Written: March 26th, 2017 | Edited: 20th March 2019
Hello! I am White Raven, and welcome to my blog. Today, I felt like writing about a more controversial topic: curses, and when to use them. This may not sit well with everyone who reads this, but after all, the blog is dedicated to the balance between duality, so it would be hypocritical on my part to lean solely on the Pillar of Mercy.
What Is A Curse
Curse. noun
1.a solemn utterance intended to invoke a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on someone or something.
2.an offensive word or phrase used to express anger or annoyance.
In Magick, I feel a curse is a culmination of these two definitions. First off, a curse is not just defined as something meant to cause harm to someone, but also as a form of justice. The idea of deities, priests, and sorcerers cursing humans and each other is common in religions. Also note that it specifies that curses are “offensive”. We can say they are offensive as opposed to “defensive”. They “express” our anger. Put simply, curses are a projective form of magick.
Both definitions of curse insist that it is spoken, because when it comes to curses, what we say and how we define it makes big difference.
If defensive magick, which may involve things like veiling or purification, is your shield, then offensive magick, aka curses, binding, banishing, is your sword. Curses aren’t just cast on humans, but also sometimes on Spirits to bind them. Almost always, it is when the other party has actively moved against you and is trying to harm you.
Why I Would Use A Curse
Well, since i’m talking about sword and shields, i’m going to use the metaphor of a warrior.
Why? because I love metaphors and like explaining things in them. The Law of Correspondence: As Above, So Below, is the reason why metaphors work so well.
Anyway, imagine a magician (or witch, mage, magus, shaman, light worker, healer: whatever you call yourself) is a knight. A knight usually wears armor. It is natural for him, as a knight, and this usually protects him from most things. He can walk around a town without fear. He may be pelted with stones, shot with an arrow, or maybe some drunk peasant tries to punch him, but all of it will be deflected by his armor. This is how a magician is, once depolarized, on the Middle Pillar.
However, eventually he has to leave the town’s safety, and enter a battlefield, commanding his army. But, he is shot with an arrow. Now, he has his shield, which he will raise, and deflect it, which was the primary function of shields. Technically speaking, as long as his shield is raised, he should not be affected by oncoming projectiles as he does his work.
However, what happens when he is faced with an enemy in front of him. Maybe a knight, maybe even a peasant with a pitchfork. No matter how strong and noble, the knight can’t just stand their with a raised shield. He is compelled now to strike. Not to mention that in some ways, that is the only way to progress.
That is essentially how curses are. You don’t really need to use them, as long as you follow magickal etiquette, banish properly, cleanse, or whatever else you do. Sometimes, you will have to shield or veil yourself, and you won’t be harmed. It has only been in rare cases, that I’ve had to actively use magick in order to stop someone from harming me. This is usually if the threat if somewhat serious, or maybe someone became too much of a problem for me to ignore them.
Every now and then, you have to be severe. You have to take on a violent persona, and lash out, or this world and it’s shadows will overwhelm you. You can’t always be the Saint, like Jesus, or Osiris, or Krishna. You also need to be the avenger, like Moses, Horus, or Kalki. It was because Osiris, the Egyptian God King was too meek, too trusting and too merciful that his throne was usurped by Set, the God of Chaos. That is one of the lessons of that story.
This is The Last Judgement by Michelangelo. Notice how differently he depicts Jesus from how he is normally depicted teaching or being crucified.
We have strength and the ability to fight for a reason. Being a magician does not mean sitting by as while others harm you, and abuse your lack of courage. Standing for ideals and the Light is good, but that usually also means fighting for them. Just like Jesus got nailed to a cross, in the same way he comes back to fight evil as the Avenger. The romanticized idea that is fed to us, is that we should be humble and keep our head down, to turn the other cheek, and that God/the Gods/Karma will punish the one who wrongs us.
But, in Magick, isn’t the whole point to exalt yourself to the level of Gods, to take responsibility for your own life? Then, naturally, you also need to protect yourself.
