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

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

🇮🇳 IndiaLeft-Hand and Right-Hand Paths Two distinct orientations in occult magic, dividing taboo-breaking from orthodoxy.Tradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Living

🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇦🇺 AustraliaRainbow Serpent A creator spirit of water and land in Aboriginal Australian mythologyBeing · Healing · Cursing and harm Living 🇵🇪 Peru and 1 morePishtacoñañaq; kharisiri An Andean bogeyman said to steal human fat for oil and medicineBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇬🇧 United KingdomEnglish folklore The myths, legends, and customs of England passed down through generations.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Living

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreSatanism A modern set of beliefs using the figure of Satan as a symbol or deity.Tradition · Power and authority · Cursing and harm Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreJack A trickster hero from English folklore who outwits giants and oppressorsFigure · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreLa Llorona A vengeful ghost in Hispanic American folklore who mourns drowned children near water.Figure · Cursing and harm Living 🇬🇧 United KingdomWiccan Rede A moral guideline for Wiccans stating that actions should cause no harm.Text · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇳 India and 4 moreTantraतन्त्र An esoteric yogic tradition from India focusing on ritual, mantra, and body-based spiritual practices.Tradition · Power and authority · Change and initiation Living 🇿🇦 South Africa and 5 moreMurder for body parts The killing of people to harvest body parts for traditional medicine or the illegal organ trade.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇮🇳 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 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDaayanदायन A vengeful female spirit from Indian folklore, often blamed for misfortune and witchcraft accusations.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living

🇨🇦 CanadaNanabozhoᓇᓇᐳᔓ A shapeshifting spirit and trickster in Anishinaabe storytelling from North AmericaBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreQareenقرين A spiritual companion or double assigned to every human in Islamic beliefBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living 🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreSaciSaci-pererê A one-legged prankster of Brazilian folklore who hides in dust devils and wears a magic red cap.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Living 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago and 5 moreSoucouyant A shape-shifting vampire spirit of Caribbean folklore that sheds its skin to fly as a fireballBeing · Cursing and harm Living

🇱🇰 Sri LankaMara A Buddhist figure representing the forces that block spiritual awakening and keep beings trapped in rebirth.Being · Cursing and harm · Binding and oaths Living 🇯🇲 Jamaica and 3 moreDuppy A Caribbean term for a ghost or malevolent spirit, rooted in West African folklore.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreTerritorial spirit A belief that demons or angels rule over specific lands and nations.Belief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living

🇺🇸 United StatesChristian views on magic A spectrum of Christian beliefs about magical practices, ranging from strict condemnation to esoteric integration.Belief · Cursing and harm · Protection Living 🇺🇸 United StatesPlastic shaman A label for imposters who sell fake Indigenous spiritual practices for profitBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreOrder of Nine Angles A British Satanic network linked to neo-Nazism and violent extremismTradition · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living 🇮🇳 IndiaBaakবাক A shapeshifting water spirit from Assamese folklore that mimics humans and fears torn nets.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreWitchcraft accusations against children Historical and modern persecution of children blamed for witchcraftBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreDamnation A state of divine punishment or separation from the sacred after deathBelief · Cursing and harm Living

🇮🇸 IcelandYule catJólakötturinn A giant feline from Icelandic folklore that threatens those without new Christmas clothesFigure · Cursing and harm Living 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreSuperman curse An urban legend linking misfortunes to actors and creators in Superman adaptationsBelief · Cursing and harm Living 🇨🇲 CameroonNyongo society A witch legend from Cameroon used to explain sudden wealth and unexplained deathBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living

🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreFortune telling fraud A confidence trick where a grifter invents a curse to extract money from a vulnerable client.Belief · Cursing and harm Living

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
Spirit possession: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Witchcraft accusations against children: Radbot, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
La Llorona: Melvin Callejas, Public domain, source
Tantra: William Clark, Public domain, source
Nanabozho: D. Gordon E. Robertson, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Rainbow Serpent: unknown (as drawn by an Aboriginal), Public domain, source
Baphomet: Eliphas Levi, Public domain, source
English folklore: J. R. Skelton, Public domain, source
Satanism: Alexandre Cabanel, Public domain, source
Jack: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
Molybdomancy: Micha L. Rieser, Attribution, source
Christian views on magic: Athanasius Kircher, Public domain, source
Order of Nine Angles: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Mara: Under the Bo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Damnation: Didier Descouens, Public domain, source
Yule cat: Christine Rondeau, CC BY 2.0, source
Fortune telling fraud: Simon Vouet, Public domain, source