Protective rites
Esfand, the wild rue smoke
Seeds of wild rue crackle on hot coals and the smoke is carried around a person, said to turn the evil eye away.
Presented by ClearTrust Customs described as customs, free to read.
Esfand, or espand, is the seed of the plant Peganum harmala, called Syrian rue or wild rue in English. In Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia the seeds are set on a hot coal in a small pan and the crackling smoke is carried around a child, a bride or a guest. People say it drives off the evil eye, chashm zakhm in Persian, and the harm of envy.
This is an outline of a custom, said as belief and practice. It is not instruction, it does not say that the rite works, and it is not medical advice.
What goes into it
- Wild rue seedsPlantThe seeds of Peganum harmala.
- Hot coalSubstanceOn which the seeds are set.
- Small burnerToolHeld in the hand or on a small tray.
- RhymeWordA spoken verse against the eye.
- Circling gestureGestureThe burner is passed around the head.
- Doorway or roomSpaceThe smoke is carried through.
- Plant
- Substance
- Tool
- Word
- Gesture
- Space
Each part has an equal wedge. The ring shows what goes into the rite, not how much. Colour is the part's role.
The steps, drawn
Each drawing shows the kind of act in that step. Details differ from place to place, family to family and practitioner to practitioner.
Step 1: Light Set a coal in a small burner. Step 2: Gather Sprinkle a few seeds on the coal. Step 3: Speak Say the rhyme or a verse against the evil eye. Step 4: Circle Carry the burner around the head of the person, and around the room. Step 5: Close Set the burner by the door until the smoke has died down.
How it is done
A woman of the family, often the oldest, passes the burner around the head of the person, sometimes in seven turns, while she murmurs a verse or a rhyme. Traditional rhymes ask for the eye of the envious to burst, and the crackling of the seeds is read as the eye leaving. Esfand is also burned in a new house, at weddings, on Chaharshanbe Suri and before a journey, and street sellers in bazaars carry it on a coal.
Cautions
The seeds contain strong alkaloids and are not safe to eat or to use as a remedy, and the smoke can irritate eyes and lungs, especially for infants. Esfand is also the Persian name of a month, which shows how old the word is in the language. Scholars place the custom with the wider Near Eastern family of aromatic smoke rites against envy.
What it is for
- Ward the evil eye
- Bless a bride, a baby or a new house
Who does it
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Original text and drawings by the EveryJaadu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Closed or sacred detail is left out. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Wild rue: Yuriy75, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Incense: nakimusi, CC BY 2.0, source