Though I wouldn’t say it is your job to judge who is good or bad. I would curse purely out of self interest, for myself or for someone or something close to me, and not become some magical vigilante, because that sounds like a one stop journey to ego inflation.
Certain emotions like “hate, jealousy, self pity, anger” are considered “low vibration”.
These are the emotions of the lower, shadowy part of Malkuth. The Pillar of Severity has things like ambition, pride, honour, discipline, justice, etc. These are what should be harnessed when doing this type of Magick. This is what differentiates offensive magick, from baneful magick, soldier from murderer.
Everytime you do the LBRP, you are utilizing this kind of magick, as you are banishing something. It is the Magick of Mars and Saturn.
If utilized for the correct reason, which will usually be to bring justice or to save yourself and the things you care about from malice.
But What About Karma?
Ah, Karma. Perhaps one of the most misunderstood and misused terms in today’s world.
Now, first off, I’ve noticed this trend where people refer to karma as a Buddhist concept. Karma was simply borrowed by Buddhism. Karma is a Hindu, or more specifically, a Vedic concept, originating in ancient India. All religions and spiritual philosophies borrow from each other, but let’s not forget who started them.
I might as well be calling Angels an Islamic or Sikh concept. Now, wouldn’t that annoying?
Anyway, back to Karma. These days, Karma has kind of become the go-to thing for deciding “morality” in ceremonial magick and witchcraft.
I guess the Abrahamic religions outright say that Magick is “devil worship” (or rather, they don’t say so, but have been mistranslated and interpreted in this way). So, I guess people looked elsewhere, and they stumbled upon “karma”.
But, Karma has been quite distorted. In the West, it’s become attached to the ideals of “absolute good and bad”, and in the East, it’s become a discarded tool of social control.
Let’s talk about karma for a bit, since that’s probably the only reason anyone clicked on this post. I’ll get to morality later, and stop there.
Karma, you see, is not a philosophical or spiritual concept in the Vedas itself. Karma is just a word. It literally means “action” in Sanskrit, and even in archaic forms of Hindi.
Karma itself does not denote anything. In a spiritual sense, it was usually paired with the word Dharma, meaning faith or duty (in the sense that it is your purpose in life, discovered spiritually and followed with faith).
The whole idea in the Vedas was that your Dharma: what you believe you are meant for, should be in line with your Karma: what you do in the world. And ultimately, it placed dharma over karma, in other words, the mind over matter, thoughts over actions (I know it’s confusing. Dharma is one of those words that does not have a real English translation) This is the central theme of the Bhagvat Gita.
In the sense we’re talking about here, Vedic philosophy said that your karma (actions) would come back to you. They did not make this as a reward and punishment system, as it has now become. There was no God regulating karma, it was simply a cosmic force of nature. The Law of Attraction, the recycling of energy, give and take. For every reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction. All of these things fall under Karma.
So, if you were kind to people, they would be kind to you, if you were cruel, cruelty would come back, if you stole from others, stuff would be stolen from you etc. etc. You know how they say poverty is a mental state, rather than physical one. It’s basically an extension of that. How you think or act would determine how the World was to you. It also meant how you acted would profoundly impact not just your life, but the lives of those around you, your children and perhaps even your descendants for ages to come.
You can pretty much see that this was how the Vedic sages interpreted the Hermetic Law of Correspondence, which states As Within So Without, and is the basis of mental alchemy and the modern New Age concept that everything you perceive is merely a reflection of your internal state. The Vedas took it a step further by stating that whatever you sent out, would return to you.
This is also in line with our Tree of Life, which, as you probably know, is represented as a closed circuit. Whatever you send out from within (Kether) into the world (Malkuth) will simply return to you, and having passed through all the spheres, will be magnified ten fold.
Another thing about Karma was that it carried over into your next life, meaning karma is constant. Everything sent out will eventually come back, no matter how long it takes. In Vedic and Puranic mythology, it is suggested that not even Gods are not free of Karma. People even began to say that karma could be inherited by one’s children, and that one should live “justly” so that his descendants would not suffer. Epigenetics could be said to be at play here too.
