The Greek traditional belief of the evil eye dates back to at least the 6th century BC, the Classical Antiquity, or the time period that encompassed the Classical Era in Ancient Greece, when it commonly appeared on drinking vessels. During this time, the Greek civilization was at its intellectual peak. A common theme in literature at the time was that the eyes were a source of deadly rays that could bring harm to others. Plutarch, the Ancient Greek writer, is one of those who wrote about this concept. The belief in the evil eye tended to spread as Alexander the Great brought the Greek culture to the East.
The Greek Orthodox Church has recognized the kako mati since the establishment of the faith. The church calls it Vaskania (pronounced Vas-ka-nee-a) and has a special prayer made especially to help cure those who have fallen under the curse.
The Light Blue: Color of the sky – symbolizes truth and therefore it provides direct protection against the evil eye, while the dark blue color symbolizes water as it is an universal solvent.
The evil eye is part of the Greek culture, deeply ingrained among Greek people. It is believed that the evil eye can strike anyone at any given moment. The evil eye is the belief that someone can catch the evil eye curse or Matiasma from someone else’s jealous compliment or envy. If a person has caught the evil eye they will usually feel bad physically or mentally. Or in simple terms bad things happen. For example, perhaps there was an occasion that you were dressed up and someone told you that you looked nice. A few minutes later you spilled coffee down the front of yourself. Or maybe someone commented on how beautiful your new vase was and a while later it fell to the ground shattering into a thousand pieces. Greeks also believe that children are especially vulnerable to the evil eye and that it can cause hurt and illness. When babies are born, Greeks will have a blue eye pinned at the top of the pillow from the moment they are born. And if you come down with sudden horrible headaches, weakness or illness but you can’t find logical explanation for your strange state, Greeks will say you have been evil eyed or “Matiasmenos”. Meaning the eye have been placed upon you. This is the belief of the evil eye in simple terms.
So you have been affected by the evil eye, now what?? In every Greek home there are Greek blue eye charms everywhere. We also have a few at home. They are beautiful and an wonderful gift to receive or give, a true symbol of love and protection towards another person or family.
Generally speaking, the Greek Eye charms are placed in homes, offices, cars, schools, on your clothing, on your body to protect yourself from the evil eye. The eye is said to reflect the evil around you. The charms come in the form of decorative wall hangings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, kolomboi worry beads carried by most Greek men, wall art, pillows, etc.
Other ways to get rid of the evil eye is to consult with usually a Greek grandparent, who knows the prayers to relieve you. The Greek evil eyes are cast away through the process of Xematiasma. First the healer says the prayer with mention of your name. Then they take a deep dish full of water and let a drop of olive oil fall into the water, performing the sign of the cross three times and spits in the air three times. Another way to ward off the evil eye is spitting.
Spitting it is believed to chase away the evil and misfortune. For example: when someone talks about bad news (deaths, accidents, etc), the others listening to the news should slightly spit three times saying “ftou ftou ftou”. Another example regarding spitting is that when someone compliments your baby or child or even an adult for their beauty, successes or fortunes, that person giving the compliments must also spit three times on the complimented person so that he doesn’t give him the evil eye and he is also reassuring the recipient of the compliment that they mean well in their compliments.
The Greek Eyes are truly beautiful, so if having them in our life gives us a bit of extra protection, why not!!!!
Source of information: Greekboston.com & Thermakrolife.blog
