ABSTRACT
Traditionally, cultures venerate the gaze; adages like “The eyes are the windows of the soul” or the refrain “Drink to me only with thine eyes” from Ben Jonson’s “Song: To Celia” testify to the pervasiveness of the idea that sight projects power. Add to this the tradition in many cultures of the belief in the evil eye. Blue and white glass bull’s-eye amulets—themselves called “evil eyes” and said to have power to avert malevolent rays of gaze and often interwoven with the hand-like symbol of the Hamsa—are readily available in shops and online from vendors catering to clientele from the Middle East and Africa. I received my first one from a friend from Turkey, and I have anecdotal evidence for its effectiveness.
