BaliSpirit Festival 2018

Ojo de Dios /oh-ho-day-Dee-ohs/ is Spanish for “Eye of God or the Divine Being.” Aside from the positive effect it brings, one of the beauties of making Ojo de Dios is that it contains a variety of origin and culture. They are sacred objects used for protection and purification, and as portals between the spirit and the material worlds which were originally made by many Native American peoples, notably the Huichol in western Mexico. The Ojo de Dios symbolizes the ability to see and understand unseen things, focusing their worship on nature and the earth.

The four points of the crossed sticks represent earth, air, water, and fire. They are easy to make, quick to learn, and meditative to weave. Aside from the four-sided Ojo de Dios, there are also different patterns of this craft work—it can also be done in eight-sided pattern, depending on the design that one wants to achieve.

When one makes a traditional Ojo de Dios, she or he is expressing a prayer or meditation that the “Eye of God” will either watch over them, or the person for whom they are making the Ojo de Dios. Often they are made for little children as gifts. They accompany wishes of health, long life, and protection.