Herbal Magick - Small Farm, Permaculture, and Sustainable Living
Herbal Magick - Small Farm, Permaculture, and Sustainable Living
Herbal Magick - Small Farm, Permaculture, and Sustainable Living
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20 <strong>Herbal</strong> <strong>Magick</strong><br />
However, not every jettatore was aware of the fact that he or<br />
she possessed the evil eye, <strong>and</strong> they would often cast it upon<br />
their victims involuntarily <strong>and</strong> without a deliberate malicious<br />
intent behind it. There was no explanation why certain people<br />
were born with it <strong>and</strong> others were not, but it was clear that not<br />
all persons who were capable of casting it were evil by nature.<br />
Such was the case of Pope Pius IX, who many Italians<br />
believed was a jettatore. Although he was not considered to be<br />
a malevolent man, the curious fact that unexplained disasters<br />
befell a great number of the persons <strong>and</strong> places blessed by him<br />
led many folks to believe that such a thing could not be a mere<br />
coincidence. The only acceptable explanation for them was<br />
that he possessed the mal occhio.<br />
The Italians have many methods of combating the evil eye.<br />
Most are simple ones, such as spitting on the ground, wearing<br />
red ribbons, reciting certain passages from the Bible, <strong>and</strong> making<br />
phallic h<strong>and</strong> gestures. The wearing of a golden charm shaped<br />
like a horn <strong>and</strong> filled with a pinch of sage is another method<br />
that is said to be highly effective against the evil eye, <strong>and</strong> one<br />
that continues to remain popular among many Italians. In fact,<br />
I have two male relatives on the Italian side of my family who<br />
frequently wear such a charm on a gold necklace. While neither<br />
of them will readily admit to believing in the power of the evil<br />
eye, they evidently feel that it is far better to be safe than to be<br />
sorry. And I couldn’t agree with them more.<br />
Some methods involve the use of herbs, many of which<br />
Gr<strong>and</strong>ma Rose grew in her garden <strong>and</strong> kept in mason jars in<br />
her walk-in pantry. Anise seeds could ward off the evil eye by<br />
being burned or strewn around the home. The ancient Romans<br />
believed that eating rue could give them immunity against<br />
the evil eye, while bathing one’s eyes with water in which rue<br />
had been steeped was supposedly effective in curing those who<br />
had already fallen victim to a jettatore’s evil glance.
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