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.

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

WhoShamans Folk healers Priests and ritual specialists Witches, sorcerers and cunning folk Diviners and readers Mediums and the possessed Ceremonial magicians and alchemists Households and ordinary people Stage magicians Scholars and sceptics

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇪🇬 EgyptCurse A spoken wish for misfortune to befall a person or placeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical

🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreEvil eye A curse caused by an envious look and the charms used to block itBelief · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreJannes and Jambresיניס וימבריס Named Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses in biblical traditionFigure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreLeviathanלִוְיָתָן (Livyaṯān) A primordial sea monster from ancient Near Eastern myth and biblical textBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇷🇴 Romania and 5 moreVampire folklore Global legends of blood-drinking spirits and undead revenantsBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical

🇮🇹 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 · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical

🇫🇮 Finland and 5 moreMolybdomancy A divination method using molten metal poured into water to read omensRite · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreChild sacrifice The ritual killing of children to appease deities or restore cosmic order in ancient culturesRite · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptLucifer A Latin name for the planet Venus that became an epithet for the Devil in Christian traditionFigure · Cursing and harm Historical 🇫🇷 France and 3 moreChristian Kabbalah A Renaissance effort to read Christian theology into Jewish mysticismTradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSpirit possession A global belief that spirits or demons can take control of a person's body and mindBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living 🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreBelialבְּלִיַּעַל A Hebrew term for worthlessness that evolved into a demon of darkness in Jewish and Christian texts.Being · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreAzazelעזאזל A desert place and fallen angel linked to the Yom Kippur scapegoat ritualFigure · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical

🇮🇱 IsraelUrim and Thummimהָאוּרִים וְהַתֻּמִּים Sacred lots used by the ancient Israelite High Priest to reveal divine judgment.Charm · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical

🇪🇬 EgyptDemon A supernatural entity believed to cause harm or possess humansBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreBirkat haMinimברכת המינים A Jewish liturgical curse against apostates and Christians within the daily standing prayerRite · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreRahabרַהַב A Hebrew mythic sea monster and symbol of chaos, later used as a poetic name for Egypt.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary 🇮🇱 IsraelAgrat bat Mahlatאגרת בת מחלת A demon in Jewish tradition who rules over destructive spirits and night hours.Being · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇱 IsraelEisheth Zenunimאֵשֶׁת זְנוּנִים A demonic epithet for Lilith in Kabbalah and Western esotericismFigure · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreOrdeal of the bitter waterמֵי הַמָּרִים (mei ha-marim) A biblical test for a wife accused of adultery when no witnesses are present.Rite · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical 🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreMahalathמָחֲלַת A queen of demons in Jewish mysticism and the mother of AgratBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇱 IsraelQlippothקְלִיפּוֹת Impure spiritual forces in Jewish mysticism, opposites of the holy sefirotBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreSe'irimשעירים Demons of Hebrew tradition linked to wild goats and ruined placesBeing · Cursing and harm Historical 🇮🇱 IsraelMessiah ben Josephמָשִׁיחַ בֶּן־יוֹסֵף A Jewish eschatological figure who wages war and dies before the final age of peaceFigure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical 🇮🇱 IsraelPulsa diNuraפולסא דנורא A Kabbalistic curse invoking destroying angels to block forgiveness and cause deathRite · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreCurse of Ham A biblical story used to justify slavery and racial discriminationBelief · Cursing and harm Historical

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreBalakבָּלָק A biblical king who sought a sorcerer's curse against the IsraelitesFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreFiery flying serpentשָׂרָף מְעוֹפֵף (sārāf mə‘ōfēf) A biblical creature described as a venomous winged snake in the Book of IsaiahFigure · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreDivine retribution Supernatural punishment by a deity in response to anger or wrongdoingBelief · 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.

Spirit possession: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Ordeal of the bitter water: Charadron, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
Jiangshi: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
Lucifer: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
Urim and Thummim: Rijksmuseum, CC0, source
Medieval European magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Molybdomancy: Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, source
Demon: Martin Schongauer, Public domain, source
Azazel: Louis Le Breton, Public domain, source
Curse of Ham: Ксенофонтов Иван Степанович. Ksenofóntov Iván Stepánovich (1817-1875), Public domain, source
Balak: Philip De Vere, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Jannes and Jambres: Gerard Hoet, Public domain, source
Leviathan: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source
Fiery flying serpent: דוד דוד.. Original uploader was Androctonus at he.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Divine retribution: John Martin, Public domain, source
Child sacrifice: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Public domain, source
Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source