The Evil Eye: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Protection

diana: Welcome back to Spiritual Nexus, your cosmic connection. I'm your host, Diana Rose. And I'm Xandra. Welcome back to Cosmic Monday. We're actually back here in the shop and we're really happy to have you with us. So ⁓ you know, Diana, I was actually just gonna jump right into today's topic, but I do see you have taken out the teapot. I love the tea. Please pour me a cup. Absolutely. Would you like sugar or honey? tough call. Honey. I'm gonna do honey too. Here you go. Thank you so much. Before I sip on it, can you please tell me what I'm putting into my body? ⁓ yes, of course. Well, we're actually having some ⁓ chamomile and vanilla. And I also put a little bit of lavender in. Ooh, I do love lavender. You know, that's just perfect for grounding the nervous system, calming you down. and opening up your intuition. So I think that's a good call before we pull a card. Yeah. It's delicious. ⁓ I feel my third eye opening. Sorry. I'll be serious. go right ahead. Well, let's see what the universe has us to s focus on this week. Shuffle our deck, Sandra. Let's set our intention. Let's set our intention to a message that will serve everyone who is listening to all our listeners. We want to encompass everybody. Sandra, tell me when to stop. Right about. There. ⁓ great. Fabulous. We pulled the three of cups. Ooh, that's a good one. It's a beautiful card. Yes, it's a lovely card. so you know, the three of card three of cups is all about celebration, friendships. I'd say it's about social connections. it's a really good reminder this week to lean into your sisterhood, to your chosen family. you know, the people who are actually invested in your wins. Absolutely. You want to go with the people who cheer for you. Mm-hmm. You know, it's like an invitation. It's an to like share your joy and your happiness with the ones you love. Yes. But you know, Sandra, interestingly enough, this ties beautifully into what we want to talk about today. It's true. Because you while you want to celebrate your blessings, history shows us that people have always had a fascinating fear. Of what happens if we shine too brightly. Did you workshop that segue? Yes, I did. You know I did. Okay, well it just fits so perfectly, Zandra. It does. so that's actually the perfect pivot. Yes. Let's get right into it. ⁓ this tea is so good. Our topic for today is the evil eye. You know, when people hear the phrase the evil eye, they usually picture It's this blue ⁓ symbol that you see on jewellery, keychains, ⁓ amulet. Yeah. Hang up like ⁓ we'll have it in the shop actually, we have it as home decor. We've got it hung up on the walls a few times here. Absolutely. It's not just for decors and ⁓ Of course not. It's for reflecting all that bad vibe. Okay. You might know it as the Nazar or the Mati. Mhm. Exactly. You know, there's a little mix up there, a little historical mix up though. some people think that the ⁓ the blue eye, you know, the amulet, the blue eye, ⁓ you they think it's the actual evil eye, but it's not. It's actually actually the shield against the evil eye. That's what people use to shield themselves from the evil eye. ⁓ some wonder what is the evil eye? They've heard the term, but people don't really know exactly what it is. And the evil eye is basically it's a look, it's a glance. It could even be a compliment, a compliment that comes from that's born out of envy or jealousy. You know, sometimes it it could just be, someone admires you so intentionally, that they inadvertently bring, a reversal of fortune upon you. Or bad luck, like someone says, ⁓ but your hair is beautiful and then the next thing you know, your hair is like you're shedding. ⁓ that's terrible. ⁓ Yeah. ⁓ you know it it can do that. You know, if you you've had a job promotion recently, absolutely suddenly things start to work again. Your finances are working good, you know, and then people talk about it or it temps to face. Or to bring it back to that to hair, if you get a wonderful haircut. Somebody might be jealous. Absolutely. You know. Or nice skin. Yeah. but I think, you know, to really get into the meat of it, we should probably get into how deeply embedded this is in human consciousness to understand better like the history of it, huh? Yeah. So how far back can we see records of the evil eye first showing, Diana? Well, it's it's thousands of years. ⁓ my goodness, Sandra, thousands of years. Yeah. You know, ⁓ some of the earliest recorded evidence that they have actually comes from ⁓ ancient Mesopotamia. Mm, you know, specifically in Sumer. Right. the form of Cuni uniform tablets, ⁓ dating back to ⁓ Me see. I think it's like 3,000 BCE. You know I'm not good with numbers. Can you translate that into Xandraese? How many years back? Xandra, you're pushing me. You're pushing me. You're killing me, girl. In Xandraese, how many years back is this? Probably around. I would say maybe 5,000. Okay. You know, the Sumerians actually wrote incantations, you know, prayers, incantations, that were designed to ward off ⁓ the negative effects of the envious eye. People who looked at you with jealous or envious eyes. Which is interesting because I'm sure you already know