Hanging garlic by the door
Hanging garlic over the door was a guard against envy in Bulgaria, where it was said to thwart the bad wishes of jealous people. The custom invites an honest look at envy itself: the kind aimed at you and the kind you aim at others.
What it may mean
Of all the things a household might want protection from, envy ranks among the oldest. In Bulgaria, a garlic plant hung over the door thwarted the bad wishes of envious people, and if that failed, garlic rubbed on the pans and kettles would rout any evil thoughts from the home. Envy deserves a look from both sides. Most people can name someone who seems to begrudge them a little. Fewer like to admit the twinge they feel at a friend's promotion, a neighbor's new car or a sibling's easy year. So treat the twinge kindly when you hang the garlic: envy often points at something you want, and naming the want takes away much of its sting. Greek sea captains and Swedish bridegrooms trusted garlic too, against storms and trolls.
Depending on how you saw it
A braid of garlic in the kitchen
Garlic keeps best in cool, dry, airy places, which is one reason it has so often been braided and hung rather than shut away. Kept in plain sight, it gets used. What useful thing have you stored so carefully that you forget you have it?
Garlic over the door of a new home
Hanging something protective over a new door is a way of saying that this place matters. The garlic may do nothing at all; the gesture still changes how you walk in. How did you make your last new place feel like yours?
A guest asking about it
Visitors who see garlic over a door often ask about it, and the answer can turn into a family story. Customs travel with stories that nobody writes down. Which custom in your home comes with a story worth recording before it is lost?
Why it happens in nature
Garlic's sharp smell comes from sulfur compounds that form when the cloves are cut or crushed; whole bulbs smell much milder. Cured garlic hung in a dry, airy spot can keep for months, which is one practical reason braids and bunches have been hung near kitchen doors.
What folk beliefs say
Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, envious people were thwarted in their bad wishes by a garlic plant hung over the door; if that failed, garlic rubbed on the pans and kettles would rout any evil thoughts from the home.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 2 (1903), vol. 2, p. 801. View the page
Greece
A Greek captain who bought a ship to command himself would place some garlic aboard to prevent great tempests.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 2 (1903), vol. 2, p. 1070. View the page
Sweden
Swedish bridegrooms sewed garlic, cloves and rosemary into their wedding clothes to keep away trolls and sprites, and the maid of honor carried a bouquet of the same herbs.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 1 (1903), vol. 1, p. 59. View the page
Greece
In Greece, garlic was placed on piles of stones at crossroads for good fortune.
Source: Cora Linn Daniels; C. M. Stevans (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World, vol. 2 (1903), vol. 2, p. 801. View the page
To reflect on
When envy stings, what longing does it reveal?