Dear Soul Arcanum:
My family has all sorts of superstitions that I’ve always thought were crazy. At the same time, however, part of me has always wondered if maybe there is something to them. For example, my grandmother was forever blaming all sorts of problems on what she called the “evil eye.” (I could tell you lots of wild stories!) Anyway, do you think the evil eye is real? Is it possible to harm another person on some level just by looking at them?
– Effie
Dear Effie:
The evil eye is a common superstition in Arab and European countries, especially around the area of the Mediterranean. However, the understanding that ill will can be communicated via a look is universal. Let’s deal with the superstition first.
The basic idea behind the evil eye is that one person can curse another person by simply envying them. Most people believe that this harm is not intentional. It seems to arise from the idea that in drawing attention to someone’s blessing, God may realize He’s made a mistake or that things aren’t “fair” somehow, and take that blessing away.
From a metaphysical perspective, there is of course no need for us to hide our blessings for fear they will be taken away from us, and in fact, that sort of fear is counter-productive. Most of us can appreciate the psychological issues behind such superstitions, however, for we’ve all been the uncomfortable objects of envy. If someone who couldn’t have a child praised my beautiful baby, I would naturally feel sorry for her and empathize by imagining myself in her place. If we are in any way doubtful of our worthiness of such a blessing, it’s natural to think we’d better hide our good fortune lest someone take it away.
Perhaps this sort of thinking arises in childhood, when parents strive to be fair to siblings. If one sibling has something like a new toy or candy, he may be made to share it with his brothers and sisters. Also, children often find things they treasure but should not have, and when their parents find out, they take those things away. To protect their treasures, children often learn to hide them.
We must also remember that folklore arises to answer questions to which there are no other answers available. For example, babies and small children tend to get sick a lot. Back when there was no medical explanation for most illnesses, people looked to supernatural causes because they were desperate to be able to do something to save their children from harm.
There are all sorts of strange rituals, charms and so-called cures for the evil eye, which you can research elsewhere if you’re interested. I do think it’s interesting to note that these remedies reveal a basic awareness of the fact that our auras can be affected by others’ energy. When we believe we are protected, our vibration is high, and for this reason alone, using a charm or ritual could protect us. Further, charms for protection are often mirrored surfaces or look like eyes, as they are designed to reflect and return the energy in the sender’s gaze. This suggests basic understanding of karma, and how it is wiser to “turn the other cheek” than to go on the offensive. Other remedies for the evil eye involve auric cleansing techniques. For example, in some places children are smudged with smoke when they return from being in public.
As for whether or not there is any spiritual basis for these superstitions, we all know that looks can be unsettling and unnerving. While some looks obviously contain some sort of threat, most of us don’t like to be stared at, and some looks really give us the creeps. The common saying, “if looks could kill” suggests we are aware of the malevolent quality of some looks, and grateful that they can only affect us on a non-physical level.
Most women are familiar with the energetic feeling of being “checked out” or leered at by a man. One of the first auric interactions I ever witnessed clairvoyantly involved such a situation. I was picking up a friend who lived in a college co-op. She hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so I agreed to wait while she grabbed a quick meal with her housemates. I was sitting in the back of the dining room when I saw a young man enter. Her back was to him, and as I saw him look at her, I actually saw this red, murky energy flow out from his aura toward her. When it got close to her, all of a sudden she turned around and looked right at him with an angry look on her face.
This so surprised me that I lost my clairvoyant connection. Later I told her what I’d seen, and she was amazed by it. She then explained how that young man had been sexually harassing her for a while, and gave her the creeps!
This experience demonstrated how we sense when someone is looking at us: they actually send energy out to our auras. It also explained how we can sense things about people, like whether they are safe or dangerous, sincere or dishonest, and all sorts of other information. Regardless of what they may do or say, when we interact with other people, our auras are communicating on a deeper level.
We can send energy to someone by focusing on them mentally, but it’s more powerful to be able to focus on them visually as well. By focusing our gaze on someone with emotion, we can communicate all sorts of things from anger, threats or rejection to sincere interest, sexual attraction and love.
Further, when two or more people are together, natural spiritual law causes them to entrain to the vibration of the person with the strongest energy field. This person has the most “power” both in terms of life force and interpersonal dynamics. This does not mean that person is the most “enlightened.” If such a person has a very positive, warm vibration, others will find him attractive. If such a person has a negative or destructive vibration, people will naturally tend to fear him.
People with strong life force energy radiate that power in many ways, and one key way is through their eyes, which tend to be striking, penetrating or beautiful. It thus makes sense that when we are around someone of a lower vibration who has more powerful chi than we do, we will feel threatened by their energy, and try to avoid interacting with them in any way.
Please don’t let these ideas worry you, for we have been dealing with these auric interactions our whole lives with the help of our wonderful inner guidance systems. Our instincts make us aware of what is happening on an auric level, so all we need to do is listen to our intuition and act accordingly.
– Soul Arcanum