Cursing and harm
Curses, hexes and sorcery as people describe and fear them, with the counter-magic against them.
Cursing and harm are the part of magic that societies fear most. This page describes curses and sorcery as beliefs, and the social role of fear and accusation, and does not give instructions. The evil eye, the curse tablets of the Greek and Roman world, Hebrew and Arabic writings on harmful magic, sorcery in Melanesia and Africa, and the European witch are all part of this subject. Most of the harm recorded is that done to people accused.
What is believed
Many cultures hold that envy, anger or hostile ritual can bring illness, loss or death to a victim. The beliefs differ: in the Mediterranean, the evil eye needs no intent. In Azande society, studied by Evans-Pritchard, witchcraft was an inherited substance that explained why misfortune struck one person and not another. Greek and Roman lead curse tablets, often addressed to gods of the underworld, show the belief was written down in antiquity.
Accusation as social force
Where harm is feared, accusation follows. Anthropologists have shown that charges of witchcraft often follow tension inside a family or village, such as inheritance, jealousy or a sudden death. Accusers are usually in conflict with the accused, who is more likely to be old, poor, widowed or marginal. The belief can enforce norms and also destroy people. People also fear being accused, since an accusation can arrive without warning and can follow a family for generations.
Persecution and its present
European and colonial American witch trials, from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century, put tens of thousands to death, including the Salem trials of 1692. The practice has not ended. Mobs and families still attack accused people in parts of Africa, India, Papua New Guinea and elsewhere, and Saudi Arabia has executed people for sorcery. Albino people have been killed for body parts in East Africa. Several states are drafting or enforcing laws against accusation itself.
Counter-magic and scholarship
Where harm is feared, so is protection: amulets, cleansing, and a specialist who can say who sent it. Scholars see curses as a language of grievance, and psychologists have documented the nocebo effect, in which belief in harm can bring on real distress. A person who is afraid should seek medical and social help, and talk to someone they trust. People who believe they have been cursed should be helped to find practical support, including from health services, and not left alone with fear.
Cursing and harm on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomEnglish folklore
The myths, legends, and customs of England passed down through generations.Tradition 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚭馃嚫 United States and 5 moreSatanism
A modern set of beliefs using the figure of Satan as a symbol or deity.Tradition 路 Power and authority 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚝馃嚪 France and 3 moreChristian Kabbalah
A Renaissance effort to read Christian theology into Jewish mysticismTradition 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 1 moreMedieval European magic
A broad category of ritual and natural practices in the Middle Ages, blending healing, divination, and religious belief.Tradition 路 Healing 路 Seeing and foretelling Historical
馃嚝馃嚪 France and 4 moreWitch trials in the early modern period
A wave of prosecutions across Europe and British America from the 1400s to the late 1700s.Tradition 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚞馃嚟 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana
Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living
馃嚚馃嚟 SwitzerlandValais witch trials
The first systematic European witch-hunt, beginning in the Valais region of Switzerland in 1428.Tradition 路 Cursing and harm Historical
馃嚭馃嚫 United StatesChristian views on magic
A spectrum of Christian beliefs about magical practices, ranging from strict condemnation to esoteric integration.Belief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Living
馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 1 moreReligious aspects of Nazism
The study of how Nazi ideology borrowed religious forms and esoteric beliefs to build a political movement.Tradition 路 Power and authority 路 Cursing and harm Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- English folklore: J. R. Skelton, Public domain, source
- Satanism: Alexandre Cabanel, Public domain, source
- Medieval European magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Witch trials in the early modern period: Johann Jakob Wick, Public domain, source
- Christian views on magic: Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
- Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Valais witch trials: Dagalia2, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Religious aspects of Nazism: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source