such as this one from Old Babylonia between 1900 and 1600 BCE.  The tablet speaks of a man with a dragon face causing misfortune wherever he approaches, for example...

• Heaven - the clouds bring no rain
• Earth - the plants don't grow
• The ox - its yoke won't open

...and so on.  Other highlights include robbing the youth of their fertility, inflicting property damage, spoiling crops and causing a nurse to drop her child.  The incantation then attempts to ward off this menace by saying "may the evil eye (like the sick eye) be cut off, may it split open like a leather bag, may it go to pieces (like) the potter's bur-zi-pot on the market place."  The incantation also notes that this blight opposes the young man who has no personal god - basically a guardian spirit.

Some Mesopotamian deities may also have possessed an evil eye.  The goddess known as Inana, Inanna or Ištar may have been slain by the Anuna (the seven juges of the dead) using such means when she visited the underworld: "They looked at her - it was the look of death. They spoke to her - it was the speech of anger. They shouted at her - it was the shout of heavy guilt. The afflicted woman was turned into a corpse. And the corpse was hung on a hook." Inana would later perform the same sequence on her husband Dumuzid, causing him to be carried off by demons. I'll leave up to you whether that counts as the evil eye!

Envy was suggested as a cause of the evil eye... (Victor Muzza)

The Evil Eye in Greece

One can also find references to the evil eye (baskania) in the history of Greece.  In his Quaestiones Convivales or Table-Talk, Plutarch outlines a debate about the "facts" surrounding the phenomena.  One of the speakers (Mestrius Florus) mentions records of those who can harm children by simply looking at them (citing their more  vulnerable constitutions) but seem to have diminished powers when it comes to adults.  He then goes on to mention the Thibaeans (a group said to live near Pontus in ancient times) who could harm adults and children alike with their gaze, breath or speech, causing them to fall ill and waste away.

Responding, Plutarch observes that the human body emits sound, odor and breath (which he describes as streams of particles) and suggests that similar emanations could come from the eye.  He raises the point that a lover's gaze can engender powerful feelings, or even a bittersweet sensation combining pain and pleasure.  Rounding out the argument, Plutarch points out that feelings and emotions seem to have a major effect on the body - such as how dogs bringing down prey may ignore injuries.  As for which emotion powers the evil eye, Plutarch suggests envy - his reasoning is that envy is one of the most cerebral passions and, being rooted in the mind, is particularly close to the eyes!

Yet another guest (Soclarus) counters that some people seem to cast the evil eye on their loved ones, along with the legend of Eutelidas - a man who cast the evil eye on himself by looking into a river.  Plutarch isn't out of answers yet though, noting that envy is habit forming, and these examples are likely not intentionally wishing ill on the object of their gaze.  He also notes that the "particles" of the evil eye could be bouncing off reflective surfaces (such as a river) and returning to the one emitting them.

The envious best take care not to catch their own eye.. (Gennady Shumakher)

There's an eye design common in Greek art which has lasted into the current day.  Rather than just being for decoration, it's thought that the stylized eye was a form of apotropaic icon - apotropaic means to turn away or avert, and these charms would help turn away the influence of an evil eye.  Plutarch actually has an explanation for how these eye amulets work - they draw the gaze, causing the bearer of the evil eye to focus on the amulet rather than its wearer.  (The Romans had a slightly different take, often relying on obscene amulets to catch the gaze!)

Like the eye design, the evil eye (both the curse and the charm are known as "mati" these days and you are "matiasmenos" if the eye has been placed upon you) seems to have persisted as a folk belief.  Eye amulets or charms (especially blue ones - those with blue of green eyes were thought more likely to possess an evil eye) are said to protect against the curse, which is said to manifest as a string of bad luck and unexplained headaches.

The association with envy means that a compliment (especially an insincere one) could also bring down the evil eye.  A quick counter measure is the sound of spitting - specifically, three soft "ftou" noises.  This fake burst of spitting is said to ward off any potential sign of envy and prove the compliment genuine.

Should you suspect that you were under the influence of the eye, you could perform a simple divination ritual - put a few drops of olive oil in a cup of water.  If the oil beads up, you're fine... but if it disperses, you have a problem.

A ritual called xematiasma could be used to cast-off the influence of the eye.  It's said to be passed down from healer to healer, from an older relative of the opposite sex, preferably on Holy Thursday - sharing the prayer indiscriminately is said to make it lose any power.

