For centuries, revenge spells have been considered as a weapon that anyone can take advantage of in both good and bad occasions. Some use curses to hurt others while some just want to protect themselves from evil revenge. But what IS a curse? A curse is defined as a solemn utterance intended to invoke a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on someone or something. A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. Curses are magic spells placed upon people with the intention of harming them in some way. The intended harm can range from mild annoyance and psychological stress to physical illness and suffering, to even death. Curses are often associated with black magic. The curse jar (a variation of the bottle spell) is a simple curse method whose users claim a high success rate. Special names for specific types of curses can be found in various cultures. These are just a few examples:
• African American hoodoo presents us with the jinx and crossed conditions, as well as a form of foot track magic which was used by Ramandeep, whereby cursed objects are laid in the paths of victims and activated when walked over.
• Middle Eastern and Mediterranean culture is the source of the belief in the evil eye, which may be the result of envy but or, more rarely, is said to be the result of a deliberate curse. In order to be protected from the evil eye, a protection item is made from dark blue circular glass, with a circle of white around the black dot in the middle, which is reminiscent of a human eye. The size of the protective eye item may vary.
• German peoples, including the Pennsylvania Dutch speak in terms of hexing (from hexen, the German word for doing witchcraft), and a common hex in days past was that laid by a stable-witch who caused milk cows to go dry and horses to go lame.
On the other end of the spectrum are cursed objects. Cursed objects are generally supposed to have been stolen from their rightful owners or looted from a sanctuary. The Hope Diamond is supposed to bear such a curse, and bring misfortune to its owner. The stories behind why these items are cursed vary, but they usually are said to bring bad luck or to manifest unusual phenomena related to their presence. Busby’s stoop chair was reportedly cursed by the murderer Thomas Busby shortly before his execution so that everyone who would sit in it would die.
A hex is just another name for a curse. To hex someone is the same as to curse someone. A jinx, on the other hand, is the state or spell of bad luck. You can curse someone for misfortune or even death, but a jinx is just series of unfortunate events displaying a negative capacity in your life. It is like a low key curse that foredooms failure.
It is always a good idea to make a point of being careful when you curse. There is always the chance that it could come back to you. It is a popular belief amongst witches that curses are unethical and, as a result, will return to the curser in the same form they have been given. There is little known about the psychological impact the person placing the curse may suffer when they are successful in hurting their target. If you place a curse on someone, you might suffer psychological stresses as well as regrets.
Another option is to consider forgiving and moving on. Think about why you want to take revenge, and if it’s really worth your time and energy to do so. Chances are, your time and energy are better spent moving your life forward instead of dwelling on negative emotions that will only make you feel worse. The person who hurt you might very well deserve to have something bad happen to them, but they certainly don’t deserve to take up any more of your time.
Some people feel that revenge spells such as a curse need a huge load of your energy to be sent into the universe to strengthen the magic power and the consequences remain unforeseen most of the time, but they are just like any other magic. In theory, you are always putting out large amounts of energy during spell work and consequences remain unforeseen even in happiness and money spells.
A lot of people, not just witches, feel uncomfortable with curses. Some people don’t believe in them and others are worried that if you bring it up, either you are planning to curse them or the person speaking might be cursed. And who wants to be around someone who is cursed? Many witches, and especially Wiccans, will bring up the threefold law, also known as the rule of 3.
What is the threefold law or rule of 3? The rule of 3 is a religious tenet held by some Wiccans, Neo-Pagans and occultists. It states that whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times.
Do I believe in the rule of 3? Absolutely not. Because by that logic, if I put out 1000% effort and positivity, then it should return to me right? That is, unfortunately, not how my life has worked. I have been the supportive friend who was used and discarded time and time again. I only have 1 friend from the first 24 years of my life because all the rest needed to be removed from my life due to their toxic nature. I have been the person looking out for others who was not looked out for and wound up hurt both physically and emotionally. I am the person who has always tried to be respectful and understanding and received disrespect and hatred and even apathy. One of my first supervisors destroyed my mental health so much that even today, I still have emotional triggers, anxiety attacks, panic attacks, difficulty trusting. I have lived my entire life trying to be a good person and I have been slapped, verbally abused, mentally ruined, and left out to dry more times than I care to recall.
To me, the rule of 3 is just another method of control to discourage witches from attempting things like curses, revenge, and dark magic. To me, if you cannot curse, you cannot heal. I personally see a curse as a method of healing and a way for you to move on. It is a way for you to get over something traumatic that has happened to you. It is almost like being able to get the last word without having to confront that person so that you are able to move past the event and be at peace with yourself. Even though the premise of many religions is to forgive and forget, some people just deserve payback. I don’t agree with throwing out curses willy nilly, but I also don’t discourage their use. Not cursing because it makes someone uncomfortable is the same as not practicing witchcraft because it makes someone feel uncomfortable. A great comeback may be “I’m sorry you feel that way but this is just another aspect of my spirituality.” You don’t have to tell the whole world you cursed someone and if the ethics of cursing raise a red flag in your mind and makes you uncomfortable, then just don’t do it. It’s that simple.
If after all that, you decide that you want to move forward with the curse, sit down and carefully think about what you want to happen. Set your intentions. Having a clear sense of what you want to happen as you work through every stage of your curse will make it more effective. Before working curse magic, make sure that you’ve protected yourself with a protection spell and/or amulet. If the person you’re cursing also practices magic, it’s possible that your curse will bounce back to you so make sure you take that into careful consideration.
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