Why The Evil Eye?

For over two dozen years I've had a "master" key ring  with a darkening leather piece attached with the original company name on it. By original, I mean before the company I was an independent contractor for was bought out by an international company, which somehow managed to fall into oblivion sometime after I retired.  (Do not mistake that for cause-and-effect. I was in no way holding the company together. That's simply a comment on both timing and my lack of knowledge of why it happened, although I could, from working for them, have come up with several reasons why they failed.)

I kept the leather piece on my key ring partly from inertia and partly because I had nothing to replace it with. The huge ring it was on held four smaller rings, each dedicated to specific purposes. For example, one holds all four keys for the new home, including for the locked mailbox and for the shed. Another ring holds my copy of Steve's scooter key, just so I don't have to go hunting in case I need to move it. Then of course the car keys. The 4th? I've forgotten their use, though I do know they're not for the Arizona house because those keys were blue.

About a week ago I was offered a new master key ring. It has two jewelry type chains of different lengths hanging off it, each with a blue bead which I'll describe later, and a few links lower a filigree metal and blue crystal butterfly hanging on the end. It is a present from a long term friend, the one in fact who introduced me to beading, and whom I later introduced to wire work jewelry. Each deep blue bead has spaced around its middle three white circles, inside of which are a light blue circle, inside of which are a small black circle. In other words, each has three eyes on it. 

My friend explained those are the "evil eyes". 

When she first introduced me to the concept several months ago, she countered what I thought evil eye meant. I always thought the evil eye wished evil on the person it was directed toward. That's how B movies use the term, where the evil eye is ill wishing somebody.  But my friend is Wiccan, and I know ill wishing is not a part of her belief system. She had carefully explained to me that the evil eye is actually protection against evil. The three eyes manage to cover all 360 degrees, missing nothing. So I look at those beautiful beads in the spirit they were meant.

I do not hold the same beliefs she does.  But they are beautiful, were given in friendship, and best of all the new key ring somehow does not let my other key rings tangle into each other the way they used to in my pocket. The old leather one is tucked away in a catch-all place, should a key ring become necessary again some day. The unknown keys have joined them there, just in case. Meanwhile my keys have beauty added to them instead of plain old (mostly) practicality. 

I may not share her beliefs. But I do share the friendship.