One version of the ritual begins with the healer silently reciting the prayer three times of the suspected victim's head - if both the healer and victim begin to yawn, that's a sure sign that they are under the influence of the eye.  The healer then makes the sign of the cross three times, accompanied by the protective triple-spitting sound mentioned above.  If you can't find such a healer, the Orthodox Greek church offers prayers against the evil eye which they term "vaskania."

A nazar charm is said to offer protection from the evil eye... (Soyoung HAN)

The Turkish Nazar

Turkey has its own take on the evil eye charm - the nazar.  It's sometimes referred to as a nazar boncuk or boncuğu  (meaning evil-eye bead) and serves a similar purpose to the Greek mati.

Being an object made of colored (predominantly blue) glass, the nazir would slowly accrue damage and eventually crack or break.  This wasn't something viewed as bad luck, but rather as evidence that the nazir had absorbed the bad fortune otherwise intended for the owner.  As long as you made sure to get another nazir in short order, you'd be fine!

A related Middle-Eastern symbol is the Hamsa or Khamsa (meaning "five" and likewise intended to protect the wearer from the evil eye) which is a hand like design incorporating a eye.  In Arab cultures it may be known as "The Hand of Fatima" but Jewish and Christian variants exist as well. 

There are several Turkish sayings associated with the evil eye.  For example, "nazar değmesin" means "may the evil eye not touch" and is tacked on to compliments much like the spitting ritual from Greece.  An alternative is "maşallah" or "God has willed it" which again helps keep a compliment free from envy.

Of course, sometimes bad fortune can find you no matter how careful you are.  In that case, the phrase "nazar değdi" means "the evil eye has touched."

The Eye of Horus was a protective symbol... (ha11ok)

The Eye of Horus (Wedjat Eye)

A similar protective amulet can be found in the history of Egypt, known as a wedjat eye or Eye of Horus.  The story goes that Horus had his eye injured or stolen by Seth, only for it to be restored by Thoth - and in fact, "wedjat" means "the one that is sound again."

Because it symbolized the watchful eye of Horus along with healing and protection, this design was worn as an amulet or ring (or placed with the dead) as a form of protective apotropaic magic.

Many of these symbols were made in blue or green colors, which makes one wonder if the Turkish and Greek protective amulets drew inspiration from the wedjat eye!

Sailors on the Vistula could fall foul of a watching evil eye... (WikimediaImages)

A Polish Folktale

Belief in the evil eye stretched far further than Africa and the Mediterranean.  There's a folktale from Poland that deals with a man touched by the light of an evil star at birth and cursed with an evil eye.

The story goes that this unfortunate fellow (through no desire of his own) sickened or killed man and beast alike with a glance - the only person who seemed immune was a manservant that had stayed with him since birth.  Not wanting to cause harm, he moved to an isolated house on the banks of the Vistula, with all the windows facing out on to the water.  Even then, sailors would occasionally come to grief when he looked out over the water.

When traveling to town, he would keep his eyes focused on a bundle of pea-straw at his feet - it would only dry out under his baleful gaze, after all.

One day, a group of travelers sought refuge at the house after nearly being ripped apart by a pack of hunger-maddened wolves.  Amongst their number was a beautiful maiden... and despite his dangerous gaze, romance bloomed between the cursed man and his guest.

Unfortunately, the household remained shunned - and when his wife was to give birth, the man had to keep his gaze turned away for fear of hurting her.  Resolving never to put his child at risk, he took a knife to his own eyes and tore them from their sockets. 

As horrifying as that may be, the act of self-sacrifice led to a happy household and a daughter leading around her now-blind father, with any servants were safe from his gaze... sort of.  One day, his loyal manservant dug up the buried eyes to satisfy his curiosity.  Unfortunately, the orphaned orbs retained their power but were no longer moderated by the heart of their owner - blazing with power, they killed the loyal man on the spot.

King Balor could burn the land with his evil eye... (K. Mitch Hodge)

Balor of the Evil Eye

Hopping over to Ireland, we can find one of the most extreme examples of an evil eye in the form of the Fomorian king, Balor of the Evil Eye.

As you might expect with a name like that, Balor had a lethal gaze.  The story goes that as a youth, he observed his fathers druids working dark magic - and some of that eldritch power infected his eye.  Over time, the ocular orb swelled in size, to the point where it needed four men to lift the lid... but once open, it emitted an unrelenting stream of destructive power.

