Believe in the “evil eye†superstition? Think that someone’s jealousy can harm you? Be safe and wear the Italian horn. Read all about this Italian fashion icon and its macabre history in our information guide.
Italian horns have a long history. From ancient times they have been regarded as having various protective qualities and warding off evil. Although, these days they are not respected for their protective qualities as they have been before, yet they have a huge fan following as they have become more of a stylized possession.
Italian Horns
In Italian, this charm is called “corno” or “cornicello”. Corno stands for horn, while cornicello roughly translate into little horn. The Italian horn is a charm or amulet worn for protection against the evil eye superstition. It looks like a somewhat twisted horn of any animal.
Evil Eye Superstition
What is the evil eye superstition? In olden days it was believed that when a person was jealous of another person’s achievements, possessions or even his physical appearance, his jealousy alone could harm the other. The evil eye was especially known to cause harm to child bearing women, nursing women, men, fruit bearing trees, milking animals, fertile lands and many other objects. This evil eye was thought to have much influence against fertility of both men and women and their sexual powers. And to protect one’s self from all these harms, the Italian horn was worn.
History of the horn
In Italy as well as Europe, before the advent of Christianity, a Moon goddess was considered to be sacred. The horns of the moon goddess were also thought to be sacred and were respected a lot. People started wearing these horns to protect them selves and for good luck as well. With the rise of Christianity, the image of the moon goddess was replaced with Virgin Mary who is often shown to be standing on the lunar crescent, but the horns were respected and used all the same. They are now mostly worn along with Crosses, as double protection.
Materials
Traditionally the Italian horns were made of silver, as silver was considered to be linked to the moon goddess and thus was respected as being sacred. They were also made of corals as they were also considered sacred. These days, they are made in a large variety of materials; coral, silver, gold, diamonds, platinum and white gold as well, but they are still preferred to be in silver or coral. A coral horn is much cheaper than the rest as it is not made but used as found in the natural form, while the prices of others depend on the size of the horn and their material.
Italian Horns as a Style Statement
Although Italian horns are worn for protection and for good luck, they are mostly worn as a style statement. It is the cool thing to do. Yet, the fact cannot be overlooked, that their wearer sends notions of being proud of his culture and traditions. This has to be appreciated. Whatever your reasons of wearing an Italian horn may be, it is obvious that the Italian horns are here to stay.
