Old European & Mediterranean Household Protections
In every village, someone had “bad eyes.”
Sometimes it was a neighbor whose praise came too quickly. Sometimes an elder whose glance lingered too long on livestock. Sometimes simply the person everyone avoided in the street.
Across Europe and the Mediterranean, the evil eye wasn’t abstract—it was practical, lived experience.
And the protections households used were equally practical: herbs grown by the threshold, hung above the door, burned after visits, or brewed into cleansing water.
Below are the historically attested plants used to keep out the evil eye—no modern inventions, only real cultural lore.
Italy, Balkans, Sephardic households, Greece, Anatolia
Rue appears in nearly every evil-eye tradition across Southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Historic uses:
Italian folk tradition considered rue strong enough to “split” the force of envy. It is one of the most reliable herbs for this theme.
Rue is actually one of the Witchy Plants for the Doorways.
Greece, Balkans, Cyprus, Southern Italy
Basil has two roles in evil-eye tradition:
Greek island households kept a basil pot at the front door “to sweeten the eyes” of anyone entering.
In Bulgaria and Serbia, basil water was sprinkled around rooms after a difficult visit.
And, by the way, growing basil is very easy. Maybe this post will even inspire you to Start Your Own Witchy Garden.
Italy, Balkans, Levant, Iberia, Jewish diaspora
Garlic’s use is older than written history.
It was:
Mediterranean households treated garlic as a public, visible warning to hostile neighbors:
your gaze stops here.
Western Europe, Balkans, Italy, Iberia
Rosemary’s protective field was clean, sharp, and unmoving.
Folklore attributes:
Many households planted rosemary specifically at corners of houses, where misfortune was believed to cling.
And in many magical traditions, witches planted Rosemary to Protect the Doorways.
Alpine regions, Scandinavia, Slavic lands, Carpathians
When the evil eye was suspected, juniper was the plant burned most widely across northern and central Europe.
Its smoke was believed to:
Baltic families hung juniper branches over windows “so the eye cannot settle.”
See how witches used Evergreens Magic- Before Christams Even Existed.
Ottoman Balkans, Greece, Levant, North Africa (Mediterranean regions)
Though less well-known today, black cumin appears frequently in household protection.
Folklore roles:
In Greek and Ottoman Balkan households, it was called the “eye-closing seed.”
Rue in Mediterranean regions; juniper in northern regions; garlic everywhere.
It was seen as a force that could affect health, luck, livestock, and infants.
Often both—threshold plants, doorway bundles, window amulets, and smoke rituals. Learn how to use these herbs in rituals here: Herbs for Protection.
Yes, in many rural parts of Greece, Italy, the Balkans, and Cyprus.
These traditions exist across pagan, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities. See What Witchcraft Looked Like in Pre-Christian Europe.