THAT'S IT?!! THAT'S THE CURSE OF THE GYPSIES?!!!

So I'm reading this thread and it's bringing back loads of memories (my mom's family is Sicilian and we used to hear tales about the Malocchio and curses being buried in praise and such all the time) and I have this book called "Italian Witchcraft" by Raven Grimassi. I look up the Malocchio thing (I have the cure, if anyone is interested), and what do I see on the preceding page?

The Protective Pentagram Spell

Coincidence? I think not . . . (well, actually, yes, it is probably coincidence, but I really like saying: Coincidence? I think not!)

Sorry, feeling silly this morning

Luciaphil

I look up the Malocchio thing (I have the cure, if anyone is interested), and what do I see on the preceding page?

Luciaphil

Yes I need a good curse right now .. .what is the Malocchio thing?  My landlords need to be knocked down a peg or two. .

It's so interesting that you were taught a little differently than I was.  Both sides of my family are from Naples, and I learned that "the horns" (il corno) were for protection from the evil eye (il malocchio), and that a strega can put an evil eye on anybody s/he pleases.  (Please forgive if my Italian is a little off, hee hee.)

Only one side of my family is Italian (mother's) and we're Northern Italians at that.  However, from what my mom has said, the sign is given to ward off the evil eye.  There are no other meanings other than that.  Anyone can use the sign and unfortunately there are no anecdotes to it.

I asked my Italian husband about this and he said that his parents never talked about curses even though his mother was from Naples and his father was from Calabria. The only time his mother got really upset was when he gave me an opal ring. Apparently opals signify bad luck and she wanted him to take the ring back and get another stone.
Needless to say but I still have the gorgeous ring and, aside from the usual ups/downs of marriage, the cloud of bad luck has not followed us. Knock on wood.

Opals were considered bad luck if worn by anyone other than those who's birthstone it was.....those born in October.

We could probably keep this "superstitions and beliefs" thread up forever and ever.....like the one in my family, that no family ever move into a previously owned dwelling unless the woman of the house first entered and ceremonially "swept the evil left behind" out of the place, using a brand new broom.  Then the windows and doors were sprinkled with salt.  

Did I do that when we moved into this house?  ?!?

Bet your ass I did!

raineypark

The whole unlucky opal thing came about as the result of a very popular book in Victorian times. I'm not going to go look it up, so I may get a bit of it wrong. But, the gist of it was that there was a heroine that received a beautiful opal. Later on bad things happened to her, unrelated to getting the opal. But it became associated in people's minds and the superstition started.