Sex, love and the evil eye

Love isn’t just chemistry– it’s something to protect, whether through tradition or instinct 

Love has always been about more than just feelings. Across cultures, it’s something to be guarded, protected, even defended from forces beyond our control. An envious glance, bad omens, or just an unshakable gut feeling — the fear of love going wrong has long been tied to superstition. In an age where dating apps and instant communication rule our relationships, these beliefs haven’t disappeared, they’ve only evolved. 

The evil eye, for example, is one of the most recognizable symbols of protection. It is an ancient concept found in many cultures, from South Asia and the Middle East to the Mediterranean and Latin America. The idea is simple: too much attention — especially jealousy or envious energy — can curse a person or their relationship. 

The solution to this curse is protection, whether through prayers, rituals, or amulets meant to shield against harm. Today, those traditions remain just as present, even if they’ve been rebranded. Walk into any jewelry store, and you’ll find the evil eye woven into modern fashion — on necklaces, rings, home decor, phone cases, even embroidered into clothes. 

Social media has played its part too. TikTok is filled with videos on how to cleanse your energy after a breakup or manifest love through candle rituals and moon cycles. Knowledge that was once passed down through generations is now repackaged into aesthetic self-care routines, spiritual guides and digital advice threads. But at its core, the belief remains the same: love is something fragile, something that must be shielded. 

Even beyond the evil eye, protection rituals surrounding love still shape relationships today. Some people swear by keeping red string bracelets on their wrists to ward off bad energy, while others follow family traditions like keeping a specific flower in their home for love or never gifting their partner shoes, as it is a superstition that warns they’ll walk away. 

While some might see these as outdated customs, they continue to influence how people approach love, blending old-world traditions with modern anxieties about relationships. But the biggest shift in love-related superstitions comes from how technology has changed the way we connect. 

A public relationship today isn’t just about who sees you together in real life — it’s about who’s watching through their screens. The digital age has created new forms of exposure, with social media making relationships more visible than ever. 

“Soft-launching” a partner, waiting to post them until the relationship feels “safe”, or even hesitating to share happy moments out of fear of “jinxing it” are all examples of old beliefs about love and protection adapting to modern life. 

Whether it’s through an ancient amulet or a private Instagram account, the need to shield love from outside forces still lingers. Love has always been about connection, but for many, it’s also about control — about keeping something sacred in a world that constantly watches. No matter how much technology advances, some traditions are too deeply