Worn around the left wrist, the Red String works in the same way as the vaccines of modern medicine. When we receive a vaccination against a disease, a weakened strain of the illness is integrated into the vaccine. Spiritual immunizations are based on a similar principle. Kabbalah teaches that colors have specific frequencies and energies. Red, for example, is the color of danger. By binding a Red String to ourselves in a very specific manner, we shield ourselves against the dangerous negativity that might be directed our way—a spiritual vaccine against the destructive forces of the Evil Eye.

The color red is one part of the technology. The rest begins in Israel, where a length of Red String is wound around the tomb of Rachel, the matriarch of the Bible. Rachel is considered by kabbalists to be the mother of the world, and her greatest desire is to defend all of her children from evil. Throughout her life, Rachel acted as the protector of all humankind. According to Kabbalah, the burial sites of the righteous are a portal to the energy they created in their lifetimes. The Red String is brought to Rachel’s tomb where it is infused with her force of protection—for no power is stronger than a mother’s natural protective love. In a practical sense, this is a challenging task, because Rachel’s tomb is located in one of the most politically volatile areas of Israel. But each and every Red String sold by the Kabbalah Centre must undergo this process in order to be considered an authentic form of protection against the Evil Eye.

The Red String is individually sized and worn around the left wrist. The left side of the body has been identified by kabbalists as the area where energy enters. The left arm and hand pertain to the concept of receiving; the right arm and hand embody the power of imparting. Negative forces, therefore, enter the body through the left side. By wearing the Red String on the left wrist, negative energies are intercepted at the precise point of entry. The string is tied in a carefully prescribed sequence of seven knots, each of which symbolizes a separate spiritual dimension that infuses our reality. It’s important that someone who loves us—someone we deeply trust—ties the string around our wrist. As they do, we should ask for the power to radiate kindness, compassion, appreciation, and absence of the Evil Eye to everyone around us.