Healing without consent

[Dona]

Can I heal someone without their consent? If someone jokingly says that what I do scares them because they are religious and hold different views, and they feel uncomfortable with anything considered woo-woo, can I still help?

 

[beardedeldridge]

Yes you can. Unless it’s morally troubling to you, then you have to make that call yourself.

Do a forum search. This topic or a variation of it, comes up from time to time.

 

[Ziran]

Can I heal someone without their consent? If someone jokingly says that what I do scares them because they are religious and hold different views, and they feel uncomfortable with anything considered woo-woo, can I still help?

Without their consent, at best, it's a fool's errand. Even if they're healed, it's impossible to tell whether what you're doing is contributing to their recovery.

 

[nutmeg]

Can I heal someone without their consent? If someone jokingly says that what I do scares them because they are religious and hold different views, and they feel uncomfortable with anything considered woo-woo, can I still help?

I've had personal experience with this I had a co-worker and we became really good friends, he was diagnosed with a debilitating illness and when I suggested the occult he balked at the idea. So I did healing work on him anyway and also paid a spiritual healer to do work on him. This guy was literally bed ridden for years. About say 1 year after the healing work he was able to regain mobility and 3 after which is like present day he's as good as new. Unfortunately, we don't speak anymore in an irony of ironies apparently leaning on him for emotional support was "too much negativity" from me. Also he seemed to be someone that was not happy for the successes of others. I mention this last part because ask yourself if the people you are exerting all this magickal effort for are really worth it.

 

[HoldAll]

Maybe this thread can help:

On Healing, and the ethics of consent.

So, my brother's brother in law is sick. Like really sick. I've only met him once, but I feel the need to do a healing rite for him. I asked my brother if he could ask his wife for permission. He said "No, it's not for us." By my own ethical philosophy, I should respect his decision. But...

wizardforums.com

 

[Seeker_Kieffer]

Normally you magically attack without consent, so you can heal without consent too.

 

[Morell]

Normally you magically attack without consent, so you can heal without consent too.

This is not a good argument. You don't just heal just like you don't just attack. you need to have a reason to fight and cast attack spells. If you just attack people without reason, because you just want, it says things about you.

healing without consent in magic terms can happen to be an attack too. It can cause harm.

 

[Seeker_Kieffer]

This is not a good argument. You don't just heal just like you don't just attack. you need to have a reason to fight and cast attack spells. If you just attack people without reason, because you just want, it says things about you.

healing without consent in magic terms can happen to be an attack too. It can cause harm.

Obviously, you need a reason, and that reason doesn't have to be because the person asked you to. You can perfectly care about someone, want the best for them, want their body to recover (in the case of an injury), and perform your magic without asking for consent. Especially if the person is skeptical or thinks that "all magic comes from the devil."



I never said that you don't need a reason and needing a reason doesn't change the issue of consent. As for the magic's results, it's also a good idea to check with an oracle (tarot, rune and etc). If your healing magic causes harm, you either approached it incorrectly or don't know what you're doing. Besides, there are things that, in theory, can cause harm, but in practice, they won't. Saying the Lord's Prayer and sprinkling holy water with a sprig of rue (a Portuguese practice) won't actually cause any harm, even if it doesn't cure anyone.

 

[Morell]

Obviously, you need a reason, and that reason doesn't have to be because the person asked you to. You can perfectly care about someone, want the best for them, want their body to recover (in the case of an injury), and perform your magic without asking for consent. Especially if the person is skeptical or thinks that "all magic comes from the devil."



I never said that you don't need a reason and needing a reason doesn't change the issue of consent. As for the magic's results, it's also a good idea to check with an oracle (tarot, rune and etc). If your healing magic causes harm, you either approached it incorrectly or don't know what you're doing. Besides, there are things that, in theory, can cause harm, but in practice, they won't. Saying the Lord's Prayer and sprinkling holy water with a sprig of rue (a Portuguese practice) won't actually cause any harm, even if it doesn't cure anyone.

I assume that unconscious consent is a consent too, higher self, or whatever it is has authority over you too. I assume that some people do not want to be healed, but a lot probably do...

 

[Seeker_Kieffer]

I assume that unconscious consent is a consent too, higher self, or whatever it is has authority over you too. I assume that some people do not want to be healed, but a lot probably do...

Part of my spiritual vision is heavily "tainted" by my country's culture and the fact that I can sometimes see/feel/hear. There's a strong belief here that spirits accompany a person from birth. Many believe in Guardian Angels, but others believe in ancestral spirits, whether from indigenous or Yoruba traditions. These spirits can and will do the energetic sorting for you. It's a major national egregore that can either facilitate or hinder your magic, even if you don't believe in it.