they weren't the only ones that did that. I'm more ⁓ into ancient Egypt ⁓ and ⁓ You know, they had a really deep rooted relationship with protective eye symbols. Yes, they did. You know, ⁓ I'm sure everybody listening at home knows exactly what I mean when I say that ancient Egyptian eye symbol that is so ubiquitous in culture these days. ⁓ you may not know, but it is called the eye of Horace. It's also known as the wajet, which the wad jet symbolizes healing and protection. But it's also really tied to royal power. Yes it is. You know. ⁓ gosh, it's painted on a lot of different things. You know, you got ambulance, you've got tombs, and it was used to be painted on ships to safeguard travelers. Yes, yes. You know, as time went on, it actually flourished in the Mediterranean. ⁓ by the time, you know, we got to ancient Greece and Rome, the evil eye was widely discussed. by prominent thinkers and philosophers, ⁓ philosophers like Plutarch and Heliodorus, Heliodorus wrote entire theories on how the human eye could deflect lethal rays of of negative energy ⁓ and that were by, you know, envy and jealousy. Yeah. You know, we don't just have Heliodorus's writings, we also have like a lot of ⁓ really incredible physical of this coming From ancient Greece. ⁓ yes. ⁓ I think you're you probably already know what I'm gonna mention. The eye cups. Yes, I've seen them, Sandra. They ha you know what? They've displayed them in many of the Viking movies. Yeah. The old Viking movies, Andra. Miss Diana really loves her Viking gear. Yeah too. ⁓ but for all our listeners out there who may not know what an eye cup is, it essentially was a drinking vessel that at the bottom had These massive unblinking eyes. Can you see that painted on the bottom? Yeah, so when you would tilt the the cup back to drink from it, the eyes would stare back at anybody looking at you. And that would be like a ward to c cast off any envious glances that might have gone your way. Yes. so the whole, you know, protecting your energy from the evil eye or bad vibes, it kind of shows that Almost every culture has observed its endra. Yeah, so you could say it basically went viral across every major religion. Absolutely, yes. From Christianity to Islam to Hinduism, Buddhism. Mm-hmm. It really it's it's really global. ⁓ so it's really a phenomenon, yes. Yes. Do you wanna take a quick trip around the world? I would love to take a well well what's ⁓ to just differentiate societies like how they protected themselves from jealousy. Let's do it. You wanna start? Well you know, in the Middle East, ⁓ that's where you see the famous glass nazar ⁓ or you know, the ⁓ they call it the hand of Fatima ⁓ or Miriam, the hand Miriam. ⁓ it's used to ⁓ deflect the malicious energy. You know, right send it right back to the sender. You know, return to senders, Sandra. We don't want that negative. Definitely not. No negative juju. Send them back. Mm-hmm. And you know, we're down here in Texas. So we have like really strong ties to Mexico and Latin America down here. So you may have seen it, known as the Mal de Ojo. ⁓ and another tradition is it's really common for babies actually to wear a red string to protect them. Mm-hmm. Yes, in in in South Asia, you know, it it's called the Zazar or the Drishti. Mm-hmm. You might see a a small black dot, a little nazar katika they call it, placed behind the baby's ear. That's what it's called. Or you see ⁓ strings of chilies and lemons, as they hang outside. outside of their homes, in front of the door, on the side. ⁓ that's used to negative energy. Mm-hmm. Also in Italy they have the cornetello, ⁓ mm, or as like to say the little horn. ⁓ and that's worn ⁓ to fend off or ward off, Malochio. What they call Malochio. Mm-hmm. Sandra, maybe we should buy some little horns. You know, I had one once, ⁓ Back in the day when I was young and it was actually very lucky. You're still young. ⁓ Sandra, thank you. You're so sweet. But you mean the cornicellos, right? Yes. Okay, well maybe maybe we should offer some in the shop since they were lucky. Sure, that would be a great idea, I think. I'd that yeah, I'm interested in that. Yes. I forgot about the little cornicellos. Maybe we shouldn't share behind the scenes business owner talk. But so getting back on topic, I have to wonder. Why has this belief survived from ancient Sumerian clay tablets all the way to our phone screens, our tablet screens? You know, Xandra, psychologists, anthropologists, they think it comes down to, human desire to to for control and humility. ⁓ You know, I see that. You know, it's kinda like in ancient times before ⁓ understanding of farming. had been more developed if a healthy crop suddenly withered, they needed a way to explain something that to them was unexplainable. Yes, that's one way of looking at it. Absolutely. Mm. in many cultures ⁓ the evil eye reminds to stay humble. ⁓ Mm. ⁓ It it practice to be thankful, to to avoid flaunting our success. ⁓ in a way that might make others feel less than. ⁓ it's an ancient lesson actually, an empathy and mindfulness. ⁓ It's all wrapped in a spiritual concept. ⁓ So okay. Speaking empathy, can I can I ask you to extend some to someone? ⁓ okay Okay. So ⁓ before we turned the microphones, this kinda we were