Bob Dylan, Vanity Illness (1989)
Search for the phrase “evil eye necklace ” on the antiques and crafts e-commerce site Betsy and you’ll find over 71,000 items. This is an impressive result, but not so surprising given the number of people who are aware of the evil gaze.
Throughout history, in all cultures and religions of the world, people have envied the well-being of others and feared the evil gaze of those who wished to make him sick.
Your protection? Charms of the evil eye necklace, beads, amulets such as discs with the image of the eyes, sometimes bright blue irises, sometimes black irises surrounded by white and dark blue or aquamarine circles. Anyone visiting the Greek and Turkish bazaars or the Israeli Suk (covered market) is familiar with the many ways these blue, white and black glass beads can be incorporated into necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry. You will be doing it.
And contemporary designers such as Atelier Swarovski, Michael Kars, and Alex and Any embody the evil eye with gold and silver diamonds and sapphires to create works that meet modern tastes.
Its charm goes far beyond the similarities of cute school bags and Coachella.
Indeed, when Megan, the Duchess of Sussex, was found wearing an Alemdara necklace to prevent evil eyes necklace, and this fall, she found a bracelet during her trip to Africa-the latter (the latter). Was it intentional?)-It was clear that the style was in vogue. It will be traditional fashion.
A little history
The desire to avoid the evil eye nacklace is not new.
During an archaeological excavation in Syria, an idol-shaped amulet with pierced eyes was discovered by the Mesopotamians dating back to 3300 BC. In the 1895 Evil Gaze: The Origin and Practice of Superstition, Frederick Epworth states: Fall the body. Creatures and inanimate objects. (He also writes about the use of the ancient Egyptians and one of their gods, the Eye of Osiris, as a talisman to prevent evil magic both in life and in the afterlife.)
Faith in the evil gaze is said to be strengthened among Muslims by the Qur’an Surah al-Kamal verses 51 and 52. They say, “Sure, he’s angry.” But this is just a reminder to the world. ”
And the Old Testament of the Bible mentions evil eyes in Proverbs 23: 6, saying, “Don’t eat the bread of those who have evil eyes or want sweets.” I’m warning you.
Glass beads appeared in the Mediterranean around 1500 BC. C., when glass production became more sophisticated and the evil eye beads became popular among the Phenikians, Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, and Ottoman Empires. Many historians suggest that blue-eyed people were thought to be good at using the evil eye, as dark-eyed people were common in the area.
However, the evil eye necklace also appeared in Celtic and Polish folklore. “Nothing is terrible to people, and nothing is as deadly as the evil eye in the consequences,” said Mrs. Jane Francesca Wilde, the playwright’s mother, in her 1887 book, “Ancient Legends, Mysterious.” I wrote in “Charm and Superstition”. Ireland. ”
Today
It is impossible to quantify how many evil eyes necklace are attractive in the world, but it is difficult to discuss their popularity.
During Mariel Tandy’s first pregnancy, her Turkish mother-in-law gave her what she called a “beautiful and historic” evil eye bracelet. It’s the inspiration for her e-commerce business, Alemdara, and her Diadem bracelet (£ 275 or $ 355) is a replica.
“All my friends like her bracelet and she asked me to buy a bracelet,” Tandy said. “I found only really cheap ones, but my friends were interested in it anyway, so I decided to design a bracelet and my business grew from there.”
His clients range from 2 to 94 years old. Among them are people over the age of 20 who buy jewelry made by skilled Turkish craftsmen as a gift for their bridesmaids, and older women who choose it for their pregnant girlfriends.
“They are often given during happy times, hoping for happiness and good luck,” said Tandy, who said sales increased 25-fold over the same period last year after the Duchess wore jewelry. He added that he did. “There’s a lot to talk about the downside, but in my experience it’s always been a blessing and a safety net, just in case.”
In Africa, the Duchess chose a turquoise version of the 450-pound Diadem bracelet and Alton necklace. A small hand of hamsa pave diamonds and an 18K gold chain with an evil eye pendant.
In Toronto, Jessica Handel man, owner of the jewelry website Jessica Jeweler, reiterated the idea that buying jewelry from her line is becoming an increasingly fashion statement, rather than a reaction to her superstition. “Until a few years ago, the evil eye was a religious symbol that people used to protect themselves,” Handel man said. But “in the last few years, it has become a trend and fashion statement rather than a symbol that makes sense to many of my clients.”
“I think people love it because it’s unique and vibrant,” he said. “Recent designs are very different, and there are many ways to express the eyes, circles, and evil eyes, with or without eyelashes.”
According to Handel man, most women who buy evil eye glasses from him are between the ages of 20 and 35.
Even the gift shop at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto sells home-use anti-evil eye jewelry and anti-evil eye items. Shoheb Gadara, senior manager of the store’s retail and product development specialists, says Western shoppers “want a typical evil eye that is inexpensive to pack and wear as a fun item. People in the eastern world want something more sophisticated or intelligent that they can carefully bring home. ”
For example, the store has a limited edition jewelry by Nadia Dasani from Palestine, and her jewelery always has turquoise beads that symbolize the evil eye. “People often ask if this is a bug,” Gadara said.
tradition
Sabina Main, 46, the daughter of a Lebanese immigrant from Canada, was baptized and received her first jewel from her evil eye. “My family has a tradition of when girls were baptized and were given beautiful gold necklaces, one of which was the evil eye,” she said. “This is a souvenir. I’ll give it to my niece someday.”
She sees them as symbols of religious beliefs and finds them too practical to jinx. However, Mr. Menu recently purchased what he calls a “super-fashionable evil eye necklace” as a Christmas present. Because his sister is always obsessed with tradition.
She said, “I don’t think the evil eye protects me, but when I see it, it definitely fascinates me because it’s part of the culture.”
Helen Rustier Take’s, 57, daughter of a Greek immigrant. He touches the tree every time he praises someone, but says he didn’t wear jewelry to prevent the evil eye until last summer when his graduate daughter gave him a bracelet. .. And he saw bracelets for sale at the Greek airport, so he bought a pair and said we should wear each one. “”
The rusty Oakes had a glass beaded bracelet on his wrist and said he didn’t remove it.
“I’m not always a devout believer,” she said, showing off her bracelet. “I didn’t buy it myself, but it’s protected by the love of her daughter.”
Women of a certain age are not the only ones who have evil eye jewelry in their collections. Rachel Friedman, 29, received an evil eye bracelet as a gift from her friend. A Toronto social worker, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, said he had no superstitions about the job. “But this is a very informal method and we do not commit to Judaism and Jewish traditions.”
“I know Evil Eye jewelry is trendy and trendy, so it’s no wonder the Duchess of Sussex wears them,” she said.