So I believe that the "Higher Self," the Holy Guardian Angel, or another patron spirit may very well allow the healing magic to pass through. Now, if it can't pass through, perhaps some entity is blocking it, and that's a different kind of problem.

 

[Morell]

Part of my spiritual vision is heavily "tainted" by my country's culture and the fact that I can sometimes see/feel/hear.

I wouldn't call personal experience tainting, though your culture definitely alters how you interpret what you sense.

 

[Seeker_Kieffer]

Thank you, I think this is a good time to mention that I'm using Google Translate. I read perfectly, but writing is difficult.

Returning to Dona, I don't know what branch of magic you know and which one you intend to practice. If you're considering any entity that can protect the other person, I would ask for permission and intercession. If the person has any beliefs, I would make this request respecting their beliefs, such as asking their Guardian Angel first. If I can get some testimony (hair, nails, etc.), or at least the exact date of birth for the astrological natal chart, it would help me better understand the energies that permeate the person.

 

[Ziran]

Normally you magically attack without consent, so you can heal without consent too.

Those are two very different things.

First, magical attacks exploit implied consent of the target. Lacking that, the success or failure of the hostile spell, conjuring, ritual, etc, defaults to natural-laws: physics combined with inherent bits of random chaos. In other words, magical attacks aren't magical without cultivating belief within the target if it doesn't exist already. Their beliefs are implied consent.

Second, healing encourages a naturally occurring pre-existent beneficent energetic flow. In contrast, unprovoked hostility is unnatural and self-defeating.

Post automatically merged: Oct 1, 2025

healing without consent in magic terms can happen to be an attack too. It can cause harm.

Counter-intuitve practical example: What if I heal your nemesis? Healing them is harming you. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

 

[Seeker_Kieffer]

Those are two very different things.

First, magical attacks exploit implied consent of the target. Lacking that, the success or failure of the hostile spell, conjuring, ritual, etc, defaults to natural-laws: physics combined with inherent bits of random chaos. In other words, magical attacks aren't magical without cultivating belief within the target if it doesn't exist already. Their beliefs are implied consent.

Second, healing encourages a naturally occurring pre-existent beneficent energetic flow. In contrast, unprovoked hostility is unnatural and self-defeating.

Post automatically merged: Oct 1, 2025

Counter-intuitve practical example: What if I heal your nemesis? Healing them is harming you. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Anecdotal Story: A relative of mine began being attacked by a spell targeting her husband. Neither of them knew the spell was being performed, and she didn't even know he had "frequented certain places" before they got together. She began seeing angry spirits, hearing voices, and had a few instances of possession. During those possessed moments, she saw where he went and what he did. When she first came to, she confronted him, telling him what she saw, and he was terrified, confirming it. Before I knew what was happening, I witnessed one of the instances when one of the entities appeared and left after flashing a light bulb until it burned out. To this day, she somehow doesn't believe that magical attacks can be performed.

I understand your understanding of how magic works and agree with it, but my personal experience and firsthand experience in several other cases lead me to believe there are more ways for magic to occur. In this case, a widespread form of necromancy in my country was being used. Certain spirits of the dead were being used to guide the caster's intentions, and no implicit consent was necessary. That's why I mentioned in another comment that help from the other side can make up for what you lack.

 

[Ziran]

Anecdotal Story: A relative of mine began being attacked by a spell targeting her husband. Neither of them knew the spell was being performed, and she didn't even know he had "frequented certain places" before they got together. She began seeing angry spirits, hearing voices, and had a few instances of possession. During those possessed moments, she saw where he went and what he did. When she first came to, she confronted him, telling him what she saw, and he was terrified, confirming it. Before I knew what was happening, I witnessed one of the instances when one of the entities appeared and left after flashing a light bulb until it burned out. To this day, she somehow doesn't believe that magical attacks can be performed.

Right. See below.

When she first came to, she confronted him, telling him what she saw, and he was terrified, confirming it.

Do you happen to know precisely what she said? I'm quite sure that the implied consent can be found by unpacking the confrontation.

To this day, she somehow doesn't believe that magical attacks can be performed.

To this day she says that. But, if there's even the tiniest doubt, the smallest insecurity, or even curiosity... that's enough to "open the door".

I understand your understanding of how magic works and agree with it, but my personal experience and firsthand experience in several other cases lead me to believe there are more ways for magic to occur. In this case, a widespread form of necromancy in my country was being used. Certain spirits of the dead were being used to guide the caster's intentions, and no implicit consent was necessary. That's why I mentioned in another comment that help from the other side can make up for what you lack.

