In many Mediterranean, African and indigenous cultures, people greatly fear the Evil Eye. To guard against the Evil Eye, people in these cultures wear bright blue amulets or blue tassels on coats and prayer shawls. People think that without this protection, someone’s envy over their achievements, beauty, or family will destroy these achievements, maim the beautiful, or kill the family.
We sometimes may be tempted to give others the Evil Eye. Sometimes others have gifts we don’t think they deserve. These gifts may be material things, such as wealth, or they could be talents or health or family.
For example, we may have worked hard all our lives for a modest home, while our best friend did nothing and inherited an estate. We may have struggled to keep our garden tidy and beautiful, only to see our neighbors’ look better with less effort. We may know someone who smokes who is perfectly healthy, while we or someone we love has never smoked and suffers from heart and lung issues. We may have lost our spouse even though we were always nice to them, while the person next door still has their spouse with whom they argue constantly.
