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In our last issue Sophie Childs made her debut with an
excellent piece on Pagan Parenting. In this issue she looks at cursing,
what it is, how it is done, and what to do about it. |
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Anyone who has been on a pagan discussion group or forum will be familiar with the following: “I’ve been having a really tough time recently. I think I’ve been cursed.” They then proceed to list all their woes and ask for a spell or friendly witch to help them sort their life out. What invariably happens is that they are given all sorts of helpful, practical suggestions and they leave the group in a huff, thinking that nobody is taking them seriously because the advice is very down to earth – speak to the police/lawyer/whoever appropriate, with no mention of charms or counter-curses. In fact, they were being taken very seriously indeed and being given the best solutions available. The simple reality is that curses are extremely rare. In those extraordinary instances when they have been utilised, they are usually very well crafted and tend to take the form of a single, carefully honed shot, designed to cause the maximum damage with the minimum of effort. Why would you attach yourself on an ongoing basis to someone that you feel strongly enough about to curse? It makes far more sense to cast and then walk away. Someone experiencing a run of bad luck is more than likely just that - unlucky, and whilst there is an argument to say that we attract what we feel we deserve and luck is all in the mind, this has nothing to do with a malevolent witch forcing this mindset upon you. As a result, magick is unlikely to be the solution. |
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| Attitudes towards cursing vary widely amongst the pagan community, ranging from the fluffiest of fluff, where cursing is not only bad, the individual berates themselves every time they have a ‘negative’ thought and something nasty happens because it’s obviously their fault (after all, it would be impossible for bad things to happen without somebody being to blame), right through to the person that curses without a second thought every time someone cuts them up or dares to disagree with them. Of course, these are extreme examples, but nevertheless, most people seem to fall into either the ‘for’ or ‘against’ camp. There are some who will argue that there is never any need to curse and to a certain extent, they are right. If you decide that someone really, really deserves cursing, when it comes to putting together that skilful dart, it frequently becomes clear that there is no point in cursing, because these people have nothing to lose. Often they are complete lowlifes, their personal misery being the motivation for them to cause trouble for others, and there is nothing you can do to make their lives any worse than they already are, so you cannot avoid the conclusion that it is not worth bothering with them. |
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In fact, bizarre as it may seem at first glance, often the best curse is a blessing. Wish someone like that a long, long life - all the longer to wallow. Fertility can be a wonderful way of making sure someone steers well clear of you - it's difficult finding the energy to make mischief when you have a new baby to look after. Combine that with a blessing of wealth to keep them busier at work than they have time for and you have successfully managed to remove an irritation from your life and what's more, for those who believe that some Lord of Karma comes chasing after you if you 'misuse' magick, this sort of approach neatly circumvents that issue, since when is there a kickback from a blessing? Any form of magick should be approached with a cool, calm attitude and, for the most part, once you have had time to think about whether you really, really need to curse, in the unlikely event that you still feel the urge, what tends to happen is that the desired outcome is simply that you do not want your target in your life, by whatever means necessary, and frequently a blessing is the best method of achieving this. |
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However, having said all of that, there is no doubt that although it least likely explanation for your problems, curses do exist, people do cast them and they can have devastating effects. This is where the maxim 'can't kill, can't cure' comes into its own, and why it is so important that anyone who wishes to call themselves a witch needs to be have a thorough understanding of at least the theory behind cursing, because if you do not understand what has been done, then you do not have any hope of solving the problem. Indeed, more harm than good can be done by the well-meaning trying to lift a curse when, for example, a course of counselling, is all that's needed and if you are not capable of spotting the signs, then you will not be able to tell which approach is most appropriate. As to what those signs are and how you combat them, that is a subject best left to another article, where they can be covered in detail. So what do you do if you genuinely believe you have been cursed? First of all, sit down, make yourself a nice cup of tea and reassure yourself with the thought that it's highly unlikely, especially if you have suffered a string of bad luck - there are few out there who have the time or the energy to maintain a sustained attack and realistically, although the thought may be uncomfortable, it's improbable that you are important enough to someone for them to spend that kind of effort on you. |
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There are some very simple techniques which will make it difficult for any curse to take hold, techniques that you do not have to be at all magickally minded to employ. Curses thrive in the right environment, so make sure you are not creating one. Rather than sitting at home, bewailing your lot, embrace life. Do the things that make you happy, enjoy the company of friends, go out and live. This really is an instance where laughter is the best medicine, so even if it's the last thing you feel like doing, it's vital that you make the effort until it isn't an effort any more. The more you obsess about the alleged curse that is the bane of your life, the more you empower it to be that - even to the point of creating one where none existed in the first place. A curse cannot survive once deprived of your energy so don't give it any. This approach also has the added bonus of working, even when there wasn't any magick involved. And this is why people looking for some hocus pocus to solve all of life's problems find themselves disappointed. Unfortunately for these types, magick is simple and rarely necessary. The reason why someone looking for a spell to protect their home is told to fit good locks is because that's the best way of stopping intruders. A good witch always looks for the simplest, most effective way to achieve their goal, which in most cases is mundane, not magickal and why genuine curses are such a rarity. |
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By Sophie Childs© 2007 Sophie Childs |
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Synopsis: This marvellous tome is a fascinating collection of spells,
curses and magical recipes from around the world and throughout history.
As the author says, the book is meant for reading only: "I do not advise
you to try it." With such information as the practicalities of selling
one's soul to the devil, creating a zombie or raising demons contained
within, he also includes cures for these ills should your spell casting
go awry, and protects himself and his publishers with a very strongly
worded legal disclaimer, where the reader is made entirely responsible
for their own actions.
Click the above underlined title to link to Amazon.com, prices range from
$11.66 for new to $1.00 for used.