The Evil Eye
The power of envious glances to cause harm and the protections against it.
The Celtic peoples believed that envious or malevolent looks could cause real harm - blighting crops, sickening children, souring milk. Many protective practices developed to counter this power, including wearing amulets and performing counter-magic.
Beware the envious eye that looks upon your fortune; it carries poison.
Evil eye beliefs reflect Celtic understanding of envy as a destructive spiritual force.
Folk Tradition
Written about in
- What Celtic tradition says about envy and comparison
Envy here is not a private feeling but a transmissible harm — the begrudging look was blamed for blighted crops, sick children and soured milk. Naming it that way puts the damage on the one doing the envying first.