Curses have been a part of human culture since ancient times. They are a form of magic used to bring harm or misfortune to someone or something. Curses can be used to express anger, jealousy, or revenge and can be used to protect or punish. They can be spoken aloud or written down and can be used to cause physical or psychological harm. Curses can be used for good or bad and can be used to bring about positive or negative outcomes. No matter the purpose, curses are a powerful force that can have a lasting impact on those affected by them.
I Curse You!
A curse is defined as a solemn utterance intended to invoke a supernatural power to inflict harm or punishment on someone or something. Also known as a hex, jinx, evil eye, or damning. Curses come in many forms and have played a role in society for generations.
The earliest known example of a curse dates back to ancient Egypt, around 2200 BC. It was written on a papyrus scroll and reads: "May the crocodile of the West, the scorpion of the South, the serpent of the North, and the dog of the East all bite him who would alter this." However, perhaps no one curses like the Christian Bible! There are no less than 68 instances in which the bible references cursing others. Ironically, however, Deuteronomy 18: 10-12 explicitly forbids cursing others.
More recently, a collection of curse tablets were discovered in Greece. The tablets rested at the bottom of a 2,500-year-old well in the town of Kerameikos, an ancient Athens burial ground. Scholars believe that they were ritual texts intended to invoke the gods of the underworld. However, the person who ordered the curse is only dictated as the recipient. Such texts were quite common during this time period as the lines between religion and magic were blurry.
The entire purpose of a curse is to inflict misfortune on another with a significance on morality or justice. Perhaps this is why curses are so prevalent within biblical texts. Let’s be honest; society often wishes curses on individuals who do wrong.
Types of Curses
Sometimes curses are generational. Either an ancestor has been cursed, or they have cursed themselves with bad actions. However, most generational curses are toxic patterns of behavior that have been passed down for generations. Those curses require deep introspection in order to break. These would fall under the category of a self-imposed curse. Imagine, if you will, consistently speaking badly about yourself, life, or even others. Like attracts like, and these thought patterns and words are curses against the self. Or, if you will, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Supernatural Curses, on the other hand, are curses wished or prayed upon to a specific supernatural power to inflict misfortune. A curse that is done my magic. It is important not to neglect the willpower behind ill wishes. Have you ever had an instant in which, out of anger, you fully and intentionally wished misfortune on another, only to have that person suffer some calamity soon after? You effectively cursed another being through your willpower or even prayer to a deity.
Social Curses are an interesting phenomenon. You are who you associate with the most. Ever had things in your life go wrong by hanging out with the wrong crowd? Or have that one friend who always drags you into their drama. Social curses. Sometimes we curse ourselves by associating with the wrong people.
Whether a curse is brought through wishes, prayers, voodoo, or other means, the primary component is will. What is the will of the person casting the curse? Not only that, but you can inadvertently curse yourself. A word of caution: before performing a curse against another, consider the consequences either for yourself (curse backfiring) or others who may be affected, such as the family of who is being cursed.
Curse Breaking
There are ways in which to break a curse. One of the first things is to raise your own energy. Like attracts like, and if you are down and out, you will continue to attract dismal energy. Do things that genuinely raise your energy and make you feel good from the inside out, and keep doing it!
Either verbally or silently, release all energy and emotions that do not belong to you back to their source. It is best to do this from a place of peace. Then call your energy and power back to you. Our modern lives require so much outside focus that it is amazing how much energy people freely give away. Get yourself energetically stable.
There are plenty of spells available to break a curse. There are rituals and lots of “professionals” eager to take your money to break a curse! Rituals are especially helpful for those who require visual and physical input. Prayers are also an effective form of curse-breaking if that is something you do. In the end, once your energy is solid and you are vibrating at a good level, simply will the curse away and back to its source. Of course, if you cursed yourself by accident, you double-whammied yourself. But then you will also know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the only one out to get you was yourself.
Have You Been Cursed?
Curses have been around for thousands of years. One of my favorite things that I’ve seen on the internet recently is “I wish you everything you deserve.” This is because, for good or ill, it allows the universe to work itself out without much personal effort.
Things are crazy these days. As a historian, I know that life on Earth has always been challenging, but in all my life during this incarnation, I’ve never witnessed it so crazy and divided. The pendulum will swing in the other direction soon enough. Until it does, I think people are cursed enough and just trying to make it through each day. So, with that in mind, I send blessings instead of curses.