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EveryJaadu

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 AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindTraditionRiteCharmOracleSubstanceBeingFigureTextIllusionBelief
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
StandingLivingRevivedFadingHistoricalLegendaryPerformed
OrderBest knownA to ZNewestLiving first
馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptCurse A spoken wish for misfortune to befall a person or placeBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 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 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 1 moreJannes and Jambres讬谞讬住 讜讬诪讘专讬住 Named Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses in biblical traditionFigure 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 2 moreLeviathan诇执讜职讬指转指谉 (Livya峁乶) A primordial sea monster from ancient Near Eastern myth and biblical textBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Historical 馃嚪馃嚧 Romania and 5 moreVampire folklore Global legends of blood-drinking spirits and undead revenantsBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Historical 馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 1 moreAzazel注讝讗讝诇 A desert place and fallen angel linked to the Yom Kippur scapegoat ritualFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Cleansing and purification Historical 馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 2 moreBelial讘职旨诇执讬址旨注址诇 A Hebrew term for worthlessness that evolved into a demon of darkness in Jewish and Christian texts.Being 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptLucifer A Latin name for the planet Venus that became an epithet for the Devil in Christian traditionFigure 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚠馃嚤 IsraelUrim and Thummim讛指讗讜旨专执讬诐 讜职讛址转只旨诪执旨讬诐 Sacred lots used by the ancient Israelite High Priest to reveal divine judgment.Charm 路 Cursing and harm 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 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 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico and 2 moreChild sacrifice The ritual killing of children to appease deities or restore cosmic order in ancient culturesRite 路 Cursing and harm 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 馃嚜馃嚞 EgyptDemon A supernatural entity believed to cause harm or possess humansBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 5 moreBirkat haMinim讘专讻转 讛诪讬谞讬诐 A Jewish liturgical curse against apostates and Christians within the daily standing prayerRite 路 Cursing and harm 路 Binding and oaths Historical 馃嚠馃嚤 IsraelAgrat bat Mahlat讗讙专转 讘转 诪讞诇转 A demon in Jewish tradition who rules over destructive spirits and night hours.Being 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚠馃嚤 IsraelEisheth Zenunim讗值砖侄讈转 讝职谞讜旨谞执讬诐 A demonic epithet for Lilith in Kabbalah and Western esotericismFigure 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 1 moreOrdeal of the bitter water诪值讬 讛址诪指旨专执讬诐 (mei ha-marim) A biblical test for a wife accused of adultery when no witnesses are present.Rite 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Historical 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 1 moreMahalath诪指讞植诇址转 A queen of demons in Jewish mysticism and the mother of AgratBeing 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚠馃嚤 IsraelQlippoth拽职诇执讬驻旨讜止转 Impure spiritual forces in Jewish mysticism, opposites of the holy sefirotBeing 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 1 moreSe'irim砖注讬专讬诐 Demons of Hebrew tradition linked to wild goats and ruined placesBeing 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚠馃嚤 IsraelMessiah ben Joseph诪指砖执讈讬讞址 讘侄旨谉志讬讜止住值祝 A Jewish eschatological figure who wages war and dies before the final age of peaceFigure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Historical 馃嚠馃嚤 IsraelPulsa diNura驻讜诇住讗 讚谞讜专讗 A Kabbalistic curse invoking destroying angels to block forgiveness and cause deathRite 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt and 1 moreCurse of Ham A biblical story used to justify slavery and racial discriminationBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚠馃嚤 Israel and 1 moreDivine retribution Supernatural punishment by a deity in response to anger or wrongdoingBelief 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.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.