Balor kept his eye covered with seven cloaks, with also helped dim its power.  With a single cloak gone, ferns would wither.  A second cloak and the grass would redden,  while a third would start to heat wood and trees.  By the time all the cloaks were gone, the land itself would be a blazing inferno.

Balor was eventually defeated in battle by his grandson Lugh of the Long Arm, who knocked the deadly eye from its socket with a thrown spear or slingshot.  The falling eye spun and blasted Balor's troops, killing many of them before burning itself into the ground!

The Psychology of the Evil Eye: Misattribution of Arousal

One of the uncomfortable truths you'll discover if you study psychology is that our brains take shortcuts.  I'll explain why that might tie into the evil eye shortly, but first we need to look at some research.

In 1962, psychologists Schachter and Singer proposed the two-factor theory of emotion.  To put it simply, they suggested that emotions consisted of:

• Arousal: How alert and energetic you are, your heart rate, any trembling and so on (note that in psychology arousal isn't just sexual)
• Interpretation: How our brains explain that arousal - you can get the same physical effects from being on a fast roller coaster or by having a knife-wielding manic jump out at you... but in the first case you might consider that excitement and enjoyment rather than mortal fear!

You can view it like a thought process instead...

1. I am on a roller coaster
2. My heart is racing, I'm trembling and I feel butterflies in my stomach
3. I feel like this because I am on an exciting fairground ride
4. Therefore, I am excited

or...

1. A stranger has leapt out of the bushes with a knife
2. My heart is racing, I'm trembling and I feel butterflies in my stomach
3. I feel like this because I'm afraid I am about to be stabbed
4. Therefore, I am afraid

While the theory (and a supporting study performed by Schachter and Singer) is often considered an oversimplification, the core suggestion that our situation shapes our emotions is usually accepted.  

I don't know about you, but I'd be nervous! (tommao wang)

One study supporting the theory comes from Dutton and Aron in 1974. They used a pair of bridges, one stable and the other a high, wobbly suspension bridge - the kind that shifts in the wind. In theory, people crossing the suspension bridge would be a bit more nervous (and in psychological terms, aroused.)

On each bridge, they stationed a female researcher who'd stop male students and ask them to take part in study about how nature effects creative expression.  They were given a brief questionnaire to fill in, then the researcher would give the males her phone number - in case they had any questions about the study later.

The results were interesting - not only were males on the wobbly bridge roughly four times as likely to call the researcher later, their questionnaire answers featured significantly more sexual content.  It seems like the males were misinterpreting their nervous arousal at being on a dodgy bridge as sexual arousal towards the researcher!

So let's loop back to the evil eye.  Most depictions of its effects include unexplained illness, headaches and misfortune - what if you were looking for an explanation for these maladies, and remembered that someone had given you a funny look a day or two ago?  If you already believed in the evil eye, it wouldn't be much of a leap to misattribute perfectly normal illnesses and misfortune to such a curse - especially since humans are more likely to remember and pay attention to negative experiences.

The placebo and nocebo effects can be powerful - despite only being in your head! (Kristine Wook)

The Psychology of the Evil Eye: The Placebo Effect... and the Nocebo Effect

You may have heard of the placebo effect already, and you've almost certainly experienced it.  I know I did the other day - I'd picked up a nasty headache from the weather and decided to take a painkiller.  Less than a minute after swallowing, I started to feel a bit better... which doesn't make much sense, as the tablet would probably need half an hour or more to dissolve and enter my bloodstream.  The weather hadn't changed, so it was just the act of taking something that was having an immediate effect!

Researchers have found the effect to be quite powerful.  One study that looked at the effectiveness of migraine medication found that a placebo was roughly 50% as effective as receiving the real medication, even when outright labeled as a placebo.

That said, placebos can inflict negative effects as well - this is normally called the nocebo effect.  In essence (and just how those expecting to benefit from something can experience the placebo effect) the nocebo effect causes people to experience pain or illness because they expect to.

You can probably see how this might connect back to the evil eye.  In a culture where it is known that some people can inflict sickness and ill fortune with a glance, you might catch someone looking at you strangely... and then begin to feel off, struck down by the evil eye that you yourself have conjured!

Thanks for reading - for more, try...

• 20 Wonderful, Wild and Wicked Creatures of Europe's Folklore
• ESP: Exploring the Scientific Evidence For and Against Extrasensory Perception
• Skoffin, Miniwashitu and Gorgons: 10 Folklore Creatures You Don't Want to See