talking about ancient fears and you know The sort of spiritual anxiety that's been popping up a lot more recently, but that reminded me of something that happened to a friend of mine recently. I actually haven't told you yet. All right. Okay, do you wanna hear? Absolutely I wanna hear. Just by looking at your face, I can tell it's gonna be good. Tell me, Xandra, what happened? Okay, so a friend of mine called me up a few days ago. He was in a total panic. And he had told me that he'd recently begun a really big energetic cleanse of his space. So he was doing like some spiritual spring spring cleaning. Okay. And as part of that, he made the decision that it was time to burn an old Ouija board he had sitting in his closet for many years. What did he do with the ashes? Well, ⁓ he took them. He burned it, Sandra. What did he do with the ashes? He took the ashes and he put them in a little container. ⁓ and then he set it out on his patio. And well, I guess back to the story. He leaves the room. He comes back a few minutes later. Uh-huh. And the golden retriever he has. Uh-huh. This beautiful golden retriever. Go ahead. well he knocked the container over and literally licked up all the ashes off the ground. ⁓ all the ashes of this burned up Ouija board. Okay, so my friend called me and he was like he was totally panicking and he was asking me Xandra please tell me is my dog cursed now do I get to need to get ⁓ he actually asked me if he needed to get his animal exorcist bless his mind Sandra honestly that's a perfect example of how people's minds immediately jump To the most terrifying conclusions, especially when fear takes over. You know, it's fear of the unknown. Yeah. But tell your friend that he can breathe easily. He can you know. His dog is absolutely a hundred percent not curse, Sandra. I told him, but he didn't believe me. So can you please break it down for him? Because he was genuinely stressed out. Well, I can understand why, but first of all, Zandra. Tools like Ouija boards are physical channels for spiritual consciousness, our spiritual connection, contacts, which are used by people. Yeah. Animals operate on a whole different energetic frequency. You know, they live entirely in the present moment and they're rooted in in nature and the physical. A dog licking up ashes is initiating a spiritual contact, you know, like people do. Right. Animals are naturally project protected by their own energy. Yes. But in all actuality, Sandra, I do have to tell you he did not dispose of the Ouija board properly. Yes. the only way to free a person of a Ouija board is to disown it. because if not, you know, the portal is still open. any spirits that he may have contacted or that may have come through that portal. may still be around him and but eating the ash can sometimes just upset a dog's stomach. So he probably should definitely double check that and take the dog to the vet. Yeah to make sure he has a little tummy is okay, you know. But spiritually that puppy's okay. He's safe. Well, ⁓ maybe we should explain how to properly dispose of a Ouija board for our listeners. ⁓ that you know that would be a good idea, but maybe that's for another episode. Okay. Because there's a lot to deal with, Ouija ports. ⁓ it's it would be a very interesting topic, I think, for our listeners. ⁓ But speaking of having a lot of things to talk about, ⁓ we're gonna go into our next segment, which I'm going to call cosmic Do you like the way I just came up with that? Yes, I do. So we wanna look at what's happening in the planetary alignments right now and how it actually ⁓ affects everybody. And what I noticed lately is that's in conversation is about energy protection. People are concerned about protecting their energy. ⁓ You know, there's a lot of spiritual anxiety going on lately. Have you noticed it? ⁓ you know, actually, yeah. ⁓ it kind of feels like every single time I've opened an app recently, people have been talking about protecting their peace. There's ⁓ a really big conversation right now. People really feel exhausted. from how they've had to be constantly perceived. And available specifically online. Yes, and I think that's exactly why ancient traditions like the evil eye are having such a resurgence of interest to people these days. Because, we display and expose so much of ourselves and our lives online nowadays ⁓ that, exposing ourselves to ⁓ more envious eyes, more people are watching us, as opposed just to the ones in your inner circle. Yeah. ⁓ and and we're that our energy is finite. It's a limited resource. ⁓ That's a really big shift from the old hyper individualism where we felt like we had to constantly perform for people in our lives. Yeah, you know, the cosmos is Perfectly matching our conversation today. It is. Because we're actually in a major energetic shift this week. And it actually starts on Monday, June eighth, which is today cosmic Monday. Yeah. ⁓ and it starts with a Pisces moon that's basically a cosmic it's like an exhale. You know. I like that. Exhale. Yeah. it's a perfect day to let go of old stress. ⁓ Mm-hmm. Just let it go. And by Tuesday, actually on June ninth, ⁓ we will hit one of the astrologically speaking, one of the luckiest days of the year. Because Venus