Hey all! I know I haven’t posted in a while-that is my bad. I got married, and due to some relatively annoying circumstances my life got some chaotic there for a moment that I really couldn’t do much else than what I NEEDED to do. Even my last post I wish to go through an edit as I am not happy with the quality that it ended with due to the stress from this month-long debacle of jealously and envy.
Now, if you’re in the P&W discord you’ve seen me talk before about how I treat baneful magic in a very specific way. I will not say I am doing this the ‘right’ way-but it’s right for me and my path. The events that happened after my wedding surprisingly enough led to me actually cursing someone, and I felt it was likely time I go into this with a more in depth post.
I’ve posted recipes for curses and such beforehand on most of my socials where I do witch-shit, but I’ve never spoke heavily on this part and felt maybe it was a sign I should since I don’t often use a curse, and why that is.
What is the Difference Between a Jinx, a Hex, and a Curse?
A Jinx can be summed up as trivial annoyances. Stepped in gum, boss was annoying, just something small and ultimately harmless that just gives them the irritation you feel. Most people will aim a jinx at someone who’s just slightly annoying them or has started to become an irritation. They’re often short lived, meaning most of the time you won’t even really be able to see the results. Unless you are friends with this person (don’t jinx your friends-talk to them!) you may never even know if it worked! Ultimately, I’d say it’s more so an outlet for your annoyance with them than anything. Like most spells, it is of course relatively customizable to what you want to happen, when, how, and where-but you won’t see anything large or that last ages.
A Hex is a bit more serious, and I would say rests in the middle between a jinx and a curse. I’d say they typically last a bit longer than a jinx-but still not extremely long. They also give ‘worse’ results to the target. Most people will use a hex to teach a lesson, or prompt change. I personally like to use a hex to make the target feel what they’ve done to others, and this is about where I start using caveats/triggers in my spells. (I do this in curses too, but not really in a jinx at all due to the nature of them.) Normally I will set up a hex like an if statement. “If (target) does (action) then (hex).”
For an example if a person is a chronic liar: “If (target) lies to someone, they will be lied to in the same manner.” Because I do try to keep baneful proportional to their actions. If he cheats, she’ll cheat on him. If She gossips, her name will be in the mouths of others. If they wrongly hurt others, they will be hurt in the same way. Now sometimes I will do a “If you speak on my name I will gain.” type of spell-but this doesn’t actually hurt these people. This is because I generally do not care if people speak badly of me, but hey if I can make money while they do why not?
Now, a Curse. Curses are long, and serious. They can last generations and affect whole families, places, or things. Often times witches will curse abusers, sexual predators, child abusers, people who have committed horrible acts that may not have a level of redemption that can be offered. I do typically still add a caveat in my curses-this is more so my moral grounding than anything else. If I am cursing someone, I typically feel pretty confident in doing so, I don’t do it lightly or freely because someone asked me. But when I add a caveat that the curse will trigger when they do these actions I feel more sound morally that they will only go through these things if they do it. I’m not a God-I don’t feel I decide when someone is truly irredeemable, but there may be things that are just irredeemable to me.
Now there are some things I’d argue morally don’t need a caveat, but I have yet to find myself in the position to utilize a curse for one of those reasons. I do feel most situations a person can change and grow from-and if not, they get smacked every time they act up because it triggers the curse.
When do you know baneful magic should be used?
For me I save baneful magic a bit. I know some people consider things like bindings, cord-cuttings, etc., as baneful-and some don’t. I’ll be honest I don’t see all baneful magic as needing to be harmful so I do see them in this category-but not all may, and I feel that’s fine. Personally, I like to utilize baneful magic to keep my peace, but I don’t often find myself going past a jinx in severity too often. Things like freezer spells work just fine- I think my favorite way to go about it is just a jar that leads to me getting money from others hate. The more you speak on my name the richer I become, and nothing has to happen to that person. Passive income anyone? (Finance bros hate her!)
But truth be told truly it’s only you who can tell when you should use baneful magic, but I usually try to wait until I’ve exhausted all my mundane options, or their actions have forced my hand. Some people I would say I find a bit curse or hex-happy, but I do feel you should use other methods before jumping to the big guns. And some situations using something else may just benefit you more!
I have one set up I love to do with gossips or shit talkers-I’ve seen many other people do it as well, and I think it works better for me than any curse or hex I’ve ever used. This is of course my money-jar for shit-talkers, which is very self-explanatory. In special situations I’ve tweaked it to be more of a curse ‘As you talk it’s taken from you and given to me’ (Inopia is a good example of this!) but usually, I just let the person talk and turn their hate into my gain. Also, I’ve rarely had anyone speak so ill of me I felt justified to do so but it has happened before.