That is the concept of Karma. It is a passive, subconscious force, not a conscious one, like some deity. It is a very deep concept, much more than simply a justification to not act and let “karma” meat out punishment. Karma will certainly do so, though it might take generations, or even the person’s entire life. You might live and die without acting against that which harms you, and karma might just have a real affect after you’ve been destroyed. Or perhaps, you were the instrument that karma chose to correct your own life?
Put very simply, whatever thoughts and emotions you have in your head during the casting of a “curse”, is what will manifest on the target, and is eventually what will return, multiplied tenfold.
So What Does This All Mean?
From what I just said, it should be evident what the trick is to cast offensive magick. All magick is done with the goal of aligning yourself with the Will of the Higher Self. You should always stay true to the Will. And if someone crosses your path and hinders you, he is not only trying to lead you astray, but he himself is astray from his own Will, because a person’s Higher Self will never be to stop other’s from reaching their’s.
Thus, you have the right to protect yourself by whatever means necessary. Do not cast for baser emotions, born of gross impulses, like hatred, jealousy, anger etc.
Even if the other person has wronged you and acts on these things, don’t let that affect you. Karma, being passive, won’t see who was in the right and who was in the wrong, it will just fuck you both up. Cast only with the highest intent. So, say, if someone has gone against you, you might want to try casting for justice, which is an incredibly powerful force, or to banish the person from your life. I’ve known a person to do magick to remove a person from their life, but with pure intent. The NEXT morning this person got a job somewhere far away, and disappeared. I’ve known people to call on Saturnine justice, and for the target to die. Apparently that was perceived by the Universe as justice.
There’s a saying in India that “a curse uttered by an innocent man is like the fury of Hell itself”. This is true, because when someone who is normally good, pure and kind is angered enough to curse you, even just in words, then you must have done something incredibly evil, and so the sheer force generated by their anger will consume you. On the other hand, when someone is always pissed off and upset, their anger means little.
If someone is in your way, perhaps you could bind them, with the motivation being self preservation. And personally, I always put in the thought that the target is not “evil” or “wrong”, simply misguided. He has wandered off his path into mine, and I simply want him to be corrected, and be taught a lesson if necessary.
Instead of trying to play God and passing judgement, simply save yourself and leave the Judgement up to the Universe, or, more specifically, Karma. I also have very, very little patience for evil people. I won’t pretend to be a saint.
At time I am tempted to burn someone’s soul and cast it into the Void, and torture it immensely. But I control myself, because I don’t want to end up as evil as them. For a magician, sometimes simply being very angry is enough to cause people to suffer..a lot. Be vigilant of your anger, especially if you’re normally a calm and chilled out person.
The ancient European motif of Orboros, is a very good representation
of Karmic Law, as well as how Energy moves within the circuit of
the Tree of Life
And, don’t hold grudges. Whenever i’m done casting a curse, I always forgive the person and let it go. I’ve done my work, and now i’m protected and can pursue the Will. What has to be done to this person, is now up to the Universe, and his own Will. Not my concern, or problem. I will not let this person become so important that he drags me into the pit into which s/he has cast him/herself.
But be careful here. Even if your thoughts, ritual actions and words are okay, your emotions are raw and can betray you. Especially try to reign in your anger. The emotions are the most powerful in this type of magick, and will ultimately decide what is sent out. I’ve had times when I lose my temper or patience, and really have to struggle to be in a calm state when casting magick, or i’ll just send a torrent of fire towards someone. The anger of a Magician is a powerful and devastating thing, and I think this makes us much more susceptible to the Ego, rejecting which is the whole point of Magick.
Be vigilant of your anger, especially if you’re normally a calm and chilled out person. An apple will first go rotten to the core before it can spoil the bunch. The bunch might be saved, but the first apple is done for, and I don’t want to be the apple.
But Morality Matters!
