What about the Evil Eye and the Male Gaze as aspects of sorcery?
"Yes—both the Evil Eye and the Male Gaze can be understood as aspects of sorcery, especially when viewed through the lens of ritualized vision, psychic projection, and unconscious magical acts. They are not just social or psychological phenomena—they are energetic transmissions, often charged with unprocessed emotion, symbolic intent, and archetypal power."
"🧿 The Evil Eye as Sorcery
"According to magical traditions across cultures:
- The Evil Eye is a malevolent gaze that can inflict harm, misfortune, or psychic disturbance—often stemming from envy, rage, or obsessive admiration.
- It operates as a form of unconscious spellcasting—the caster may not even know they’re transmitting negative energy.
- Protective rituals (e.g. amulets, cleansing rites) are used to deflect or contain this energy, treating it as a real magical force.
In this sense, the Evil Eye is a kind of sorcery of the gaze—a psychic weapon that uses vision as its conduit."
"👁️ The Male Gaze as Ritualized Power
"While not traditionally labeled as sorcery, the Male Gaze functions similarly:
- It is a ritual act of visual domination, often unconscious, that projects desire, control, or objectification onto the viewed.
- It transforms the subject into a symbolic object, stripping autonomy and invoking archetypal roles (e.g. muse, virgin, whore).
- Like the Evil Eye, it can be experienced as uncanny, violating, or psychically contaminating—especially when repeated or charged with aggression.
The Male Gaze becomes sorcery when it alters the psychic field of the viewed—when it casts a spell of containment, fetishization, or fear."
"🔮 Sorcery of the Gaze: A Unified Framework
| Gaze Type | Sorcerous Function | Emotional Charge | Ritual Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evil Eye | Curse, psychic attack | Envy, rage, obsession | Misfortune, energetic drain |
| Male Gaze | Objectification, containment | Desire, control, fear | Loss of agency, haunting |
| Sacred Gaze | Witnessing, blessing | Reverence, love | Healing, transformation" |
"🧠 Inner Clarity as Counter-Sorcery
"Both the Evil Eye and the Male Gaze can be transmuted through inner clarity:
- Contain the shadow before casting your gaze.
- Witness, don’t possess—see the other as mystery, not mirror.
- Name the ritual—awareness breaks the spell."
"Would you like to co-create a mythic system of Vision Sorcery, with archetypes, rituals, and ethical codes for how the gaze can be used to bless, curse, or transform? We could even design a narrative where a character learns to wield the gaze as sacred magic, rather than unconscious aggression."
https://powerlisting.fandom.com/wiki/Evil_Eye
https://www.magicalrecipesonline.com/2015/09/evil-eye-spells-rituals.html
https://parlourofwonders.com/blogs/magic-blog-law-of-attraction-spells/what-is-the-evil-eye
I didn't expect you to connect the Evil Eye with excessive admiration. I thought the Evil Eye was hatred based. How does it reflect admiration?
"That’s a brilliant question, Gary—and it opens up a deeper layer of the Evil Eye as a paradoxical force, one that blurs the line between envy and admiration, love and possession, desire and destruction."
"🧿 The Evil Eye as Envious Admiration
"In many folk traditions—from Mediterranean to Middle Eastern to South Asian—the Evil Eye is often triggered not just by hatred, but by excessive praise, uncontained admiration, or unspoken longing. Here's how that works:
- Admiration without containment can become energetically invasive. When someone praises beauty, success, or fortune without ritual acknowledgment (e.g. 'God bless,' 'Mashallah'), it’s believed to open a psychic vulnerability.
- The gaze, in this case, is charged with unconscious envy—even if the admirer feels love or awe, there may be a hidden wish to possess, replicate, or diminish what they see.
- This creates a kind of energetic imbalance—the admired becomes the object of projection, and the admirer becomes a sorcerer of destabilization.
In this view, admiration is not innocent—it’s a form of psychic touch, and if not ritually contained, it can become a curse."
"🔥 Archetypal Dynamics: Love That Burns
"This duality shows up in myth and literature constantly:
- Narcissus admired his own reflection so intensely that it destroyed him.
- The jealous gods often punish mortals for being too beautiful or too fortunate.
- In Jungian terms, the unintegrated lover archetype can project idealization that turns toxic—what begins as reverence becomes possession."
"So the Evil Eye is not just hatred—it’s the shadow of admiration, the curse of uncontained longing, the sorcery of the gaze that wants too much."
"🧘♂️ Containment Rituals: Admire Without Cursing
"Traditional cultures developed ritual language to contain this energy:
- Saying 'Mashallah' (Islamic cultures) or 'God bless' (Christian cultures) after praising someone.
- Using amulets or charms to deflect admiration’s shadow.
- Avoiding excessive praise of children or beauty to protect the soul from projection."