If you feel you’re running out of mundane options then I do think you should consider baneful magic, but not always just a jinx, hex, or curse. Sometimes it’s more helpful to use things to cause distance between you and the other person first, because the issue is solved in a smoother manner.
How do I pick which one to use?
When it comes to using them, I follow a very simple guide:
A Jinx for the Annoyance and Agitation
A Hex for a Learned Lesson
A Curse for Aggression upon Generations
If you just want to annoy someone in a way they’ve annoyed, you-jinx them. Maybe it’s an annoying coworker, or your boss was just being a real prick that day. Maybe your brother-in-law pissed you off, so you give him a weird day at work. Maybe they step in water while wearing socks, or the one battery is missing from their TV remote, and they can’t find it. If you want to do something small and upsetting enough that it just makes them groan as they go about their day you will want to jinx them.
If you feel someone is having a weird repeat issue that you want to try and teach them a lesson on-a hex may be more up your alley. Things like making it hard for a cheater to find a new relationship due to their habits or making someone struggle in a similar way they’ve made someone else struggle. These will be much stronger in reaction; however, they will not last a huge duration of time either.
I’d say for a curse you shouldn’t jump to it. These offer worse consequences and can last a long time, some aimed at generations of pain to come. In some cases, this may be able to be justified-but you should think pretty long on if it’s worth your energy to do a curse. This is your time and energy you’re pouring into it. If you feel a situation calls for it then it may, but I feel a lot of people just to a curse before they even try to walk away from someone who is treating them in such a way they’d consider it.
Before I am willing to do a curse I check for several things:
- Have I cut ties with this person in all mundane ways that I can?
- Have I already tried doing something like a binding, cord-cutting, or freezer spell?
- Are their actions proportionate for a curse?
- Is the curse you’re using appropriate for what they’ve done?
If you’ve already moved away in the mundane ways that you can (blocking, avoiding, setting boundaries and going low or no contact) and already attempted stuff like bindings or so on-it may be needed. I save curses for those who would attempt to make my life such a living hell I cannot normally function or have faced some level of adversity due to their actions that was not warranted. Finally, I make sure the curse I do decide to mix up is appropriate for what they’ve done to me. Once that’s been done, I no longer interact. I feel there is no strong reason to, and I don’t want to be at ground zero when it affects them anyway.
What else should I know?
-Not everyone is open or accepting to baneful magic. Some people follow the Law of Three; some people hold a belief system that prevents such things-so again this is something that more so lays in your court. I’m personally baneful magic positive; I don’t believe or see any consequences outside your own moral compass and guilt. I do believe that should be strong enough to where you don’t feel necessarily comfortable causing unnecessary harm to those who do not deserve it. If you follow a belief system that does prohibit or warn against it-I’d argue it would dictate the consequences that you would face.
-These are not always small things either. You could potentially ruin someone’s entire life-and that is a decision you shouldn’t take joy in. Some people tend to get a bit smug when it comes to witchcraft and baneful magic as they perceive a form of ‘power’ over others that they could do this, and others may not even have the idea to protect against it. Unless this is someone who deserves to have their life ruined you shouldn’t aim to and personal slights against you aren’t always a good reason.
-Some people think baneful magic is some heavy top-tier only grand masters can do it type of deal-no. I’d argue you shouldn’t just jump headfirst into baneful magic, but it’s not like a hex or a jinx need you to be some ‘top level wizard.’ I’d argue there is no such thing. Witches will always be growing and learning, and some people learn at different rates than others. I’ve met people with a stronger understanding of Demonolatry at a year than those who had 4-5 under their belt. It varies a lot, and while I do believe you should have a decent understanding, I don’t think you actually skill level can be measured in years practicing. I feel it more so depends on how much you’ve actually practiced and studied, and how well you’re retaining that information.
-Cursing someone is a serious thing, not a petty ‘gotcha’ or revenge for someone existing in a way you dislike. If you do cast one, I would recommend just staying quiet and not spilling the details. I personally feel like the more you tell people the less it works. Plus, if someone tells the target they could easily do something in retaliation or to stop the effects of it.
-Make sure you do a lot of research, and handle items with caution if they need it. A lot of baneful magic ingredients can be dangerous on some level, whether it’s toxicity or tetanus. Do your research always, and you should be okay. Safety for yourself should always come first after all!
Share your thoughts!