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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
馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 1 moreAradia A figure of Italian folklore and modern pagan witchcraft, seen as a teacher of magic and liberation.Figure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Revived 馃嚨馃嚬 Portugal and 5 moreCocoCoca A monster used to frighten children into obedience across the Iberian world and Latin America.Figure 路 Cursing and harm 路 Binding and oaths Living 馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 2 moreOccultism in Nazism The study of alleged magical links to the Nazi regime and the myths that surround themBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Historical 馃嚪馃嚭 RussiaBlack magic Magic used for evil or selfish purposes, and the beliefs surrounding itBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 5 moreEuropean witchcraft Historical beliefs in harmful magic and the resulting trials across EuropeBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Historical 馃嚟馃嚭 HungaryCurse of TuranTur谩ni 谩tok A Hungarian belief that a historic spell causes national misfortune and personal despairBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚠馃嚜 Ireland and 5 moreSeventh son of a seventh son A folklore belief that birth order grants supernatural healing or cursed powersBelief 路 Healing 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚝馃嚪 FranceLouviers possessions A seventeenth-century French convent case of mass demonic possession and witchcraft accusationsBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚝馃嚠 FinlandV盲ki A supernatural power in Finnish mythology found in nature and objectsBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Healing Historical 馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 1 moreUnclean force薪械褔懈褋褌褜 A Slavic term for evil spirits and the undead that inhabit the natural worldBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚠馃嚬 Italy and 1 moreKollyra curse tablet An ancient Greek tablet cursing a thief to suffocation until stolen goods are returned.Text 路 Protection 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceWitchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome Ancient beliefs and practices of magic, curses, and love charms in the Mediterranean worldTradition 路 Cursing and harm 路 Love and attraction Historical 馃嚪馃嚫 Serbia and 5 moreWolves in folklore, religion and mythology A global survey of how cultures view the wolf as symbol, spirit or threatBelief 路 Power and authority 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚪馃嚧 Romania and 2 moreStrix蟽蟿蟻委尉 A classical bird of ill omen that evolved into a term for witches and vampires across Europe.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚪馃嚭 Russia and 4 moreFiery serpents芯谐薪械薪薪褘泄 蟹屑械泄 A pan-Slavic spirit of fire and wind, seen as a demon or a household helperBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚞馃嚪 GreeceGello螕蔚位位蠋 A Greek demon of infancy and a class of beings blamed for infant death.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Historical 馃嚜馃嚜 EstoniaVanapaganVanat眉hi A giant farmer and underworld figure from Estonian folklore who is often outwitted.Figure 路 Cursing and harm Legendary 馃嚝馃嚪 France and 1 moreDusios A Gaulish spirit type later classified as an incubus demon by early Christian writersBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Power and authority Historical 馃嚞馃嚙 United Kingdom and 1 moreDevil's Footprints A 1855 English mystery of hoof-like tracks appearing across snow-covered landscapesBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚝馃嚪 FranceMagonia A cloud realm of aerial sailors blamed for hail and stolen grain in medieval EuropeBelief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Luck and prosperity Historical 馃嚪馃嚧 RomaniaTanacu exorcism A 2005 Romanian Orthodox ritual that ended in a nun's death and a murder convictionRite 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚫馃嚜 Sweden and 1 moreStalloSt谩llu A large, clumsy creature from S谩mi folklore that eats people and is often outwitted by humans.Being 路 Cursing and harm 路 Wonder and entertainment Historical 馃嚨馃嚤 PolandFrankenstein town gravediggers scandal A 1606 witchcraft trial in Silesia that may have inspired Mary Shelley's novelBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚪馃嚫 Serbia and 1 moreVampire pumpkins and watermelons A Balkan folk tale about ground fruit that turns into vampires.Belief 路 Cursing and harm Legendary 馃嚝馃嚪 FranceTempestarii Medieval figures accused of controlling storms and the beliefs surrounding them.Belief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Historical 馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 3 moreDrude A Germanic nightmare spirit and the pentagram charm used to keep it outBeing 路 Cursing and harm 路 Protection Historical 馃嚠馃嚫 Iceland and 3 moreDeal with the Devil A cultural trope of trading one's soul for worldly favours in exchange for demonic aidBelief 路 Power and authority 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚚馃嚦 China and 3 moreSwan maiden A folk motif where a man steals a bird-woman's feather cloak to force marriage.Figure 路 Love and attraction 路 Cursing and harm Legendary 馃嚘馃嚭 Australia and 1 moreVoldemort effect A social pattern where naming a fear or problem makes it seem more powerfulBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚡馃嚨 JapanLooking taboo A mythic rule forbidding a gaze that would bring disasterBelief 路 Cursing and harm Legendary 馃嚠馃嚜 IrelandDeath coachc贸iste bodhar A spectral carriage that signals an unavoidable death in European folkloreBelief 路 Cursing and harm Legendary 馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomChained Oak A Staffordshire oak bound in chains by a local legend of a curse and an earl.Belief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚝馃嚪 FranceLoudun possessionsaffaire des poss茅d茅es de Loudun A 17th-century witchcraft trial in France involving alleged demonic possession by Ursuline nuns.Belief 路 Cursing and harm 路 Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 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 馃嚛馃嚜 Germany and 5 moreWitchcraft accusations against children Historical and modern persecution of children blamed for witchcraftBelief 路 Cursing and harm Living 馃嚞馃嚪 Greece and 1 moreMaternal impression A discredited theory that a mother's shock or thoughts can mark her unborn childBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical 馃嚞馃嚙 United KingdomLantern man A ghost light of the English fens said to lure victims into the marshesBelief 路 Cursing and harm Historical
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The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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