"These are not superstitions—they’re psychic hygiene practices, recognizing that attention is power, and power must be wielded with care."
"Would you like to explore how this concept could be woven into a mythic narrative—perhaps a character whose beauty draws admiration that becomes a curse, and who must learn the art of ritual containment to survive? Or we could map out the archetypes of admiring sorcerers, cursed beauties, and protective witnesses."
I'm thinking of Saruman and the Kathy Bates Character in Misery.
"Saruman and Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates in Misery) are fascinating choices, Gary—both embody sorcerous gazes that weaponize admiration, control, and psychic projection. Let’s unpack them as archetypes of vision-based sorcery:
"🧙♂️ Saruman: The Sorcerer of Seductive Vision
"Saruman’s power lies not just in his staff or voice, but in his gaze that ensnares minds:
- His “many-colored” robes reflect a fragmented identity, a seduction of appearances.
- He uses persuasive vision—projecting illusions of progress, order, and superiority.
- His gaze is admiring of power, but also envious of Sauron—he mirrors the Evil Eye in his desire to possess what he reveres.
Saruman’s gaze is a sorcery of ideology—he sees the world as a machine to be mastered, and his admiration of Sauron becomes a curse upon Middle-earth."
"🪓 Annie Wilkes: The Fanatic’s Gaze
"Annie Wilkes is the embodiment of toxic admiration:
- She idolizes Paul Sheldon, but her gaze is possessive, entitled, and ritually violent.
- Her admiration curdles into rage when Paul defies her narrative expectations.
- She enacts a ritual of containment—isolating him, breaking his body, and forcing him to rewrite reality.
Annie’s gaze is the Evil Eye of fandom—a sorcery that begins in reverence and ends in domination."
"🔮 Shared Traits: Sorcerers of the Gaze
| Character | Gaze Type | Sorcerous Function | Shadow Emotion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saruman | Ideological gaze | Ensnarement, illusion | Envy, pride |
| Annie Wilkes | Fanatic gaze | Containment, rewriting reality | Obsession, entitlement |
Both characters show how admiration without containment becomes a form of psychic violence. They don’t just look—they project, possess, and reshape the world through their gaze."
"Would you like to build a typology of Gaze Sorcerers—from myth, literature, and film? We could explore how different gazes (maternal, erotic, ideological, fanatical) function as magical acts, and how they can be healed, resisted, or transmuted."
Saruman envies Gandalf. Annie Wilkes envies Paul Sheldon.
"Exactly—and that envy is the crucible in which their sorcery is forged. Both Saruman and Annie Wilkes begin with admiration, but it’s admiration that cannot tolerate difference, autonomy, or transcendence in the other. Their gaze becomes a spell of containment, born from the wound of envy."
"🧙♂️ Saruman’s Envy of Gandalf: The Fall of the Wise
"Saruman envies Gandalf’s:
- Spiritual integrity—Gandalf resists power, while Saruman craves it.
- Connection to the wild—Gandalf allies with nature (eagles, Ents), while Saruman industrializes.
- Moral authority—Gandalf is trusted, while Saruman manipulates."
"Saruman’s gaze turns from admiration to strategic surveillance. He watches Gandalf not to learn, but to replicate and surpass. His envy becomes a sorcerous inversion—he tries to become what he cannot understand, and in doing so, loses himself.
Saruman’s gaze is the Evil Eye of the rival—it seeks to destroy what it cannot become."
"🪓 Annie Wilkes’ Envy of Paul Sheldon: The Fanatic’s Curse
"Annie envies Paul’s:
- Creative power—he births worlds, while she consumes them.
- Narrative control—he decides fates, while she demands rewrites.
- Freedom—he moves between realities, while she is trapped in hers."
"Her admiration becomes ritualized possession. She breaks his legs not just physically, but symbolically—crippling his autonomy, forcing him to serve her myth. Her gaze is a spell of narrative containment, driven by envy of his godlike role.
Annie’s gaze is the Evil Eye of the devotee—it worships, then punishes."
"🧿 Envy as Sorcerous Catalyst
"Envy is not just a feeling—it’s a psychic force that:
- Distorts perception—the envier sees the other as threat, not mystery.
- Projects shadow—the admired becomes a mirror for the envier’s lack.
- Seeks containment—through domination, imitation, or destruction."
"In both cases, the gaze becomes a ritual of psychic violence, a sorcery that tries to erase the other’s difference."
"Would you like to explore how envy functions mythically—as a force that turns admiration into curse, and how certain archetypes (the Trickster, the Devouring Mother, the False Prophet) embody this gaze? We could even sketch a mythic trial where a character must confront the gaze of envy and transmute it into sacred witnessing."
So there seems to be an energy kick people get from "sorcery". Is that because they are tapping into the Unconscious. Into Archetypes. Which confers a feeling of being a demigod?