In general, I don't doubt you. But, I'm quite certain, if the individual particular outcomes, consequences, of the wide-spread conjuring / necromancy are examined in detail, we'll see that those lacking any belief, any fear, are only minimally, and indirectly effected.

A caster or coven can certainly create a general atmosphere which promotes and encourages individual harm in others, but, that's very different from causing specific harm to an individual entirely unprovoked ( which is without their implied consent ) using magic.

However, if the caster knows that the target has broken divine law, then, they can call down divine retribution, if they know how, and are themselves completely innocent "white-as-snow". In this way, an individual can attack another using magic without inviting disaster on themself. But, extreme caution is warranted because bearing false witness is itself a capital offense.

 

[aviaf]

Can I heal someone without their consent? If someone jokingly says that what I do scares them because they are religious and hold different views, and they feel uncomfortable with anything considered woo-woo, can I still help?

You can heal someone without their consent—just like you can rearrange their furniture while they’re asleep and call it feng shui. Doesn’t mean it’s ethical, effective, or won’t get you energetically slapped. If they’re uncomfortable with your “woo-woo,” that’s a boundary, not a challenge. Real magick respects sovereignty. Otherwise, you’re not a healer—you’re just a well-meaning wizard with boundary issues and a savior complex dressed in ritual robes.

 

[Zeelu]

I have a friend who got hit by a truck and was in a coma for a few months, couldn't give consent and his relatives were religious and hated magick and would of been hell no if asked. I didn't have any problems with doing healing rituals etc without consent. I did my thing and he came out of the coma and has been recovering pretty well since. I think one should keep in mind that a lot depends on what forces you're working with and the type of magician you are. For example, you might be shamanic in nature and the people around you are like you're community you're supposed to support them magically as part of keeping favor with your gods etc. It could be that this is on your mind specifically because the entities you're working with want you to do that healing and if you don't they'll be giving you the karmic slap. I'd do a divination and sort out what's what then proceed accordingly. You can also add the clause when doing the working that it only is to be done if its just as part of the ritual which allows the spirits to make a decision on whether it should happen or not. That removes a lot of the karma issues a lot of folks experience but reduces the chance of it working successfully.

 

[aviaf]

I have a friend who got hit by a truck and was in a coma for a few months, couldn't give consent and his relatives were religious and hated magick and would of been hell no if asked. I didn't have any problems with doing healing rituals etc without consent. I did my thing and he came out of the coma and has been recovering pretty well since. I think one should keep in mind that a lot depends on what forces you're working with and the type of magician you are. For example, you might be shamanic in nature and the people around you are like you're community you're supposed to support them magically as part of keeping favor with your gods etc. It could be that this is on your mind specifically because the entities you're working with want you to do that healing and if you don't they'll be giving you the karmic slap. I'd do a divination and sort out what's what then proceed accordingly. You can also add the clause when doing the working that it only is to be done if its just as part of the ritual which allows the spirits to make a decision on whether it should happen or not. That removes a lot of the karma issues a lot of folks experience but reduces the chance of it working

Good point, but different situation. Your friend could not consent. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut and do what you need to, but it depends on each situation. Use discernment. I personally would have no problem healing without consent UNLESS I was told no... in which case I would do some anyway with the best outcome in mind in a private location.

You can heal someone without their consent—just like you can rearrange their furniture while they’re asleep and call it feng shui. Doesn’t mean it’s ethical, effective, or won’t get you energetically slapped. If they’re uncomfortable with your “woo-woo,” that’s a boundary, not a challenge. Real magick respects sovereignty. Otherwise, you’re not a healer—you’re just a well-meaning wizard with boundary issues and a savior complex dressed in ritual robes.

That said, I'd like to refer to a response i msde to similar post. I said:

Think about it: Christians, and the various forms of Christendom, often “pray for” someone without their knowledge or permission. They don’t pause to ask if the person wants intervention—they simply act, trusting that their deity will direct the energy appropriately. So why should magicians hesitate when working with healing gods or archetypes on behalf of someone who may not know how to ask, or even that they need help?

That said... it's still a boundary if they told you not to. Next time don't ask.

 

[Ziran]

Christians, and the various forms of Christendom, often “pray for” someone without their knowledge or permission.

A prayer which invokes "thy will be done" doesn't require consent.

So why should magicians hesitate when working with healing?

Because magic invokes "my will be done" not "thy will be done".

 

[Dona]

Thank you all I finally got their consent.