Rue (Ruda) for Protection: A Sprig by the Door

Rue, ruda in Spanish and ruta in Italian, is one of the most famous protective herbs of the Mediterranean and Latin America. A pot of rue by the front door, a sprig in a glass of water on the counter of a shop, or a few leaves in a small red bag are traditional guards against envy, mal de ojo (the evil eye) and bad influences. In folk belief the plant takes the blow: if it suddenly wilts or dries, it is said to have absorbed something meant for the household. Rue is kept and displayed, never eaten.

How to do it§

1. Get a plant or sprigs. A living plant is ideal; botánicas and garden centres sell rue. Wear gloves whenever you handle it.
2. Choose the place. Put the pot just outside or just inside the front door, by a shop entrance, or on a windowsill facing the street. For a sprig, stand it in a small glass of water in the entrance or on a desk.
3. Bless it. Light a white candle if you wish, and touch the pot or glass with gloved hands. Speak a short intention in your own words — for example: "Ruda, guard this door; let envy and ill will stop here, and let good things pass." Many add the sign of the cross or an Our Father.
4. Make a pocket charm (optional). With gloves, place a small sprig in a red cloth bag and close it. Carry it in a bag or pocket, not against the skin.
5. Tend it. Water the plant moderately; rue likes sun and well-drained soil. Change the water of a sprig every few days.
6. Read and replace. If a sprig wilts quickly, folk custom says it has done its work. Remove it with gloves, give thanks, and put it in the compost or bury it; set out a fresh one. Many households replace sprigs weekly.
7. Wash your hands after handling, even with gloves.

Origins and history§

Rue's reputation is ancient. Pliny the Elder's Natural History (first century CE) devotes a long passage to it, praising it as an antidote and protective plant, and notes that weasels were said to eat it before fighting snakes. In medieval Europe it was called "herb of grace", perhaps by association with sprinkling holy water, and it was carried against plague and poison; Shakespeare's Ophelia offers "rue for you". Culpeper, in 1652, assigned it to the Sun and praised its strength.

In Italy, rue became the basis of the cimaruta ("sprig of rue"), a silver amulet of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries shaped like a branch of rue, each tip ending in a protective charm — a hand, a key, a crescent moon, a flower — and hung on infants' clothing against the evil eye. Frederick Thomas Elworthy described these amulets in The Evil Eye (1895), and examples survive in museum collections. The Spanish brought rue to the Americas, where it entered curanderismo, Puerto Rican and Cuban folk practice and Afro-Latin traditions as a herb of cleansing and protection. It is still sold in markets across Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, often alongside other protective plants such as rosemary, basil and pirul. The evil eye belief it guards against is one of the most widespread in the world, as Alan Dundes's casebook shows. See the witch's garden and protective magic.

Variations§

Some tuck a small sprig behind the ear (with care for the skin) or in a hatband. In Mexican limpias, rue is one of the herbs swept over the body (see Limpia con Huevo). In Spain and Latin America, rue is sometimes steeped in alcohol to make a cleansing rub; for safety, this is not recommended here. Italian families may hang a cimaruta charm in the house rather than on a child.

Safety and good sense§

Rue is toxic. Never eat it or drink it as a tea; historically it was misused in dangerous attempts to end pregnancies, which could be fatal. Its sap contains compounds that cause phytophotodermatitis — painful blistering burns and lasting marks when skin touched by the plant is exposed to sunlight — so always wear gloves, avoid brushing it with bare arms, and wash skin promptly after contact. Keep rue away from children and pets. If you are pregnant, avoid handling it. A protective plant at the door is a comfort and a custom, not a substitute for medical, legal or practical help.

Sources and further reading§

• Natural History — Pliny the Elder, c. 77
• The Evil Eye: An Account of This Ancient and Widespread Superstition — Frederick Thomas Elworthy, 1895
• The Evil Eye: A Casebook — Alan Dundes (ed.), 1981
• The English Physitian — Nicholas Culpeper, 1652
• Curanderismo: Mexican American Folk Healing — Robert T. Trotter II & Juan Antonio Chavira, 1981