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

🇮🇷 Iran and 2 moreDivدیو Monstrous creatures of Persian and West Asian lore, later adapted into Islamic and regional mythologiesBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 moreRabisu A wind spirit in Akkadian myth sent to correct human transgressionsBeing · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification 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

🇮🇶 Iraq and 1 morePazuzu𒀭𒅆𒊒𒍪𒍪 (pà.zu.zu) A Mesopotamian wind demon and protective amulet against child-harming spiritsBeing · Protection · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreIfritعفريت A class of powerful chthonic spirits in Islamic tradition and folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇮🇷 Iran and 4 moreJinnجِنّ Supernatural beings in Islamic and pre-Islamic Arabian belief, capable of shapeshifting and living in society.Being · Protection · Cursing and harm 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

🇮🇷 Iran and 3 moreDaeva𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 A Zoroastrian entity that evolved from rejected gods to personifications of evil.Being · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreQareenقرين A spiritual companion or double assigned to every human in Islamic beliefBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living 🇸🇾 SyriaLilulilû (Akkadian), lilu (Sumerian) A class of Mesopotamian spirits linked to unfulfilled lives and illnessBeing · Cursing and harm · Healing Historical 🇦🇿 AzerbaijanBastyBasdı A group of evil spirits and goblins from Turkic folklore in Anatolia.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇨🇳 China and 4 moreDragon A serpentine mythical creature found in global folklore and art, representing power, chaos, or imperial authority.Being · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreAstaroth An arch-demon in Western occultism, derived from the ancient goddess Astarte.Being · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Historical 🇹🇷 Turkey and 4 moreAl BastyAlbastı A female spirit of guilt and childbirth found in Turkic and Caucasian folkloreBeing · Cursing and harm Historical

🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreAbyzou A female demon of envy who targets newborns and pregnant women in late antique magic.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection 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

🇮🇷 IranAkvan Divاکوان دیو A shape-shifting demon from Persian mythology that disguises itself as a wild horse.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇸🇾 SyriaEchidnaΈχιδνα A half-woman, half-snake monster in Greek myth who mothered many famous beastsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary

🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreTanninתַּנִּין A sea monster of chaos in Canaanite and Hebrew myth, later a symbol for Egypt and Babylon.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary 🇪🇬 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 🇪🇬 EgyptEn-Naddahaالنداهة A water spirit of the Nile who lures men to their doom with a hypnotic callBeing · Cursing and harm Fading 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreSe'irimשעירים Demons of Hebrew tradition linked to wild goats and ruined placesBeing · 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.

Qareen: عامر شاہین, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Rabisu: editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner, Public domain, source
Jinn: VenusFeuerFalle, CC0, source
Div: Unknown Calligrapher, Public domain, source
Ifrit: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Dragon: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
Astaroth: M. Jarrault, Public domain, source
Abyzou: Paul Perdirizet (1870-4 juin 1938), Public domain, source
Echidna: Daderot, Public domain, source
Tannin: Zakariya al-Qazwini, Public domain, source
Leviathan: Gustave Doré, Public domain, source