This bracelet came in my possession. Someone received it and didn't want it and gave it to me if I wanted it. There was something about it that made me uncomfortable. Last night I went to the jewelry website and looked at it. I saw a lot of jewelry which had an "eye" on them and I wondered what it means. Fad? Or does it have a deeper meaning?
I found out the eye is an amulet to ward off the "evil eye." Its origin dates back thousands of years and it is popular in Mediterranean countries. It is known by different names in different countries - evil eye, nazar, mati or ojo turco.
An amulet is basically a good luck charm/ small piece of jewelry used to give protection against evil. After reading several websites "the evil eye" is a curse someone who envies you or who wants to give you negative energy casts on you. They may knowingly or unknowingly give you "the evil eye." Wearing an eye amulet is supposed to give you protection from the evil negative energy.
Furthermore the color of the stone has a spiritual meaning. Most are dark blue which is supposed to be good karma and positive energy. This one I came into possession of has a light blue stone. It supposedly symbolizes truth and direct protection from the evil eye. It can come also with a yellow, orange, red, pink, green, or purple stone in the eye; each meaning various spiritual things. The most common color is dark blue though.
The evil eye jewelry is grounded in pagan practices.
Many tourists buy it as a souvenir in Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Southern Italy and Lebanon. It is given for good luck when someone has a baby or when they start a new business or when they move in a new house. Most view it as a good luck charm.
As a Christian it made me very uneasy.
First of all I don't believe in luck. I don't believe in coincidences. I believe in the divine providence of God. I believe God is sovereign.
I don't believe in karma which comes from Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Karma is based on a person's actions to get to the next level. People often misuse "karma" to mean luck, fate, or destiny. I don't believe in luck, fate, or destiny. I believe in the action of good deeds, but a person can't be good enough to restore their relationship with God. I believe in the saving grace of God. A free gift given through His Son.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
I don't believe the light blue stone in this bracelet represents truth.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."
John 14:6
I believe Jesus is the truth.
All of this made me think of when I got rid of all of my Halloween witches and ghosts. Years ago my minister had done a sermon on demons and how they are real and we shouldn't toy with them or anything of the occult. This included palm reading, taro cards, fortune readings, horoscopes, etc. His sermon really impacted me. When I decorated for Halloween I put out my Fall pumpkin decorations, but I left my witches and ghosts in the box. The following years I left them in the box - even refrigerator magnets of Casper-looking ghosts - until I eventually just got rid of them. I had the cutest little witch too which I used to stand on the end table! It wasn't that I was doing any occult practices or worshipping these occult items - they were just Halloween decorations. But they lost their appeal to me. It just seemed like the right thing for me to not have them around any more. I had a new standard after that sermon.
I feel the same way about the evil eye jewelry. It doesn't represent anything I believe in. Matter of fact it represents things I don't believe in. That eye charm does nothing to protect me.
I do wear a cross necklace, but not as a good luck charm. I often finger the cross as I am going about my day and it reminds me of what God has done for me. It reminds me of His love for me. My cross necklace just directs my mind to Him. What it represents I do believe in and it comforts me.
I believe there is a battle between good and evil, between the demonic world and God's people and angels. I know which side I want to stay on and I don't mess around with the other side.
I thought this bracelet was cute when I thought it was just an eye. However, now that I know what the evil eye jewelry represents I can't wear it and look at it and not be bothered. I am putting something in my life which shouldn't be there. I don't want to dishonor God and I'd feel like I was if I wore it.
I place my trust in Him to protect me from evil.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the Lord, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent.
For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways.
Psalm 91:1-11