Hexing

Hex Appeal: The Malefic Side of Spellcasting

One of the most common questions I get about witchcraft is whether to hex or curse. This is a hot-button topic widely debated in esoteric circles, witches’ forums, and on social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok. And while every witch’s path and practice are different, there is a dark side to baneful magic with serious repercussions that can upset the sacred balance of the universe. Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or just starting your witchy journey, the following information will provide some helpful insights and guidance for your practice.

What is a “hex” and “curse”?

First things first – what exactly is a “hex” or “curse”, and are they the same thing? Yes and no. A hex can have two meanings, one is a spell that sends negative energy to an intended target but only short term, either for a specific season, duration of time, or until the lesson is learned. Another common way a hex is defined is through creating a boundary, think of it as your energetic “NO”. Binding someone from doing harm would be the witches energetic no. I am more likely to hex than to curse. A curse is much more powerful and can be directed at a person, family, place, bloodline, etc. There are some curses that can last for generations. Both types of baneful magic are intended to bring misfortune to someone and can be done either consciously or unconsciously which makes the practice not only unethical but dangerous as well if practiced by an uneducated witch.

A few examples of hexes/curses include:

Binding spells – used to prevent someone from causing harm to someone else.

Hex bags – small pouches with herbs, crystals, and other items that possess potent energy and used to cause misfortune.

Death curses – an extremely powerful curse that causes irrevocable harm or death to someone else.

Love curses – a spell for someone to fall in love against their will.

*Full transparency – I’ve used binding spells and curses in my own practice but only under extenuating circumstances. I do not advise beginner witches to partake in baneful magick without proper training or supervision.

The Cultural Significance of Baneful Magick

For a millennia, witches all over the world have practiced Baneful magick in one form of another. From Voodoo and domination work to ethically questionable love spells, many cultures who have suffered from colonization, oppression, and genocide have more relaxed views of hexing and cursing. For some, it was a matter of survival where the wounds were so deep, witches had no other choice than to hex or curse their oppressors. While hexing and cursing may have been a part of the complex milieu of the burning times, today’s modern witch has a choice yet many still use malefic magick as a tool for justice for those guilty of wrongdoing.

The Paradox of Curses

Curses work, and don’t work, for many reasons.

For example they are affected by: The power and will of the witch, the emotional energy behind their castings, and, or the belief of the cater and target,. Doubt in the witch who is casting kills more magick than anything else. When someone learns they’re cursed, their fear and belief in said curse can actually feed the curse, strengthening it, or, their disbelief in a curse can reject it straight out of their energy field.

This is why sovereignty is so important. When someone embodies true sovereignty, taking full responsibility for their energy, life, and protection, they become much harder, even impossible, to curse. Their field becomes impenetrable, because they stand in full authority over their own being.

However, people who are deeply codependent, disempowered, or empathic to the point of collapse can be easier targets for hexes, not because they are weak, but because they haven’t yet claimed their own power or boundaries.

Cursing, Hexing, and Ethics

From a witch’s perspective, hexing or cursing is not inherently evil it’s a tool.

If you truly believe in sovereignty, you must believe others are sovereign too. That includes their right to act, and your right to respond. Mind this crucial advice: You do not curse lightly. It’s not about vengeance or malice. It’s about protection, justice, and balance.

Witches were given this gift and some believe it can be taken way if not used ethically. Aradia, daughter of Diana, was given the 13 powers of the witch, not just to heal, but also to hex, to defend the oppressed, and challenge unjust power. True magick, in this tradition, is not passive. It is a force of restoration, sometimes through love, sometimes through fire.

The Law of Three and the Ethics of Witchcraft

On the other hand, there are witches, me included, who rarely practice baneful magick, choosing instead to follow the Rule of Three or Threefold Law. The Rule of Three asserts whatever energy a witch sends out to the universe, positive or negative, will return to them threefold. Not all witches live by this but I can see it is more than a law a Wicca came up with, but an energetic law of cause and effect as well as the law of attraction.

