We've all been there. You know what I mean. Throwing salt over your left shoulder, once it has been spilled, or is it the right one?. Not walking under a ladder. Bad luck on Friday the 13th or breaking a mirror. Have you ever heard of any of these? I think we all have. They have been passed down through the generations without explanation or reason. "Just don't do it", is what we have been told, "or you will have bad luck". The Turks came up with their own protection from the "evil eye" of others. This amulet is really called the Nazar Boncugu in Turkey, which literally means "evil eye bead". The Nazar Boncugu deflects the negative energy that is being directed towards a person onto itself, dispersing its powers or it could be the belief that the blue color holds the real shielding power and absorbs the negative energy. Have you heard the saying, "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"? I just don't see that many people with teeth hanging around their necks or hanging outside their doorways. If you see me with eyes and teeth hanging around my neck, just don't say anything. I may be in one of those superstitious moods.
There may be real psychology behind the evil eye. An experiment was done in the US using a bowl filled with candy in a waiting room. A sign was put next to the candy bowl that said "have some". The first part of the experiment was just that. The second part was the same except a large mirror was put on the wall behind the candy bowl so the person waiting could see their own reflection. The third part was when a large drawing of an eye was put on the wall behind the candy bowl. The least amount of candy taken was when the eye-drawing was present, the second least was with the mirror, and the most candy taken was with the first part.
ReplyDeleteMany of what we consider superstitions have their origins in something to do with psychology.
I love psychology and the logic of how the human mind works. I would have ate from the first bowl too.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I cannot reply like normal. So, bear with me while I work this out.
Jeannie