Yes, but please keep in mind that magick, karma, the deities etc are not bound to morality. Morality itself is a human concept. It has it’s basis in human nature, which is essentially the same among humans and always aspiring to perfection, but even so, morality differs greatly not just among people, but even cultures and changes with time. What was considered immoral 200 years ago might now be perfectly moral, and vice versa. Morality is in Chesed, so it is one of our highest intellectual traits. However, this refers to the “perfect” morality, symbolised by figures like Solomon. Most human morality is relegated to Yesod, since it is usually just repressed emotions and societal conditioning.
Christopher Hitchens once said something like ‘it is useless to say that you need religion to be moral. After all, most people are not really moral. If you were in a situation where no one was watching, you would be immoral. You would steal if you could. Priests have been known to rape children”. Click here to watch the clip. It’s insightful. I’m no atheist, but Hitchens had some very good points.
I mean, if you think casting curses is wrong, is it because you have a genuine love for the aggressor, or are you just scared of karmic repercussions? Perhaps you pretend that you are good and moral, but really you’re just a conformist and don’t like to act in ways that would break this imagined figure of you as the perfect being?
(If this is harsh or struck a chord, I’m sorry. I once had to be told this exact same thing before I could break my own illusion of imagined morality and righteousness)
But still, if you don’t want to do something, or feel uncomfortable or immoral doing it, it’s your call at the end of the day. If you don’t feel like it’s right, don’t do it. Morality is subjective, but so it Magick, and indeed our entire reality. The way I reconcile this is stay true to my gut feeling and instinct, because it is not clouded by societal or religious norms, which will always confuse us and bog us down.
Remember, our personal morality is at the end of the day, derived from evolutionary instincts, which is further refined and made better over time. Your gut instinct can provide a greater moral code than any religion or even Law. They are important, but not absolute. The Absolute Morality of God, which would technically lie in the cosmic Chesed, is not what actually exists down on Malkuth.
Besides, don’t rely on curses for everything. This is only for rare exceptional cases, almost always against other magicians or really fucked up people, who roam this world like hyenas hunting for dead carcasses. Otherwise I restrain myself and fight my battles and resolve conflicts normally. Magick is, after all, a way of life, not specific rituals or “superpowers”.
And If Someone Dies?
Ok, elephant in the room huh? First off, i’ve never actually cast a death curse on someone, because i’m really not keen to know what the repercussions are. If you think about death, it’s absoluteness, and how human society has viewed it since the very beginning, and how causing the death of someone who is not actively trying to kill you is viewed: I’d not want to do it, and no amount of theory and reassurance can convince me otherwise.
Of course, i’m not sure this will apply in every scenario, nor am I telling you what to do, and I can’t really stop you if you’ve decided to kill someone. Killing someone is different from everything else because it means depriving them of the chance to improve. You’ve got no business violating someone’s Will to that extent. The Karmic energy that returns will be dire: pure Plutonian force reverberating through the Tree, magnified 10 fold, hits you one day.
But as we know, nothing is absolute and things change. Just be responsible. Anyway, moving on.
But what if someone died, and you didn’t intend them to? What then? Say, someone you know is getting harassed or abused, and you cast Magick to remove that person from their lives. Perhaps your intent was solely for the benefit of the person, and in fact, you wanted BOTH people to be better off, and the person you cast against still dies. Will Karma kill you? No.
See, you did not intend for someone’s death. You left it up to the Higher Law of Saturn. It was this higher law that decided that this person would die. It’s technically not your responsibility.
But, say you don’t want that (like any normal, sane human). Well, that’s why we have statements of intent, and they are important. When formulating the statement of intent, go ahead an specify what you want happening, and what you don’t, like someone dying or being badly hurt. I’m not a religious preacher, so I won’t say that, but please use your head and don’t do something that will come back to haunt you. You could add “and let neither man nor beast be harmed by this ritual”, or simply “let this person learn a lesson, but not face permanent harm or death”.
Anyway, I hope this was helpful to you. if you like my content, and would like to see more, consider following my blog. You can also follow me on Instagram @WhiteRavenMagus
Until next time
~White Raven
Between The Pillars 