The evil eye!
INTERNATIONAL TALISMANS
Middle Eastern talismans protecting against the evil eye
Belief in the evil eye is extremely ancient and it is spread across the Middle East and the Mediterranean basin. A common talisman used to protect against the evil eye is a silver or iron charm containing a glass eye, usually blue. Sometimes the eye will be contained inside an equilateral triangle, representing the power of the Trinity and of the perfect number three. Other such talismans also contain a silver horseshoe, or are simply formed in the shape of a large blue and white glass eye.
Native American Hopi and Zuni Fetishes
In Native American Hopi and Zuni societies, it is common for people to carry around carved fetishes, which are thought to provide them with protection and guidance in certain areas of life. The fetishes are kept in small pouches and worn around the neck and are sometimes given offerings of food. The most common fetishes and their meanings are as follows:
Bear
Power, strength, ability to evaluate current environment, introspection, spiritual journey through life
Buffalo
Endurance, ability to rise above weakness, great emotional courage
Butterfly
The art of transformation, the ability to know or change the mind
Coyote
Humour, master trickster who tricks himself, laughter, foolishness
Duck
Spirits of those who have passed on
Eagle
Creator, teacher, loyalty, great integrity, connection to Heaven
Frog
Bringer of rain, abundance and fertility
Hawk
Messenger of the gods, ability to observe the obvious in everything you do
Horned lizard
Conservation of natural resources, self-reliance, longevity
Horse
Healing, swiftness, strength, enlightenment
Mountain lion
Leadership, resourcefulness, the power to lead without insisting that others follow
Owl
Ability to see what others cannot, essence of true wisdom, deception
Rabbit
Virtue, serenity, low curiosity, quiet talent, restrained passion, the special guardian of women in childbirth, long life
Snake
Life, death, rebirth, power of creation, power of transmutation
Turtle
The oldest symbol of Mother Earth, longevity
Wolf
Teacher, pathfinder, sharing of your knowledge, a never-ending journey
Italian amulet against malocchio
In Italy and in other parts of southern Europe, people still carry around amulets made of coral (or in their cheaper form in red plastic) depicting the hands in the shape of the Devil’s horns, as protection against the evil eye and misfortune in general. The amulet derives from the gesture used to counter the presence of the evil eye or a mention of the Devil or any other evil force, where the second and third finger of the hand are folded leaving the index and pinkie pointing downwards, in the shape of the Devil’s horns. It is also common to see amulets in the shape of a red coral horn, sometimes topped by a gold crown depicting the horn of the Devil contained by the crown of the Virgin Mary. To point the Devil’s horns at illwishers or the Devil himself is to deflect their evil intentions and direct them back at those wishing one harm.
Japanese Maneki Neko, the lucky beckoning cat
In Japan it is customary to keep a Maneki Neko or beckoning cat in one’s house, or on the counter or in the window of a shop. The fat cat figurine, depicted wearing a bell and holding a coin on one paw with the other paw up in the air, is thought to bring happiness to the home, and customers and prosperity to a shop. While it may look to westerners like the cat is waving, it is in fact making the gesture of beckoning the Japanese way. In Japan, in fact, people beckon by holding their hands up with the palm facing forward and then open and close their fingers over the palm. When the Maneki Neko is shown holding up a left paw, it is supposed to bring customers; when it is shown holding up the right paw, it is supposed to indicate money. The different colours of the Maneki Neko have different meanings: red gives protection against evil spirits and illness; gold brings wealth; white indicates purity; and black protects against evil. The black Maneki Neko is favoured by women as it is thought to give special protection against sexual harassment.
Although there seems to be mention of the Maneki Neko as early as the seventeenth century, it became popular in its present form in the mid-nineteenth century, when it also started to be used as a piggy bank. There are various theories about why the Maneki Neko became popular around that time, one of which suggests that it was because the Meiji government had banned sexually explicit sculptures from being displayed in the windows of brothels, so the cat initially represented a beckoning prostitute. It may have been considered funny and later marketed as an object aimed at attracting other kinds of customers.
The Khamsa (Fatima’s Hand), or the Hamesh (Miriam’s Hand)
Present in both Jewish and Islamic iconography, the Khamsa or the Hamesh is an ancient symbol probably predating both religions. Although the Koran forbids the use of talismans, the Khamsa is widely produced and used as decoration especially in Egypt. It refers to the hand of Fatima, the beloved daughter of Muhammad, and it is thought that the five fingers of the hand represent the five pillars of Islam, which are core features of the Sunni Faith. The Jewish ‘Hamesh’, or ‘Chamesh’, is thought to represent the hand of Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron. In both the Islamic and the Jewish tradition the hand symbol is thought to provide protection against the evil eye and to represent the hand of God, acting benevolently in people’s lives.