It’s the depths of summer: the time to show off, strut your stuff, and shrug off the shackles of shamelessness. The mindset of Hot Goddex Summer settles around us like a cloak of confidence. Abundance surrounds us, and we want to join the land in that prosperity. By the same token, it’s also the time of envy. Strangers, friends, and loved ones alike may see our abundance and wish it was their own–or feel that they deserve that richness more than we do. In Italian folk magic, we call that il malocchio, or the evil eye. Come with me to learn a little more about how the evil eye is cast, and how to protect both yourself and others from its effects this summer. Walk with confidence, knowing that the envy of others will pass right over you.
At its heart, il malocchio is the envy of others. It’s the sour, bitter eye someone turns towards us, feeling we have something they deserve more than we do. It may be clothes, wealth, beauty that others see and envy. It may also be our self-confidence, fearlessness, love we share with others, or refusal to be shamed by societal standards of politeness–not everything enviable is a physical item. Those around us may not see the blood, sweat, and tears that we put in to earn our self-confidence or the hours we spent making that piece of jewelry. They may only see that we have something they want for themselves.
Sometimes, whether or not someone knows our life and circumstances, they may simply find themselves more deserving of whatever that coveted aspect is. It may be something clear, visible, and loud in conversation. It may be something subtle, hidden between words and actions, sometimes because even they know you deserve what you have but are failing to stifle the envy in their hearts. At the end of the day, we can never know what will inspire envy in others. We can dress as modestly as possible and still inspire jealousy. We can speak softly and humbly and still be considered vain.
We cannot control the envy in the hearts of others. Envy, at its core, is simply fear: that we will never be able to have what someone else does, that there isn’t enough to go around, that we must take from someone else if we’re ever to have our own. It’s a hard fear to set to bed, and doing so is a deeply personal journey. We can’t fix that for everyone else–but we can fix it in ourselves, so we may protect ourselves and others.
This involves a degree of soul searching. When you’re going about your day, where do you feel envious of others? Where do you fear you won’t have enough unless you get what someone else has? This can be seeing the success of another and feeling you deserve that big break more than they do. Sometimes, this can look like seeing new confidence in someone’s posture and giving a backhanded compliment, hoping to take their confidence for yourself.
One of the most common ways il malocchio is cast, outside of with a spiteful glance, is hidden in a compliment. If you wear a new bracelet, excited to show off its beauty, and someone compliments it, this can be where the evil eye hides. The compliment may be paid in absolute earnestness–but we can’t always help the envy in our hearts.
If you feel a compliment may have been more in envy than in earnest, there are some steps to take. During the exchange, make your hand into the manu figa, a protective gesture against the evil eye. You can do this with your hand in your pocket for subtlety. With your hand behind your back, you can also make the mano cornuto gesture and aim the horns at the ground, channeling il malocchio through you and into the floor. When you’re able to step away, spit three times—preferably into a tissue that gets tossed in a trash can or toilet, no need to spread germs or the evil eye on accident!
These work best right after an exchange that felt off, where you have a suspicion the other party might have been envious. It may be a hint of a frown, something in their eyes or expression, a tone of voice, a certain twist of the words—something that settles wrong in your gut that tells you they were less than genuine. These methods remove the eye before it’s settled and starts to impact your life. A few other discreet ways to shuck off the eye are to touch metal, much the way Americans touch wood for luck. Think of it as grounding il malocchio the way you would ground static electricity. This can also be done by touching an evil eye talisman, be it jewelry or a hanging talisman like a large glass Nazar eye or the head of Medusa.
Lastly, you can chase away the eye by touching symbols of abundance. In the Roman era, this included symbols of humanity’s abundance, in particular phallic and yonic symbols. Small winged phalluses were used as luck talismans, some even being kept in small shrine. The manu figa gesture originated at this time and was said to be one of, if not the most, apotropaic gesture that could be made. This gesture is distinctly a yonic image and was intended as such during its conception. If you don’t make a practice of carrying miniature statuary of this sort, the tocco palle gesture is perfect for any scenario and can be done by anyone, regardless of what you’re packing. Tocco palle translates to ‘I touch my balls’; the gesture involves a touch between the legs, reaffirming the prosperity you carry with you regardless of the form it takes. Naturally, this can be hard to subtly do in public, so we recommend finding a restroom or other private space after a suspicious interaction. Of course, please only do this gesture with your own body; trying it with someone else will send you home with more than just the evil eye.
As you wouldn’t want the eye on you, be sure to take care not to give it out yourself. When paying compliments to others, responding to good news, or similar situations, there are gestures to demonstrate to yourself, the spirits, and who you’re speaking to that you mean any compliments you give. One option is to gently touch the other person on the back, shoulder, or arm: a gesture of benediction to show your words contain only good will. We recommend only doing this with people you know are comfortable with casual touches. While touching an arm or shoulder is generally acceptable, you can never know a person’s boundaries without asking, and it’s best not to assume.
Another way to prevent giving il malocchio is to give it to the gods. In Italian folk magic, compliments are often followed by some version of ‘God be willing’ said in Italian or a local dialect. This is a way of saying, “I’m not trying to influence your fate—that’s out of my hands.” If you’d rather not work within a Christian cosmology, try taking things broader. Good options might be: ‘Fate be willing,’ ‘Gods be willing,’ ‘If it’s in the stars,’ or ‘May the stars align for it!’
Of course, the easiest way to keep il malocchio at bay is always with talismans. Italian folk magic is rife with different amulets and talismans to ward away il malocchio and the bad luck, as well as ones to keep the good luck you do have. We have a wide variety available, each crafted under the auspices of the tutelary spirits we work with in this area. As always, our Italian folk magic comes through a queer Italian-American lens. We were not lucky enough to inherit a long tradition of malocchio magic; we were lucky enough to have this push to search for older traditions that we interpret through our own queer lens with the help of our tutelary spirits.
When working with the evil eye, we owe our knowledge to La Sirena, also known as Scylla or the Siren, Medusa, and Eros. They have taught us a great deal about amulets, talismans, evil eye warding, and removal. They guide us toward ancient art and older texts describing folk traditions through the ages. They help us to understand what these symbols mean and why they are protective, not simply that they are. They’ve given us prayers and evil eye removals that have proved potent for this kind of work. At the moment, the offerings we’ve made using this knowledge are available: talismans, amulets, rosaries, and prayer cards, with malocchio removal salts and incense on the way! We’re working to make more information on this part of our practice available for those hoping to expand their knowledge of the evil eye. Until then, we hope our Cimaruta Altar Card, with a brief breakdown of the many apotropaic symbols of the Cimaruta charm, sparks passion in your heart to learn more!