In our lovely Kitchen Witch facebook group last week a question was raised about cursing and it was interesting to see the type of responses. They ranged from ‘go for it, you have a right to protect your ass’. To a person reporting the post and leaving the group because we even discussed curses. It is obviously a very emotional subject.
I am not Wiccan and as such don’t necessarily follow the rede although I do believe the ‘do what you will, but harm none’ is an excellent guideline. I remember a discussion within a Wiccan coven about the rede and the actual meaning. The general consensus was that although you wouldn’t throw curses and hexes about you would be entitled to protect yourself and those you love from harm.
My personal thoughts
If you get cross or upset about something or with someone; stop and think. Don’t just blindly work a spell to curse or hex someone in the heat of anger. Let the hurt die down first, and then decide what course of action to take.
I am also not going to get on a soap box and spout off about morals, taking the high ground, karma etc – that choice is yours to make, and yours alone.
Sometimes there are situations that warrant action or reaction and sometimes it is not easy to decide what course to take. A good rule of thumb to follow is – if you would not do it in reality then don’t do it with magic. Make sure that what you do, whatever kind of defensive action you take is equivalent to the action that was taken against you. You would not blow up someone’s car just for stepping on your toe, would you? Think about your plan of action, if you feel uncomfortable in any way then don’t do it. Go back to the drawing board and come up with Plan B, C or D (and all the rest of the letters in the alphabet if need be).
Curses and hexes are not for the faint hearted and if you decide that is the path you want to go down. I urge you to not take them lightly and never chuck them about willy nilly. Take responsibility for your actions. You also need to be very, very sure that the person you are sending a curse or hex to is the person responsible…
Okay, so let’s look at what hexes and curses are
Just as there are hundreds and thousands of love and prosperity spells there are probably just as many hexes. Some of them involve long complicated rituals. Some require all sorts of ingredients and others are just gestures with a hand or a word.
So, what is the difference between a hex and a curse? Well I am not sure there is much of a difference to be honest, just different names from diverse cultures. However, the consensus seems to be that a hex is a spell or bewitchment. Traditionally they could be good or bad and a Witch could be paid to provide one. A curse is a malevolent spell that is cast with the purpose of inflicting harm upon another; curses can be spoken or written. Objects can also be cursed with bad luck, misfortune, ill health and even death.
Essentially, it’s the wilful direction of negative energy towards someone with the intent to harm. Usually hexes and curses take some time to develop, building up slowly. However, if you are well shielded and protected you are very unlikely to become the victim of a hex yourself. And I think becoming cursed happens a lot less frequently than people believe.
Binding
I would also like to look at binding; this is a form of spell that binds a person or situation so that they/it can no longer harm you. I have found this form of working particularly successful. If you are pure in your intent, it doesn’t harm the person or cause them any discomfort it just stops them from hurting or harassing you. Bear in mind that this spell does take away the free will of the person you are binding, so use with caution.
A binding spell can be very simple – you use an object that represents the person causing you harm. It can be a poppet, it could be a photograph or it could just be a lump of clay that you have identified as the person. It can then be bound, with string, ribbon or even sticky tape (my personal choice). As you bind the object visualise binding the harmful energies of that person and speak your wishes; that the person can no longer harm you or harass you. Bury the spell.
Banishing
On to banishing, now I have had a lot of experience with this and not all of it has been good. I thought it sounded like a lovely idea to ‘banish negative energy’ from my life. What I didn’t expect was the huge circle that this type of banishing covers. It does not just get rid of bad luck it covers all sorts of things…including people. To banish all negative energy from your life is not always a good thing. We all need balance in life, for instance think about batteries they need positive and negative to work. And if you took away the negative they would have no power.
Much better to ask that “any negative energy that serves me no good be released”, it’s safer believe me! Note I used the word ‘release’ rather than ‘banish’, I have found it is safer. But please be prepared for unexpected results…
A very simple banishing spell is to use some slips of paper and a cauldron. Write what you want to banish on the slips of paper. Light the corner of each slip on a candle and drop it into the cauldron, visualising the feeling/emotion/bad habit/whatever disappearing. Send the ashes out into the wind or into running water (or even down the toilet).
Another simple idea is to write what you want to be rid of on a slip of paper and drop it into running water or again even to flush it down the toilet.
PLEASE remember that whatever you banish leaves a hole. That hole must be purposely filled with positive energy otherwise it will just be replaced with that which is similar to what you wanted to get rid of in the first place. I find it wise to add onto the end of a banishing something like “and fill the void with love and blessings”.
And remember that banishings sometimes take some time to work too.
Originally posted on Beneath the Moon, Patheos Pagan - 8.1.18