and Jupiter are teaming up together to bring a massive waves of good vibes. Great planet Sandra. Mm-hmm. Love, success, all the good juju. Which That is amazing. But since we're talking about the evil eye, I do want to remember ⁓ remind you this is a really good time to protect your energy. So when things suddenly go really well for you, it can trigger envy in other people. So definitely I I want you to celebrate your wins this Tuesday. I want you to celebrate you this Tuesday, but maybe keep it a little more private. You don't have to put all your cards on the table. Right away. Definitely. Everyone should protect their own peace. Mm-hmm. Because the spotlight's gonna get even brighter on Saturday, Sandra. Mm-hmm. June thirteenth, when Venus moves into into the bold and fiery Leo. Yeah. this transit is going to boost ⁓ everyone's Yeah. Yeah, it's gonna make us wanna step out, be seen, inter react with people. Typical Leo. Yeah. ⁓ Bring more visibility to yourselves. You know, it means more eyes are gonna be on you. Both good, both bad, So it's a perfect week to wear a protective eye s talisman or symbol, a piece of jewelry maybe that you feel is your talisman to shield you from those vibes, those negative vibes, while you can just well, everybody just does their thing, you know, goes about their business. Yeah, ⁓ right. So Shine bright, but keep your shield up. And the week wraps up on Sunday, June 14th, which is a super new moon in Gemini. Plus, we've got Mercury hanging out in Gemini all week too. So everyone's brain power and communication skills, those should be turned all the way out. That makes it a really fantastic time, for ⁓ fresh ideas, ⁓ starting new projects or having really important conversations. Yes, it's really a powerhouse day for a fresh start. You're absolutely right on that. Yeah. But everybody needs to just remember that with communication energy this strong, words hold extra weight. You wanna use this new moon to speak your boundaries into existence. You know, clear out the mental clutter. Chat with friends, but friends who truly lift you up, who are truly friends. Precisely so. In conclusion, enjoy the breakthrough energy. Keep your circle tight and don't let anyone rain on your parade. And speaking of the moon, as we head into this week, we are officially shifting into a fading moon phase. So we are. This is the exact moment where the moon begins to darken, starts to shed its light bit by bit. Which makes it a really good energetic window for clearing away, negativity and also locking in spiritual protection. Absolutely. it truly is, it really is. So if you have an evil eye talisman, whether if it's a bracelet, a necklace, or maybe your lucky stone that you keep in your pocket. ⁓ We wanna invite you into a quick ritual to charge that item with protective energy right now. So Xandra, I'm gonna hand it over to you. I'm gonna let you lead the way. Okay, well I want you please to hold your talisman in your dominant hand or place your hand directly over it if you're wearing it. So close your eyes if it's safe to do so, and then roll your shoulders back and take a deep slow breath in. And let it go. Visualize any heavy energy, envious glances, or negative projections you've absorbed this week, lifting away from your body. Watch them float towards the fading moon, completely dissolving in the night sky. Now focus on your talisman. Picture a bright, clear shield of protective light. Let it expand out from it. Let it wrap itself entirely around you. Take a deep breath in. Anchoring that protective shield. And exhale, feeling completely secure. Keep your hand on your talisman and say to yourself, I return what is not mine. This shield protects what is sacred within me. I am safe to shine. Take another breath, open your eyes, and just like that, your talisman is charged. And you are protected from envious eyes. Next time you look up and see that little sliver of light shrinking on the moon, or see a little blue eyed charm, let it be a reminder to your own boundaries and your own sacred power. Now Before we close out for the week, we want to hear from you. Our favorite part of creating this space is building a literal nexus of a community. And that means bringing your voices onto the show. Yes, have you ever had a wild spiritual coincidence happen? Do you have an unexplainable experience that you want to share? Or maybe you have a funny story like Xandra's friend and the Ouija board ash. Or maybe you just have a burning question about astrology or tarot or energy work, whatever's on your mind. We want to hear about it. Whatever it is. Send it our way. Send it our way. You can email us your stories ⁓ or send a voice note directly to hello at spiritual nexus podcast dot com. We will be answering your single questions and sharing your cosmic experiences in our upcoming episodes. Thank you so much for sitting down with us today at the Spiritual Nexus. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit subscribe, leave us a review, share this episode with a friend who appreciates a little bit of history and a little bit of magic. Until next time, protect your peace, stay curious, and take care of each other. Till we meet again next cosmic Monday in the Nexus.