The Three Fold Law can be traced back to Wicca founder Gerald Gardner and its interpretation varies depending on the practitioner. Some believe the energy will return in three separate instances. Others believe the original energy will be amplified three times over. For example, a spell cast with harmful intent may result in three separate misfortunes or a single major consequence.

All baneful magickal practices are designed to strip the intended target of free will , something we are given upon incarnating on earth to help us navigate the human experience. To deny someone their free will is in direct contrast to the universal Law of Attraction, or the belief that we create our own reality and what you put out into the universe will come back to you whether you like it or not. If our external reality is a direct reflection of our consciousness, why would anyone want to attract negative energy through the practice of baneful magick? This is why shadow work and healing is crucial to the witches path. Fear has caused humans to create too much havock energetically.

As witches, when we should be choosing to hex or curse from a place of clarity, justice, and protection, not from bitterness or ego, when doing so we are not inviting harm or negative in return 3 fold or equal fold or whatever you believe, Instead, we are standing fully in our sovereign, divine right to walk this Earth freely and safely. True magick honors balance. When we act in alignment with our higher self and sacred truth, we are not breaking universal law, we are upholding it. The rule of three does not punish the righteous; it reflects intent. A curse cast with integrity, in defense of oneself or others, is not an act of darkness, but an act of power. It is the rightful claim of a sovereign soul refusing to be diminished. I am not Wiccan, and I still believe there is relevance in the three fold law and reason to live by it. Of course not all will agree with me but I’m ok with that, and continuing to share my perspective.

Regardless of its interpretation, the Threefold Law is a powerful reminder of the profound impact we as witches have on the world, a poetic expression of cause and effect. It encourages us to act with integrity and respect the harmonious balance of our interconnected universe.

Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?

Many people think that if a witch doesn’t hex or curse, she/he is not a “real witch”. I call BS. Real witches are healers and the witches living in integrity will know if they’re not in a place to be practicing Baneful Magick or not and I respect it if they choose it’s not for them. It’s better not to dabble. Whether you practice Baneful Magick or not, does not determine if you’re a good or bad witch. I believe we are all born innocent natured. Life wounds us, and if we don’t heal from said wounds we do things out of shadow sometimes, and to me that doesn’t make one a bad human or a bad human. I would say they are unhealed. There’s no more a good witch or bad witch than good or bad humans. If there were then who’s the judge. The mother who sees the whole story of her child or the judge who only sees one act.

Witches are wise women and men who choose to empower themselves rather than disempower others. Witches with integrity choose healing love and light over fear, anger, or retribution. This is not to say there is never time and a place for hexing and cursing. The act of protecting one’s self is a universal sign to the universe that you will be protected. When you allow people to harm you, you are telling the universe that you are open to harm. It’s all an energy thing really. The problem with ever instructing witches as a guide to hex or curse in my opinion is most witches haven’t done enough shadow work to know when a curse is actually needed. I have a course on this if you want to go deeper on this topic. Spellbound: A Course In Baneful Magick.

A hex or curse may seem like a good idea in the short term, to deal with a cheating boyfriend, an unfair teacher, or a mean boss, but it’s just kicking the karmic can down the road and into the next lifetime. So, the next time you feel the need to curse someone, ask yourself, is it really worth it?

Mystic Witch Harmony Rose is a solitary witch with over 30+ experience in the craft, a certified E-RYT200, Yin & Shakti Yoga Instructor, Shamanic Life Coach, Retreat Facilitator, Womb Priestess, Yoni Steam Facilitator, Divine Feminine Mentor, Intuitive Healer, Reiki Master, and Spiritual Teacher. Her passion is bringing women to gather as sisters on the path of healing trauma held in the womb so they may return to wholeness. She offers women’s healing retreats, classes, one-on-one training & mentorship, and much more. Visit www.mysticwitch.com for more information.